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TWO rare, pint-size wild cats are due to be begin a long journey this weekend from the Eastern Cape to Denmark, to join a captive breeding programme to add vital resilience to their gene pool. Black-footed cats are the second smallest wild cat in the world behind the rusty spotted cat of India and Sri Lanka.Counts are difficult because of its nocturnal, highly secretive behaviour, but it is estimated that there are only 10000 of them left in the wild.
They are threatened by secondary poisoning by insecticides which farmers spray for locusts, and by the ploughing up of the veld, which reduces the number of insects and small birds, which they would normally prey on. They are also threatened by uncontrolled dog packs, deployed by some farmers to hunt stock predators, although the black-footed cat does not kill stock.
Nicknamed “anthill tigers”, because of their fiery disposition and habit of sleeping in burrows in old anthills, the little cats are range-restricted to the arid areas of southern Africa, including the Karoo.
The species has the same markings as a leopard, a distinctive crouching run, a blood-curdling growl and an unusual way of flattening its ears sideways when it’s angry - which it often is.
Despite its ferocity, however, it is only big enough (males average 1.9kgs) to eat insects, rodents or at most Cape hares.
The pair about to set off, a male and a female, are headed for central Denmark, to the Rheepark Ebeltoft safari park. They were born and are presently resident at the Cat Conservation Trust facility near Cradock.
The first leg of their journey is relatively short, just up to Mpumalanga, where they will spend time at the famous Hoedspruit Endangered Species Breeding Programme, trust co-founder Marion Holmes told The Herald yesterday.
“The idea is that they will hopefully breed at Hoedspruit and then they will move on with three more of their species to Rheepark. It’s all about mixing and strengthening the blood lines, just as they would be in an unrestricted situation in the wild.”
The trust focuses on protecting and breeding four African cats: the caracal, serval, African wild cat and the black-footed. Care is taken to have as little human contact as possible with them in order to achieve the primary aim of restocking wild populations.
The black-footed cat has huge conservation value as it helps control insects, which can cause disease in stock and crops, and rodents, which otherwise cause much more damage to the seed beds of the veld, she said.
"But unlike some other cats, which breed easily in captivity, black-footed are highly-susceptible in captivity to disease. So there are challenges. But these breeding programmes are vital to being able to establish a strong world-wide captive gene pool.”
There are about 40 black footed cats in captivity and the first successful in-vitro fertilisation and birth of black-footed cats was recently achieved in the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans in the US, she noted.
“This is fantastic news as it allows for the collection of sperm from wild black-footed cats and this sperm can then be used in captive programmes to ensure genetic diversity.”
A 37-year-old woman with elephantiasis has laid a complaint against the Livingstone hospital in Port Elizabeth after she was turned away without treatment, the Eastern Cape health department said on Monday (20/02/2012).
Coega refinery bonanzaPROJECT Mthombo, PetroSA’s multibillion-rand oil refinery which is expected to massively boost the Eastern Cape’s economy and create thousands of jobs, will move a step closer to reality next month when the government is expected to announce another milestone in the project.
Debacle over Madiba funeral rightsMANDLA Mandela has 15 days to declare to the high court whether he sold the television rights to the funeral of his grandfather, former president Nelson Mandela.
East Cape battling to retain service delivery skillsLOCAL Government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane says Eastern Cape municipalities are battling to attract and retain skilled professionals who have the know-how and experience to turn local government around and fast-track service delivery.
Parole boards powers restrictedTHE Correctional Matters Amendment Act, which comes into effect next month, will strip correctional supervision and parole boards of their discretion in the granting of medical parole.
Poison alert on chemical used in South AfricaTHE South African government is investigating the danger posed by a crop pesticide following a landmark ruling in France where agri-business giant Monsanto was found guilty of chemical poisoning of a farmer.Since the incident which led to the poisoning, the Monsanto pesticide, called Lasso, has been banned in France, and a number of other countries.
