9
Mar 2010. Hunkap
Male. During the night Xpl-54 approached
the Cruiser and was observed this morning in a
narrow gorge about 12 kilometers northwest of
Hunkap spring. There is a problem with the VHF
transmitter of his satellite GPS radio-collar.
8
Mar 2010. Kharugaiseb.
A young male lion was tracked and located in one
of the upper Kharugaiseb tributaries. The lion
was very weary and because of the difficult terrain,
could not be approached.
7
Mar 2010. Adverse
conditions. During the past two days,
strong east-winds (unusual during the rains),
high ambient temperatures (> 37.5 ° Celsius),
high humidity, and rain, made tracking and locating
lions very difficult. A large section of the areas
utilised by the Uniab, Obab and Hunkap lions were
surveyed, without any success. Early one morning
a pied crow snatched and took-off with a small,
but valuable object (donated by Dr F Senekal during
the recent visit to Cape Town). Many fruitless
hours were spent following the crow.
5
Mar 2010. Lost lioness.
After all the effort (during the past
48 hours) and the attention to detail, losing
the young lioness was a big disappointment. But
website updates are now available for Statistics,
Land Cruiser and
Land Cruiser Report.
4
Mar 2010. Failed
effort. The statement has often been
made that the success of the Desert Lion Project
revolves purely around luck.But it is obvious,
however, that with more effort and skill, the
chance of being lucky, improves. Occasionally
opportunities present themselves, such as the
encounter with the Hunkap lions on 4 May 2009,
or finding with the young lioness two days ago
(2 March 2010). These opportunities must be pursued.
Sometimes they result in success, such as the
former example when two lions of the Hunkap Pride
were darted & radio-collared (see
News 5/6 May 2009), or they result
in nothing: the latter example - the young lioness
disappeared after an enormous effort of tracking
her for two full days.
3
Mar 2010. New video
clips. Three new movies can be viewed
here or under Gallery
& Land Cruiser.
Helmut Hofer kindly filmed and produced the "Land
Cruiser" movie (bottom left).
2
Mar 2010. Hunkap
lioness. Distant vocalisations of lions
were followed in the lower Samanab River, and
a young lioness was spotted and observed briefly.
The lioness was skittish and avoided the Land
Cruiser. It is suspected that the lioness is part
of the Hunkap Pride.
1
Mar 2010. Report
on BFG tires. In September 2009 Michelin
Tyre Company, South Africa, sponsored 8 BF Goodrich
Mud-terrain tires. After 10,455 km of active field-work
an analysis on the performance of the tires were
compiled in a report submitted to Michelin (see
pdf
report –- 283Kb).
27/28
Feb 2010. Rain clouds.
The spoor of a sub-adult male was found between
the Koigab and Huab Rivers. The lion is currently
moving towards Springbokwasser, but following
his tracks have been difficult because of the
sensitive terrain. The rain clouds continue to
build towards the east.
26
Feb 2010. Return
to desert. The Land Cruiser received
a major service and several modifications and
repairs were done before embarking on the long
trip along the coast to the Hoaruseb River. All
the ephemeral rivers and springs are being surveyed
for signs of recent lion movements. The building
of big cloud formations towards the east suggest
that flooding of the major rivers can be expected.
25
Feb 2010. Outcome
of "Desert Lion Fundraiser" in Cape
Town. The fundraiser was arranged and
hosted by Etienne Bruwer Kalaharifonds, in association
with
Lochner Photography and the Buite Burger.
Held at Eensgezindt wine estate, near Durbanville,
the event was attended by 380 guests. As the guest
speaker, P Stander presented an audio/visual slideshow
on the Desert Lion Project. A semi-formal sit-down
dinner and an auction, hosted by the South African
celebrity/comedian, Wicus van der Merwe, followed
the talk. The evening was a major success and
EB Kalakarifonds (EBK) generated R150,000 from
the ticket sales and auction. The
success was made possible due to generous donations,
support, and a lot of hard work. A detailed attendance
list will soon be available on
Lochner Photography. Desert Lion Conservation
would like to thank Etienne, Anne-Marie, Hannes,
and everyone involved for a remarkable event.
