Giant Sable Conservation Efforts
Found only in central Angola, the giant sable is one of the most impressive but also one of the most critically endangered African antelopes. It was unprotected during the civil war that began in 1975 and only ended in 2002. Government and rebel armies alternately occupied the 8,280 sq km Luando Integral Reserve of the Giant Sable and the 630 sq km Cangandala National Park, 50 km from Malange, the provincial capital. Without a giant sable bull, the sable in Cangandala were doomed to extinction, hybrids or no hybrids.
To read his article further and see the slide show of the operation, go here.
Breaking News - Giraffe kills Impala
Fresh scarlet brain-blood had flowed from the baby impala's nostrils to pool thickly in the footprint of a bull giraffe Read further...
How can we help you!
With holidays, career breaks or future employment opportunities taking a back-seat, many people are looking towards doing something constructive, affordable and above all for themselves. EcoTraining offers a wide variety of courses to suit many individual needs for now and the future!
Why Choose EcoTraining?
•We’ve been training since 1993 - one of the first organisations to conduct formal training.
•We train in great wilderness areas including the Kruger National Park.
•Our students train while living in the middle of the African wilderness, with wild animals potentially right outside their tents as our canvas tented camps are unfenced.
•We have trained Field Guides for top tourism operators such as Wilderness Safaris, Tanzania Wildlife Safaris, KZN Wildlife, Heritage Group and various privately-owned game lodges in southern Africa.
•and more reasons to choose us…
Join the Butterfly Survey at Makuleke
Let us know if you encounter these butterflies at Makuleke in the Kruger National Park. 79 species were recorded during the last survey, a couple of species that were of interest eluded the team. We need your help in documenting the species below.
It would be great if the presence of the following species can be confirmed for the area, as the current records are either very old, doubtful or based on single records only, which could indicate that the specimens recorded were onlymigrants into the area. The species that would be really great to record again are:
• Acraea acrita (Fiery Acraea)
• Charaxes bohemani (Large Blue Emperor)
• Euxanthe wakefieldi (Forest Queen)
• Cyrestis camillus (African Map Butterfly)
• Dixeia doxo (Black‐veined white)
• Andronymus caesar philander (White Dart)
• Andronymus neander (Common dart or Nomad Dart)
| Karongwe Camp |
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THE LOCATION Karongwe Camp is on the banks of the Karongwe River (mostly a dry river bed) in the 9 000 hectare (22 239 acre) Karongwe Game Reserve, which is to the south-west of the Kruger National Park. Through Karongwe Game Reserve flow three rivers which are tributaries of the Olifants River, carving their way through the bedrock and dividing the reserve. The vegetation of the reserve falls within the Savannah Biome of southern Africa with distinct vegetation zones being represented – mixed Lowveld and Mopane bushveld along with grass savannah, riverine vegetation and rocky outcrops. Karongwe has the following habitats: undulating hills and valleys and broad-leafed woodland. We are allowed traversing over most of the reserve, except for one small section in the northern part of the reserve. This is not a restriction at all as it’s quite a small section of the reserve. Temperatures at the camp: Our summers are warm to hot, with temperatures ranging from mid 20°C (68°F) on the cooler cloud-covered rainy days, to the high 30°C (86°F) on average days. Occasional hot day’s temperatures exceed 40°C (104°F). Winters are usually dry, with the average morning temperature of 6°C (43°F), with occasional cooler morning temperatures, and warmer mornings when there is cloud cover. Afternoon temperatures average in the mid 20s°C (68°F), with ranges of 18°C (65°F) to 32°C (89°F) expected. Occasional winter showers prevail, but are unusual. Rain in the summer takes the form of heavy thunder-showers, or frontal rainfall over a longer period of time. Animals found in the Karongwe Game Reserve: Karongwe is a good place for viewing leopard, lion and cheetah as well as elephant and white rhino. As the camp itself is unfenced, we often have four-legged guests in the camp. Hyena makes nightly patrols of the camp and elephant, cheetah and lion have also made appearances in camp on occasion. There is abundant wildlife with over 60 different mammal species including lion, leopard, elephant, white rhino and cheetah.
THE CAMP Accommodation: The camp consists of 10 walk-in style Meru tents, with twin beds (students share tents) where we provide the bedding, shared ablution facilities and a central communal area. We can accommodate a maximum of 20 students. We do have mosquito nets in camp. There are viewing decks in the central area of the camp, and many students choose to make the viewing decks their “bedroom” for part of or for the full duration of the course. The camp itself is unfenced. The central communal area: This area is made up of 4 tall thatch-roofed open-sided decks which forms a square that encloses an open campfire area. One of the deck structures serves as the open air dining area, lecture room and study area. Two decks remain open to welcome the adventurous who want to spend their nights as close to nature as possible, while the last deck is home to Rob, your head instructor. Electricity: There is no electricity at the camp – paraffin lamps are used for all lighting and a generator is used to charge camera batteries and cell phones for emergency use. Studying at night with paraffin lanterns can at times be challenging so a headlamp for this purpose is recommended as well as an extra battery operated lamp if you wish to study in your tent at night. The kitchen is equipped with gas fridges for storage of all perishable food items, thus unfortunately there’s no space for personal items (drinks, water or other) of students. The generator is for camp use so will thus not be switched on for the sole purpose of charging learner cameras or other equipment. Learners are allowed to utilise it when it is running for camp purposes and need to understand that it is used at own risk. Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages (beers & ciders) are sold from the camp and can only be paid for with cash. There are no credit/debit card or cheque facilities. Cordial fruit juices, tea and coffee is provided. Water: Fresh, drinkable water is available from the taps. Game viewing vehicles: The game viewing vehicles are open Land Rover TDI’s To download additional information on the camp, click here |