Zuma 'disconnected from reality', says DAPresident Jacob Zuma’s remarks about corruption show he is “completely disconnected from reality”, the Democratic Alliance said on Friday (17/02/2012).
Minister offers insight into 'weighty' politiciansHealth Minister Aaron Motsoaledi offered insight on Friday (17/02/2012) into why many politicians suffer the curse of bulging stomachs and widening waist lines.
Pillay has not resigned, says East Cape health dept.Eastern Cape health superintendent-general Siva Pillay has not resigned, his department said on Friday (17/02/2012).
SPCA puts breaks on rabbit schemeThe Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has stopped a scheme in which live rabbits were allegedly to be sold with loaves of bread to people in townships, the Cape Times newspaper reported on Friday (17/02/2012).
Malema mitigation hearing endsThe mitigation hearing for ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema and two other league members has ended, an ANC spokesman said on Friday (17/02/2012).
Transnet to spend R9bn on upgrade of Bay harboursIN a massive boost for Nelson Mandela Bay, Transnet is to embark on a R7.1-billion and R1.9-billion upgrade of the Port of Ngqura and the Port Elizabeth Harbour respectively, the parastatal announced yesterday.
View morePARIS - European farmers are likely to fall behind in the competitive world grain market as EU consumer hostility to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) drives away research and prevents cultivation of high-yield and pest-resistant crops.
Varsity to act on racist slursUNIVERSITY of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) students and staff who engaged in a racial war of words on Facebook will be dealt with accordingly, campus authorities say.
ANC councillors killed in crashTHREE ANC councillors died instantly and others were seriously injured when the minibus taxi they were travelling in overturned on the R72 road in Alexandria at the weekend.
Sports Minister in sex scandalMarried Minister of Sport Fikile Mbalula - who last night celebrated his 40th birthday with a lavish party in Pretoria - is embroiled in a nasty spat with a former lover.
Kabuso report: Why heads should rollHERALD reporter Brian Hayward explains in a nutshell the most controversial issues exposed in the 175-page forensic report.
Secrets brought to light from lettersTWO projects singled out by Local Government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane when he finally made public the Kabuso report yesterday are laid bare in secret letters to political bigwigs and confidential special investigations attached in the report’s annexures.
Another attack at festering ArlingtonANOTHER knife attack has occurred at Arlington Waste Disposal Site. The attack, which took place on Saturday afternoon, comes amid calls by the DA for an investigation into the chaotic state of the site and questionable swopping of contractors.
Schoenies otter takes fishing lessonsIT’S one of the iconic wild animals of the metro’s open spaces, but it’s not often seen - certainly not clambering onto the rocks right under your feet. But that was the experience of fishing buddies Gavin Curtis and Stuart Duckenfield who were trying their luck with light tackle and pilchards at Schoenies yesterday (August 10 2011).
Cause and effect of climate change explainedSO HOW to communicate the complexity and magnitude of climate change to youngsters from a little school in Zwide? The kids, in grades six and seven at Mzimhlophe Primary School, were given the answer to this question during their visit to the SA Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (Samrec) yesterday (August 03 2011).
R1.5-million farming venture will fit Eastern Cape to a teaTHE Eastern Cape government has set aside R1.5-million to kick-start an expanded honeybush tea industry that could be ramped up to produce a turnover of R100-million a year and hundreds of new jobs. The good news follows on the results that have emerged from a study of the honeybush industry, commissioned by the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) on behalf of the provincial economic development and environmental affairs department.
Snowed-in guards airlifted to safetyNINETEEN stock-theft guards stationed on the top of the Drakensberg have been plucked to safety as heavy snow presses in on their lonely outposts. The guards are housed alone or in pairs in 10 shipping containers, at key points along the Lesotho border with the north-eastern Eastern Cape, in the Rhodes area.
