Bush Babies - Living and loving in the African Bush

Staring up at the sky, sun flickering through the leaves of the tree, grass between her toes a little girl lies and dreams of meeting her prince charming and having him sweep her off her feet. They will go on adventures and conquer the world together, one booking at a time.

Romantic relationships in the workplace are for the most part a taboo in many industries, some companies go so far as including clauses against relationships in their employment contracts. In the safari, hospitality and tourism industry, however, is seems to be somewhat of a benefit and in cases a requirement.

The tourism industry, working in lodges and hospitality or being a guide or tracker is not an easy lifestyle. Working odd hours and in cycles of 6 weeks on 2 weeks off or whatever may suite the lodge needs best, working in rural areas constantly surrounded by the same people or in some cases no people and far from the reach of “civilization”, it takes a very specific type of person to be able to survive in these circumstances, and even more so to begin a relationship with someone you work with, potentially marrying and even starting a family!

Julie Brand was one of these girls. After deciding to make a change and follow a dream she packed up to leave the UK and moved to Africa where she would eventually meet her future husband, at the local pub and not long after marry him! Living in a handmade cabin for a while they would eventually decide to start trying for kids. They now have two boys and are taking it day by day as they push on at their Quatermains 1920 Safari Camp, a tented camp in Amakhala Game reserve.

Making a decision like this is not easy when you live and work in the bush, yet for those of us who do, it’s actually really simple. Bush life is an easy life if you are programmed that way, so adapting to life with kids comes naturally.

Some couples choose not to have kids. This may be because it allows them more freedom of movement in order to travel or move from one lodge to the next, others because they are simply content with the way things are or maybe because it’s just a personal preference. However, for the moms who do choose to go on that great adventure with their little and loved ones it’s a long road ahead.

Living and loving in the bush is a great adventure and for a child the adventure is never ending. You

are taught life skills by watching animals interact with each other and have experiences many other children never would.

Tippi and Abu - Copyright Tippi Degre

Tippi Degré was one of these children whose adventure became world famous and her story has been published in a novel, Tippi My book of Africa. As a small girl she travelled Africa with her photographer/filmmaker parents who worked in the bush and allowed her the freedom to interact with the animals and local people of all cultures. This broadened her mind and gave her a great understanding of and empathy towards the minds of animals. In her story she tells of how she could talk to the animals with her mind and about her brother Abu, the elephant.

Growing up in the bush allows children a freedom to grow and expand their minds far beyond what a “normal” school system would allow. It allows them to connect with their inner selves and learn from nature what the human impact is.

Falling in love and starting a family in the bush is by no means easy and you are faced with many challenges, both physically and emotionally. Being able to ensure the health of your child while you are hundreds of kilometers from a hospital, or deciding if you are to send your kids to school, which will ultimately be a boarding school limiting your contact with them or to keep them with you in the bush and possibly follow some sort of home-schooling. At the end of the day each mother has to decide for herself what will be the best for her family and how she will climb the mountain ahead of her. 

I personally believe that I will one day raise my kids in the bush with me. Teaching them from Nature and ensuring they carry the principles they learn here with them wherever they may go in life. Growing up in the bush I believe they will be filled with compassion and empathy, even having seen the destruction and savagery that is a part of everyday life in Africa.

Please follow me on Twitter and Instagram via the links below to see the world from my perspective, with a foot in the door.

https://twitter.com/BiancaBothab211

https://www.instagram.com/aconservationistsjourney/

Read my scholarship articles for The WOMA at the links below:

The WOMA Scholarship: Conservationista by Bianca Botha



To visit or donate to my crowdfunding page please follow the link below! Thank you for your support!

US, UK and South Africa: 

Back-a-Buddy Conservation study fund

A Tribute - Navelan Padayachee

Navelan - The Friend; The Hero; The Legend

In 2008 I moved to Pretoria to begin my studies at the Technical University of Tswane. It was here where I would meet two brothers, Kailen and Navelan Padayachee.


These twin brothers were my seniors studying for our diploma in Nature Conservation, a passion we all have shared from childhood and were now working towards achieving. I cherished the times we could sit together between or after classes and I could listen to them talk, learning from their experiences and wisdom; feeding off their passion for what we all wanted to achieve and grow towards. They were an inspiration to me, role models for myself and the other junior students in my class. Never did the thought ever cross my mind that we would lose one of these amazing humans, that I would not get the chance to say goodbye. A few years passed and the last time I saw Nav was when I was leaving Clearwater mall after watching a movie with my Mother and he stopped next to us in his bright yellow Land Rover, He flashed that huge welcoming smile he always had on his face and we caught up about what we were doing in life and how his research with the Vultures was going. It was a minute in front of the traffic light I will never forget. It was the last time I would see my friend.

