Education remains the key to conservation

Date: 28 July 2018 By: Jo Robinson

"We cannot emphasise enough the importance of educating our children about their heritage of wildlife, and how important the conservation and protection of wild habitats are for the future."

These are the words of a local guide for birders and an avid conservationist, Samson Mulaudzi Khavhagali. He is a very well-known and popular personality in the Limpopo birding community.

Hailing from Tshivhazwaulu-Hamangilasi, Vuwani, Samson is involved in, and co-creator, of the Mottled Spinetails conservation and education project in Sagole. He runs the Birds in Trees Project throughout the Soutpansberg area, for which he visits schools with the aim of educating children about conservation of the environment, habitats, and animals. He also conducts research projects for the Greater Limpopo Birding routes.

This specialist nature guide also runs Birding Soutpansberg and Venda Eco-tours. “An eco-tour is about visiting natural areas like forests, natural reserves and national parks and involves observing wildlife, including birds, animals, and insects. These tours educate both tourists and local people,” said Samson.

Samson won an Owl Award in 2012 from Birdlife Africa for his contribution to avian conservation, and for his efforts to educate students about bird conservation. “I am always visiting local schools and teaching the children about wildlife, especially birds,” he said. “The most important message I want to impart is the importance of the conservation of birds rather than the traditional killing of them for meat. I do this through educational projects that I started up with other guides, such as the Birds in Trees project, which encourages the planting of trees at schools, together with conservation education,” Samson added.

Together with Birdlife South Africa, Samson runs the Mottled Spinetail project. This came into being after a trip to Sagole showed him that children were knocking down Spinetail nests for eggs and chicks, and he realised that he would have to do something about it. “So, they have to be taught how important these birds are,” said Samson.

Samson is tireless in educating the children of Limpopo to get them to understand the value of birds, and to show them the career possibilities in their study and conservation. “My interest in the conservation of birds started when I was young. When we weren’t in school, we spent our spare time out in the bushes herding goats and cattle. We also used to look for birds to eat then,” says Mulaudzi. “I changed from wanting to eat birds to wanting to conserve them when I started learning about them. I was given an old pair of binoculars and a field guide while I was working at a lodge in the Soutpansberg. I taught myself to identify bird species and studied all I could about the environment, insects, trees, and animals. I attended some beginner’s courses about birds and then a full training course in Wakkerstroom. I still regularly attend refresher courses every year to keep up to date.”

Samson encourages everyone to learn about the importance of the conservation of all wildlife, although his main work and focus are on birds and birding. “All illegal wildlife trading has a bad impact and can lead to extinction in the wild of some species,” said Samson. “It is important to focus on bird conservation because they can become just as extinct as other bigger animals do … I am not aware of any particular extinctions of bird species in this area, but in our province, we should be aware of one critically endangered bird. The Taita Falcon is found around Abel Erasmus pass, and there are only 50 individual birds left of that entire species,” said Samson.

Samson welcomes any birding- or conservation-related calls, or if someone needs help with an injured or lost bird. “You can call me on 083 662 9960 for advice or information,” he said. “Our closest rehabilitation centre is in Tzaneen, but in most cases, there is no need to intervene as usually birds hopping and flitting on the ground are fledglings that are being cared for and fed by their parents,” said Samson. Samson can also be contacted via email on [email protected] or his website at www.birdingsoutpansberg-venda.co.za.

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Jo Robinson

Jo joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2018 pursuing a career in journalism after many years of writing fiction and non-fiction for other sectors.

More photos... 

The Birds in Trees Project is a great way to educate scholars about both birds and their habitats, according to Samson.

 Narina Trogon. Photo: Samson Mulaudzi.