Botswana to start auctions of elephant hunting licences

FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Botswana on Friday will hold its first major auction for trophy elephant hunting quotas since controversially scrapping a hunting ban last year, a wildlife official said.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi's government in May revoked a moratorium, just a year after he succeeded Ian Khama, an avid environmentalist, who introduced a blanket ban in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals.

Masisi fended off criticism of his government's decision, saying the move would not threaten the elephant population.

The government will issue seven hunting "packages" of 10 elephants each, confined to "controlled hunting areas", a wildlife spokeswoman Alice Mmolawa told AFP on Thursday.

In a text message, she said hunting would help areas most impacted by "human wildlife conflict," a reference to elephants roaming off game parks into communities.

The 2020 hunting season is expected to open in April.

Bidding is open to "companies that are either owned by Botswana citizens or are registered in Botswana," she added.

Bidders must deposit a refundable of 200,000 pula ($18,300) to participate.

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Botswana condemned for lifting ban on hunting elephants

Country with Africa’s largest elephant population says its growth is affecting farmers

Jason BurkeAfrica correspondent

Thu 23 May 2019 12.43 BSTFirst published on Thu 23 May 2019 09.33 BST

Conservationists have reacted with outrage and concern to a decision by Botswana to lift its ban on elephant hunting.

The southern African country said the move was justified by an increase in population and its impact on farmers’ livelihoods.

“The whole world is turning away from hunting. It is increasingly seen as an archaic practice. This is very, very damaging to the image of Botswana as a global leader in elephant conservation,” said Dr Paula Kahumbu, an expert and activist based in Kenya.

Others called the decision “disappointing”.

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Raw ivory sales: Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia call for end to ban

Southern African countries to appeal to watchdog for permission to sell stockpiled ivory worth more than £230m

Nyasha Chingono

Tue 21 May 2019 13.41 BST

Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia are making a fresh appeal for a global watchdog to lift restrictive measures on the trade in raw ivory.

The watchdog, Cites, prohibits unregulated commercial trade in endangered species around the world.

The three southern African countries, home to 61% of the continent’s elephants, will make their application for the change at the Cites conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which opens on Thursday. Their last appeal for a lifting of the measures, at the 2016 Cites conference in South Africa, was rejected.

According to Zimbabwe’s ministry of information, it is almost 13 years since the country’s last commercial sale of ivory. “Our ivory stockpile is worth over $300m [£235m], which we can’t sell because countries without elephants are telling those with them what to do with their animals,” Nick Mangwana, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said.

There is a growing outcry over the ban, and moves to lift it could earn Zimbabwe much-needed funds for conservation.

Zimbabwe will also make a separate appeal at the conference for permission to sell some of its elephants, as conflict between people and wildlife escalates.

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Botswana poaching spree sees 90 elephants killed in two months

Charities and ministers voice concern after discovery of carcasses with tusks hacked off

Agence France-Presse

Tue 4 Sep 2018 17.21 BSTLast modified on Tue 4 Sep 2018 18.07 BST

Ninety elephant carcasses have been found in Botswana with their tusks hacked off, in what is believed to be one of Africa’s worst mass poaching sprees.

Most of the animals killed were large bulls carrying heavy tusks, Elephants Without Borders said on Tuesday.

The discovery was made over several weeks during an aerial survey by scientists from Elephants Without Borders and Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

Mike Chase, the charity’s director, said: “We started flying the survey on 10 July, and we have counted 90 elephant carcasses since the survey commenced. Each day, we are counting dead elephants.”

The wild pachyderms were shot with heavy-calibre rifles at watering spots near a wildlife sanctuary in the Okavango Delta.

According to Chase, the carcasses’ skulls were “chopped open by presumably very sharp axes, to remove their tusks”. In some cases, the trunks were also removed.

Continued 

Conservationists betting on bees to ease clash of humans and elephants

‘Bee fence’ idea has been buzzing since hives were deployed in Kenya and Botswana to reduce conflict – and now groups look to roll it out in Tanzania

 A herd of elephants run from bee sounds in Samburu national park in Kenya. Photograph: Lucy King/AP

Oliver Milman

Sunday 3 January 2016 13.30 GMTLast modified on Sunday 3 January 201613.32 GMT

A community near the famed Serengeti national park in Tanzania is enlisting the help of bees to reduce escalating tensions with elephants that enrage locals by trampling upon their crops.

