Antonet

Ecological role of Fire

2012-01-12T22:47:00.000-08:00

The general idea is that fire is bad and it must be stopped at all costs.
However and this is a big HOWEVER. Fire is one of the most important management tools when working with a conservation management plan.

Why?
Let me explain the ecological role of fire:

Because of thousands of years worth of natural fires-caused by things such as thunderstorms-the plant life in South Africa has evolved in such a way that a great many of them now actually need fire in order to survive. In this way fire plays a large role in the revitalization and renewal of the environment. This means that the plants actually need the fire to do things like germinate, and to reduce moribund (excess dead grass collecting on the ground and around the grass stems causing severe reduction in the amount of palatable grass).
Due to human habitation, Elephants- the bulldozers- are no longer able to keep the amount of tree and bush encroachment in check. This means that alien invasive and even indigenous plants are growing like there is no tomorrow and in effect encroaching. An effective way to manage this is by burning.
A lack of burning over the years has had a large impact on the ecosystems.

Fire has different effects on different ecosystems. The general effect however is that it effects the progress of plant succession. The reason for this is the different roles that plants play in the progress of succession. For e.g. here on Sondela we have a large section (+/- 400 hectares) that burnt in September 2010. everything about the fire was ecologically perfect. It reduced moribund. It burnt over a section of vlei where we had problems with bull rush encroachment (see blog about Bulrushes) reducing the bull rush quite a bit. The burnt grass was able to put nutrients back in the soil due to rain several days later and very still windless days in between.
This in turn meant that less competitive grass with a higher nutritional value (Cenchrus cilliaris-fox tail buffalo grass; Digitaria errantha-common finger grass; and Panicum maximum-guinea grass) get the chance to grow.

On another level this caused the veld that was previously in a bad condition to degenerate even more. Causing competitive, nearly unpalatable grasses such as; Hetripogon contortis-spear grass; Hyperthelia dissoluta-yellow thatch grass; and Hyperrhenia filipendula-fine thatch grass to grow in excess.
Let me explain:

As the new sweet and very nutritious grass grew, all the grazers-both bulk(e.g. Zebra) and selective(e.g. Red Hartebees)-moved to the recently burn area to feed (at that point there was not much fresh green grass elsewhere, as is the case in winter). They grazed in there to the point where the new high quality grass could now grow fast enough to keep up. This caused them to simply stop growing, giving the low quality grass a chance to over take the area.

{Random explanation: When considering the important role that grasses play in the succession of veld, we need to remember where individual grass species fit in.

Grasses with a low grazing value:
Heteropogon contortus
It is what we call a perennial tufted grass- this means that it grows for more than five seasons (rain seasons, so if an area has more than one rain season in a year it will not grow for such a long period of time: in the bush veld they grow for +/- five years)
It grows in disturbed areas for e.g. over grazed areas, and tends to grow so dense that other vegetation struggles to grow.
Hyperthelia dissoluta
As with the spear grass it is a perennial grass, and prefers disturbed areas.
Hyperrhenia filipendula
Also a perennial grass that grows in disturbed areas.

Grasses with a high grazing value:
Cenchrus cilliaris
It is a perennial grass. It is also what we refer to as a decrease which means that in over grazed areas it decreases. This is the same with Digitaria errantha as well as Panicum maximum.

Ethology - Animal Behavior

2012-01-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

Ethology is the study of animal behavior in their natural environment. It is an objective method where the researcher distances himself from the idea that animals act like humans - in other words the researcher would attempt a value free analysis of animal behavior.

This consists of two components

Instinctive behavior
and Learned behavior

All animals display elements of both components.
Instinctive behavior can be seen as an inherent wisdom.
Learning is acquired over time and becomes more important as the animal develops into adulthood. Behavior Learned
1. Classical Conditioning
where an animal associates with specific objects, sounds and actions. For e.g. vultures associates a helicopter with food for vultures. Because the helicopter for e.g culs and so makes food for vultures.
2. Operand Conditioning.
Where an animal learns in random ways that certain behavior is either rewarded or punished. Cub biting dads tail gets a slap.
3. Modeling
Young animals imitate the behavior of their parents and other adult animals.

Behavior happens on two levels:

Personal survival and
Social interaction

Many social behaviors have an instinctive base e.g. males fighting for supremacy.

Behavior for personal survival

Feeding: hunting, seeking and gathering.
Drinking: water or substitute.
Cleaning or preening: parasites, mud and dust baths.
Protective behavior: from predators and elements. Camouflage, thanitosis (playing dead), chemical defense, aposomatic colouring (warning colours) autonomy (lizards that through their tails off) , and making themselves larger.
Fleeing from danger, fighting against a dangerous intruder.

There are three zones around an animal.

Comfort zone, starts from where alert zone ends and moves away from animal.
Personal space, when there is and intruder enters the comfort zone the animal would freeze as a first reaction. it is the distance that an animal requires between itself and potential danger to fee safe.
Recognition zone,here it starts signaling discomfort. like for e.g. hissing or snapping

Serval - Leptailarus serval

2012-01-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans: Tierboskat
Feeds on: Mainly birds for which it is well adapted. having the ability to leap into the air and strike with unerring precision, killing a bird in flight. They also prey on rodents and amphibians.
Habits: Primarily nocturnal. They simply use a hollow to deficate in and don't cover it up as many cat species do. they are not territorial but instead just make use of a home range. Females home ranges do not overlap but males most commonly do.
Gestation period: 80 days giving birth to up to five cubs.
Theirlife expectancy is more or less twelve years. They have been reported to prey on duiker and other small antelope. however this tends to happen only when they have young that are being weened.
General Description: Shoulder height 50 cm
Weight 15 Kg
Length 70 cm
Mating from August - February
Spoor 4 - 4.5 cm in diameter.