Skip on a few more years, I am now working on a private game ranch in Limpopo and was busy with
Social media marketing when it hit me, a post informing friends and family of Nav's passing. My heart sank to the lowest depths and tears welled up in my eyes and all I could think about is not having been able to say goodbye.

Years later his brother Kailen continues the great work they started with the Kainav conservation foundation. Navelan's legacy present in every new project they take on and in all the great work they do. I asked Kailen for some more information and stories about his brother's life and legacy so I may write a tribute, Instead, I give you his brothers words as they were sent to me. Pure, honest and shattering to the bone, Kailen's story about his brother reminded me of what an amazing man my friend Navelan was and inspires me to live his legacy as my own truth each new day.

"Navelan, or Nav as he was (and still is) referred to as by his friends and family, was always drawn to nature.
As young boys growing up in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Nav and I were introduced to the marine environment by our father. He was a volunteer at the NSRI, STATION 19 in Richards Bay, and every chance he got he would take us out on the boat or to the beach. In fact, our daily routine as children would include finishing school at 12:30, heading home to change and then spending the remainder of the day on the beach, snorkeling in the shallows. Even at that young age Nav knew that he wanted to work with animals in the ocean, he didn’t know what job exactly it would be, but it had to be with marine animals in the wild!

In 1996 our parents found work in Johannesburg and this path lead us to experience completely new environments. The dry grasslands and savanna habitat of the Highveld was foreign and honestly, not as inviting to Nav as the ocean and mangroves he
was used to in KZN. As we grew and matured the ocean still held a special part in both our
hearts but particularly for Nav.

 When the time came to choose a university, we were certain
of one thing, where ever we go and whatever we choose to study it must take us back to the
ocean. After discussions with many wildlife practitioners, professors and scientists, we
found ourselves enrolled in TUT, pursuing a qualification in nature conservation. To be
honest, it was a term that we were not too clear on and as we were the first in our family to
choose this career path we were completely in the dark. However, we had each other and a
strong end goal… get back to the ocean! After two years in the program, we grew, learned a lot and refined our goals. For our final experiential year of our qualification, we found ourselves interning at SAAMBR (South African Association for Marine Biological Research) in Sea World, Durban.

Nav felt like for the first time in years that he was finally on the right track, well on the way to becoming a world-renowned marine ecologist. During his time at Sea World, he used the opportunity to grow and prove himself as a dedicated young scientist
willing to do what it takes and put in the hours necessary to become a marine ecologist. It
was at Sea World where Nav fell in love with predatory fish, specifically sharks and started
gaining an interest in marine and shark research. He began SCUBA diving every chance he
got and spent most of his spare time under water, trying to dive with as many shark species
as he could.

Towards the end of his experiential year, he was offered a life-changing
opportunity to work for the Walt Disney World Company in Florida, USA, as a cultural
representative. The position gave him the opportunity to teach visitors to Disney’s Animal
Kingdom Lodge about wildlife and South Africa. Navelan grew tremendously during his time
at Walt Disney World, he saw South Africa and his career in a completely different light and
was determined to come home and make a lasting difference in wildlife conservation. This is
why the first thing he and I did when we got home, was start the KaiNav Conservation
Foundation. An environmental non-profit organization dedicated to biodiversity
conservation and environmental education and awareness.


Upon returning home, Nav also had the opportunity to become part of something that he loved almost as much as wildlife conservation, and that was search and rescue. He loved helping people and took pride in being part of the Off-Road Rescue Unit, where he could combine his passion for the out-
doors with his drive to serve the community. He worked tirelessly to ensure that KaiNav
Conservation Foundation became a credible, sustainable organization that made quality
contributions to conservation.

He developed a number of projects such as the S.N.A.R.E
(Snare Neutralization, Awareness and Removal Effort) Initiative which monitors snare poaching in and around urban areas of Gauteng, the SNARE Art program which uplifts local, underprivileged artists and transforms snares into pieces of art, the African Dragon Project which monitors South African varanid species (monitor lizards) in urban and peri-urban ecosystems of Northern Johannesburg, all while completing his Mtech in the Durban harbor on fish species diversity. Above all his commitments, he made the time to assist me
in my Verreaux’s eagle research, traveling across the country to monitor nests with me and
identify prey remains.

He also still managed to fulfill his commitments to the search and
rescue unit, all with his signature smile plastered across his face.

That was the type of person Nav was, dedicated, passionate and ALWAYS willing to help anyone in need. On the 9 the of May 2016, Nav responded to a call-out in the Magaliesberg to assist in the rescue of an injured climber, it was to be his last act on earth.

