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Little is know about civet cats. This one was recently photographed after it had been killed by a car along the Levubu road.

Technology can turn anyone into a scientist

Date: 05 June 2015 By: Isabel Venter

Roadkill can be an opportunity to do some interesting scientific research.

Recently a civet cat, discovered along the Levubu road, caused the newspaper to make some enquiries.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has an initiative called the Wildlife and Roads Project which “employs” ordinary citizens to help identify the roadkill hotspots in South Africa. This project was launched during 2010 in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, where the EWT recorded 1 121 animal deaths along a 100km stretch of road in just 120 days.

Project co-ordinator Me Wendy Collinson explained that roads cut wildlife habitats up into smaller chunks. For some wildlife, roads act as a barrier to movement, and it may actually cause animal populations to fragment into smaller, less functional groups. This can have a negative impact on the health and viability of an animal population as a whole.

In the case of civet cats, Wendy confirmed that the EWT has of late received many reports about civets' becoming roadkill.

A recent study by Ms Pamela Amiard from the University of Reims Champagne, Ardenne, France, has found that civets are one of the three most common mammal species killed on Limpopo roads. She is currently conducting further research in the Alldays area to learn more about this small, elusive omnivorous cat.

With the help of citizen research assistants, high-risk areas can be identified and valuable data collected for Wendy’s project. All one needs to do is send photographs of roadkill and information to the EWT, detailing where and when each photo was taken.

There is even a smart phone app that can be downloaded, making the data collection process so much faster. The app, Road Watch, can be downloaded from Google Playstore or the Apple iStore.

“We work with the authorities to help minimise roadkill, since it is obviously in the interests of road users too,” said Wendy. She can be contacted via email at [email protected]. The Wildlife and Roads Project also has a webpage (http://endangeredwildlifetrust.org.za), where more details can be found of her project, and how to take helpful pictures.

 

 
 
 

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

 
 

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