News
NEWS
FLASH!!
Have you ever wondered
what it is like in the African bush? Now you can see for yourself,
watch and listen to the wildlife on our new webcam! (To
watch, click here)
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
Visit
our Blog Page
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
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has no Boundaries!”
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| LATEST
NEWS
EWB’s
research projects have now expanded to include other large herbivores!
(click here)
NEW!!!! Vist the webcam, see elephants LIVE in the middle of Africa
(click
here)
Please visit our Blog
(click here)
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