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Snares pose increasing threat to local wildlife

Date: 31 July 2015 By: Andries van Zyl

The Primate and Predator Project (PPP) team has expressed its concern over evidence that more and more leopards in the Soutpansberg are killed by humans.

The PPP is a research project run by Durham University (UK) and based at Lajuma Research Centre in the western Soutpansberg Mountains. It has been using camera traps to monitor leopard populations across a 60 km² study area since 2011. Photographed leopards are individually recognisable from their unique coat patterns. “Over the past four years, the number of leopards identified in this area has steadily declined – 31% fewer leopards were identified in January 2015 compared to January 2012,” said Ms Katy Williams (Field Team Leader).

Evidence, however, started coming to the fore to provide an explanation for this decline. GPS collars, which stay on study animals for about 15 months before dropping off automatically, allow researchers to map where animals move. If the animal dies during this time, scientists can sometimes locate the carcass to determine the cause of death.

Since 2012, the PPP has collared eight adult leopards in the western Soutpansberg Mountains. “Recovered collars have revealed that, during the study period, at least 50% of the collared leopards were killed by humans, with three dying as a result of snares. Two further leopards have disappeared from the camera traps at the same time that their collars stopped transmitting, suggesting that they probably died also, although the cause of death is unknown. Only two collared leopards survived to the end of the 15-month study,” said Williams.

In 2012, a female leopard called CC was found dead with a snare around her foot. The following year, a male called Michel died from snaring and in June this year another leopard, called Pimms, died from a snare around his waist. The frequency of snaring-related deaths surprised PPP researchers, although the snares were probably not set to target leopards. “Although snaring is illegal, people set snares to capture wildlife for many reasons, including hunger, poverty, boredom, recreation and tradition. But snaring is an incredibly wasteful way of harvesting wild meat – most of the animals captured simply rot in the bush, feeding no one but the maggots and so it causes a great deal of unnecessary suffering. This is especially true for animals strong enough to break off the snare from its anchor and carry it away with them, like CC, Michel and Pimms, the snared leopards in our population. Snaring is also non-selective, meaning that non-target species can be killed just as easily as the species the snare is set to catch,” said Williams.

In addition to its leopard research, the PPP collects ecological data from a troop of habituated baboons. Over the past few years, two baboons within this troop have been ensnared while moving through the bush on the top of the mountains. With the help of a vet, the project successfully removed a snare from the hand of an adult male, who then fully recovered. “Presently, the PPP is trying to remove a snare from the neck of a juvenile baboon named Cable. Researchers have watched his condition gradually deteriorate over the last few weeks as he grows physically weaker and struggles to breathe as a result of the snare. He is now so weak that he often depends on other members of the troop to carry him. The snare will ultimately kill Cable without successful intervention, leading to another unnecessary death,” said Williams.

Many private landowners and communities in and around the Soutpansberg have told the PPP researchers that they experienced high levels of snaring on their land. “As well as adversely affecting wildlife, snaring also injures and kills livestock and commercial game animals, which increases economic pressure on farmers,” said Williams.

Fortunately, some local communities are striving to reduce snaring. At a community’s request the PPP team, with the help of Earthwatch volunteers, recently conducted a snare sweep and removed nine snares. “Due to the complex socio-economic drivers behind snaring, there is no magic solution to the snaring problem. However, the PPP hopes the death of CC, Michel and Pimms can be used to educate local people and help them understand the unintended consequences of snaring,” said Williams. To learn more about the work of the PPP, visit http://community.dur.ac.uk/r.a.hill/primate_and_predator_project.htm.  

The PPP research coordinator, Sam Williams, will be running the Skukuza half-marathon on 1 August to raise money to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in the Soutpansberg Mountains. If you would like to donate to this cause, visit https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/sam-williams-1

 
 
 

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

 
 

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