LEAVING FOR SOUTH AFRICA

I am flying out to South Africa today to have a break and spend a few days in the Kruger, Hluhluwe and Swaziland. I am hoping to see loads of wildlife and hope there are still some rhino left. Hluhluwe has some of the best rhino in all of Africa.

As usual I have not had much success raising any funds for the brave scouts of Kasungu but will see if I can do better in SA. I am looking for boots, rucksacks and water proofs for the scouts. If anyone knows of a cheap way to get these items from the UK please let me know. DHL is around £150 for 10kg. That is more than the items are worth.

ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS

ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS FOR THE SCOUTS IN KASUNGU NP. THE CONFISCATION OF THIS GUN, JUST LIKE THE OTHERS, WILL LEAD TO THE SAVING OF MANY ANIMALS LIVES.

YOU MUST HELP THESE BRAVE DEDICATED SCOUTS BY DONATING FUNDS FOR MORE EQUIPMENT LIKE FUEL, BOOTS, RUCKSACKS AND WATER PROOF CLOTHING.

SOME OF THE OTHER ANIMALS WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE

I TOOK THESE 4 PICTURES TODAY. THE KUDU, ZEBRA AND HARTEBEEST WERE ALL WITHIN 100m OF EACH OTHER. THERE WERE 7 HARTEBEEST, 5 KUDU AND 6 ZEBRA.

 MALE HIPPO IN HIS FAVOURITE WALLOW AWAY FROM THE WIVES AND KIDS

 LICHTENSTEIN S HARTEBEEST WITH CRAWSHAYS ZEBRA. YOU WILL NOT FIND THESE 2 SPECIES IN MANY PLACES IN AFRICA LET ALONE SHARING THE SAME DAMBO.

THE CRAWSHAYS ZEBRA HAS NO SHADOW AND ITS STRIPES GO ALL THE WAY DOWN ITS LEGS. IT HAS A CHESTNUT BROWN MUZZLE. 

 MALE PUKU

LICHTENSTEIN S HARTEBEEST AND 2 YOUNG AND 2 FEMALE KUDU

LAST NIGHT ANOTHER MUZZLE LOADER CONFISCATED

Last night as I was writing my report on the guns that had been confiscated the scouts were in the bush on patrol and managed to chase poachers and confiscate yet another muzzle loader. Yet again their brave work has lead to another very dangerous weapon being taken from the park which will lead to the lives of many animals being saved.

A gun like this one was meant to kill elephants.

We know how shot guns work and they usually carry relatively small shot and are used to kill small game however a gun like this with a 20mm bore carries a much deadlier shot. The muzzle loaders are home made from pieces of pipe and use a variety of mechanisms to fire the gun. Match heads are ground and used as gunpowder and a homemade bullet is manufactured from sheet metal. Time means nothing to the poacher so their approach to killing an elephant is often not to kill it outright but to shoot through the softer skin into the lungs or other internal organs. The elephant is badly wounded and followed until it either dies or cannot move any more, it is then finished off usually in an inhumane way. Tusks and trunk are removed first and then meat from its back. Because there are usually only a couple of poachers they can only carry a small amount of meat so the rest of the elephant is left in the bush to rot.

So now you know some of the truths about poaching. Help me to help the scouts to drive this out and help save an elephant today.

MORE GUNS CONFISCATED FROM POACHERS

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONFISCATE MORE GUNS AND CAPTURE MORE POACHERS TO PREVENT THE SLAUGHTER OF WILDLIFE THROUGHOUT AFRICA

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 These five guns have recently been confiscated from poachers in the park. One poacher was arrested and prosecuted.

 These are guns that have already been confiscated from poachers over the years. Imagine how many animals these have killed but due to the hard work of the scouts that put their lives on the line to save the wildlife none of these guns will be used to kill again.