News

NEWS FLASH!!

Latest Events:

* The fundamental key to effective wildlife conservation and management is long-term, science-based research. We are honored to announce that the Botswana government has granted EWB an additional research permit to study the population status and spatial ecology of large herbivores in northern Botswana. This month EWB began their herbivore ecology research by collaring buffalo, giraffe and zebra in NG26 within the Okavango Delta providing an ideal location from which to base a pilot study, to begin to understand the factors affecting wildlife populations in the region!

* EWB participated on an immense conservation awareness journey across the Kalahari sands of Botswana’s elephant range with “In the Tracks of Giants.” “Tracks” is a 5-month coast-to-coast trek, hiking, cycling and kayaking, following elephant migration routes while the team explores and documents conservation issues across southern Africa. The expedition route is being tracked via an elephant satellite collar in which EWB will deploy on a wild elephant at journey’s end. A book and documentary film will be made about the expedition and presented at the 2013 World Wilderness Congress in Spain. (http://tracksofgiants.org/key-people-partners)

* Dr. Curt Griffin and PhD candidate, Jason Estes, both from the University of Massachusetts, joined us on a field trip across northern Botswana’s elephant range. To complete his doctoral programme, Jason will be utilizing ten years of EWB’s satellite data locations for spatial analysis of elephant movements across the KAZA-TFCA region.

* EWB hosted undergraduate students, Katy Papoulias, Jason Rison, Sarah Plummer, Lindsey Coulson and Professor Rachel DeMotts from Tacoma, Washington’s University of Puget Sound Environmental Policy and Decision-Making Department. Together we conducted a week-long field exercise in Chobe National Park collecting data on wildlife species and numbers along the Chobe riverfront. The data collected will be used as an analytical comparison to EWB aerial survey data in the region.

* Recent articles published in the June’s edition of the Zambezi Traveller: Ambassador at Large, From Hard to Hardest in a Game Count, Wanted! Have you seen this Bird? And in Yale University’s publication, Environment 360, Africa’s Ambitious Experiment to Preserve Threatened Wildlife. To Download some of these articles (click here)

* Dr. Kim Young, holding a post-doctoral position with the South Africa’s University of Pretoria Conservation Ecology Research Unit (CERU) has joined EWB for this year’s dry field season. Dr. Young is researching how elephant movements in response to the distribution of rainfall, food and other elephants influence their recruitment and survival rates within and across two large open study sites - Northern Botswana and Kruger National Park, South Africa.

* EWB was honored to be hosted at the University of Puget Sound in Washington State as Conservation Practitioners-In-Residence, visiting classes, meeting with faculty and students, and making several public presentations, including a presentation on the data from EWB’s 2010 aerial survey of Botswana’s wildlife and its implications for conservation and the documentary film by the BBC, Elephants Without Borders, followed by a question and answer discussion.

* What better name to give EWB’s recently collared elephant bull but “Balozi” which literally translates to “Ambassador.” He is a wonderful representative for conservation awareness, moving and frequently sighted throughout the Chobe district. But also EWB’s distinguished guests at Balozi’s collaring included the USA Ambassador to Botswana, Ambassador Michelle Gavin, and the former Ambassador, Steve Nolan, presently the Director of Southern African Programs from the USA State Department!

Upcoming Events:

* EWB will soon be joined by researchers and staff from the University of New South Wales in Australia, the University of Ulster in the UK, the University of Pretoria in South Africa, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Okavango Elephants & People Research Project, all to discuss collaborative projects in development. Keep a lookout for upcoming posts, blogs and newsletters!

* This season EWB will be deploying further satellite monitoring collars on various large herbivore species in throughout northern Botswana as part of our long-term studies to assess long-term ecological and economic implications of the effects of disrupted movements and migrations of large mammals and the impacts of current land use polices and practices on the long-term sustainability of northern Botswana’s ecosystems.

* The report “Status of Wildlife Populations and Land Degradation in Botswana’s Forest Reserves.” is in its final stage before circulation. The report provides information on the analysis of aerial surveys EWB conducted counting wildlife populations specifically in Chobe district’s Forest Reserves during previous dry and wet seasons and conservation management recommendations. The surveys were supported mainly by a grant from the Tropical Forest Conservation Fund (TFCF) from Forest Conservation Botswana.

* Look for upcoming articles featuring EWB! Both in Africa’s premier magazine, Africa Geographic, and San Diego Zoo’s highly circulated, principal publication, ZooNooz.

Blog page: Elephant Conservation and Research with EWB For immediate updates, elephant research and stories from the field, please visit our Blog, the latest Blogs include:

• EWB’s Exciting, New Large Herbivore Research
• EWB & University of Puget Sound, Field School Expedition ?
• EWB and the KAZA-TFCA
• Chobe Forest Reserves Surveys Completed
  
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Latest Posted Reports and Maps, can be viewed and downloaded on our Downloads Page, (click here):

* “Chobe is Botswana’s Wildlife Stronghold” K. Landen. Zambezi Traveller

* “Drought and Poachers take Botswana’s natural wonder to brink of catastrophe” David Smith. Guardian UK

* “Okavango wildlife threatened” Don Pinnock. Mail & Guardian

*Elephant Movement Maps for Mar, Apr, May, June 2011