Nav died after assisting in a successful
rescue while descending the mountain. The KaiNav Conservation Foundation and the
projects he started, persist as his legacy and a dedication to him and his passion for not only
conservation but for our community, the people who depend on the environment. A few
weeks before passing away, Nav began planning KaiNav Conservation Africa, an
environmental and conservation education training company dedicated to training and
educating young South Africans about wildlife conservation and the environment.



The first group of students to participate in KaiNav Conservation Africa’s unique education and
career awareness program attended our inaugural program in February this year." - Kailen Padayachee

This is a tribute to Navelan. He will forever be in our hearts and is sorely missed each day. His presence remains in every success of the Kainav Conservation foundation and everyone who has become a part thereof and participated in their programs.

We will never forget Nav, the Man, the Friend, the Legend.

Please follow me on Twitter and Instagram via the links below to see the world from my perspective, with a foot in the door.

https://twitter.com/BiancaBothab211

https://www.instagram.com/aconservationistsjourney/

Read my scholarship articles for The WOMA at the links below:

The WOMA Scholarship: Conservationista by Bianca Botha



To visit or donate to my crowdfunding page please follow the link below! Thank you for your support!

US, UK and South Africa: 

Back-a-Buddy Conservation study fund

An open door

Thursday morning; 05h00: The sun's ray lurk over the hills bringing the morning twilight, the sky blaring white whilst the rocky overhangs hide in the shadows. I breathe in the fresh air seeping through the open window and exhale a final release of tainted air before I prepare for my new journey.

Essential luggage loaded into a Hyundai Elantra as old as I am, fuel and oil checks done and final
farewells said we hit the road and head for what will hopefully be my final destination and home for a long time to come.

We climb slowly over rolling hills surrounded by bushveld and brush in which I had spent many hours as a young girl exploring the jungles within my imagination, we pass through tidy shantytowns which have become a crowning feature of this landscape tourists have come to adore. As we charge on at a steady 80 kilometres an hour we are passed by luxury tour agency minibuses; filled with international clients, and donkey cars packed with wood, the driver ontop his perch of lumber, a broad smile on his face and sweat on his brow, the beautiful contradiction that is this industry I have been launched into at break-neck speed.

A road sign indicates our turn to the right, slowing down to a comfortable 15 kilometers an hour I turn in and see before me for the very first, and certainly not the last time, Wonderboom gate. It's boom gate plain and simple,  decorated only by the villagers' curios arranged in an amphitheater around its tiny thatched hut.

We are greeted by parks rangers and sign in as requested, under persons in I write "two", persons out will be recorded as "one". I'm here to stay. We roll slowly over uneven dusty roads, the exhaust scraping the yellow earth time and again as we traverse between bush and boulders we pick up the scent of fresh buffalo dung and see piles of elephant scat strewn across the road, a clear indication that they still rule this land. The road bends left and right slithering across the landscape like the track of the snakes who live here. As we make our final climb in first gear with our 2x4 Hyundai "game viewer" we see the sign ahead. Marked by a Tribal female figure and the name, translated as "A gift from God"; which is exactly what this was, Impodimo.

We inch closer and closer and my heart both sinks to my toes and jumps to my throat as we are passed by a Game viewer Land Rover, filled with guests and my brand new colleagues! My manager awaits my arrival and greets me with a smile that confirms I have found my tribe. Tomorrow will be my first day as the Guest liaison and Kiddies program Manager of Impodimo Game Lodge.

Impodimo is a 5 star Lodge in the Malaria free Madikwe Game reserve, a reserve I have always dreamed of seeing each time we pass through Swartruggens heading to our family farm. It is a conservation success story as old farmlands were combined and restored to their previous natural state through a number of years of trial and error until the winning recipe was found! Madikwe now hosts the Big 5, the magnificent seven along with a huge variety of general plains game, birds and reptile species. The reserve is also making huge strides in the areas of raising wild dog numbers in the country and are working hard on battling the increase of Rhino poaching in South Africa.

After years and years of struggle, many dark nights and tears shed, finally my time has come and the door has opened wide! Not only has the door opened taking me through to a new and higher path in life, on the other side of this I have been handed endless possibility, there are no more hindrances, no paths laid before me and I am Free. Free to wake up each morning with a smile on my face and know without a doubt that no matter what the day will bring that it will be a good day, free to make my own path in life from this moment on, free to wander into this wilderness I find myself encompassed by, living each moment, taking in each encounter, learning, growing without limitations!

It has been a long time coming, a far-off dream, a fantasy made a reality and gifted to me to cherish and make of it the most I possibly can! Today I stand and stare at the rolling hills and mountains, the plateaus and open grasslands.

Today I stand in an open door, nothing can stop me now.

Follow this blog for highlights from my new job and all the amazing animal encounters we have on a daily basis at Impodimo Game lodge.

