IFAW's Animal Rescue Blog

Last Elephant Bulls Captured in Malawi

This post was filed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Neil Greenwood, who has just returned from Malawi.

With all the family groups caught and safely relocated the team have been focusing on the few remaining bulls. Unlike the family groups which can be loaded together the bulls due to their size and temperaments can only be loaded one per crate. This means that only two can be moved down to Majete at a time. These behemoths of the African savannah virtually fill the wake up box when they stand.

Looking back over the past month or so this relocation has been an extraordinary achievement, from our first initial days of surveying the area and meeting with the communities affected by the human – elephant conflict. Both sides had their stories to tell, the villagers in conversation and the elephants in the scare they bore from the conflict.

Through the frustration of the court injunction placed on us preventing the moving of the elephants to Majete to the joy of hearing it had been lifted and the voice of the people being heard by the courts, it’s been a real rollercoster.

I will never forget the sound of the singing and ululating villagers that came to capture team HQ the same evening the injunction had been lifted. The relief on their faces, and their thanks to us for relocating the elephants was humbling.

Then the real work started; the work we had all come to Malawi to do, to capture and relocate the Phirilongwe elephant from Mangochi’s agricultural landscape and its subsistence “gardens” to Majete Wildlife Reserve. With every capture - from the tiny calves staying close to their moms, to the old matriarchs and massive bulls there has a real sense of achievement that what we were doing was making a real different for not only the people of Malawi but their elephants too.

I would like to thank all our supporters who donated to this worthwhile project and have followed the Phirilongwe elephant’s journey. Without your support and commitment to the International Fund for Animal Welfare this would not have been possible, Thank you.

First African Penguin spotted back in Namibia!

This exciting development comes just a few weeks after the successful rehabilitation of one of the most endangered species of Penguin in the world. In April, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) - supported group SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) received a call from the Namibian government to assist in the rescue of 130 oiled African Penguins off the coast of Luderitz, Namibia. After a long road trip to Cape Town, South Africa, the birds received quality care and rehabilitation that saved their lives. On May 21st, the first group of 84 penguins were returned to their ocean home and started their journey back to Namibia. Just 18 days after the release, we heard back from our colleagues in SANCCOB:

It was a pink spot day on Mercury Island when a Namibian conservationist spotted the first African penguin back home after a recent 4-week stint of rehabilitation.

On June 8, just 18 days after their release from Derdesteen Beach in Cape Town the first of a group of 129 penguins, which have been successfully rehabilitated at SANCCOB, was seen back at its original breeding colony of Mercury Island.

After his release from Derdesteen Beach, he was spotted on Robben Island on 25 May (4 days after being released from Derdesteen Beach). With this confirmed sighting on 25 May, this would mean that his actual swimming time was a fantastic 14 days!

At a total distance of 1019km, he averaged 72.7km per day!

So, if you play the lotto, you may want to remember the lucky numbers A10885 because that’s the tenacious little tike that won the race to get back home.

As with all collectives of animals one immediately stood out as the feistiest and was immediately dubbed ‘Black Angus’ as it fought its way through rehab, pecking the handlers randomly and generally taking charge.

Weighing in at 2,8kg on admittance, which is a respectable weight for a penguin and put him ahead in the weight-class of his fellow refugees, he pretty much doubled his weight as he ate his way through prime Sardine a la SANCCOB, to finally weigh in at 4.1kg on his release.

Of course it was he who strode out ahead of the group at the beach release, and first to take to the waters. And follows that he had to be the one to win the long swim home, to strike familiar soil shore and to announce triumphantly to his fellow Mercurians “Black Angus is back!’

100+ endangered birds seized in Trinidad & Tobago

The International Fund for Animal Welfare's  Colleen Cullen sent this post over about a wildlife seizure in Cedros.

A shipment of 83 yellow-headed parrots, 9 black headed caiques, 10 conures, 16 orange-winged parrots, an agouti and a wild hog were seized on Thursday, June 25th by Customs and Excise Officers at Cedros, Trinidad and Tobago after being brought in illegally by boat from the Venezuelan mainland. The perpetrators were charged for illegally importing prohibited animals.

The offenders were charged for being in possession of protected animals and for cruelty to animals. Most of the confiscated parrots were stuffed into two crocus bags while others were tied to pieces of wood. All the parrots’ wings were clipped.