Algoa Bay the best monitored in all of AfricaALGOA Bay is now “the best monitored bay in Africa” with millions of rands worth of equipment installed below the surface measuring a wide range of environmental conditions. That was the proud revelation yesterday (July 28 2011) from SA Environmental Observation Network (Saeon) co-ordinator Shaun Deyzel, who was speaking at a marine science symposium hosted by SA National Parks, at the Addo Elephant National Parks.
Mantis in new Nigeria dealPORT Elizabeth based tourism group Mantis Collection has announced a bold expansion into West Africa with a landmark, multi-million US dollar deal signed in PE yesterday (July 25 2011) to roll out a sumptuous suite of boutique hotels in Nigeria. Mantis founder Adrian Gardiner signed the deal at Shamwari Townhouse in Summerstrand with highly respected Nigerian businessman Nze Chidi Duru, who is the chairman of Abuja-based Grand Towers Plc. The Nigerian company has interests in the pension, banking, retail, communications, IT and hospitality sectors.
Surf event sets greening benchmarkBILLABONG Pro J-Bay is setting a benchmark for international surfing contests with a comprehensive programme to protect the local environment and combat global climate change.
Karoo farmers take their fracking probe to Jo'burg oil summitA SMALL Karoo farmers’ association is so concerned about fracking, and damning new evidence out of the US, it is funding the R10000 bill demanded for a four-day oil and gas conference in Johannesburg, to allow one of its members to attend.
Swell job for man with decades of experienceWITH the small waves prevailing yesterday (Sunday July 17 2011) for the Billabong Pro J-Bay, all surfing mojos are focused on the second week of the contest and the swell that, it is hoped, will still set things on fire. The man with un-paralleled expertise in this department is contest director Eric Stedman, 54, who has been scanning synoptic charts, fiddling with barometers and assessing wind direction since he was a grommit back in East London in the 1960s. It also helps that he began surfing Jeffreys Bay 43 years ago.
New official whale watching operator launch in the bayALGOA Bay’s first boat-based boat-based whale-watching operation in a decade has been officially launched - and already some exciting sightings are being reported. Lloyd Edwards of Raggy Charters, the company awarded the boat-based whale watching (BBWW) license for Algoa Bay, said yesterday (July 14 2011) he spotted the cow and calf pair of southern right whales off Algorax earlier this week.
Unique source of Bay waterHOW many cities in the world can say they get their water from a World Heritage Site? Very few, I bet. Yet, that’s the case with Port Elizabeth and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and in fact the Gamtoos River Valley vege farmers.
Super surf contest starts at J-BayTHE latest edition of one of the great global surfing contests, built around an iconic right-hand point break, was launched in Jeffreys Bay last night (Wednesday July 14 2011).
Bayworld raggies returned to the oceanTHE biggest baddest pair from Bayworld’s de-commissioned aquarium, two bulky raggedtooth sharks, were released yesterday (July 26 2011) back into the sea. It was a sad day for the oceanarium, where they have lived for nearly two decades, inspiring awe in hundreds of thousands of visitors - but it is good news for the species, as the pair are now part of a research project aimed at securing our waters as one of the few safe havens in the world for raggies.
Unique study of great whitesA UNIQUE study into the abundance, distribution and movement of great white sharks in Algoa Bay, sponsored by the metro, has been launched. There has never been a fatal shark attack in Algoa Bay, but the metro has committed the R800000 grant as a pro-active step, taken in line with their marketing of Port Elizabeth as “the watersports’ capital of Africa”, researcher Dr Matt Dicken explained yesterday (June 21 2011).
Dairy farm could close soonBUSHY Park Dairy Farm, a flagship “proudly Port Elizabeth” business and a much-loved feature of the metro for the past 20 years, is facing closure. The shock news was confirmed yesterday (June 21 2011) by managing trustee Puffer Hartzenberg, who was responding to unconfirmed reports about the matter.