Please follow me on twitter and Instagram via the links below to see the world from my perspective, with a foot in the door.

https://twitter.com/BiancaBothab211

https://www.instagram.com/aconservationistsjourney/

Read my scholarship articles for The WOMA at the links below:

The WOMA Scholarship : Conservationista by Bianca Botha



To visit or donate to my crowdfunding page please follow the link below! Thank you for your support!

US, UK and South Africa: 

Back-a-Buddy Conservation study fund

The fall of Africa - The first chapter

Its one AM, 26 April 2018, Thursday. I should be in bed getting rest and recovering from this persistent cold. I should be in bed getting rest before my interview for the opportunity of a lifetime. I should be in bed resting before my sisters wedding, waking up fresh and excited and ready for all my duties lying ahead; but I can't, not tonight. Tonight I sit in front of my laptop and type. I type because when words are spoken they fall on deaf ears, I type because when actions are taken they are omitted from audio, visual and online media and other written publications of the following day, I type because I find myself in a crisis. This is a crisis I may not survive unto the end, it is a crisis that may very well be the end of my own life and as I type these words and contemplate the possibility of my words inciting action that is to be my demise, I am afraid and I am calm. Though what I type here may result in a shallow and unmarked grave, many hours of pain and suffering, both before and after my last breath, I type knowing that my words will live on and the message they carry will at some time be heard and shared and possibly even used to learn something from the happenings of the past.

I type these words tonight as the reaction of an action reportedly made by a stranger to me. A human being I do not know, who is however in a position of some power and is thus known to me, who supposedly made a statement so disheartening, so disturbing and so idiotically genius that it ripped me to the core and I could remain silent no more. A post on social media platform Facebook has been passed along "quoting" Police General K. Sitole as having said that  "If farm attacks really existed , we would know about them. I watch the news every day, but I don’t hear of stories of farm attacks" .

This statement shook me. It aroused an anger and a disappointment in me. I immediately shared the image and my thoughts. My accompanying text to the image read as follows: "This. This is the problem in South Africa right now. Our own government commissioning farm attacks, using their red hooded puppets to distract and to stoke the fires. Blocking the media and distorting the truth. If they really want "THEIR" land back they need to look a lot further north than South Africa. I now understand why our government has been dropping the pass rates at schools for the last past generations. They've been dumbing us down in preparation for their propaganda assault. Creating mindless indoctrinated "free willing" soldiers to fight their senseless, destructive, racial war without a single finger being pointed back to them, our government. When it's all done and every last white in this country has been raped, tortured and murdered, they (The government) will turn against their own black warriors and condemn their actions whilst revelling in the spoils. What they fail to realise is this uncontrolled army of theirs will turn against them, the government, once they (the "black lives first, black land first" and comrades) have realised their power as a united black dumbed down nation, they will continue to rape, torture and murder their own black comrades. They will attack Luthuli house, they will strip every last piece of civilisation from the foundations of this country. When the comrades and their red ants and every last accompanying government agent lies in their graves and this country burns and every black life first red beret has every tablet, cellphone, television set, house, homestead, plot and farm they have pillaged, tortured, raped and murdered for and foreign nations have pulled their assisting finances and support and media coverage from this land, only then will the dumbed down nation our government has created and bread over these last years realise that nothing in this world is given, and taking what you want doesn't mean you will always have it and most importantly that to have food you must plant, you must farm, to farm you must have a farmer and that simply owning land does not grow corn and that the dust, that will be all that remains of our beautiful country, does not taste very good, the blood spilt on it in no way whatsoever making that dust taste better." 

I wrote this in anger. I wrote this knowing the history of my country. I wrote this knowing this is propaganda. I wrote this with a fear in me, a fear I share with many in this nation, yet only with those whose skin is "white". I wrote this with the disappointment of knowing the truth in these words, even if the story of their origin was untrue. On further investigation it was clear that this was another post either by a white South African with a political agenda, in a poorly thought through attempt at scaring the remaining white folk to join their political parties and fight against the ruling "black" majority and the South African White genocide, or on the opposite pole it was a poorly constructed attempt from a black politically inclined individual to blame shift the war mongering and propaganda in South Africa to the "whites" who "stole" their land. A media statement by the police commissioner released 30 November 2017 stated that the reports are false. This is a blatant propaganda motion being reused time over time in order to rile up the masses and cause chaos.

Which ever it may be, it is sickening and absolutely horrifying that this is what our country has come to. The so called "Rainbow Nation", a country filled with humans from all over the world, with an array of cultures, backgrounds and skin colours, once a beacon of democracy has turned into a fiction fact society, creating news stories which have never been published about things that have never been said in order to create a reaction within the people of this country to achieve the unknown and predetermined results a corrupt government placed in action decades ago only to line their pockets and watch the rest of us burn. I do not use that word lightly. Burn. That is exactly what is happening to the people of South Africa, Black and White.