Chemical Capturing of Nyalas

2012-01-03T07:02:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to assist in chemical game capture. The objective was to capture three Nyala bulls for relocation so that we can bring new blood/DNA onto the farm. I helped with the preparation for the capture in terms of:

Cleaning and checking of equipment.
Cleaning and checking of trailer and boma in which they were to be kept until they are relocated.
Locating and identifying the animals to be captured.

When we had located and identified the Nyala that we wanted to capture, the vet darted it. We then followed it at a safe distance of between 30 and 50 meters so that we do not lose it, as this could result in things like:

It falling into a rut or hole and breaking any bone.
It falling onto a sharp edge of a rock or tree stump, causing injury to itself.
As soon as the sleeping drug starts to take effect the animal is confused. This in turn causes the animal to get aggressive, that is why you must follow in such a way that you are always safe and always have an escape route.

When the Nyala is on the verge of falling we close in and trip it. the advantage of doing this is that we can then choose where it fall which is safer for the animal. the disadvantage is that we are in the Nyalas striking zone, so we need to be extra careful.

Sig and the vet ran after the Nyalas and i drove the vechile to the place where they would catch it. this is because we were catching them between the chalets and there are bushes in between the buildings.
After we have caught the animal we load it onto the bakkie using a stretcher. when the animal is leaded and steady we keep it still by holding onto it. at the same time we need to keep its head upright and pull its tongue out of its mouth and let it hang out the side. this prevents it from blocking the airway and suffocating the Nyala.

Draw flow charts to represent a roadmap for provincial legislation.

2011-10-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

Scenario: We had two Vervet monkeys at the wlc that were given to us by nature conservation. We unfortunately do not have the facilities to hold primates and so had to have them moved.

Document your understanding of the legislative terms.

2011-10-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

'veterinary profession' means the profession of veterinarian or veterinary specialist;

'veterinary specialist' means any person who is registered with a particular speciality in terms of this Act to practise the veterinary profession of veterinary specialist.

"Animals" means any equine, bovine, sheep, goat, pig, fowl, ostrich, dog, cat, or

Other domestic animal or bird, or any wild animal, wild animal, wild bird or reptile

Which is in captivity or under control of any person.

"license holder or licensee" means the person to whom a license has been granted;

"Minister" means the Minister to whom the administration of this Act has been

assigned;

"police officer" has the meaning assigned to it by the Animals Protection Act, 1962,

and includes a person authorised under section 8 of the said Act;

"train" means train for the purpose of exhibiting or of use for safeguarding;

"use for safeguarding" means the training, use or placing at disposal for gain, or the

letting, of a dog with a view to or for the protection of persons and property.

12. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Performing Animals Protection Act,

"officer" means an officer of a society;

"the Act" means the Animals Protection Act, 1962 (Act 71 of 1962);

Captive: A large predator is considered captive if any of the criteria of the definitions for wild or managed wild populations are absent.

Captive-bred: A large predator bred under controlled unnatural conditions is considered to be captive-bred.

Canned hunting: Canned hunting is considered to be any form of hunting where:

Define the various Acts and describe their application. Describe the functions of the applicable role-players.

2011-10-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Veterinary professions Act. 1982 (Act No.19 of 1982)

Basically this is to make sure that the Veterinary Council has power over those who are and are not allowed to practice veterinary professions. This is to both protect the animals treated and the people who are allowed to treat from those who are not qualified and/or registered.

No one working at the wildlife center is allowed to perform functions-on the animals-for which they are not qualified. This means students qualified to feed the animals may only feed the animals. Sieg the head of the conservation department is a qualified veterinary technician which automatically makes him more qualified to perform checks and medicating of the animals. In this way both the vet who helps us with sick animals and the employees of the WLC are protected by the act.

Animal Matters Amendment (Act, No. 42 of 1993)

This act it to protect people who are injured by animals due to the mistreatment of animals by other people.

At the WLC we work with animals on a daily basis. If a person who enters a cage or boma gets injured due to negligence from our side very specifically towards the animal-the rehab will lose its license.

Animals Protection Act (NO. 71 of 1962)

This act is to protect animals from basically animal cruelty. However this is a broad scope, to make it more easily manageable it can be divided into two sections.

Animal rights: The idea is to get across that animals just like humans have rights. For example to right to be free from confinement.

And Animal Welfare: At the same time to give places like the WLC leeway because of the important role they play in animal protection, there is the animal welfare. This in turn says that animals who are in captivity but whose welfare is looked after may be confined for the purpose of the species’ survival (for e.g.)

NEMBA

National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act

This act is all about the management of the biodiversity. Hereby protecting endangered and threatened species and the exploitation of them. It also answers to the questions that arise around the balance between the protection of the species and the sustainable use of them for financial purposes.

To provide for the management and conservation of South Africa’s biodiversity, through the management of the indigenous biological resources and anything that is connected with it.

NEMA

National Environmental Management Act

This act is about guidelines end principles for those who make the decisions about the environment and things that affect the environment in South Africa. It is about the smooth and successful co-ordination of environmental matters and things connected with the environment.

LEMA

Limpopo Environmental Management Act

Is very much the same as the national environmental management act except in this case it is a much smaller scope that is covered and it has more detail into which plants animals and environments are managed.

It will be worth more for the WLC to abate by this act than for e.g. the National act because it is local.

