NEWSLETTER Issue 03 2017

WHAT FOOTPRINTS TELL

At the end of May, 16 participants were tracking black rhinos in the north-west of Namibia. During the tracking they did not only learn much about the way of life of the animals, but also contributed to the research which protects the rhinos. With the support of our partners Namibian Nature Foundation (NNF), Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Sorris Sorris, Uibasen and Doro! Nawas conservancies and Twyfelfontein Country Lodge, we arranged the three-day- trip into the area around the world cultural heritage in Twyfelfontein. About one third of the participation fee was directly transferred to the SRT.

Photographer: Kalf van Zyl

A sandwich on the wing

SASSCAL cactus cleanup Talks & Events

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3Recycle Namibia ForumServices offered4Membership CardsRoll of Honour5

What footprints tell

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written by J. Kemper

Stories about remarkable bird migrations abound, and it never ceases to capture our imagination how seemingly delicate birds traverse continents and oceans on their an-nual migration routes. The travel tales of a Sandwich Tern (Thallaseus sandvicensis), bearing a red ring engraved “EZS”, are no exception.

Sandwich Terns derive their unusual common name from a town in England that was named after Earl Sandwich – the same nobleman who allegedly invented the popular snack involving two slices of bread. They are medium-sized sea-birds, with a wingspan of 1 m and weighing up to 230 g. The main population of these terns breeds in dense colonies on

the coast across most of Europe and as far east as the Cas-pian Sea. After breeding during the European summer they migrate south, as far as South Africa, where they arrive in September and remain until they head back to their colonies in about March.

Sandwich Tern EZS was ringed as a chick in June 2009 in the Forvie National Nature Reserve in north-eastern Scotland, at the estuary where the Ythan River enters the North Sea. It was noted there again in two subsequent summers. In December 2012 EZS was spotted roosting with a few other Sandwich Terns and a group of local Swift Terns at Grossebucht, near Lüderitz in southern Namibia. Six months later EZS was seen again at its colony in Scotland, after completing a roundtrip of at least 20,000 km! Since then EZS has been recorded at its colony every summer. The choice of Grossebucht as a winter-ing destination obviously still appeals to EZS (and yes, it is a picturesque bay), and it was therefore extremely exciting to see EZS again at Grossebucht in late February 2017 – roosting in exactly the same spot in preparation for the long haul back to Scotland.

Next time you are at the coast during our summer, bring your binoculars along and have a look for Sandwich Terns (and any other birds) wearing engraved colour rings. These rings can then be reported to the South African Bird Ringing Unit, SAFRING (http://safring.adu.org.za/) who will provide you with feedback on the bird’s origin. And who knows, perhaps you come across EZS spending its holidays in Namibia again.

A S A N D W I C H O N T H E W I N G

Andrew Malherbe, NNF-Manager was also pleased about the cooperation with NEWS: “In the long term, we will be able to increase safety for the rhinos in the region and prevent poach-ing by providing comprehensive data on the rhino population and migration as well as human wildlife conflict. Together with MET we will be able to develop strategies for the conservation of the species.”After about seven hours of tracking the participants experi-enced the highlight of the trip: In about 500 meters distance,

on top of a hill, we observed a rhino family, a bull, a cow and their calf. A real thrilling moment when the bull suddenly started shuffling and running. It is astonishing how fast the massive body is set in motion. All participants were delighted and enthusiastic; it has been a long and exhausting day, yet exciting and educational. It was a unique experience.Thank you NNF, Twyfelfontein Lodge, SRT and the three con-servancies for such a unique experience.

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Southern Star Party 2017

Sunday - Monday, 23-25 June ‘17

Venue: Gross Barmen

OT H E R E V E N T S & TA L K S

NEWS AGM

TA L K S A N D E V E N T S

NEWS AGM & World Giraffe DayWednesday 21 June ‘17 @ 19h00The AGM is followed by the screening of the award-winning BBC/PBS documentary ‘Giraffes: Africa’s Gentle Giants’, narrated by David Attenborough and featuring the work of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation with a brief introduction and Q&A session afterwards.VENUE: Namibia Scientific Society, Robert Mugabe Ave 110,opposite National Theatre. Safe parking in yard via Love Street entrance.

All events are open for the public – everyone welcome!

S A S S C A L I N T E R N O R G A N I S E S C AC T U S C L E A N U P I N W I N D H O E K

Recently, Rosalia Joseph, a SASSCAL intern at the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), organised a youth group to do a cactus cleanup in Windhoek. She had volunteered for a Botanical Society cactus cleanup before and, after read-ing about the efforts of Gunhild Voigts and her team, thought it would be a great idea to initiate her own campaign.With the help of Gunhild, Rosalia chose a site to work on next to Sam Nujoma Drive. She was enthusiastically joined by her friends Mirjam Hauwanga and How-ard Coetzee, NBRI interns from the Namibian University of Science and Technolo-gy (NUST). Her seniors at the NBRI thought it was a great idea, and helped with the planning. Her target was to work with fellow students from NUST and UNAM and, with this in mind, Rosalia and Mirjam gave a presentation to students at NUST to raise awareness and encourage them to be part of the Cactus Campaign.Despite not receiving any sponsorship for tools and other necessities, Rosalia or-ganised to get sufficient tools and the City of Windhoek Solid Waste Management department provided them with a skip and other necessities that were lacking and the Botanical Society also provided sufficient equipment. Thirteen volunteers took part, together with men from the road side. The volunteers were Nature Con-servation students from NUST and Environmental Biology students from UNAM. The clearing took five hours of hard work, and was done according to the stan-dards needed to prevent further spreading of the invasive and dangerous aliens. The volunteers involved were Alexander Shikongo, Natalie Barry, Stephanie Schoombee, Laina Abiatar, Mirjam Hauwanga, Howard Coetzee, Jonas Ndeuludi-la, Leena Naftal, Ailla-Tessa Iiyambula, Regina Mwinga, Ndele Shipala, Albertina Fillipus and Rosalia Joseph.