The late Winnie Mandela, the highly esteemed and admired "Mother of the Nation" was particularly fond of promoting the burning of other Human beings at Public political rallies having said "...we could have killed them any time we wanted to, with our necklaces we will liberate this country". Her legacy lives on through the hundreds of un/under educated citizens of this country who have been duped by their government by graduating from High School, only because pass rates have been dropped below 50% for many subjects, and a precedent has been set by our very own Former President Mr. Zuma, that you only need a grade 4 level education to be able to run a country. These citizens to this day practise and participate in necklacing. Wikipedia describes it as follows: Necklacing is the practises of summary execution and torture carried out by forcing a rubber tyre, filled with petrol, around a victim's chest and arms, and setting it on fire. The victim may take up to 20 minutes to die, suffering severe burns in the process. Black South Africans today still necklace other black South Africans. The only difference being that it is now done for whichever reason the one holding the match sees fit. During protests and times of unrest there are necklacings that happen as a result of a simple dispute or just to send a message. Political Officials inciting the masses to violence, turning the average citizen into a crazed political soldier, turning one parties followers against the others, today in South Africa you could be necklaced for simply wearing the wrong parties T-shirt, or for simply being white.

This is what has borne this fear in me, this fear for myself and my loved ones, this fear for my culture and creed, this fear for my race and this fear for my country. That I could die by slowly being burnt to death with a tire around my torso, or by being raped with a broomstick or broken bottle until my intestines run out through my pelvis, or I could be nailed to a chair and my bones shattered as an electric drill slashes through my flesh and out the other side or that I would be forced to watch as my infant child is raped repeatedly in front of me, the screams echoing in my ears until I hear her final breath and know that its my turn now. This is the reality for white citizens of South Africa, even more so for those who are of an Afrikaans lineage, or bare an Afrikaans last name, or live on a plot or farm or dare to call themselves a Boer.

We witness our families and friends being ripped from the earth on a daily basis. We see the wounds on the bodies of those who unfortunately survived the attack, as I am sure they would have rather died. We hear of farm after farm being marked, and watched and targeted, we are warned by loyal workers on our farms of planned attacks and then bury them the next week once the attackers have tortured and dismembered and discarded them in open view as a warning to any other worker who may feel the need to warn the white man of his fate. We see the remnants of bone and blood in the crevices between the walls of a place we once called home and we think what have we done to deserve this.

I was born white, today in South Africa that means I will have no future. May it be that I do not get a full scholarship to University, despite my 7 distinction grades, may it be that I am not selected to represent my country for sport because I do not meet the race quota, may it be that I do not get the job because of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) regulations the government has set, or may it be that I am simply a beating bag for batting practise, or a pin cushion for roofing nails or a recycling deposit bin for broken bottles as my body is bent and beaten and broken all only because of the colour of my skin.

What is happening in South Africa today is not a new thing, it has not just begun. It has been a meticulously planned and carefully carried out system of events designed to put us in the position we are in today. I remember in high school already being threatened and told "You better watch out white bitch, when Mandela dies you whites do too". This is something that has been building up for decades and no one does a thing. I chose my words very carefully, I know I have readers from the USA, the UK, Australia only to name a few, and I know you are aware of the situation to some extent, thanks to the recent marches in an attempt to gain international media coverage. It that where it ends? The idea behind getting international Media coverage on the issue is not so the countries around us have a new topic to discuss on the morning news, or for them to debate pulling resources from South Africa because its becoming bad for business; It is a desperate plea for help, a cry to the world to do something, not just sit behind their TV or computer screens muttering "Oh how terrible that must be!" and scrolling happily along. 

We are dying. We are screaming to the world to help us. Are you listening? 

Postscript;

I am a young, White South African woman; too young to have participated in or understood Apartheid in any manner or form. My family in no way benefited from any of the apartheid regimes laws and procedures. I in no way condone or accept what happened in those days, I only rely on facts and truths, making my decisions and forming my opinions based solely there upon.

I am a conservationist and work in rural areas on farms, surrounded by black South Africans, Zimbabweans and many other black nations people every day. I care for them and we look out for each other. We are all sick and tired of what is happening in this country and the ridiculous reasons given therefor or the excuses we hear after the fact. I fear for my life on a daily basis and may do so even more once this article has been published. However, I am proud to be white, I am proud of my culture and my families past, I am proud of my ancestors who raised and educated their staffs children alongside their own, as equals! I am proud of the person I am and of the hopes I hold for this country. 

Propaganda has an ugly face and it is one I see all too often of late and I have grown tired of its frown. It is used by both black and white, it is used in all languages and at times without a single word. The one thing about propaganda is it is always a lie, be that lie a distortion of fact or some truth or some complete fiction, a design of desperately disturbed mind. It will always incite anger, hate, disgust which will inevitably lead to some disaster. 