Game Theft Act (No 105 of 1991)

This act states that the animal still belongs you even if it escapes and/or is transported and jumps of the vehicle. That being said the owner must be able to prove ownership and until such time

Mealworms and how to controll them

2011-09-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Task 6

Determine measures by which to establish the levels of pest problems-both on plants and on animals- and develop control programs for the various pests. Include cost quotes for products and services as well as equipment lists. Create a policies and procedures indicating the process and regularity of control required.

As part of our cultivating food for animals we breed with mealworms. This can pose a problem as they are considered a pest in South Africa. This means we have to look at our storage methods so that they cannot get out in the first place, and second, them not getting into the dry food.

Therefore the policies and procedures for using anything in the dry store should be.

· Container used to dish/scoop out dry food must be dry.

· Container used for storing dry goods must be sealed properly.

· Container used for storing dry goods must stay in a cool and dry place.

· When the container is leaking or broken it must be replaced as soon as possible.

· Dry spills must be swept up and disposed of as soon as possible. Check under containers to make sure none stayed behind as this will attract the beetles.

The Policies and Procedures for handing the mealworms should be:

· When you are done removing worms for feeding you must close the containers properly.

· When you are done feeding the worms close container properly.

How can you get rid of them?

If lots of beetles are found indoors you should check all the kitchen cupboards for spilled food or infested bags of flour etc. Check the bases of cupboards and behind appliances for scraps of old food that you may not be aware of.
Check in lofts and roof spaces for old birds’ nests.
If you have had pest control treatment for rats or mice it might be worth checking floorboards for old corpses.
Clean up thoroughly and throw away any old or infested stocks of food.
Use an insecticide spray sold for 'crawling insects' that is labelled as safe for use in kitchen areas. Always read the label of an insecticide before deciding to buy it and follow the safety guidelines when using them.
After you have treated, be aware that further mealworms may hatch so you may need to keep treating until all the eggs have hatched out and infestation has completely gone.

Policies and procedures for a captive animal facility

2011-09-21T06:51:00.003-07:00

Task 3

Describe the benefits of the policies and procedures. Determine a draft list of policies and procedures that you think will be needed for the WLC.

It sets a standard for everyone to operate by. So that people who have been there for long time and new people are on the same footing in terms of how things work.

There needs to be policies and procedure for the following:

1. Feeding.

2. Cleaning.

3. Sterilizing.

4. Reporting.

5. Maintenance.

6. Guiding.

7. Storage o food

8. Storage of chemicals

9. Storage of medication

10. Storage of tools

11. Animal Care.

12. Logging of animal information.

Policies and procedures for a captive animal facility

2011-09-21T06:51:00.002-07:00

Task 3

Describe the benefits of the policies and procedures. Determine a draft list of policies and procedures that you think will be needed for the WLC.

It sets a standard for everyone to operate by. So that people who have been there for long time and new people are on the same footing in terms of how things work.

There needs to be policies and procedure for the following:

1. Feeding.

2. Cleaning.

3. Sterilizing.

4. Reporting.

5. Maintenance.

6. Guiding.

7. Storage o food

8. Storage of chemicals

9. Storage of medication

10. Storage of tools

11. Animal Care.

12. Logging of animal information.

Daily Log Book

2011-09-21T06:51:00.001-07:00

Task 2

Design daily log book that allows for the description of your daily tasks and feedback both for yourself as well as your supervisor. Discuss to standardize the format, design and implement.

The current log book is a combination between the logbook that our facilitator designed and the logbook that one of our students designed.

The log book is divided into tasks which makes is easier to align with a unit standard, specific outcomes, and assessment criteria.

It gives space to describe the lesson learnt, which is where we write what we did as well as the new things that happened in our learning program.

There is space to write the student name and the date so as to follow on which day what happened.

There is also a space for the student, the facilitator and the manager to sign. This is just to establish the authenticity of the logbook.

Minuets 21September 2011

2011-09-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

Agenda

Captive Animal Management: Level 4

SAQA 40435

Feedback on training

v The new group started on Thursday this means that they have had only four days of coaching.

v They seem to be managing and are very enthusiastic.

v One student will require special attention.

v They hand in the work as they need to but could concentrate on their answers a little bit more.

Feedback on research project

v Have been checking up on my fire posters that I put up in June. They need to be replaced and placed on a more visible place so that the eyes that should see it actually see it.

Presentation of assignments

v Completed Workbook 3 up to question 6 also finished question 11.

v Need to blog work.

Handout and discussion of new assignments

v Need to finish question 7 -10 of WB 3 for next week.

v And Question 2, 3 and 6 from WB 2.

v Also question 1-3 of WB 1.

v Try 14, 18, 19 and 20 WB 3.

Research for new assignments

v Waste Disposal

v Research Legislation

v Research Carrying capacity of WLC and Sondela.

v Find out how to determine whether female mammals are lactating.

v Find out what special courses are there on animals choose one and research it.

2011-09-21T05:41:00.001-07:00

Minutes of group discussion – Question 4

Present – Monica, Antonet, Karen, Michelle

Date – 21 September 2011

If a product is not logged correctly, suspicion will fall on the person who handled the
products and this could lead to a loss of job and income
If equipment is not stored correctly and left where it was used last, it could lead to
injury of animals or people and could lead to loss of income
If faulty equipment is not reported and repaired it could lead to injury of animals or
people
If no record is being kept of new or used stock the budget will become irrelevant and
will lead to loss of income for the organization
All equipment, stock and materials should be stored correctly in case of emergency
where time is of the essence
Correctly label all products stored to prevent any misunderstanding
Always be aware of equipment, stock and material numbers to prevent loss or theft
If products are not labelled correctly it would be impossible to know when expiry dates
have been exceeded
Always store dry products in a cool, dry place to prevent pests such as beetles or mould
to damage it
Label products correctly to know the correct way of waste disposal

Agenda 14 September 2011

2011-09-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Agenda 14/09/2011

Captive Animal Management

SAQA 48435

Feedback on Training

· Finishing with the seventh group of the year at the WLC today.

