Archive for the ‘Other Animals’ Category
The other day we found a dead serval on the path down to the lake from the patrol post. It had sustained serious injuries to the right eye. For those of you who are not familiar with servals, they are beautiful wild cats with long legs and big ears that live in the savannah. People hunt them for their fur. Servals, like many other animals, have also suffered in recent years from a destruction of habitat.
This photo gives you an idea of the size compared to a man.
We examined the serval and as you can see by the last photo we did an autopsy. We concluded that the serval died from the injuries to the eye that he probably got from fighting with another animal. We do not believe that the serval died as a result of poachers. It was a very sad day for us because there are not enough predators - lions, hyenas etc - in Ishango. And servals are just beautiful, delicate and elegant creatures that we rarely observe here in Ishango.
I often write about the threat of poachers in Ishango - which of course applies to the whole of Virunga National Park. Poaching - after the presence of armed militias - remains the single most important threat to Ishango’s wildlife. We are all working hard to protect the animals that are here - so that they can reproduce and multiply. We also hope that more animals - especially predators - continue to come over the border from Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is ironic that when Uganda was enduring its civil war, the wildlife came to Congo for protection, and Uganda relied on the animals returning to repopulate its parks. Now the situation is reversed. Virunga National Park is not an isolated protected area in Africa - it is part of a vast ecosystem that extends through to Kenya and the Albertine Rift. So it is vitally important to protect its flora and fauna to the best of our ability. Sometimes animals die naturally, or for mysterious reasons. Here are some photos below. One is an antelope that we found not far from Ishango, decomposing. The other is a hippo carcass. There was no evidence of poaching in either case (no snares etc).
I wanted to share these photos with you. They are not from Ishango but from Kahuzi Biega National Park, south of Virunga National Park. This is where the Grauer’s Gorillas live, with elephants, antelope and other animals.
Paulin, a Ranger, stands next to elephant skulls - a shocking sight.
And elephant teeth.
In the background are the same elephant skulls, and in the fore you can see gorilla skulls.
Antelope skull.
Grauer’s Gorilla skull.
And the elephant leg bones - next to Paulin’s legs.
Of course all these skulls and bones have been collected over an extended period of time. But it just goes to show the devastating effect of poaching on our country’s resources. Kahuzi Biega National Park is less known that Virunga - but is equally important in the conservation of some of the world’s most precious creatures.
Recently there was a lot of rain in Ishango and flooding. This is how I think this terrapin found its way far from the Semliki River, near a hippo pod.
I examined it before releasing it in a better place. It was actually a she - you can tell by the shape of the shell underneath. A female has a flat shell and a male has a curved shell. Here is a video I took too!
Does anyone know what this is?
I found it the other day not far from the river.
I think it is a canine tooth, not a molar. And I think it is from a carnivore. I know last time Louise was able to help me. But if anyone knows I would love to know. Thank you!
This is a new technique used by poachers that we have just come across in Ishango.
It doesn’t look as harmful as it can be The poachers lay this on the ground over a hole that they have dug. They also lay a metal ring (like the snares I have shown you before) round the hole at the centre of the star. All this is left on paths used by animals like antelope.
When the animal walks on the trap, its leg goes into the hole and is caught by this trap above and the snare. The snare catches the animal round the lower leg (because of the hole), as opposed to the hoof, thus making it more effective, for the poachers, because the animal cannot get away.
We collected this trap recently on patrol. A patrol done with your donations. I know it is usually used near Kasindi, near the Ugandan border. I do not know if it is a Ugandan technique, but it is the first time we have found it in the park. This kind of trap can catch not just antelope but also waterbuck and buffalo.
We just found this spit snake next to the Rangers’ houses in Ishango.
This is a very poisonous snake.
If the spit goes in your eyes it can make you blind. We have seen this kind of snake two or three times before but it is not that common.
Because there are children here, it is even more dangerous so we killed it. In the photo it is already dead.
I also meant to post this yesterday. A video of the baby Large Spotted Genet crying for mum.
This is a Large Spotted Genet. A Ranger happened to spot it on the path going down to the lake. This is very unusual as they are nocturnal creatures. We have never seen one before.
We estimate it was about 15 to 20 days old, and had been separated from its mother by accident. These animals eat insects.
I examined it to make sure there was nothing wrong, and then we let it go. You can see how small it actually is. The genet scurried off, and stopped crying - so I think mother and baby were reunited.
We found more metal snares during patrol. These snares are for Cobb (antelopes). Here Kihombwe, a Ranger who joined us from Mutsora last month, is holding 4 snares. Please say hello to Kihombwe.
The snare either traps the Cobb’s leg, or gets caught round the animal’s neck. The former is the most common. These traps also affect buffaloes, elephants and hippos.
Here are 4 snares, but 1 poacher alone may set 20 of these traps
A male Cobb in Ishango last week - poachers are out to snare them in these metal traps
Often, because the poacher has laid so many snares, by the time he gets to the Cobb the animal is already dead because it has been caught in the trap too long. So a complete waste of a life.
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