This country is in a state of disaster, who will come to our aid, or will we simply become a new reference in the worlds history books, the first chapter of the fall of Africa.

Side note: All torture methods and manners to inflict harm and kill mentioned above are reference to true acts which have been committed against white South Africans over the past years. There are many videos and film now being made about these attacks, below is only one of these with only a few of the survivors telling their stories.

Save our farmers preview

Please follow me on twitter and Instagram via the links below to see the world from my perspective, with a foot in the door.

https://twitter.com/BiancaBothab211

https://www.instagram.com/aconservationistsjourney/

Read my scholarship articles for The WOMA at the links below:

The WOMA Scholarship : Conservationista by Bianca Botha



To visit or donate to my crowdfunding page please follow the link below! Thank you for your support!

US, UK and South Africa: 


Back-a-Buddy Conservation study fund

Conservationista - Article 1 for The WOMA scholarship

Bianca Botha with the girls from a small village during an outreach 

Conservationîsta

She wakes up an hour before sunrise, straps on her boots and a warm jacket to shield her from the icy winter wind of these early mornings. She loads the cruiser and trailer with bails of blue buffalo grass and sleeves of lusern. She’s off to feed the buffalo, sable, kudu, giraffe and all the other species on the ranch. After feeding as the sun begins to rise she drives patrol around the farm to check the water points and for signs of poachers. Not a week ago two more rhino were slaughtered on her ranch and in the fight she had wounded one of the culprits with a perfect shot to the right leg. He was captured but his accomplices managed to escape and will no doubt return for the last few rhino remaining. She will not let them get her rhinos, which are akin to her own children on this ranch where she faces the elements and dangers of rural living daily, alone.

When a ranch, game farm, conservationist or ranger is mentioned in conversation, the first image in the mind is a strong burly man in Khaki wrestling a lion or driving his land cruiser or walking around with his big gun on a hike or hunting safari. This view has made it very difficult for women to break through in the industry, even though they have always been there. There has recently been a rise in the amount of women taking on careers on ranches and game reserves. Not as the general admin or hospitality positions as is often thought, but as Ranch and Reserve managers. They work down in the dirt with the rest of their crew. Darting and catching game, wrestling them to the ground to ensure safe capture and that they do not injure themselves. They ensure game populations do not exceed the carrying capacity of available land by taking hunters out on hunting safaris. They are mechanics, builders, game wardens, anti poaching team members, skilled in archery and shooting with rifles, they are professional hunters and outfitters, they are the women in conservation, they are Conservationistas.

Elmarie and Ansomie Minnaar of Hunters-Rock Safaris and outfitters, 

a mother and daughter dream team

Conservation is a career path that fills every niche. There are admin workers, farmers, hunters, vets, ecologists, biologists and the list goes on. Women fit into this career like a cold hand into a glove. They have compassion, caring, stamina, strong wills and work just as hard as any man. Most importantly women can multitask, making caring for clients and all other hospitality duties a breeze to fit into the odd hours of taking clients out for a hunt and entertaining them between shifts.

Many of these women may not even consider themselves to be conservationists but their jobs play a vital role in the conservation of African wildlife and the environment as a whole.

An African rock python removed from one of the Lodge venues

A struggle to get the python out of the pipe
in which in sought to escape capture

Working in the bush of Africa is no joke and you are always faced with challenges. When clients arrive there may be a snake in the room and you will need to remove it, using the opportunity to educate your guests about venomous snakes etc, or you may have poachers; which are always heavily armed, usually with AK47s used to kill rhino and elephant, at which your workplace becomes a warzone and you and your team the meagre defending force facing life or death. The women on the ranches in Africa fill these positions gladly and love every minute of what they do.

An important part of conservation is working with the community around you. Many ranches employ the rural people on their farms in a way to discourage poaching and educate them on the importance of protecting the wildlife in the area. 

A hunted wildebeest is recovered after tracking in the dark

Other ranches will do outreach, providing the rural homesteads and villages with meat from hunts or basics such as milliemeal and toiletries bought with profits from hunts. This encourages the villagers to report persons they suspect of poaching or any news of planned farm attacks.

 The female ranch managers have great success in these projects because they are viewed as caretakers by the villagers. This does however pose some problems as well. When wanting to distribute meat or supplies to the villagers one must often first talk to the chief, who due to their cultural beliefs, do not talk to women. You also need to be careful when entering their villages, as looking a man in the eye, wearing pants, or not having your head covered may be a great disrespect depending on their culture.