· Training went very well, and so did the POE’s

· Feedback from this group was very positive about their course.

· All students were competent and successfully passed their test on the course

Feedback on Research projects

· Started and completed a short research project on the cost of feeding the permanent animals at the centre per day.

Presentation of Assignments

· Started and completed module two questions 1-8. Still need to blog it.

· Completed module three, question five, and put it on my blog.

Handout and Discussion of new Assignments

· Finish module two for next week.

· Do questions one to four on module three for next week.

· Blog all of the above.

Research for new assignments

· Research ringworms for pest control project.

· Research fleas for pest control.

Model 3

2011-09-14T05:22:00.000-07:00

Module 3

Task 1

Develop and review the job description of a wildlife caretaker at a wild life centre. Consider the different time frames e.g. weekly and monthly.

KPA (Key Performance Areas)

Job Title: Captive Animal Caretaker

Name of incumbent:

Summary of function: To manage feeding and caring of animals in the Wildlife Centre

Performance Areas	Description	Time Periods
Stock Control:	Stock needs to be counted, the level at which stock should lie needs to be determined. Stock needs to be ordered on a weekly and monthly basis as necessary. Weekly reports on stock levels must be compiled and sent to the appropriate people.	Weekly, Monthly, Yearly
Feeding Rosters	Planning of feeding rosters. Establishing of feeding patterns for each individual animal in the facility. Updating feeding rosters on a weekly basis and as necessary.	Daily, Weekly.
Feeding Animals	Feeding animals as well as overseeing feeding of animals. Know when and how animals feeding needs to be changed.	Daily
Enrichment Projects	Design and upkeep of enrichment projects and animal activities.	Daily, weekly, and monthly.
Upkeep of Reporting System	Reporting to the necessary authority about the activities, problems, feeding, medicating, maintenance, and enrichment.	Daily, weekly, monthly.
Upkeep of animal logbooks	Writing a detailed informative log on each animal for future use.	Daily, weekly and monthly.
Enclosures.	Know what enclosures which animals need. Design enclosures for animals as necessary. Upkeep and cleaning of enclosures. If needed assist in building enclosures, cages and bomas.	Daily, weekly and monthly
Rehabilitation Activities	Rehabilitation of animals and animal enclosures. Exercising animals and encouraging natural behavior. Introducing animals to each other for companionship.	Daily, weekly.
Training and Coaching	Teaching new staff and students what needs to be done how and what the SOPs and P&Ps are.	Daily and Weekly.
Legislation	Know about legislation of a facility. Know the policies and procedures (design them if need be). Understand and follow rules and regulations. As well as organizing and maintaining permits for animals and procedures in the facility.	As and when they change needs to keep up with changes.
Maintenance	Maintenance of enclosures, watering systems, buildings, paths, drains, stock and tools.	Daily, weekly and monthly.

MY C.V

2011-09-14T05:17:00.001-07:00

C.V

Antonet Behr

Personal Details:

Surname: Behr

First Name: Antonet

Date of Birth: 21 December 1988

ID no: 881221 02 06 082

Country of Birth: South Africa

Place of Birth: Pretoria

Residential Address: Plot 96 Lewzene Estates

Zonderwater Rd

Cullinan 1000

Home language(s): English Afrikaans

Secondary Language(s): German & Sesotho (Minimal understanding and speaking)

Marital Status: Not Married

Dependents: None

Drivers License: Yes

Contact Details: Cell: 082654777

Email: antonet.behr@gmail.com

Education:

Cullinan Combined School

I Passed Matric with 7 subjects in 2007: Accounting

Afrikaans

Art

Biology

English

Mathematics

Science

At school I played hockey and did athletics. I also took part in the revue singing and public speaking.

Currently I am Studding as a Game ranger and Tourist guide. I have completed the sections on Site guide as well as Species Care in a Controlled Environment.

I am qualified level 4 Nature guide(equivalent FGASA level 2) With 100 hours game drive experience. Level 2 Game Ranger and level 2 captive animal care.

I received trophies for Nature conservation Student of the year, Nature Conservation Academic Student of the year as well as a merit for Site Guide of the year in 2010.

Please visit my Blog site http//:antonetspot.blogspot.com/ for more information about day to day experience.

Experience:

Mystique Restaurant, Tea Garden and Guest House

While still at school I worked as a waitress and eventually managed the tea garden on weekends. This was in 2003 I was thirteen at the time.

Reference: Naomi Boisson (Manager)

078 136 9771

The Owls Nest Wedding Venue and Conference Centre

This was between 2006 and 2008 while still at and after school. I worked as a waitress on occasional Friday and Saturday evenings.

Reference: Christa (Owner)

083 288 2032

Baby Sitting

With the aim of eventually doing Au pair work I completed my 200 hours childcare by babysitting and helping out at the Cullinan School’s aftercare.

Reference(s): Judy Dehon: 083 656 7845

Naomi Boisson: 078 136 9771

Roxanne Van Wyk 082 959 9574

The Rose Pantry

This is a shop it Cullinan that specializes in home made jams pickles and preserves. Here I was shop assistant from 26/01/08-12/10/08

Reference: Sannet 012 734 2496

Sir Thomas Cullinan Restaurant

I started here as a stock controller which later expanded to ass line cook.