Refurbished Skead book publishedA NEW book aimed at celebrating our natural heritage and guiding sound future conservation policy has been published in Port Elizabeth. Historical Incidence of the Larger Land Mammals in the Broader Western and Northern Cape (including the Eastern Cape as far east as Sundays River) is a complete re-furbishment - with summaries, maps, illustrations and two new chapters - of the original work of the same name by legendary naturalist Dr Jack Skead, who died in 2006.
Co-op sponsors two farmers on US missionTWO Karoo farmers have flown out of PE on a ground-breaking mission to the US, to get the low-down on fracking, in the country where it all began.
Link Refit to electric cars proposalIF WE CAN link Refit with electrical motorcars - then we could really be onto something. Speaking to The Herald yesterday (June 14 2011), department of environmental affairs deputy-director general for climate change, Peter Lukey, said the scheduled launch this month of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff (Refit), will likely lead to significant positive change.
Exciting reforestation project underway in TranskeiAN UNUSUAL re-forestation and carbon sequestration project is underway in the heart of the old Transkei, where savage erosion is a common feature. The R7600000 project is being run as a partnership between the Congress of Traditional Leaders’ of South Africa (Contralesa), the national department of environmental affairs and a Johannesburg-based company called Carbon Worx.
Green electricity programme set to launch this monthGOVERNMENT will this month launch the long-awaited Refit programme that will make funding available to pay private energy entrepreneurs who will generate their own green electricity and sell it to the grid.
EC investment boost to counter climate changeEASTERN Cape economic environment MEC Mcebisi Jonas yesterday announced significant new green economy investment to boost green economy skills in the province.
Branch recalls fascinating careerFOR world-renowned reptile and amphibian expert Dr Bill Branch, who retired this week from Bayworld after 32 years employment there - it all began in 1969, on the shores of a lake in East Africa.
EC leads climate change battleTHE Eastern Cape government has declared its intention to lead from the front in the war against climate change, with a landmark multi-benefit project agreement signed at the Eastern Cape Climate Change Conference in East London yesterday (June 08 2011).
Climate change conferenceEVERYONE change - a milestone Eastern Cape climate change conference, featuring senior political leaders and climate change experts, is set to start in East London today (Wednesday May 8). The Eastern Cape Climate Change Conference will focus on the strategy document that has been prepared by local role-players, and will look towards the UN’s Cop17 summit, the international climate change indaba in Durban in December
'Plenty of power for smelter,' says CDCBLACK-out fears notwithstanding, there is more than enough electricity for the megawatt-hungry Coega manganese smelter, according to the Coega Development Corporation (CDC). CDC communications’ chief Senzeni Ndebele was responding this week to concerns expressed about the power demands of the smelter and how this will affect Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality residents and existing businesses.
Motherwell eco-schools big recipientsTWO Motherwell “eco-schools” were the recipients this week of tens of thousands of rands worth of equipment and furniture to help them learn better. The 26 maths and reading software packages, 100 desks and 200 chairs were donated by ABB after the power and automation giant participated last year in a Wessa eco-schools’ workshop in PE.
Pollution plume off the beachfront raises concernsA STRANGE-looking plume of discoloured water has been appearing sporadically in the bay between Shark Rock Pier and Humewood Beach, resulting in a number of calls from concerned residents, Following an initial report on May 20 by Humewood resident Elize Pretorius, and then disappearing for several days, it reappeared again this week, prompting further calls.
Put the environment on agenda of new councils Concerns over Ngqura oil leak 'unfounded'CONCERNS have been raised that the oil and gas exploration rig in Port of Ngqura could be leaking oil into the bay. Both the Norwegian company that owns the ultra-deepwater drilling rig and the harbour authorities have rejected as unfounded the concerns raised by environmental group Ocean Messengers.
Ball of fire not the beginning of the end.Was it a bird? Was it a plane? Was it a comet hurtling to Earth in delayed fulfillment of Harold Campling’s doomsday prophesy? Well, no. In fact, it was the International Space Station (ISS) and space shuttle Endeavour, catching the last rays of the setting sun.