Being a woman in this industry is not easy. You are often looked down upon, denied a promotion or raise or even laughed off at a job interview as you are not taken seriously, regardless of your qualifications or experience. There are a few of us however, who are just as stubborn as any man and stick it through, fight the fight and earn the respect we deserve. We excel and show the world that a game ranch is just as much a woman’s place as a mans. 

Bianca supports the head of an impala ewe
which has been darted for translocation,
Butch (Jack Russel) keeping an eye on her vitals. 

South Africa now has its first all female Anti-poaching squad, the Black Mambas, whose exclusive duty is to patrol and protect the rhinos and elephants on specific reserves in the Limpopo province. From the establishment of this team the presence of snares and attempted poaching has decreased significantly more than any of the previous projects. These women are unarmed spending their time in the reserves alongside all the wild animals and taking their skills and experience to the schools and communities around them, fighting the war on poaching through monitoring, community building and education.

Women play a vital role in the preservation of the African environment. You need only look at the growth in awareness campaigns for STEM with the hash tag #womeninscience and the history of great female scientists, conservation biologists and film makers to see how important women are in conservation and how great the need is or their work to be recognised.

A young Vervet monkey rescued from being a pet
is cared for to regain strength before being taken
to the Vervet rehabilitation centre.

There are the greats; Joyce Poole, Terri Irwin, Rachel Carson and of course Jane Goodall who we all know so well and praise their work and books and films, however, we must not forget the work of the ladies on the ground in Africa. Their names are not known and their faces are not on newspapers or in scientific journals, but they put food in the mouths of hundreds of people in the villages around their farms, they employ and train thousands more to uplift the community and protect the environment, and they put themselves in the frontlines to save the animals they care for 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

Bianca and Jan, the rescued vervet monkey.

Women in conservation, the hunters and outfitters, the lodge managers, the farm labourers and so on may not be the first thing one thinks about when conservation is a topic of discussion, but they are the women from all cultures, ages and backgrounds, the mortar that holds the entire industry together and key element to successful conservation.

[ This is the full article of the article Published on 19 April 2018 by The WOMA. I would like to thank The WOMA and the wonderful women working there for the amazing opportunity they have given me as the scholarship recipient for 2017. Please visit and support this wonderful community of women here: The WOMA . See also the link to my article as published in the links below. ]

Please follow me on twitter and Instagram via the links below to see the world from my perspective, with a foot in the door.

https://twitter.com/BiancaBothab211

https://www.instagram.com/aconservationistsjourney/

Read my scholarship articles for The WOMA at the links below:

The WOMA Scholarship : Conservationista by Bianca Botha



To visit or donate to my crowdfunding page please follow the link below! Thank you for your support!

US, UK and South Africa: 

Back-a-Buddy Conservation study fund

Snare Aware

Following on my previous post "Snare Scare" , I wanted to do a follow up on what more can and is being done with regards to the snaring problem beautiful South Africa and her wildlife are facing.

In my previous post I spoke about the S.N.A.R.E project run by the KaiNav Conservation Foundation and how they use the wires recovered from their expeditions to create Snare Art . Thereby creating income for rural communities as well as producing a profit which funds further expeditions and other conservation projects.

Conservation foundations are in abundance, each doing their part in attempts to preserve, conserve and protect our natural Fauna and Flora. However many foundations, associations etc there may be, they never seem to be enough. That is where the citizen conservationist comes in. Everyday average individuals doing their part in helping rangers, conservationists, parks, conservancies and all the rest to achieve their goals in the conservation of their area. Lize Bester is one of those people, and through the simple use of  a little bit of Facebook savvy and a caring community she has recruited many more.

Two years ago today, 6 October 2015, Lize created the group Enough is enough describing it as a group of individuals who have had enough of seeing the wonderful wildlife of our country being senselessly slaughtered and butchered in the most painful and horrendous of manners, snaring. It is a group focused on a call to action against snaring, for each citizen to do their part to assist the rangers in the fight against poachers and the cruel systems they use.

The group currently has 794 members from around the globe and is administrated by 3 dedicated individuals who ensure that current updates are posted as soon as they come in and that no post is missed as animals lives are in danger and time is of essence!

Members of the group will post their own photos as they see animals entangled or caught in a snare and report the location and time of the sighting, this information is then passed on to the rangers and they fall into action to locate the animal and attempt to remove the snare.

Snares are indiscriminate and any animal could get caught in them. Some animals ,such as the wild dog post alongside, are collared animals and part of a research project. These projects aim to gain insight in the movements, behaviours, population sizes and many other factors in the lives of the selected members. This assists conservationists in making decisions and planning for the future of these animals and their species. When project animals are killed by snares the projects are retarded and set back a great deal with the incredible loss of data.

It is imperative to the research teams involved to try by all means to keep the members alive, this group is doing just that by responding and updating snared animal sightings constantly.