Reference Elizabeth Colby 012 734 1225

The Lemon Tree

Tea Garden and Restaurant. Started there on the 1st of October 2009 and finished end of December in order to come study.

McHardy Museum

Here I am registered as a Site guide for the first house built in Cullinan.

Other

I am computer literate and have experience in all aspects of Ms Office especially Ms excel, power point and word. I am completely comfortable with processing on the internet.

I am also excellent at data capturing, and have extensive experience with Pos Cuisine manager both Front and back office. I can type 30 words per minute.

I have competent admin skills. One hundred percent bilingual in Afrikaans and English.

I speak and understand a Small amount of: German

Sesotho

And Dutch

I can play piano, sing and do theory up to grade 5 standard

I received 78% Graphic Art Matric end of year exams.

I Have a Natural ability with cooking and six months worth of restaurant kitchen experience.

I can ride horse, quads and the Land Cruisers used for game guiding. I have done many game walks and game drives in the past 6 months and I especially enjoy teaching people new things.

I have done rhino, kudu, eland, blesbuck, zebra, gems buck capturing as well.

COVER LETTER

Peoples person, love nature, i enjoy working with children. I have no problem following orders and instructions and I can think on my feet if the situation calls for it.

I love reading and so have an odd sort of general knowledge base. I love cooking and drawing as well. I love learning new things and teaching things to others. I have no problem with the physical work that goes hand in hand with this industry.

SKILLS MATRIX

Related Skill	Proficiency	Last Used	Comments
.Stock controller	.Intermediate	.1 year ago	.5 months with in house training
.waiter	.Expert	.Currently	.6 years experiance
.Game ranger in training	.Intermediate	.Currently	.
.tourist nature guide	.Intermediate	.Currently	.
.shop assistant	.Beginner	.1 year ago	.
.pa	.Beginner	.2 years ago	.

Toilet for the Hyde atthe Boys hous

2011-09-14T02:54:00.000-07:00

Ecological Budget

2011-09-14T02:03:00.000-07:00

Budget
Ecological Plan's Budget
Income vs Expenses
Structure follows strategy and budget follows structure.

Two Types of Budgets:

Based on historical facts.
or Based on a plan.

The first budget you set up is the hardest from there on you simply revise the budget each year and add more or less 10% per year on the amount of money that you expect to spend.

Each month you work on an Budget which is the amount of money you estimated that you will need for spending that month. Actual which at the end of the month you get when you have seen how much you actually spent during that month.

After establishing your income and expenditure you have you profit or loss.
If you are running at a loss you need to change things on your management strategy.
If the case is that you are making profit the profit can be used to improve your facilities. This is called a capital budget: a budget for what you are going to do with the profit that you have made.

Another section of the budget is the staff salaries and wages. For this this you need to know on which level your staff are at in terms of they responsibilities and then how much they are paid.

Weekend 27-28 August.

2011-08-31T03:36:00.000-07:00

This is Duke. He is about six months old. Currently he eats 250 ml Calf Dekavite (Milk powder for Ruminants) five times a day.
These two lovelies are Matilda and Peanut our giraffes. Here i am taking down the hay net ,which is empty, so that i can fill it up again. We refill it twice a day in the morning and in the afternoon.

And last but not least this is Max one of our two lion cubs (the other one is Lex) Max is a male lion. The cubs are now 14 months old and eat about 3 kg of fresh meat per day. Even though they are fun to be with and we refer to them as still being cub, we have to be very careful when going into their enclosure. First you are never allowed to go in by yourself, because you must have your eyes on both lions at all times it is easier to have too pairs of eyes watching your back. They are also very playful and see us as fellow lions so try to play with us the way they play with each other. Basically they can hurt you quite badly without meaning to. We teach them about not hurting us by smacking them on their noses when they bite us. This is because the nose is a sensitive part of their body and even a soft tap can be felt. It is also important to speak to them the whole time while you in their cage. Because they can get a fright and attack, if you suddenly get up or make a noise when they have relaxed with you in the cage.

2011-08-31T02:36:00.000-07:00

Agenda 31/08/2011

Captive animal management

SAQA 48435

1. Feedback on training:

· Students are doing well still very enthusiastic.

· Students are interacting more with the animals, going with lions on walks and assisted with the caracal walks. Some of them feel comfortable feeding the more dangerous animals.

· They are able to prepare feeding on their own as well as feed most of them on their own.

· They think for themselves and use initiative in terms of animal enrichment and cleaning without being asked to do so.

2. Feedback on research project

· Have not done anything more as yet.

· Titles and introduction complete methods will be completed by next academy day.

3. Presentation of assignment(S)

· Workbook one question one completed.

· Workbook 2 question one and two completed.

· Have decided to move Module one to the end of the course because we gather a large amount of legislation information as we work through the other workbooks.

· Still working on the educational booklets.

4. Handout and discussion of new assignment.

· Workbook 3 to be done for next week. Will discuss today.

· Do questions 1-4 for next academy day

· Also next questions will be given to us.

5. Research for new assignments

· The research the statistical success of bone re-growth in heavy birds e.g. Emu and Ostrich.

· What medication was used on the Hyena yesterday?

Freezer Burn

2011-07-27T02:03:00.000-07:00

Is Freezer Burn or Frostbite on meat bad for animals to eat?
Please note that this is from the viewpoint of feeding it to animals in a rehabilitation situation.