Ngqura a fish magnetTHE Port of Ngqura has become an extraordinary magnet for marine life, and could point the way to an important new role for harbours, according to Bayworld marine biologist and shark specialist Dr Matt Dicken.
Stately emperor pays family a flying visitTHERE are moths and there are moths - and then there is the pine tree emperor, one of the giants of the insect world. Gorgeous yellow in colour and “easily the size of a man’s hand”, one of these moths swooped into a Seaview home the other night.
Endangered forest clearing probedA SWATHE of critically endangered forest and new generation legislation formulated to combat climate change are at the centre of a confrontation in Deer Park. The forestry department has slammed as “reckless and malicious” the clearing of the area, which is over 100m long by on average 4m wide.
Male in search of good life turns up at beachfrontHE WAS a prickly customer - but in the end he came quietly. It was Patrick Mange, the cleaner and gardener at beachfront flatblock Bandle, next to the Beach Hotel, who found him.
EC operators performs strongly at IndabaTHE Eastern Cape has fared well at the Indaba tourism conference and expo in Durban, taking gold in two different categories in the main Welcome awards and only just falling short in the Eteya emerging tourism operators’ awards. The Welcome Awards winners are both from PE and are both family-owned businesses: the Plantation, the wedding, functions’ and accommodation venue on the Sardinia Bay road, and Economic Cars and Bakkies, the 20-year-old Walmer-based car rental firm.
NMMU microscope a global break-throughNMMU has been catapulted into the forefront of nanoscience research with the arrival of a state-of-the-art custom-built microscope from Japan. The high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) is the first of its kind that has been sold commercially outside of Japan and the last of a suite of four electron microscopes, costing a total R90-million, that have arrived in the past week from Tokyo manufacturer JEOL and a second manufacturer in The Netherlands.
'Port guards like the Stasi'FOREIGN tourists yesterday compared guards at the Port Elizabeth Harbour to the dreaded Stazi security police of East Germany, following an incident in which their driver was manhandled, forcibly detained and then bundled off to Humewood Police Station. The incident happened yesterday morning as the tourists, a group of five Russians and a Belgian, were about to enter the harbour at its southern entrance, headed for a day diving excursion in Algoa Bay with local dive company Expert-Tours.
How to rejuvenate Baakens River ValleyI WAS chatting to permaculture activist and leading member of Transition Network PE Naomi Suzane the other day, and she came with a great idea of how to secure, rejuvenate and celebrate the Baakens Valley. We kicked her idea around, and this is how it turned out.
Dad's call following son's deathSIMON Swart started drugging in his early teens and he had been through 15 rehabilitation centres before he died, alone in his room in a backpacker lodge in Central, a fortnight ago. But there was much more to this young man.
Nuclear moratorium callTHE concern group challenging the Thyspunt nuclear reactor has called on government to place a moratorium on all nuclear development in South Africa until the full extent of the Fukushima disaster is known. The call by the Thyspunt Alliance - a broad coalition of residential, cultural, environmental, tourism, fisheries, business and surfing interests in the Oyster Bay, St Francis, Humansdorp and Jeffrey’s Bay area - co-incides with the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl, the historic nuclear melt-down in Ukraine.
Major show jumping event scheduled for PEPORT Elizabeth has been named as a host city for a world show-jumping championship qualifier event, sparking great excitement in the show-jumping fraternity, and the promise of an energising mid-Winter injection of tourist revenue. The event will be attracting the country’s top jumpers, so it is being celebrated in horsey circles - but it is much more than that, event co-ordinator Tanya Radke said yesterday.
Oceanarium seals readied for departureHOW do you transport eight seals to Pretoria? That’s the preoccupation right now of Bayworld’s oceanarium team, as the relocation of their animals moves ahead.