The game wardens involved in making these arrests were trained in Trinidad & Tobago by wildlife trade experts at IFAW just over a year ago. Among the topics of the training were – how to spot and address wildlife crime and how to humanely confiscate and shelter the animals.

The animals were transported to the Emperor Valley Zoo for care and rehabilitation. Nirmal Biptah, Curator of the Emperor Valley Zoo, laments the appalling condition of the seized animals and the cramped conditions under which they were shipped.

In April, the confiscation of 1000+ animals in Trinidad & Tobago was similarly attributed to last year’s enforcement training in the country.

IFAW is continuing to train wildlife enforcement officers across the globe and has recently conducted workshops in South America and in the Middle East.

IFAW Dubai: Citizen Takes Action to Rescue Injured Dog

This article, originally published in the Gulf News, came into my inbox this morning from our Dubai office, and definitely brought a renewed sense of pride in working for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The organisation mentioned, K9 Friends is an IFAW grantee. J.C. Bouvier - IFAW.

Helping a poor dog to recover

By Montserrat Martin, Gulf News Reader
Published: June 28, 2009, 23:14

A few days ago, during my working rounds in an industrial area in Ajman, I found a white dog lying on the sand. By the way he slept, I received an indication that he was badly hurt.

When the dog tried to get up, I realised that his front leg was broken and his paw was literally twisted back to front. The bone in his paw completely jutted out and half of his paw on his rear leg was also missing.

He had scars all over his body, he was covered with tics and his eyes were swollen. Despite his condition, the dog was very friendly and had a pleasant nature.

With tears in my eyes, I thought of the kind of agony he must have gone through in his short life. I gave him a tin of tuna and water and had to leave him against my will, as I could not accommodate him in my car or home, where I had quite a few rescued cats.

However, I returned the next day. He was waiting for a Good Samaritan to come to his aid — for some worker to share his biryani or to receive water from a disposed water bottle.

What made me hesitate when rescuing the dog was not the costly bill from Dubai's veterinarians, but the post-operation recovery period and the lack of a clean place in which he could reside.

44 elephants now safely moved in Malawi

This post was filed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Neil Greenwood, who is on the ground in Malawi.

We’re back in action and the capture team is in high spirits and working hard to make up for lost time in capturing and translocating the elephants. Since Saturday we have captured a further 26 elephants, making a total of 44 elephants safely moved to their new home at Majete Wildlife Reserve.

While the conditions have been challenging the team has had great success in finding and capturing family groups of elephants – a group of 10 on Saturday, nine on Sunday and seven yesterday. Every capture and translocation has attracted a huge amount of attention from the local community and several hundred people turn out every day to cheer and sing as the elephant pass by on the recovery vehicles.

On Sunday we loaded a cow elephant of about 50 plus years old into the wake-up crate for her move down to the reserve, her sunken temples telling of a grand old lady who has seen it all. I felt a great sense of satisfaction and achievement in knowing that she will be able to spend her golden years in the safety of a protected area.                                                                                  

There’s no doubt in my mind that the relocation of the Phirilongwe elephants is the only realistic option for protecting the Phirilongwe elephants. The project will not only benefit the lives of the elephants but also those of the greater community.

For more information and to donate please visit: www.ifaw.org/helpelephants

Crowds cheer as IFAW resumes elephant move in Malawi

This material was relayed back from our communications team on the ground in Malawi.

After a brief suspension, the International Fund for Animal Welfare resumed its elephant capture operation today in Malawi.

The helicopter reconnaissance flight looking for elephants started at 7am and just 30 minutes later, the team had identified a group of about 30 elephants which separated into family groups.

A group of nine elephants – five males and four females (comprising three adults, five adolescents and one very young calf) – were herded towards the recovery vehicles and successfully darted.

The recovery went without a hitch and the elephants were transported on the flatbed vehicles to the transport vehicles A crowd of 800 to 1000 people gathered along the road to celebrate the elephant’s departure.

The nine elephants arrived at Majete Wildlife Reserve at 6 this evening and have been released into the boma where they will be held for approximately 24 hours. Once the door is opened, the elephants are able to depart at their own free will into their new and secure home.

The next capture is scheduled for Saturday 20th June. Stay tuned!

VIDEO: IFAW's N. Greenwood on a Postive Start for the African Ele Move

In this video, the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Neil Greenwood discusses the successful beginning of African elephant translocation operations in Malawi, Africa. For more information and to support IFAW's efforts, please visit: http://www.ifaw.org/helpelephants