In addition, P Stander wishes to thank Dr Nathanie
Naude & Dr Freddie Senekal for their efforts
and support (see Sponsors).
Thanks goes to: Lizette Jenkins
(planning, logistics and making it all happen),
Marina Louw (Eensgezindt), LCCSA & EBK
(sponsoring P Stander's flight), Du Toitskloof
Kelders, Vriesenhof & Distell (table wines),
Peninsula Beverages (soft drinks), Brandhouse
(Captain Morgan Rum). The following parties sponsored
items that were auctioned: Johan Louw (Uwe
Koetter Jewellers) - a beautiful necklace
that was sold to Dr H Kelbrick for R31,000. Wines from Beyers Truter
(Beyerskloof), Rijk Melck (Muratie), Durbanville
Hills, Elzette Du Preez (De Grendel), Orc
de Rac, Badenhorst Family wines, Diemersdal,
Groot Constantia, Jan Boland Coetzee (Vriesenhof),
GT Ferreira (Tokara), Hamilton Russel Vineyards,
Guardian Peak, Linda Marais (Leopards Leap)
& Adoro. Hannes Lochner (photographs
& his new book: Colours of the Kalahari).
J & L Slabbert (Helicopter trip). J Lee
& P Bremer (Arniston weekend). Just Lamb
& Karoo Free Range (meat) & L Veldtsman
(tablecloth). Tables at the venue were sponsored
by: WILD, Medi-Clinic, Tommis Abattoir, CSV
Construction, Honeysett Family Trust, LCCSA,
and several other individuals.
The
wit and humour of the auctioneer, Wicus
van der Merwe, made the event a major success
The
radio collar of Xpl-3 was sold for R6000
Drs.
Daan & Anne-Marie du Plessis & Spike
Erasmus
Lunch
with Jan Boland Coetzee at Vriesenhof
Discussions
with Eben Human - Die Burger
24
Feb 2010. Presentation
to LCCSA. On 13 February 2010 a talk
on the Desert Lion Project was presented to the
Land
Cruiser Club of Southern Africa (LCCSA) in
Springs, South Africa. More that 50 members of
the LCCSA attended the event. The presentation
was aimed at giving feedback to the LCCSA on the
status of the Land Cruiser and the progress of
the Project. After the talk an auction was held
to raise funds for the Desert Lion Project (details
will follow). The members of the LCCSA and Mr.
A Huester, in particular, are thanked for their
ongoing support (see Sponsors
for more details).
23
Feb 2010. Swakopmund
Talk. On return from the lecture/fundraising
trip to South Africa, a talk on the Desert Lion
Project was held in Swakopmund at 19h00 on 22
Feb 2010. Mielies & Peter Sander and T &
R Vinjevold are thanked for arranging the presentation
that was attended by 52 people.
After
the presentation, Nathalie Cadot and Felix
Fallat presented the project with a donation
of new LaCie 500 GB external hard drive.
21
Feb 2010. Lions
vs. Fundraiser. The Flash animation (below)
displays the actual movements of the two lions
fitted with satellite GPS collars (Hoaruseb Pride:
Xpl-44 "Leonardo" & Hunkap Pride:
Xpl-54) during the events of the Desert Lion Fundraiser
(see photos on left) in Cape Town, between 17h00
and 01h00. The scale
for both maps is 10 x 10 km.
Events during the Fundraiser
Movements of Xpl-44 (Hoaruseb male)
Movemnts of Xpl-54 (Hunkap male)
20
Feb 2010. Desert
Lion Fundraiser. A fundraising event,
arranged by Etienne Bruwer Kalaharifund, was hosted
at Eensgezindt in Cape Town on 19 Feb 2010. Details
on a most successful evening will follow soon.