Chumming fines co-incide with issuing of whale permitNELSON Mandela Bay Municipality has issued four fines to marine tourism operator Lloyd Edwards related to the controversial chumming incident off Humewood Beach last month. The issuing of the fines at the Port Elizabeth beach office on Friday co-incides with the issuing this week of the long-awaited boat-based whale watching (BBWW) license for Algoa Bay - to Edwards.
Farewell (for now) to Bayworld oceanariumBAYWORLD’S oceanarium is set to close at the end of this month to prepare for the de-commissioning of the 43-year-old dolphin pool and the transfer of 24 penguins and nine seals to Pretoria Zoo. It’s all part of “operation stop the bleed” in which Port Elizabeth’s much loved museum and oceanarium complex has had to make some tough decisions in order to deliver, hopefully, long-term bounty.
Get out the Karoo, farmers tell ShellANGRY residents of the Middleburg area have called for Shell to “get out the Karoo” after the company failed to guarantee the security of their water if fracking goes ahead. Addressing Shell representatives at a hall in Middelburg’s Grootfontein Agricultural College in a hall packed with farmers in T-shirts saying “Don’t Frack with our Karoo,” members of the audience asked repeatedly if the multi-national could “guarantee no risk to our water”.
Radio activity comtamination concern surfaces around fracking planKAROO anti-frackers are calling for the authorities to take note of the latest findings in America that fracking could be contaminating drinking water supplies with radio activity. The findings stem from an investigation by the New York Times and were reported in that newspaper on Friday. The findings include that waste water produced by fracking wells often absorbs radio activity from naturally occurring minerals underground like uranium.
Nieu Bethesda farmers count flood costsIT COULD take some farmers in Nieu Bethesda a decade to get back to where they were before the flood that hit them Saturday. That’s the word from the mountainous catchment area north of Graaff-Reinet, where well over 100mm of rain fell in 24 hours, flooding the Gats River and all its tributaries, flattening stock fences, stripping roads to bedrock and bursting farm dams.
..The best comedy since Aristophanes times:.... ...Malema said he HAS to hire white lawyers, because the judiciary is in white hands (possibly black lawyers are 'lost in translation')...... ....ANC Y...
dokhotelo 18 February 2012 6:35 pm......yet, President "Showara" Zuma congratulated the 'excellent' job of the teachers in the Eastern Cape in his "State of the Nation Undress" speech.......... And, as usual Vavi and COSATU quiet in a...
dokhotelo 18 February 2012 6:30 pm......actually the ANC fraudsters and corrupters, DO know what they are doing!....which is to pocket the most of public money in the shortest time possible. Since there are no reins and rather rewards...
thirsty 18 February 2012 9:23 amLook at Zimbabwe where they also silenced the press. We have the privelage of hindsight if we use Zimbabwe and other countries that have tried to prevent dictatorial wims and corruption from being exp...
vim 17 February 2012 5:58 pmWhat type of brakes are those? About the only great improvement I have noticed lately is in the condition of animals in Walmer. They are still thin, but most of them are better cared for and perky. ...
thirsty 16 February 2012 5:42 pmThe department was put under administration in March LAST YEAR, only a year ago, and they still can't organise a bloody thing (sorry they did strike again). Sounds like Motshekga cant get on top of th...
thirsty 16 February 2012 5:30 pmIt is absolutely pathetic what happenened to this family. But i suppose the police officers are still on duty, not dismissed yet, or apologised to the family yet, we read more and more about this sort...
thirsty 16 February 2012 5:18 pmJa Faku and his friends realy have "Fackued up" this Metros financial situation and now we even get more crap to put on the table. I dont think the ANC have a clue of what they are doing and it is ser...
thirsty 16 February 2012 4:59 pmtell me is it just arragant, bombastic, tenderpreneurial, hollow heads that are in the ANCYL that they think they rule the works. What i find interesting is you never hear anybody from the ANCYL (memb...
Rex 16 February 2012 3:00 pmWhat is sad is that this is a common practice for police in the Bay area! Police breaking the law to up-hold the law....This is the world we are forced to live in. I urge all the people whom have been...