A fence made of beehives is being constructed around a one-acre farm close to the Ngorongoro conservation area as part of the pilot project to see if the buzzing bees will deter elephants that stroll on to cropland.

It’s hoped that the “bee fence” concept, which has already been deployed in Kenya and Botswana, will help reduce conflict in northern Tanzania, which has become a hotspot for clashes between humans and elephants.

As habitat is converted into farmland by people, elephants are increasingly wandering on to farmed land, either to munch on crops or simply because their traditional migratory routes passed through the area. People who attempt to scare elephants off with firecrackers or gunshots into the air can provoke an aggressive reaction from startled elephants, leading to deaths on both sides.

Conservationists have searched for non-violent remedies to such conflicts, which also exist in India and Sri Lanka, such as planting chilis near crops or using drones to scare elephants 

The bee fence could be the most promising idea of all, however, with a coalition of groups looking to roll out the concept in the tourist haven of northern Tanzania, which includes the Serengeti, site of the famous 1.5m-strong wildebeest annual migration, and the spectacular Ngorongoro crater, which teems with wildlife including the “big five” – lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffalo.

Read more ...

Botswana sells fracking rights in national park

Licences for more than half of the Kgalagadi transfrontier park, one of Africa’s largest conservation areas, have been granted to drill for shale gas

Jeff Barbee

Wednesday 2 December 2015 09.53 GMTLast modified on Wednesday 2 December 201509.55 GMT

The Botswana government has quietly sold the rights to frack for shale gas in one of Africa’s largest protected conservation areas, it has emerged.

The Kgalagadi transfrontier park, which spans the border with South Africa, is an immense 3 6,000 sq km wilderness, home to gemsbok desert antelope, black-maned Kalahari lions and pygmy falcons. But conservationists and top park officials – who were not informed of the fracking rights sale – are now worried about the impact of drilling on wildlife.

Prospecting licences for more than half of the park were granted to a UK-listed company called Nodding Donkey in September 2014, although the sale has not been reported previously. That company changed its name earlier this month to Karoo Energy.

Park officials said that no drilling has yet taken place, but the Guardian found oil sediment on the ground near a popular camp site. There was an overwhelming smell of tar and a drill stem protruded from an apparently recently drilled hole. It is not known who had carried out the drilling or when.

Read on ...

Bushmen appeal to be allowed to hunt and not be regarded as poachers

Ahead of the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the United States, a Botswana Bushman leader appealed to Prince William for help in recognising that tribal peoples who hunt for food are not poachers.

Prince William was travelling to launch his “United for Wildlife” initiative in the United States – a consortium of conservation organisations such as Conservation International and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) aiming to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

However, campaigned have said that this risks criminalising tribal peoples such as the Bushmen in Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Baka “Pygmies” in Cameroon by failing to openly acknowledge their rights to live on their ancestral land and hunt for food.

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100 rhinos to be relocated from South Africa to Botswana

February 2014: Next year, in 2015, up to 100 rhinos will be moved from South Africa across the border to the relatively safer Botswana to escape the risk of poachers in a project being led by two conservation companies, Great Plains Conservation and &Beyond.

It is expected the project will cost USD8 million but with over 1,000 rhino poached last year in South Africa efforts such as this could not be more necessary.

The process of translocation means the rhino are captured and micro chipped for research purposes and then released into the safety of Botswana where security measures are better equipped to protect these increasingly endangered animals. A dedicated anti-poaching team will also be on hand to work together with the Botswana Government agencies to monitor the animals.

www.africatravel.com/news/zeros-for-rhinos

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/11-rhino.html

German head of environmental protection one of the last to shoot an elephant

One of the last game hunters to be able to shoot an elephant in Botswana before the hunting ban came into effect was the head of environmental protection of German state, Thuringia. Udo Wedekind sent photos of himself posing with the dead elephant to colleagues at work and said the shooting ‘was a challenge’.