Workshop - Introduction to Radia-tion and Uranium for members of the publicThursday, 15 June ‘17

Presenter: Dr. Detlof von Oertzen

Venue: Namibian Uranium InstitutePre-booking is essential.

Book directly with Ailly or Monika at 064 402 393.

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R E C YC L E N A M I B I A F O R U M

RECYCLE NAMIBIA FORUM (RNF) is educatingRNF recently introduced these posters for education and awareness purposes.Help the education chain and get your ‘Tree of Knowlege’ poster at RNF: Anita Witt, RNF Coordinator at coordinator@rnf.com.naor T 061 238 919.

S E R V I C E S O F F E R E D

REDUCE RECYCLEREUSE

RECYCLE

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R O L L O F H O N O U R

NEWS Office Tel +264 61 306450 Email: information@NEWS-Namibia.orgFor regular news follow us on FB:

www.facebook.com/pages/Namibian-Environment-Wildlife-Society-NEWS/268969839781864

www.NEWS-Namibia.org

Co- Chair: Frauke Kreitz and John Pallett Recycle issues: John Pallett Treasurer: Maria Pimenta Media and Website issues: Frauke Kreitz Talks/Events/Facebook: Frauke Kreitz Newsletter and Roan News: Frauke Kreitz Portfolio and Office Coordinator: Hilda-Marie Botha

Members: David Aiyambo Joerg Melzheimer Manuela Schmid Martina Kűsters Reinhold Mangundu Ruth Chun Ruben Portas Northern Regional Representative: Shelly Rothman Southern Regional Representative & EIA: Jessica Kemper

N E W S D I S CO U N T M E M B E R S H I P C A R D S

NEWS members can look forward to various discount rates offered by the following organisations:

• Bushwackers - Discount will range from 2.5% to 10% de-pending on what is purchased

• Caprivi Houseboat Safaris -10% discount• Düsternbrook - Up to 20% discount (depending on season,

etc.) on accommodation activities• Eco Marine Kayaking—15% discount on kayak cruises in

Walvis Bay

• Felix Unite—15% discount on canoe trips on the Orange River and 10 % discount on accommodation

• Levo Tours—25% discount on dolphin cruises in Walvis Bay Sandwich Harbour

• Toktokkie Trails—5% discount on desert hiking trails in the Namib Rand Nature Reserve

To qualify for these discounts NEWS members must please mention that they are NEWS members and present their membership cards on arrival.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our corporate members, which allows us to pursue our mission to conserve the natural environment of Namibia and to promote appropriate protection, wise and sustainable use of natural resources and sustainable development.

ROANAbsolut Tours & Safaris

First National BankJohn Meinert Printing (Pty) Ltd

Rössing Uranium

SABLEBank WindhoekMatiti Safaris cc

Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) LtdSense of Africa

KUDUNamibian Engineering Corporation (NEC)

Rent-A-Drum

ORYXBannerman Mining Resources Namibia

(Pty) LTDB2GOLD

City of Windhoek Manica Group Namibia (Pty) Ltd

NamibRand Nature ReserveOlthaver &List GroupSWA Safaris (Pty) Ltd

Valencia Uranium (Pty) Ltd

SPRINGBOKDamarana Safaris

Langer Heinrich Uranium (Pty) Ltd Standard Bank

STEENBOK African Wanderer Tours & Safaris

Batis Birding SafarisBlue Sky Namibia Tours

EnviroDynamicsEnvironmental Compliance Consultancy

Financial Consulting SevicesFelix Unite River Adventures cc

Gocheganas Nature Reserve & Wellness Village

Jumbo Charcoal Pty Ltd

Municipality of Walvis BayN/a’an ku sê Foundation

Namibia Individual TravelNeo Paints Factory (Pty) Ltd

Ongava Game Reserve:Andersonns Camp

Little OngavaOngava Lodge

Ongava Tented CampPasjona-Safaris

Reptile Uranium Namibia (Pty) LtdSGA Chartered Accountants

The Wood ConnectionUnlimited Travel & Car Hire cc Ultimate Safaris Pty. Ltd

Westair Wings Charters (Pty) LtdWilderness Safaris:

Wilderness Safaris Head OfficeDamaraland Camp

Doro Nawas Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp

Kulala Desert LodgeLittle KulalaRhino CampSerra Cafema

W M L Consulting Engineers

NEWS COMMITEE MEMBERS 2016/7