There is a leopard basking in the early morning Malawian Sun just fifty metres away, its camouflage is fantastic with only its tail giving its position away. At night, laughing hyenas can be heard, their tracks from the previous night criss-cross the path in front of me. A troop of yellow baboons stretches its legs nearby. The remarkable thing is that I am not in a national park; I am in the capital city of Malawi, at the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre and I’m enjoying every minute of it.
The Lilongwe wildlife centre is a wildlife rehabilitation and rescue centre, combined with a large wilderness zone, providing an oasis right in the centre of the city for wildlife that has been rescued, confiscated or relocated from poachers, the illegal pet trade, zoos and other organisations. The centre provides several functions from rehabilitation to release combined with education programmes, for all levels and ages, about how people and wildlife are undeniably linked. For this reason the centre is being developed as a “People and Wildlife” centre, where key messages aim to reduce poaching and trading while raising an appreciation, and ultimately an understanding, of the natural world through community support, co-operation and education. Malawi is a beautiful country with exceptionally friendly people and although I have only been here for a few weeks, it already feels like home. As the new Education Manager, it is my role to expand on the fantastic work of the small but dedicated education team, in making sure that the Malawian public and tourists alike have the opportunity to find out how wildlife and sustainability can benefit the future development of Malawi. For the last few days I have been familiarising myself with the huge scale of the centre, the existing education and community outreach programmes and the whole team, the majority of which are Malawian. Employment, and more importantly support, of local community staff is essential in any People and Wildlife initiative so it is fantastic to see this in practice and working so well. It is now a case of adding to the existing educational programmes and facilities in order to make sure that the educational activities generate enough income to ideally make a profit which can be put straight back into the vital work of the centre. That’s all for now, as I’m off to radio track one of our newly released animals, a genet by the name of J.D. (it looks like a cross between a ferret, a cat and a raccoon!) which has been released into the large protected wilderness zone around the centre. It’s one of many success stories to come thanks to the support of the Born Free Foundation and our other supporters. Cheerio
There are over 1500 elephants in the Amboseli National Park, and some of these animals often roam outside the park in areas around the Olmoti school. Sometimes even inside the school compound at night! So you wouldn’t think the children who come to school here would get all that fascinated when they see an elephant! Well, that’s what I thought until I turned up in June with this sculpture.
The children couldn’t keep their hands off it.
There is also more about Meiluami’s journey at http://www.bornfree.org.uk/about-us/born-free-kenya/community-projects/go-elephants/the-go-elephants-journey/.
The Born Free blog has been going for almost 2 months now and we would just like to say a big thank you to all those who are reading the blog and subscribing to the email!! Also, special thanks must go to Linda M (whose funds will be directed to African lions), Elizabeth D, Holly A and Sarah K ($20 of which will care for Dolo!) who have all donated fantastic amounts - these funds will be very much appreciated!! Thank you, we could not keep wildlife in the wild without people like you supporting fieldworkers on the front line of conservation.
Hello readers of Wildlife Direct’s Born Free blog, My name is Alice Owen, and I am the East African Regional Representative for Born Free Foundation, managing projects across East Africa as well as the Born Free Kenya office. There are many aspects to Born Free’s work in Kenya, our small team of seven works from an office in Nairobi. Wildlife protection is crucial and we support the removal of animal snares through partner organisations such as the Bill Woodley Mount Kenya Trust and Youth for Conservation. For this work the fleet of vehicles generously donated by Land Rover is invaluable. One of the biggest challenges to conservation of wildlife and habitat in Africa is poor communities living inside or adjacent to wildlife areas. But without the support of these communities, safeguarding wildlife becomes impossible. That’s the paradox of conservation in developing countries and why Born Free in Kenya has established a programme that works directly with these communities. We call it “Global Friends”.
By the beginning of 2007 a girls’ dorm was completed and when the school opened that term we started to see the enrolment going up. By the end of March there were 120 children. It was like a dream - every day there was a new enrolment or two. Children simply starting streaming in, some with permission from their parents and some without. There have been cases where children herding livestock, having seen their friends start to enjoy school, simply ran off and left their goats in the bush.