As far I can tell NO. Although there are a few things that happen to meat that has been frozen especially without the proper packaging.
1. Meat that is frozen does loose a certain amount of its nutrients but even then it is fine to feed it to animals.
2. Frostbite on meat tends to dry the meat out causing the pigment to discolor due to a chemical reaction.
3. In feeding frozen meat to animals it is important to add a supplement to their diet; such as Predator powder which is what we use at the Wildlife Center.
4. The frostbite meat tends to smell really bad and can result in the animal not eating it for just that reason.

Meal Worms

2011-07-16T03:30:00.000-07:00

Today I was cleaning and sorting the meal worms at the wildlife Center. And believe me this is no easy feat. To start off with...they have not been cleaned and sorted in a while. A long while.

The meal worm goes through 4 stages much like that of a butterfly, egg turns into worm which turns into pupae which in turn becomes a beetle. The beetles lay egg and the whole cycle is started again.

Meal worms are reared as a protein rich source of food for monkeys, lesser bush babies and birds. In some cases they are also used for fishing and as a food source for pet fish.

Although meal worms may be purchased at most pet shops it is an intriguing project to do yourself. Which is why we ended up doing just that. Part of our Second year curriculum is learning the ability to cultivate various food sources with the aim at sustainability.

There is lots of facets to this beetle that makes for intresting study;
The female beetle may lay up to 500 eggs in one go. It takes about 10 days for all the eggs to hatch after which the larva or worm will grow continuasly for about 40 days, while it sheds its exoskeleton 12-19 times. The worm feeds off vegetables, dead insects, oatmeal and bran to gain moisture and nutrients. The larva then curls up forming a pupae which stays that way for 20 days thereafter becoming a beetle. The adult beetle survives for about 80 days.

The beetle of the meal worm is considered a pest in South Africa.

Bullrushes

2011-07-09T05:07:00.000-07:00

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocots

Class: Commelinids

Order: Poales

Family: Typhaceae

Genus: Typha

Species: latifolia

This is a plant that is very common in South Africa and on Sondela Specifically. They are in just about every watering hole and every dam over here. They are pretty and are good for quite a few things like:
Birds use them for nesting
they are cover for fish
they are cover for fish and frog eggs
And mush more

The problem is that (as is with most things in life) too much can be a problem. And that is exactly what happened. They grow really fast and can cover a dam completely this causes several things but the worst of it is the depletion of oxygen in the water. It is not that they use so much oxygen during the night it is more that they take up lots of space and so in a way "suffocates" the water.

With less oxygen the fish can no longer breath and then die. Much of the bird life on Sondela eat fish, frogs and toads. So if these are no longer able to breed or live for that matter we would be removing a ling in the ecological chain. The dams also became so clogged with the bulrushes that the other animals like the buck could not get to the water to drink. That is why we needed to remove a large amount of these from every dam. As I mentioned before they also have lots of uses so removing them compleatly will also have negative repercussions.

This is where our role as conservationists came in. We have to know how much we must remove for the animals using the water to be able to survive and at the same time we need to know how much we must leave for the animals that utilize the plant to survive.

Origin:

It is indigenous to South Africa as well as many American and Canadian areas.

Uses:

Typha has a wide variety of parts that are edible to humans. The rhizomes, underground lateral stems, are a pleasant nutritious and energy-rich food source that when processed into flour contains 266 kcal per 100 g. Typha has also recently been suggested as a source of oil.

Typha can be dipped in wax or fat and then lit as a candle, the stem serving as a wick. It can also be lit without the use of wax or fat, and it will smolder slowly, somewhat like incense, and may repel insects. The leaves have been mixed with oil and used as a poultice on sores. It is used internally in the treatment of kidney stones, haemorrhage, painful menstruation, abnormal uterine bleeding, postpartum pains, abscesses and cancer of the lymphatic system. The young flower heads are eaten as a treatment for diarrhea.

Typha control and management:

The optimal control technique for a given site will depend on the hydro-logic state of the site, the size of the area to be managed, and if the manager is able to manipulate water levels. Removing dead leaves and submerging the shoots in early spring will strain the plant and eventually kill it. Starch reserves in the rhizomes are at their minimum in late spring when the pistillate spike of the cattail is lime green and the staminate spike is dark green. This is the best time to employ cutting, crushing, shearing, and/or deciding to eliminate cattail colonies because all these methods impede starch storage during the growing season. The methods of control work best if employed during a three-week time window beginning one week before and ending one week after the staminate spike has emerged. Grazing by cows, geese, muskrats, and other animals can be an effective method of cattail management. Spring and early summer treatments generally created favorable seedbeds for cattail that required a fall crushing to control seedlings. Crushing

involved pulling a 55 gallon water filled drum behind a tractor. Deeper water areas showed

highest control (up to 100 percent) while re-growth occurred in shallow areas.

Common names: broad leaf cattail, common cattail, soft-flag

We controlled the bulrushes by spraying it with Roundup(a herbecide) and giving it time to die. when they had died we had to physically remove the dead leaves from the dams. These will be used for composting.

Parent Day

2011-07-09T04:49:00.000-07:00

Ouch is all i can say! I have started working at the academy and to put it lightly i was dumped in the deep end. Today was stressful! Just one of the many things i have learnt here at Sondela is how to handle stress! It turned out to be an amazing day, showing of to the parents what their children have been doing for the last six months and seeing the surprise on their faces. Well we did tell them we work hard!

There were eight slide shows presented by the students from the seven different departments that they work through in the first year course.

