Embracing digital technology in wildlife conservation

Rutendo Nyeve, Features Reporter

THE world, particularly African societies, have been caught up in fierce debates over the effectiveness of the emerging technologies ahead of the traditional methods used in the various facets of life. 

The conservative structures of the society, like traditional leaders, are leading the chorus of starting from the traditional methods and manoeuvring various challenges towards innovation and prosperity. 

Likewise, the discourse of traditional versus contemporary technological methods within wildlife conservation has not been spared, it has been a hot topic globally.

Countries with large numbers of wildlife find themselves bombarded with issues that include human-wildlife conflict, the devastating effect of poor land management, the loss of natural habitat and the impact on surviving species. 

In Zimbabwe, this becomes a topical issue taking into cognisance that the country is home to more than 350 species of mammals, more than 500 bird species and more than 131 fish species and supports the second-largest elephant population in Africa as well as being home to important and growing populations of lion and wild dogs.

The position of such precious fauna makes the wildlife conservation discourse unavoidable, not only in exploring how best it can be achieved, but the negatives it comes with, like the human-wildlife phenomena. With crop raiding, livestock predation and sometimes loss of human life through wild animals in many areas in Zimbabwe, farmers were back then forced to develop various traditional practices to reduce vulnerability and losses. 

A GPS collar that is fitted on animals at Hwange National Park

These practices included the exclusion of wild animals through physical barriers to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, sometimes even going the spiritual route of consulting mediums and those who used to do it say it worked.

“A long time ago, before the rainy season, we would brew beer called Doro Rehuruva, we would take spoors of elephants going in and out of the fields to the spirit mediums, where we would tell them that we need wild animals out of our fields. 

“After the harvests, we would thank the spirits for keeping animals out and it really worked,” said 84-year-old headman, Karondera Chakwana of Mbire District in Mashonaland Central.

Headman Manwek Dzeka (74), added: “These days, this new generation is ignoring what we used to do, that is why there is this chaos with wildlife. What Headman Chakwana said is very effective and we have seen it working. However, our efforts are now being viewed as demonic.”

Reason and science seem to be taking over with contemporary conservationists raising an argument, can a wild animal stop raiding crops in the fields by simply taking its spoor to the spirit mediums and talking into the spoor represented by a handful of soil?

The answer is simple, it worked for our forefathers and still works for those who religiously practice it, as testified by the Mbire community. 

The world has, however, witnessed advances in technology that give conservationists, scientists and the general public the advantage to better understand the animals, their habitats and the threats they can face.

The technology of Global Positioning System (GPS) for example, allows scientists to obtain precise movement patterns of an animal through GPS telemetry where the animal’s location and its distance to survey sites can be quantified. 

Such technology has helped to identify, for example, the use of unpredicted habitats, to explore the social dynamics of reintroduced species and to reveal unfamiliar life history characteristics of threatened species.

Tasked with the protection, management and administration of the wildlife of Zimbabwe, ZimParks has not only strengthened its relationship with communities to embrace the diverse conservation methods but has further embraced this modern technology by deploying various gadgets as it steps up efforts to curb poaching, mitigate human-wildlife conflict as well as aide their research. 

During the recently held, belated World Ranger Day, ZimParks took the opportunity to showcase some of its technological advancements. 

ZimParks rangers fitting a GPS collar on an elephant at Hwange National Park

Among some of the equipment, Zimparks showcased its recently acquired state-of-the-art drone called the “Baby Shark” from China, which is set to enhance its wildlife conservancy, adding to its arsenal of technology. 

The Baby Shark is an advanced unmanned aerial platform with high aerodynamic efficiency. It has a flight duration of four hours and a maximum speed of 90 kilometres per hour and is controlled by a computer. 

The development has a positive impact in the fight against poaching and is helping ZimParks collect vital information on the country’s natural resources and wildlife patterns.

This technology charmed the Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni, who described it as a step in the right direction.

Dr Sithembiso Nyoni

“I see, today, there is an incredible display of an assortment of wildlife technologies. This is a clear sign that the Government is shifting from the traditional approaches in conservation to modern approaches of artificial intelligence-led patrols. Technologies like drones, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), smartphones and software packages like Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (Smart), camera traps and tracking tags are now being deployed.

“As Government, we are committed to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 15 and this needs rangers on the ground. We manage our wildlife in full compliance with all multilateral environmental agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), amongst others,” said Dr Nyoni.

Recently, Hwange National Park witnessed the fitting of GPS-enabled tracking collars to eight African savannah elephants to find out how constructing a nearby dam (Gwayi-Shangani) may alter their movements.

Experts anticipate that the construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, less than 50km east of Hwange National Park, has the potential to alter how elephants use this landscape significantly. 

By tracking these elephants, the project led by ZimParks, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) aims to understand how the dam and other human footprints in the landscape are linked to the movement patterns of elephants.

Intended to facilitate real-time tracking, the collars will enable park authorities and Ifaw, a key conservation partner, to monitor elephant movements in the buffer area around the park. This will aid conservation and promote a peaceful co-existence between people and wildlife by mitigating human-wildlife conflict.

Data captured will be analysed to better understand spatial movement, habitat usage and seasonal migrations over two years. 

That will generate insights into how elephants utilise the human-dominated areas on the periphery of Hwange NP and its environs.

By fitting collars to the six matriarchs, the two organisations expect to track the movements of more than 60 elephants forming the family herds. Simultaneously, the bulls will be monitored for their activities.

Speaking during the exercise, National Elephant Co-ordinator at ZimParks,Ms Nobesuthu Ngwenya said: “Recent studies confirm that elephants spend much of their time outside protected areas, risking conflict with humans. Better understanding their movement patterns will help inform sound long-term management of the elephants,” she said.

Landscape Conservation Director at Ifaw, Mr Phillip Kuvawoga said it was exciting when they see innovative technological developments change how they work. 

“This elephant collaring project could enhance our conservation efforts and inform future land-use planning in the greater Hwange ecosystem,” he said. – @nyeve14.