Thanks for all the comments and donations following the previous Blogs. The days have zipped by since my last Blog with more torrential rain and even a massive hail storm. Very disconcerting to drive slushy, icy streets in sub Saharan Africa! The photo below shows the slush, but within minutes the ice had melted.
The last week was spent at more meetings to try and get the 80 hectare (197 ½ acre) site of land officially transferred to Born Free Foundation so we can start building the Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre. In case any reader thinks establishing a wildlife centre in a country like Ethiopia is an easy task, I thought I’d share the background to date…. The need for a wildlife centre was brought to the attention of Born Free Foundation in December 2006 following a meeting to discuss captive wild animals in Ethiopia. At that time there were various orphaned big cats being looked after in private gardens in Addis Abeba. Two cheetah in two gardens and two lion cubs in another… I still don’t know exactly how many baboons, owls and other wild animals are being kept in captivity in Addis, but I know of animals kept in several private homes or hotels in small cages. In addition to these ‘pet’ wild animals, there is a ‘Lion Zoo’ in Addis. (I won’t go into all the details here. If you are interested to learn more about the Lion Zoo, try looking it up on the web. Below there is one of the eight main enclosures. Each has walls, ceiling and floor made of cement and the public are encouraged to pose for photos sitting against the front wire mesh.
Many people have raised concerns about the conditions - you can see below, a mother and small child posing or a photo. The President’s Palace also keeps three lions.
Ethiopia’s lions are ‘black-maned’ lions. The photo below shows just how magnificent these animals are. The late Emperor Haile Selassie was known as the ‘Lion of Judah’ and Ethiopians have taken the lion to their hearts. Addis Abeba has sculptures and paintings of lions at every turn.
The Captive Wild Animal meeting was organised by Ethiopian Wildlife Association, Wildlife Conservation Department, US Agency for International Development, African Parks Foundation, Regional Office for East Africa at US Department of State in Ethiopia and the Italian Development Cooperation. The interest of sponsors and attendees was very encouraging in a country where animal welfare standards are generally low. (It is not unusual throughout the country to see over laden and incredibly lame donkeys being beaten or dogs being stoned). Speeches were made by Ministers of Tourism and Agriculture and Development, Ambassador to the United States to Ethiopia, head of the Wildlife Department, the adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister and guest speakers Dr Laurie Marker (the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund founder and CEO) and Vanessa Bouwer (the South African-based De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust Trustee and Deputy Director). The meeting participants discussed the issues and made several recommendations including establishing a wildlife centre to care for orphaned, confiscated and injured animals that can be released back into the wild wherever possible. The centre would also provide spacious, naturalistic enclosures for animals that cannot be released back into the wild. Apologies for rather a long-winded explanation, but it shows that in a country where wild animals are kept chained or in small cages, there is the will to change things. Two of the animals being kept in captivity were nicknamed the ‘Italian’ lion cubs because they were being cared for by a truly dedicated Italian couple. And in case any of you think a lion cub would make a cute pet, think again. Firstly, lions belong in the wild. Secondly, they may be cute when they are small, but they very soon get big, very strong and have very sharp teeth! Below shows me watching one cub just before the second cub sneaked up at me from behind and sank its teeth into my hip! And here they are exploring the garden. The problem was that the Italian lion cubs were getting big and needed a home, but where could they go? The Ethiopian Government refused to allow the cats to be taken out of the country, the Lion Zoo as the photos show does not offer good conditions , and no other facility existed to care for orphaned, injured or confiscated wildlife. Born Free Foundation was asked to help find a solution, and the President of Ethiopia, His Excellency Girma Wolde Giorgis, pledged to help wherever he could. A short term solution was needed urgently, so an enclosure was enlarged and strengthened in the grounds of the Presidential Palace, and the lion cubs moved to their new temporary home. See below which shows the two Italian lions at around two years old and as playful as ever in their temporary home.