The group also takes their work another step further by posting other relevant information that may curb negative stigma around the work rangers do, conservation efforts against poaching and the general state of our National parks. A short while ago a dead elephant was seen in the Kruger National park and it was noted that the tusks had been removed. The fast response of the team to report on the group that the elephant had in fact died of natural causes and that the tusks were removed by a section ranger may have spared the park and nation from horrible tourist reviews and rumours about poaching in the park.

The rangers greatly appreciate the work done by everyday citizens and visitors to the park. They are unable to be everywhere at once and there is always so much work to be done, with the extra million eyes in the park at any given time it makes the tedious task of locating captured animals in the vast area of the park so much easier and rangers response time so much faster.

In the past 5 years there have been over 1000 rhinos poached in South Africa annually, and over 30 elephants in the Kruger
National Park alone between January and June 2017.

The incredible amount of poaching in this country has even lead to theories about the ivory and rhino horn trade funding terrorism, a very scary thought.





However, there seems to be hope in the future as a result of UK officials making a great decision, as in a report by The Guardian, to stop their trade in ivory. The UK is the biggest exporter of legal ivory and believe that by shutting down their trade they may impact the illegal laundering of illegal ivory and assist in the fight against elephant poaching.

Enough is enough has had such a major impact that the group has even been featured in an article in the local newspaper Laevelder by environmental journalist Mariana Balt.

This helps further in the awareness roll of the group and any other group or person doing something similar. By making the public and visitors to national parks aware of the need for action, more and more people are likely to get involved, which will make it increasingly difficult for poachers to get what they want and be a huge discouragement to them to put up any more snares.

The group also shares happiness with its members and any person involved in the sighting, safe capture and snare removal of an affected animal. Recently a female lion was seen with a gaping wound and snare around her neck. The visitors to the park, Enough is Enough admins and park rangers sprang into action. With the constant sighting reports from the visitors and tourists the rangers were able to find the lioness, affectionately called Lucy, dart her and successfully remove the snare. After her procedure another member of the group sent in his image of her looking to have a new lease on life and to be fit and well on her way to recovery. She then become known as Lucky Lucy.

This is one of the wonderful posts shared by the group and members would comment and post recent sightings and how glad they were that she is going to be alright.

She is one of the lucky ones. Not all animals will be as lucky as she is.

For anyone wanting to join the group or take part in assisting in this battle please take note of the following information posted by Lize to have a better understanding of how it all works:

Information needed: 

-Precise date and time of sighting  -What type of animal was seen with snare? -Where on the animal is the snare situated: neck, left hind leg etc?-The road number you spotted the animal on, the distance from the closest or distance from the next turn-off (the road number of the turn-off)-Please take photos of the animal with snare. A photo must be available to be sent by message, take one with your cellphone as well.- A GPS reading of the latest location of the snared animal would be perfect!- It would be ideal if someone can keep the animal in sight and someone else can drive off to make the phone call or send a message with details.
The Park Officials are not always readily available and there are a few actions to be taken sometimes before the call goes to 'despatch'.

The process:

As per arrangement with the Park Officials, the message or phone call must be made to me. [number available on the group] (We also have a whatsapp group for those who want to become involved in the day to day of this group. It's a bit more personal). 

I give the case and details personally through to the coordinator of all the services in the Park. She makes sure that it's been registered at the Joint Operational Centre in the Park. The message goes through to the Rangers, the SANDF, the SAPS and the Veterinary Services in the area where the animal with the snare was reported. We make sure everyone in the vicinity knows and keep an eye open for the ensnared animal. What we need to get everything going are all the relevant details and the photo. If someone can keep an eye on the animal with the snare, and someone else can call for help, the better and easier to find the animal. If the animal is moving, please take note of the place last seen and the direction the animal moved off.

The Enough is Enough-group keeps the statistics of all the animals reported and provide it to the Park officials. We also keep an eye on later sightings to confirm that the same animal is not reported as a new case, the duplication of reports frustrates the rangers a lot. This is the arrangement made between this group and the Park officials. We made sure it worked in a smaller group before we went public, it worked perfectly. We already made a difference in a few animal's lives.

Education is key. The more we can spread the word and educate people about this situation the more people will be able to stand up and do something about it, even if it is just a post on Facebook. A single post can save a life.

Please follow me on twitter and Instagram via the links below to see the world from my perspective, with a foot in the door.

https://twitter.com/BiancaBothab211

https://www.instagram.com/aconservationistsjourney/

Read my scholarship articles for The WOMA at the links below:

The WOMA Scholarship : Conservationista by Bianca Botha

To visit or donate to my crowdfunding page please follow the link below! Thank you for your support!

US, UK and South Africa: 

Back-a-Buddy Conservation study fund