I would like to
believe that
most farmers are
and can be
educated. Some,
unfortunately,
will never
change their
mindset.
In 1997 we
purchased a
goat farm in
the Carlisle
Bridge area
between
Grahamstown
and Fort
Beaufort on
the Fish
River. It
was in the
middle of a
small stock
farming area
where
predators
were
hammered.
It had been
tightly
fenced with
netting wire
and most all
jackal and
lynx had
been
eliminated.
The place
was full of
bushbuck,
steenbok,
duiker and
kudu and
warthog were
starting to
become
prevalent.
We removed
internal
fences and
introduced
other game,
including
buffalo,
which were
historically
prevalent in
the area.
About 12
years later,
jackal were
out of
control.
They took a
herd of
springbuck
from 120 to
50 in just
three years
and have
almost
eliminated
bushbuck.
Lynx were
around, but
weren’t
prevalent.
We took the
jackal
numbers down
drastically
and
springbuck
numbers have
bounced
back, but
bushbuck
will take a
lot longer.
In the
25’000ha of
indigenous
forest, open
veldt and
commercial
forest land
we lease
from the
State for
commercial
timber
plantations,
lynx are
prolific and
there are
even a few
leopard
around, but
bushbuck
numbers are
high when
human
poaching is
curtailed.
We presume
this is
because the
bushbuck
have been
born into an
environment
where
predators
were
prevalent
and know how
to survive,
whereas the
springbuck
and bushbuck
on the Fish
River farm
were raised
into an
environment,
initially,
where there
were no
predators
and were
thus
annihilated
when
predators
became
prevalent.
We’ve been
advised by
farmers not
to leave
animal
stomach
contents in
the veldt
when gutting
hunted
animals, or
to place
them high up
in trees,
because
otherwise
jackals feed
on them and
breed to the
food
supply.
However
there are
hundreds of
jackal-size
prey
around.
Surely the
guts left in
the veldt
would feed
the jackal
and save one
of its
targeted
prey..?
Unfortunately
we have no
hyena, lion
or leopard
around to
control the
jackal and
lynx, so we
have to be
the apex
predator
else they’ll
over-run
us. Even
more
unfortunately
we’re out of
the “tourist
trail” so
there’s no
commercial
incentive to
introduce
those bigger
predators as
they’d eat
too much of
the
revenue..!
Cheers,
John.
Many
thanks
for the
regular
updates
you send
through
each
month.
I've
just
read
your recent
summary
outlining
the
predicament
for
jackals
and
cheetahs and
wanted
to
provide
some
comment.
We are
just
back
from a 3
week
visit to
South
Africa
where we
visited
the
Cheetah
Research
Centre
near
Brits
(De
Wildt -
set up
by Ann
van Dyk
and her
brother,
as I'm
sure you
will
know).
As well
as the
significant
success
they
have had
with
conserving
cheetah,
wild dog
and
vultures,
they are
now
breeding
Anatolian
shepherd
doges to
protect
livestock
and
distributing
them to
farmers
in
Botswana,
Namibia
and
South
Africa
to
encourage
more
cheetah
friendly
farming.
I'm sure
you will
already
aware of
their
work
- Ann
mentions
a trip
to Londolozi,
when it
was
first
established,
in her
book
(The
Cheetahs
of De
Wildt) -
but I
thought
I should
mention
this as
a
potential
collaboration
you
could
investigate
to
maximize
the full
energy
flow.
Keep up
the
great
work and
one day
I will
get to
visit
Londolozi
and the
Karoo!
Cath
Hutchings
Very elaborate
rationalization…the
science
sounds
about as
sounds
as
man-made
global
warming
?
Simple
question:
Q
Are
jackals
eating
sheep
i.e.
is
there
proof
?
Are
any
of
the
jackals
going
back
and
forth
thru
your
boundary
?
Do
you
have
any
responsibility
for
damage
caused
by
the activity
on Tiger
Canyons
?
As
Col.
Jessup
[
actor
Jack
Nicholson
]
said
in
the
movie
A
FEW
GOOD
MEN…”the
truth…you
can’t
handle
the
truth”
Keep
your
shit
on
your
side
of
the
fence
and
you
will
have
no
problems
!
I
will
quit
sending
donations
IF
you
feel
you
have
no
responsibility
to
the
farmers
that
feed
your
country.
Hi JV,
It has certainly been a while, but good to follow the goings on at Tiger Canyons vicariously online.
I enjoyed your post on Full Energy Flow and thought you may be interested in the following video on Tropic Cascade (Full Energy Flow) from Yellowstone in the US, if you haven’t already seen it.
The reintroducing of wolves into Yellowstone is a politicised topic since the wolf reintroduction was not universally welcomed and there is a lobby group that seeks to reduce wolf numbers through culling – but nevertheless their impact, much like your cheetah argument has had a dramatic impact on the broader eco-system in Yellowstone.
The video is only 4 minutes long and easy for anyone to understand.
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/how-wolves-change-rivers/#.Uv-6bfojUYR.facebook
All the best.
Anton.