At the same time as the temporary enclosure was built, following the recommendations of the Captive Wildlife meeting, Born Free Foundation presented the Government of Ethiopia with a proposal to establish a Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre within 25 kilometres of Addis. Along with creating a facility for orphaned, confiscated and injured animals the Centre would provide a long term home for the Italian lions and aim to give some (if not all) of the Lion Zoo cats a spacious home. The fact that even with the President’s help I have spent the last year working on various proposals and agreements with the authorities shows just how long it can take to get such projects up and running.! However, we have made progress. Born Free Foundation is now registered as a non-profit organisation in Ethiopia with a bank account. The land has been surveyed and promised, but I am still chasing the formal land agreement. I am lucky enough to have a Pass to the Presidential Palace grounds so that I can check on the Italian lions. I go as often as I can and, as I’m sure you can imagine, seeing the lions in their temporary enclosure is a good motivation to keep on going until we get the land agreement and can build a spacious home for the lions with grass and trees. The proposed site for the new Centre is shown below.
I know I end every Blog with a call to action, but please do help if you can. The Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre will cost around UK£ 1 million (US$ 2 million) to build and equip, and it will cost UK£ 250,000 (US$ 500,000) per year to fund the Centre and its conservation and education programmes. We must get the Italian lions, Dolo and other wildlife in captivity in Ethiopia into spacious enclosures. And if anyone wants to help pay for the care of the Italian lions, they cost £10 (US$20) each per day to keep. More news in a few days, James
We got back from the field at the weekend having had a busy week conducting interviews with villagers about the use of turtle products, checking nests and liaising with hotels about issues relating to eco-tourism.
Preliminary results from the interviews show that many people along the coast still continue to eat turtle meat although they know it is illegal. These are mainly turtles caught in nets rather than nesting females. The meat is sold for about £0.50 per kg. Oil is also used for cooking and sometimes to cure ailments such as stomach ache. Several people have died from eating turtle meat (hawksbill) and local people believe that tagged turtles are poisonous so these ones are left alone. We need to tag more turtles! Dynamite fishing continues. Fishers are now beginning to fish with dynamite at night (to avoid detection by the authorities) using hurricane lamps to attract the fish. This is such a destructive and indiscriminate practice and of course it is illegal. The blasts damage coral reefs, and all fish within a radius of 20-30 m die. It is also a very wasteful way to fish as only about 5-10% of fish are collected. The rest sink to the bottom or are moved away with the current. We are planning to hold a meeting with concerned fishers and local NGOs in the next few weeks to come up with a strategy to combat dynamite fishing once and for all. Turtles continue to nest. This time last year the season had almost come to an end but this year the numbers of nesting females are greater and the season longer. This is a good sign. Many guests at the hotels have seen hatchlings emerging from nests and we have collected some donations, half of which will go to the local village “conservation fund”.
The team is off to Mafia Island next week to see how the Conservation Officers are getting on and to hold meetings with village leaders to discuss marine matters.
Hello, today’s blog is a bit different in that it has been written by someone who brought a rescued baboon to our attention at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre. This is a typical story for many wild animals in Malawi: Stumpy was first seen on the 10th of July at a market in a village on the Lunzu Road. He was kept on a short rope, tied around his neck to a pole with no shelter. Although there were lots of vegetables for sale around him he was given little food and was under nourished. It seemed all in a day’s entertainment for kids to throw stones at him, confident that he could not escape and cause them any harm. Stumpy was confiscated from his owner the next day by Parks and Wildlife. After explaining to his ‘owner’ the village butcher, that it was illegal to keep a baboon as a pet he willingly gave Stumpy over to them. Despite having most of his teeth removed and only having one arm Stumpy is still in good spirits. Thankfully we now have the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre as previously there really wasn’t a facility to accept so many of the injured or orphaned animals like Stumpy.
Stumpy will spend the next month in quarantine, then he will move into a larger enclosure and be introduced to a troop of other orphaned baboons where he will be able to live a more normal life and perhaps one day be released back into the wild.
