Our Speaker is Emily Taylor, Urban Conservation Manager for The Endangered Wildlife Trust. It'll be all about how to keep the dragon in our back garden happy and what to do with it when it gets too big and becomes a fire risk!
Emily Taylor has a background in
both sociology and nature conservation, and is currently pursuing her Masters
of Science at WITS University, entitled: A Sociological and Biological Study of
Human-Wildlife Interactions in Urban Areas of Gauteng.
Emily is also the
coordinator of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s new Urban Conservation Project,
which aims to sustainably manage the human-wildlife interface in urban Gauteng with the possibility of later extending its mandate to include urban areas
further afield. The key output of the project will be the development of a
toll-free hotline and support platform that will help to facilitate the
public’s enjoyment of the rich array of wildlife and ecosystems within
Gauteng's urban areas, as well as to provide advice and assistance to urban
residents that may come into conflict with wildlife in and around our city, in
an environmentally sustainable way.
URBAN CONSERVATION AND BROWN HYAENAS IN SUBURBIA 
There were several reports of Brown Hyaenas in and around Johannesburg in September 2013. The vast majority of the time these reports have been welcomed by the public with awe and enthusiasm, but there have also been expressions of concern and fear, which are not
unexpected as most people are not familiar with these animals.
This week’s incident, where a Brown Hyaena had lost its way in the Randburg Central Business
District in Johannesburg is unusual because the species prefers secluded, quiet areas and was likely
driven into the CBD in a confused effort to escape the heavily populated area in which it found itself
wandering. Over a period of two days, conservation organisations like the Endangered Wildlife Trust
(EWT), the NSPCA and FREEME were trying to locate and monitor the animal’s movements and to
work with the public in ensuring both their, and the animals’ safety and welfare.
The animal, a young female, was subsequently darted in Randburg and taken to the Johannesburg
Zoo. She had injured her paws and will be treated at the Zoo and kept there until a suitable release
site can be found. Funding also needs to be sourced for a satellite collar to fit to her so that her
post-release movements can be monitored.
A few facts on Brown Hyaenas:
Brown Hyaenas have been occasionally sighted in suburbia for many years. There was a
Brown Hyaena shot on Allen’s Nek in Roodepoort over 20 years ago and a Brown Hyaena
was caught near Gilooleys Interchange more than 15 years ago.
Brown Hyaenas are scavengers and eat mostly carrion. They will also eat eggs, fruit, insects
and small mammals such as rodents.
The do not pose a threat to humans or pets as they are shy and elusive.
They live in small clans but forage alone and can move up to 60km in one evening in search
of food.
Brown Hyaenas can exist in an urban environment and go undetected for long periods of
time. They can coexist with humans on the urban edge and this could become more and
more common as humanity encroaches on their habitat.
Brown Hyaenas are classified as Near Threatened, are protected by law and permits are
required to trap, handle, transport or destroy them. Key threats to their survival include:
killing as ‘problem animals’, traditional medicine trade and poisoning.
What to do if there are Brown Hyaenas in your neighbourhood:
Do not harass or chase them.
You do not need to worry about your safety as they will take pains to avoid you.
Do not feed them or leave food out for them to access.
Do not shoot, poison, trap or injure them.
Discon
President Joan Donet has just returned from Discon on Monday. Next week we will ask her and the others that went to Conference to report on the event.
A GLOBAL THIRST FOR WATER
Growing up in northern Ghana, a particularly arid region of a parched land, Braimah Apambire saw how a lack of access to water can sap a community's vitality – and how something as simple as a catchment or pump can transform lives. Apambire, director of the Center for International Water and Sustainability at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev., USA, will be a featured speaker at the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) World Water Summit on 30 May in Sydney, Australia.
THE ROTARIAN: How did you get involved in water issues?
APAMBIRE: In my village, Zuarungu, we do not have a lot of rainfall. In the dry season, three or four months of the year, we had to walk several miles to get water. My sisters, mother, and aunts would fetch the water; the boys were responsible for driving the cattle about 4 miles to and from a reservoir in the morning and evening. That affected our schooling. When I was about 12, the Canadian International Development Agency drilled about 2,600 wells in the region. I could see the change in peoples' lives. My mother and aunts, for example, had time to go to the village market to sell food. I got my bachelor's degree in geology and worked for a hydrologist installing water systems, and then I went to Canada for my master's degree. [Apambire also holds a PhD in hydrology from the University of Nevada, Reno.]
TR: How acute is the lack of access to safe water?
APAMBIRE: An estimated 740 million people globally do not have access to what we call improved water sources. About two billion people do not have access to safe drinking water that has been tested for chemicals and microbes. An estimated 88 percent of childhood illnesses are related to contaminated water and poor sanitation, and about 5,000 children die every day from that and poor hygiene practices.
TR: What advances are helping to improve access to water?
APAMBIRE: We're seeing more cell phone- and Internet-based technology to monitor water systems. Rainwater harvesting also has received a lot of attention. But even with the technology, you need to have the sanitation framework. If the village gets access to water, no matter how safe, you may still end up with behaviors that contaminate the water source. The community needs to know the link between contamination and disease.
TR: How crucial are partnerships, such as the ones fostered by WASRAG?
APAMBIRE: In developed countries, water is still taken for granted. In the United States, we each use about 100 gallons a day – showering, drinking, and watering lawns. You turn on the tap and you're not even aware you're wasting it. In Africa, the average is about 5 gallons of water a day, and many people don't even have that, or if they do, it's often contaminated.
I've seen Rotary building capacity and strategies around water. WASRAG has good projects that work with local people, using appropriate technologies and building sustainability. Because Rotarians are influential, they are bringing that attention. They also focus on where the need is, among the poorest of the poor.
I've seen Rotary building capacity and strategies around water. WASRAG has good projects that work with local people, using appropriate technologies and building sustainability. Because Rotarians are influential, they are bringing that attention. They also focus on where the need is, among the poorest of the poor.
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