Wildlife lovers in the state are calling for the sacking of Wedekind as his actions are not one of someone whose job it is to protect the environment and wildlife. Anja Siegesmund, the leader of the Green Party in Thuringia has called on the state’s environment minister to sack the official.

The minister, Mr Reinholz, has stated though that he has no interest in what officials do in their free time as long as it is legal.

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Only 6 signatures – how successful was the Botswana Elephant Conference?

In the wake of the Elephant Summit held in Botswana in early December where urgent measures to halt the rampant illegal ivory trade were adopted one is left asking if it is enough?

Against a backdrop of ever increasing levels of poaching across Africa the Summit was called to tackle the onslaught that threatens this iconic species. Statistics released at the summit indicate that 22 000 elephants were poached in 2012, an improvement on the estimated figure of 25 000 elephants poached in 2011, however ivory seizures in 2013 signal that elephant deaths in 2013 may reach 40 000.

Read on

Majestic lioness abandoned by her pride forms heartwarming bond with conservationist rescuers she treats just like other lions

These heartwarming images show the incredible bond between a fearsome lioness and two conservationists who saved her from dying alone.

Sirga the 110lb faced starvation after being abandoned by her family - but she's found herself a new pride in the form of wildlife campaigners Valentin Gruener and Mikkel Legarth.

The majestic big cat treats the two men like she would other lions - playfully leaping on their shoulders and wrestling with the two adults.

With their help, the lioness can now hunt for prey on her own.

Footage of Sirga shows the fully grown lioness's wonderful affinity with her conversationist rescuers.

She is now a beacon for hoped success of the Modisa Wildlife Project, founded in Botswana, Africa, by Valentin and Mikkel with the hope of saving the lion population.

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The End of Safari Hunting in Botswana

By Dereck Joubert

I’m in the bush, having been with a good leopard sighting today, but could not overlook the opportunity to say this: In three hours as the sun goes down today, we will have heard the last of the hunter’s gunshots over the plains of Botswana.

Today, safari hunting ends!! The end of an era of conservation by the gun, and the beginning of a new era for Africa, a more gentle caring one.

My congratulations to the government of Botswana, with deep gratitude from me, from all concerned citizens, and from the informed global community of people that are concerned about wildlife.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/17/the-end-of-safari-hunting-in-botswana/

When school lessons become a little hairy...

By Rhys Darby

5:30 AM Monday Jun 3, 2013

Glimpse of African Agogwe adds to mystery of cryptozoology.

A supposed sighting of the Agogwe in Botswana caused mayhem at a school, with some kids fainting. 

Well, it was only a matter of time ... but yes, I'm pleased to announce there's been another sighting of the Agogwe in Africa. For those of you unfamiliar with the wonderful world of cryptozoology, Agogwe is a small hairy hominid that has reportedly been seen roaming the forests of East Africa for centuries.

What makes this latest sighting even more astonishing is that the hairy little man was seen in Botswana, which is considerably further south than the origin of the usual reports in Tanzania. The cryptid was seen by some students from standard 6 and 7 classes at the Mathiba Primary School in Maun.

To say these students were upset would be an understatement. According to Botswana newspaper the Voice, some of the children screamed and ran amok while others simply fainted. The hysteria culminated in 10 students being treated for shock at the local clinic! The incident caused such pandemonium that the school had to close classes for the rest of the day and everyone was sent home.

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Six white rhino to be translocated to Botswana's Okavango Delta

February 2013. In the first ever private game reserve donation of rhino, luxury travel company &Beyond has earmarked six white rhino to be translocated from Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa to Botswana's Okavango Delta. Facilitated in partnership with Rhino Force, this conservation coup has been generously funded by lead sponsor, Motorite Administrators.

Rhino poaching surge
"South Africa lost well over 600 rhino to illegal poaching last year alone and Botswana currently has an excellent security system to protect the species. Translocations are fundamental to secure the ongoing survival of rhino for future generations," says Les Carlisle, &Beyond Conservation Manager.

The Okavango Delta has proven to be a successful rhino relocation habitat and Botswana has a strong security and monitoring framework in place whereby the military helps to protect the species. "It's the ideal opportunity for us to move our eggs out of one basket," explains Carlisle. "The project has the full support of the Botswana Rhino Management Committee and we are thrilled to be driving such a vital initiative for rhino conservation in partnership with Motorite."

