Conservation Updates

We are sharing the "Birds in Reserves" project booklet to further assist the volunteers (and all readers) to gain insights into our many species of indigenous birds. 

Giraffe research in the Eastern Cape including Kariega Game Reserve. The Kariega Conservation Volunteers assist the wildlife management team on the reserve with numerous conservation and research projects.

The Kariega Conservation Volunteers assist the wildlife management team on the reserve with numerous conservation projects, including elephant research. We are sharing this article to further assist the volunteers to gain insights into wildlife management. 

Following her skin graft procedure one month ago, Thandi underwent a follow-up procedure yesterday in which doctors and surgeons undertook to assess which of the three skin graft methods applied in June had worked best, as well as to apply further grafting treatment. Dr Marais and Dr Lamont decided that the "split skin" technique had been the most sucessful and during the 50 minute procedure the team cleaned Thandi's wound, checked for any signs of complication or infection, and applied more of the "split skin" grafting method. A fourth method which could not be applied in June was also added to the surgical effort.

One month after Thandi's ground-breaking skin graft procedure, Dr Fowlds, Marais and Lamont gathered this morning to do a check up procedure on Thandi at Kariega Game Reserve in order to assess the outcome of the procedure. We will keep posting on any news and feedback as we hear it from the team.

It often happened in the very early hours of the morning. I would raise my head from the pillow the better to hear. Moments later the rumbling, soul-stirring, throaty roar of an African lion would be repeated, filling the silence of the night. Reassured that all was well with the world, I would snuggle back under the blankets and, safe in my own bed, drift off to sleep again.

"Today we converge yet again on Kariega Game Reserve in support of the rehabilitation of Thandi the survivor of rhino poaching. Following the successes of various phases of her recovery, a recent set-back occurred when her face was damaged by a bull introduced to replace the breeding capacity lost by the poaching incident over a year ago. In a process which has involved ground breaking efforts to give her back a normal rhino life, we have been reminded just how much poaching took away from her and just how much more she still needs our support through her recovery.

by local conservationist, Bart Logie

I was sitting in the sun leafing through old maps trying to establish the historical distribution of elephants when my attention was drawn to the happy tap, tap, tapping of an olive woodpecker. To hear a woodpecker tapping at four or five strokes to the second, is one thing, but to see the bird is another.

After Kariega Game Reserve lost Themba and our other unnamed bull in a poaching incident last year, Kariega is very excited to have recently introduced a new white male rhino onto this section of the game reserve in the hopes of promoting breeding on the reserve.

Following the release of the two male servals in October last year, Kariega Game Reserve acquired two lovely female servals, Hope and Artemis, in April of this year who were recently collared and released onto the game park. We are very excited to track their movements and development and hope that their release will bring the two males, Kelpie and Killian, out into the open.