Site Guide
Resource Guardianship
Species Care
Reception
Accommodation
food and beverage and
Professional cookery

The slide shows were each special in there own way and it is a good feeling to know that i had an impact on the students.

This whole week was spent planning for this event and i came to realize exactly how much work goes into what seems like a small function.
We had to receive confirmation from the parents weather they were coming or not. With this we added the students and staff that would be attending and sent an email through to Chef Errol to make sure that there is enough muffins for the tea and food for lunch.
The tea and coffee had to be arranged with food and beverage we also sent an email to confirm this. Emails are a good way to prove that you asked someone something.
Tables and seating were also arranged with F&B.
Then I had to print out 100 programs for the day. These were on yellow paper and had to be designed on Microsoft publisher because it gives you more control over what the end product would look like.
We had to brief the managers about the processes so that they can speak to the parents if they were asked. The training managers were also there because they are so closely involved in the actual training process.
All in all it was lots of work but I think it was a success!

E.M

2011-07-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

Effective Microorganisms

Anyone that have heard of this substance knows how useful it is in organic, bio dynamic and sustainable farming. On Sondela specifically we use it for three different things:
1. Helping certain plants to grow.
2. Controlling the fly population on the farm especially because of the horses.
3. And last but not least giving the septic tank systems we use on the farm a boosted amount of microorganisms to digest the contents.

Considering the price of E.M this is am amazing feat.
We dose the different components as follows.

Toilets 500ml each.
Basins, urinals and showers 250ml each.
Cattle drinking cribs 1l each. This serves two purposes. First of all it is to keep things like mosquitoes from breeding in the water when it stands still for too long. And second it is good for the digestive system of the animals.
The dam in the sheep kraal 5l. This is for the same purpose as for the cattle cribs.
Hedges are sprayed lightly with a dilution of 1l E.M for every 19l of water. E.M is know to make things grow a little bit faster because of the microorganisms that help the roots take up nutrients from the ground.
The Stables are also sprayed with a dilution of 1l em to 19 l of water but instead of a light spray we soak the floor and outer building completely. We are careful of spraying the inside of the stable because the hay they use as bedding starts to get mold if is it wet, especially in the summer time when it can get quite hot and humid in the stables. The E.M causes the larvae of the fly to develop at a faster rater then it would normally. This in turn causes the layer that is outside of the pupa is thicker making it more difficult for the fly to get out. When the fly had broken through the thick layer, its wings- that by this time should have been open already-have already started to dry causing well...walks;flies that can not fly or for that matter mate and reproduce. As such breaking a chain.
The floor in the kitchen part of the wildlife center is also sprayed because it helps prevent it from smelling due to working with meat and messing on the floor in general. It also removes 'bad' bacteria such as salmonella. Spraying in the kitchen also reduces the fly population.

EM^® is an acronym for Effective Microorganisms^®. It is a brand name referring to a line of microbial-based products using a technology developed by Japanese scientist Dr. Teruo Higa. EM•1^®is a liquid bacterial product made of three groups of bacteria: Yeast, Photosythetic Bacteria, and Lactic Acid Bacteria. EM•1^®works together with beneficial microbes in the area to which it is added, creating a synergy among microorganisms and larger forms of life including insects and worms, pets and livestock, and people. All products using EM Technology^®contain EM•1^®in some part of their manufacturing process: EM•1^®, PRO EM•1^®, Dr. Don's^®, EM^®Ceramics, EM•1^®Bokashi, etc.

http://www.teraganix.com/Effective-Microorganisms-History-and-Availability-s/194.htm

2011-06-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

Friday 15 Role Play

2011-04-19T02:34:00.000-07:00

On Friday the 15 of April the first years of Sondela Academy had a show off day for their parents. to say the least it was great fun all around. The general idea was to make the parents understand the advantage of having their children study here instead of at a collage or university.
The role play ( a concept we become quite familiar with at Sondela) consisted of several sections. It described what the guest goes through from the instant they phone for a reservation right up to the phone call they receive to ask how they felt about their stay on Sondela.
Gerbie (One of the academy managers) and myself were the guests, two sisters wanting to get away from their families for a break. I made the call to Sondela this was picked up by the switchboard operator , we were put through to Reservations which was the first year Bronwyn. She helped us to chose accommodation and establish the date we wanted to come. We then proceeded to the ' main gate ' where Johan one of the more enthusiastic met and welcomed us. He also gave us 'directions' to the 'reception area and explained the green slip that we had to get stamped and pay. At reception Pieter welcomed us and took us to reception with the promise of a pancake when we were done there.
Janine played the role of our receptionist helping us with information and giving us our keys. One of the highlights happened here where she explained how to use the alarm fir the house. when you press this button it will go "bloop bloop" .Needles to say each time we entered or went out of our chalet we were sure to go "bloop bloop". After reception and pancakes we went to book the activities we were interested in for the next day.
Once we were at our chalet two students came to tell us about the varios things in the house and what we can use and how we will pay for things like firewood and wine. They also said we must enjoy our stay and ask if we need anything.
After pretending to sleep the next 'day' came and we went to do a game drive and walk.
Here four of the students each did a short piece on an animal or other point of interest. While on the drive we came across students fixing the fence giving them the opportunity to explain a little bit about what goes on in the conservation section of the studies. This all done we went on a trip to the 'wild life center' where once again the first years could showcase a little bit of what they had learned. They had The two Little Lesser Bush babies with them Oscar and Dexter as well as
the Banded mongoose Mienke. They told us what they eat and why they are at the WLC.
From the WLC we were taken back to the Farm Yard where we went to eat at the Restaurant. We were served by Adrian and our food (Two salads) was made by Francois.
Having eaten the food we went back to the Chalet and slept. The following morning two students came to greet us at the house to check what we had used and what was broken or damaged. They gave us a slip and explained that it should be given in to reception when we went to hand in our keys. They also reminded us how important it is to remember to get our green slip stamped as we can not go out the gate without it.
Then it was the end of our holiday and we went home. 'A week' later they phoned us and asked how we liked our stay and inquired if we felt anything could be changed or made better.