As one of southern Africa's largest independent motor-related insurance administrators, Motorite supports this translocation to ensure the ongoing conservation of South Africa and Botswana's natural heritage.

After years of negotiation and planning, the translocation process will begin this month. Game scouts from Botswana will undergo intensive tracking and monitoring training at &Beyond Phinda, as they learn about white rhino behaviour in the Delta. Capture and release bomas have been built in South Africa and Botswana respectively, permits obtained and various conservation initiatives set in place to ensure that the six carefully selected rhino arrive at their destination safely.

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/okavango-rhinos.html

Botswana to ban hunting over wildlife species decline

About a third of the world's elephant population lives in Botswana

Botswana will ban commercial hunting from January 2014 over growing concerns about the sharp decline in wildlife species, officials have announced.

"The shooting of wild game for sport and trophies is no longer compatible with our commitment to preserve local fauna," the environment ministry said.

The ban is likely to be controversial as many communities depend on hunting for their livelihoods.

As much as a third of the global elephant population lives in Botswana.

Recent estimates place the number at about 130,000.

Conservationists are concerned about the erosion of river banks caused by the animals in some nature parks, the BBC's Letlhogile Lucas in the capital, Gaborone, reports.

The ban, set to come into place on 1 January, could also pose a threat to local communities, in particular bushmen, for whom hunting is a means to survive, our correspondent adds.

Average trophy fee per species

Elephant: Up to $30,000, depending on weight

Lion: $29,000

Leopard: $7,150

Buffalo: $3,744

Giraffe: $3,500

Zebra: $1,923

Source: Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations

Furthermore, selling hunting licences to wealthy Westerners is an extremely lucrative business, he says.

Read more:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20544251

BOTSWANA: Government calls off Maun crocodile hunt (Via Herp Digest)

Governmentt calls off Maun crocodile hunt

Mmegi, 10/27/11-MAUN: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks has called off an operation to recapture crocodiles that escaped from a farm in Setatunga.

The reptiles escaped from the Okavango Swamps Crocodile Farm last month after floodwaters swept them into the Setatunga River, which is a tributary of the Thamalakane River.Ngamiland Regional Wildlife Officer, Molothanyi Othomile told Mmegi that the search for the crocodiles was stopped because there were no more reports of the reptiles in the Setatunga area.

He said more than 200 crocodiles were captured and returned to the farm. Thirty-five were earlier on shot to reduce conflict as they had already resorted to killing and eating livestock, he said. The shooting was stopped after concerns that the ammunition might contaminate the river and endanger not only the river system but also residents of Setatunga and Tsanakona settlements who rely on it for their water supply.

At the time, government took the decision to kill the crocodiles, the giant reptiles had already slain at least 100 goats and two calves. Although the owners of the animals were promised that the crocodile farm owner Albert Willers would compensate them, they have not yet received anything from him. In an earlier interview with The Monitor, two women farmers in the area, Bosiame David who lost 32 goats and Keseme Taolo expressed worry that they may never be compensated.

Frank Ramsden who is the Member of Parliament for Maun West also feigned ignorance about the crocodiles. "I only read about it in the papers and nobody has informed me about it," he told Mmegi last week, after addressing a Kgotla meeting in Borolong ward.

The escape of the reptiles from the crocodile farm has raised questions about crocodile farming in Botswana and the need for regulation of the industry. According to the Wildlife Department, a farmer can keep as many crocodiles as he can manage. The extent to which a farmer "can manage" crocodiles has become a contentious issue in Maun lately as villagers want to know from government if the farm could be overcrowded.

For example, with over two thousand crocodiles in its cabins and swamps concerns have surfaced that the farm was overcrowded and prone to crocodile escapes whenever there is a flash flood, which is what eventually happened.The ownership and licensing of the farms has also come under scrutiny. Here again the law is silent on whose responsibility it is to monitor the farms.

The Setatunga Farm management in particular has been accused of failing to conform to best environmental practices as they allegedly channel dirty water from the crocodile ponds into the Setatunga River. Efforts by this newspaper to contact the farm owner have been futile. For a month since we have been following this story his mobile either rings unanswered or is off air.