Finally we received the call, he had broken through the fence and was standing along side the runway at 11pm on a rainy night.
REPORT
The following is a report by Adrian Read on the amazing work done to save the life of this Elephant who became obsessed with breaking into the Runway area of the Victoria Falls Airport.
Well, we finally managed to get him after a month or so of “catching” him in the right place. It was important to do this only once he had broken through the fence (into the no-go area) as the operation was twofold for the following reasons:
1/ He had to learn that he was not allowed into the airport grounds. He therefore had to be inside the airport area when darted and in an attempt to enforce this we needed to rub chillie grease on his trunk and mouth.
2/ We had to fit a satellite collar around his neck so as to monitor his movements and take evasive (chasing) action should he be seen anywhere close to the fence in the future.
The chillie option may seem quite harsh, the only other alternative was to shoot him, something we only considered as a last resort. It is important to note this is a matter of National Security, big bull Elephants on runways and International airports don’t go well together! One has visions of a wide body jet having to overshoot or abort and turn back!
Something had to be done as quickly as possible and we thank the Airports Company of Zimbabwe, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) Zim Parks and Forestry for giving us the opportunity to carry out this task.
The Elephant only ever entered the airport in the dead of night making this operation that much more difficulty. He had broken in to feast on wild melons on several occasions in the past and the go ahead to shoot him had been given. We asked the authorities for one last chance to dart him and thanks to the above mentioned organizations it was granted. We had to act quickly and needed plenty of luck on our side to ensure success.
Here I need to mention PH Simon Siziba and his team from Shearwater and Jake Rendle-Worthington of ZEWACT (Zambezi Elephant Welfare and Conservation Trust) who spent countless hours at the airport late at night in an attempt to catch him feeding inside.
Finally we received the call, he had broken through the fence and was standing along side the runway at 11pm on a rainy night. Roger Parry of Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust (VFWT) Malvern and I raced the 20 kilometers out of town to the airport.
We approached him in the land cruiser using only the vehicle’s side lights. Roger fired the dart from about 20 meters hitting him perfectly in the rump. Roger was using a telemetry dart which gives off a flashing light and emits a signal making it easier to find him should he go crashing off into the forest surrounding the airport. This is extremely important as once darted he has to be found quickly in case he goes down on his brisket or with his trunk trapped beneath his body, both of which affect his breathing and can kill him in minutes.
Thankfully he stayed within the open airport grounds and about six minutes later went down from the effects of the drug.
We worked quickly taking blood samples, measurements, monitoring his breathing, rubbing in the chillie and fitting the collar.
Twenty minutes later we were done, the rest of the crew retreated to a safe distance while we administered the reversal drug.
Within a minute or two he rocked himself back onto his feet and headed directly for the forest. Watching a 6000 kg Elephant smash through a 12ft high reinforced security fence is a sight to behold, Strands of high strain wire, fence posts and diamond mesh snapping as if they were made of matchsticks and cotton!
He was away and free to do what elephants do, only now he was under observation with his collar emitting a satellite gps reading.
Malvern Karidozo of Organization’s Connected Conservation is currently running the Elephant Project focusing on co existence between people and elephants. This is part of Malvern’s study working towards his PhD in Conservation Biology and the research on ecological dynamics of “problem” Elephant. This study will help ensure the survival of Elephants in an ever increasing habitat loss together with a growing human population. Part of the study is the thinking that Elephants may not return to a place where they once had a bad experience, hence the use of the chillie. They are extremely intelligent animals making this is a fascinating study. We monitor him daily as the photo’s below will show and although he is not unlike a naughty schoolboy, breaking other fences and crop raiding he hasn’t been back to the airport.
As mentioned earlier we give thanks to the people of CAAZ, the Airports company of Zimbabwe and Zim Parks for their understanding and tolerance in allowing us the opportunity to dart this animal rather than kill it. At the end of the day the combined team work of the organizations and individuals involved does wonders for Zimbabwe’s conservation image and the spin off helps promote’s tourism.
We thank the following for their combined assistance in making this exercise possible.
Roger Parry of VFWT- an organization dedicated to the welfare of our wildlife.
Malvern Karidozo of OCC and his assistant Prince Zhuwakinyu
Mr. Ronnie Masawe the Victoria Falls International Airport Manager and his team of Melusi Matshelela, Christopher Chidodo, Zephaniah Maisiri, Attwell Ndebele, Webster Bauchi and the Zim Parks ranger based at the airport.
Jake Rendle-Worthington of ZEWACT.
Simon Siziba and his team from Shearwater.
ZimParks and Forestry.