Meet the Secon years...

2011-04-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday the 13 of April we had a function together with the managers. The purpose of the function was to see where we are and what we are doing right now in terms of our learning and the learning of the first years. Because we are such a large and integrated part of their educating the managers like knowing how we feel about matters.

We only found out that we had to plan the function on Tuesday so it was a rush to get everything organized. I am (as an afterthought) proud of us for good crisis management because setting up a function a day before it must happen for 40 people is an accomplishment. This just proved to us once more how much the Junior Management course has helped us.

Putting up an entire new fence

2011-04-05T02:26:00.006-07:00

Fun? I don't think so. But as usual there was lots to learn from this process. To start off with i was new at second year resource guardianship as i had been helping at the site guiding for the first month of this study year. Not that I'm complaining it just took some getting used to.
Across the road from Sondela(Over the highway) there is another piece of Sondela referred to as the Jag kamp(Hunting camp) this because it had been used for exactly that before they started the no hunting policy. It was in this camp that some buck probably Impala were fighting and this broke the fence.
Before we simply fix a fence we first assess if putting up a new section won't be a better option. As was with this fence due to the fact that it was rusted beyond recognition.
Wear and tear on wire happens for many reasons but i have found two common denominators-in the first place the 'bind draad' binding wire we use to attach the wire to the droppers and y-standards is of a poorer quality than the steel wire we use for the actual fencing. This means that this wire rusts more easily causing the better wire to corrode there where it is tied to the droppers.
The second reason is that fire can cause damage to the galvanizing on the steel wire and thus make it more susceptible to rusting with this awesome African weather.

Getting back to the point after finding it so rusted we wrote a report and a suggestion and gave this to Sig the head of conservation. He gave the go ahead and we started the following day.

All the wire had to be replaced and so also the 'stut pale' these we had to cement into the ground because they are the support for the whole fence. The cement has to stand for ten days before using the poles for support as they need to dry properly before the time. So instead of wasting ten days we used the already cemented pole that are there and tied the wire to them with the idea of attaching the wire to the new poles at a later stage. There is also a gate in this section that needed to be fixed so we took it off and sent it to the workshop to get fixed.

It was important for us to put up this fence with our First year students because it covered several of the U/S (Unit standards) that they need in order to receive their Qualification for Resource Guardianship level 2.

Assessor Course

2011-04-05T02:26:00.001-07:00

In order to prepare us for the first year students we were given the opportunity to do three courses in the beginning of the year the first one was the assessor course.
This consisted of learning

how to do the actual assessment
What the different types of assessment methods are
What kind of laws are applicable to the assessor
Where to get assessment material
who is responsible for supplying the material
How to establish the learners needs and how to handle challenges, barriers and special needs

We had the opportunity to assess one of our fellow students and had to do an assessment where we find them competent and one where we found them not yet competent.
Gerbie one of the academy staff was our coach and facilitator. We were also taught what to do if a student was found not yet competent again and again. It was actually quite easy for us because we had been assessed so often in our first year so we could do lots of comparisons.

Now it is only to get as much practice as possible.

Game capture 2011

2011-04-05T02:25:00.002-07:00

Second year game capture was a completely new experience. Because this time in stead of helping to do everything, we had to guide the first years about everything. I was not part of the Boma construction but i took part in the game capturing itself.
We had the opportunity to tell the 1st years about our experience and guide them in safety and the SOP's' (Standard Operating Procedures) of Sondela in terms of the how to of capturing.
We had to make sure that the students are divided into manageable groups i.e a balance between fit and not so fit and strong and not so strong.
This time we caught Zebra(Equus quagga burchellii) and Gemsbok (Oryx gazelle) that we did not last year.

Facilitating Site Guide

2011-04-05T02:25:00.001-07:00

For the first month as a second yea i had the opportunity to assist in the training of the first set of site guides. To say the least i learnt a lot;

among other things i learnt patience...just because something is obvious to me doesn't meant that it is so clear to other people especially students that are in the veld for the first time in their lives,
I learnt that most people learn by doing (kinesthetic learning) and therefore taking the students out into the bush accomplishes lots more than sitting in a class with them.
Giving constant positive feedback gives them confidence and this in turn gives them the boost to want to learn more.
The most difficult stumbling block or barrier to overcome is a student who does not want to learn. As soon as you have them at the point where they want to learn more for themselves you have won three quarters of the battle.

2011 here we come!!!!

2011-02-06T10:13:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a fun blog to get you into the year...and for me to brag!!
Last year had been more fun than I can possibly explain. There is soooo much we will miss and so much that we are quite happy is behind us thank you very much!.
One of the things we won't miss is Welcoming...It's fun make no mistake but a person can only handle so much of it at a time and besides we had a sever overdose in December when in stead of only welcoming on Fridays and Mondays it was every day right through the entire holiday.

The two week rest was well worth the wait and we made sure it counted because we were not sure when we will be having a break like that again.

Getting back to the thing about missing thing...the people is one of the things we will miss because of a group of almost 20 students at the beginning of 2010 we now have the grand total of 6 left!!!!
As for the first years well there is about fifty of them NOT EXAGGERATING.