Thank you to all the staff and Volunteers at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre for all there hard work at dedication to the animals. Without a facility like this Stumpy’s story would not have such a happy ending….. Bev Trataris Please keep your donations coming in so that we can continue to help animals like Stumpy. Just $20 will help us to feed someone like Stumpy for a week. You can Subscribe to Born Free Wildlife Direct blog by Email here
Hi! John Mbugani here, the Sea Sense Education Officer. Last week I went with 4 University of Dar es Salaam students to a village called Kuruti in Mkuranga District, about 100km south of Dar es Salaam to conduct a questionnaire survey about the gillnet fishery. It is a beautiful area colored by a mosaic of mangrove trees which line the Kuruti river bank. Sea Sense has been raising awareness in this area since 2006. Before Sea Sense began activities, Kuruti was famous as a turtle butchery site where it was easy to buy meat, shells and oil. This is no longer the case and Sea Sense has changed village behavior. Turtles are no longer slaughtered deliberately and this year the first two turtle nests were recorded and hatched successfully! Most of the villagers are fishers using mainly gillnets with a mesh size of > 7” (locally called “sinia”). These nets target big fish such as rays, snappers, catfish and sharks but they are also responsible for the deaths of many turtles every year. During this survey, we talked to fishermen and they came up with the suggestion of exchanging their large mesh gillnets with smaller turtle-friendly mesh gillnets (locally called “soni”). The soni nets are more expensive to make than sinia nets so this is a challenge to us: to find the funds necessary to make this a reality and to reduce the number of turtles that drown in nets each year. Can you help Sea Sense achieve this? In the village, there are 12 gillnet boats of which 10 fish using sinia nets (>7 inch nets - which catch turtles) and 2 fish using soni (more turtle-friendly) nets. Each boat fishes using 7 pieces of net. Each piece costs about $220. Therefore, for a boat to change from a sinia to soni net it would cost them $1,540. And there are 10 boats, so therefore, the total would cost $15,400! A considerable amount I’m sure you’ll agree - if you can help us please consider donating. Many thanks!
Just a note to say thank you so much on behalf of Born Free and the projects we work with to Charles C and Nigel G for their fantastic donations!! They are so appreciated and will be put to very good use, you can be assured. Thanks to you all for reading, I hope that you are finding the blogs interesting!!! You can now subscribe to Born Free Wildlife Direct blog here and receive notification of our posts into your email inbox!
A remarkable video documenting a reunion between a lion named Christian and two men who had cared for him early in his life has been making the rounds on the internet and in the media and I wanted to share some additional information about this story because it is very personal to me and central to the being of Born Free Foundation as an organisation. This lion used to live in my garden. Christian was bought from Harrods pet store in London and came, via a furniture shop and my garden in England, to live in Africa (Kora in Kenya), where he was returned to the wild by the world-famous George Adamson. My late dad (Bill) filmed this great adventure. The film is extraordinary and exemplifies the spirit that underpins Born Free - every individual matters. Even way back in the 1970’s, this was our way of giving Christian a shot at freedom. This is part of the Born Free legacy. If it wasn’t for Born Free, the film, my dad and mum (Born Free’s founder, Virginia McKenna) would never have met Ace and John (the two young men in the clip) who would never have brought Christian from London to my garden. My dad, Bill, would never have negotiated with the Kenyan government for Christian’s return to Africa. We would never have had this memorable and inspiring story - and Christian would never have had his freedom (see image below © Bill Travers).
Today, the Born Free Foundation (and Born Free USA in the States) carry on the spirit of Born Free - helping wild animals in need, fighting injustice, cruelty and neglect and working to change animals’ lives for good. You can purchase the film, Christian: The Lion at World’s End from Born Free at http://www.bornfree.org.uk/shop/acatalog/Videos_and_DVDs.html and you can become part of the Born Free family by joining as a member. I also have my own blog on our Born Free website which you can view at http://www.bornfree.org.uk/blog/. To watch the clip of Christian that has wowed the world, visit: http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/big-cats/about/christian-the-lion/ You can also Subscribe to Born Free Wildlife Direct blog by Email Thank you. Do share this story and film clip with your friends. Will Travers P.S. Born Free does not advocate the keeping of any wild animal as a ‘pet’. Christian’s story was from another era and was unique. Today we must do all we can to ‘keep wildlife in the wild’. John Rendall is based in the UK and still supports wildlife conservation both with Born Free and with the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust. Ace now lives in Australia. Christian lived the life of a free, successful lion, in and around the Kora area until he was seen no more. It was assumed by George Adamson that he had crossed over the Tana River and out of the Reserve.
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