Savefoundation.org.au

Project or item description Funds spent (AUD)

Lowveld Project 92,231

Tracking and specialist equipment 72,035

4WD purchases 46,146

4WD parts & fuel 44,832

Veterinary products 39,069

Midlands Conservancy 31,165

Save the Rhino Trust, Namibia 25,036

Anti-Poaching Unit wages, National Parks 22,106

Rhino Operations - dehorning 21,534

Miscellaneous goods and projects 21,040

Tikki Hywood Trust 20,171

Two-way radios 17,071

Field kit 14,828

Hwange water pump fuel 11,423

Sharon Pincott's elephant project 8,381

Education projects 6,101

Orphaned Rhino Project 5,823

TOTAL for the 12 months
498,992

Projects in Zimbabwe

Rhino projects

1. Conservancies

From 1988 to 1993, 150 rhinos were relocated from the Zambazi valley into private ranch consortiums known as conservancies. This relocation occurred in response to the growing problems with poaching across Zimbabwe. The worst affected area is the Zambezi Valley, close to the border with Zambia: a population of over 1,200 black rhinos was virtually wiped out by the late 1980s. Success was seen in the conservancies, with rhino numbers increasing on all properties. More recently, localized poaching and snaring across many of these properties has affected both the rhino and the plains game populations. SAVE FOUNDATION has supported these conservancies by donations of equipment, such as radios, spare parts for vehicles and horn implants.

New landowners have now settled on many of these ranches. The Zimbabwe government is currently reviewing the status of these conservancies in line with their land redistribution program.

The four conservancy areas are listed below:

a. Save Valley

This conservancy consists of sixteen farms, most which are still occupied by the original owners. We are donating field kit to this project. A rhino and her calf were shot during the Christmas break in 2003.

b. Bubiana

This area consists of seven adjoining farms, four of which are still occupied by the original owners. Rhino breeding was a big success there, with population numbers trebling, as in Save Valley. SAVE FOUNDATION has donated GPS instruments and radios to these farms, plus field kit. Thousands of antelope and 3 rhinos were lost in 2002 as a result of snaring. Another was shot by an illegal hunter is 2003.

c. Midlands

This area consists of sixteen adjoining farms, thirteen of which are still occupied by the original owners, though the future of many of them is under a cloud. SAVE FOUNDATION is involved with various aspects of rhino management, and the de-horning program currently planned for the area. A four-year old female rhino was shot on October 15, 2004 (her photo can be seen here).

d. Gourlays

The original owners were forced off their farm in 2002, after a very successful history of rhino breeding. The area is now under temporary custodianship of the National Parks. The rhinos will be moved to a safer location.

2. Small scale breeding ranches

a. Imire (see their excellent website here)

The owners are Norman and Gill Travers, who are now retired and their son, John, manages the project. In a far-sighted approach, the Travers first introduced game to their private ranch in the 1970s. The farm was therefore a natural choice to place 7 orphaned rhinos in the late 1980s, and ultimately to initiate an intensive breeding program. A total of 13 rhino calves had been born on the farm by 2004, the majority of which were released at Tashinga. These rhinos are successfully integrating with the breeding population in the Matusadona area.

Mvu, a 17-years old female and the mother of four calves in this project, was attacked and killed by a musth bull elephant in September 2004. Her calf, Kamchacha, escaped the frenzy and is now being hand-reared (see here the last picture of Mvu before the attack).

Imire is in the Marondera/Wedza area, where many of the new landowners have settled. In 2000, there were 78 operative farms in the area: now just Imire remains, due to its wildlife conservancy categorization.

3. Intensive Protection Zones (IPZ)

In September 1993 four IPZs were established within the National Parks areas. These were considered as the last hope for Zimbabwe's declining rhino population. President Robert Mugabe considered the situation so critical that he ordered the army and police to support rangers in these areas. Details of the four IPZs that exist are given below:

a. Sinamatella

Sinamatella is in the northwest corner of Zimbabwe's main national park, Hwange. Initial successes in this area have been followed by a continual battle against poaching, which began again in 2003. The rhino death toll in the area from recent poaching has now reached 36.

The warden for this IPZ is Norman English, who has ably served National Parks for the past 25 years. SAVE FOUNDATION has supplied ongoing support to this area, including: most of the field kit for the rangers, 20 GPS units, numerous two-way Motorola radios and batteries, bicycles for the anti-poaching scouts when a scarcity of diesel fuel incapacitated their vehicles in 2001; spare parts to renovate some of the vehicles in 2003, and continuous supplies of used clothing for all the families.

In 2003, a major management program to insert radio-transmitter in the rhino horns was co-funded by SAVE FOUNDATION and Marwell Trust Zimbabwe.

NEWS UPDATE since 1 March 2004 , there have been two successful contacts with poaching gangs in the area, by a new team of 10 anti-poaching scouts, formed with the support of SAVE FOUNDATION. Such are their skills that all 10 are now employed by National Parks.

b. Matusadona

Matusadona is located on the shores of Lake Kariba. Previously there were thought to be about 180 rhinos in the area, but during the 1993 de-horning program, only 14 animals could be found. The headquarters of the IPZ are at Tashinga, which also serves as a rhino rehabilitation centre, where the captive-bred calves from Imire Game Ranch are relocated and gradually introduced into the wild. The rhinos are closely watched during their first 3 years in the area before their final release. Thanks to these rhinos, the Matusadona rhino population is now approaching a viable number again.

We have always been an active supporters of this project with field kit, communications, boats and vehicles.

c. Matobo

This has always been the main breeding ground for white rhinos and some have recently had to be transferred from this area, due to over-crowding. There is also a viable breeding herd of black rhinos in the area. SAVE FOUNDATION has contributed to the work of this area via donations of vehicles, clothing, radios and other kit.

d. Chipinge

This is the smallest of the IPZs, situated in the eastern Highlands. Rhinos are breeding well in this very rough, rugged terrain.

Other projects

1. Hyaenas

This research project was initiated in 2000 by Julia Salnicki. SAVE FOUNDATION provides ongoing support for this research project. Further details can be found about the work here.

2. Presidential Elephant Herd

This research is carried out by Sharon Pincott. SAVE FOUNDATION provides ongoing support for this research project. Read here an August 2006 article mentioning Sharon.

3. Painted Dogs (also known as African wild dogs)

This work is carried out by Greg Rasmussen and his extensive team of volunteers. Home ranges of the painted dogs have been established through radio tracking on the ground and using a microlight aircraft; packs do not restrict themselves to the Hwange park boundaries and are at severe risk on leaving the park. Much effort is also being put into educating the local population of the area in conservation and wildlife, with a fabulous education center completed in 2004 and hosting a number of local school children. SAVE FOUNDATION provides ongoing support for this project. Further details can be found about this work here.

4. Lions

This work was initiated by Andy Loveridge, and is now being managed by Kate Smith and Zeke Davidson. Research is being carried out on the affect of lion hunting on the borders of the park on the lion population of Hwange National Park. Due to over-hunting, the male lion population has been dramatically reduced, and the overall lion population of Hwange is less than expected, about 250. Radio tracking is carried out by microlight aircraft and on the ground. SAVE FOUNDATION provides ongoing support for this project. Further details can be found about the work here.

5. Animal Capture Unit

The animal capture unit in Hwange national park was involved in translocation of rhino, elephant and numerous other species. The unit was headed up by Warden Andy Searle, who had worked in National Parks for 20 years. Tragically, Andy was killed in a helicopter crash in 2000, when returning from a routine rhino tracking exercise across the Sinamatella area. SAVE FOUNDATION has set up a memorial fund for Andy's widow Lol and son, Drew.

6. DART / Snare rescue

The Dete Animal Rescue Trust (DART) is run by Paul de Montille, formerly the owner of Miombo Safari Lodge. Paul was a colleague of Andy Searle, and, on a voluntary basis, took on much of the work that Andy had been doing. SAVE FOUNDATION supplies funds for the purchase of veterinary drugs needed during the darting and release of snared animals, that are carried out by Paul.

Projects outside Zimbabwe

Namibia

SAVE FOUNDATION supplied rhino horn implants when 35 rhinos were relocated to private areas from Etosha National Park, which had become overpopulated with rhino. SAVE FOUNDATION has been supporting work in this area since 1992.

We also have provided on-going assistance to the Save the Rhino Trust which works with the desert rhino in Damaraland, where numbers have doubled in the past 15 years.

Zambia

The North Luangwa area was decimated by poaching in the early 1980's. A conservation project has been working at re-settling and protecting wildlife in this area. Rhinos have been introduced from the Kruger National Park , as well as re-stocking with a variety of other species. SAVE FOUNDATION has been supplying equipment for, and supporting the training of a team of 200 scouts, employed to combat further poaching in the area.

Rwanda / Zaire

The SAVE FOUNDATION supports the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.