Page 85 - KGR 2020-21 Annual Report

RE-POPULATING ZINAVE NATIONAL PARK’S CARNIVORE GUILD

In July 2020, Karingani was called to assist with a history-making collaborative conservation project to bring
spotted hyenas back to Zinave National Park as the first phase of a large predator re-introduction project through
collaborative conservation with Peace Parks Foundation and National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC),
the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Sabie Game Park and Saving the Survivors.
A hyena clan from Sabie Game Park was identified for this momentous translocation and the ground team at Sabie
began habituating the animals to vehicle and human activity in order to make the capture go smoother. Karingani
warden, Ellery Worth, and field ecologist, Jo Taylor assisted Saving the Survivors veterinarians Dr Joao Almeida and
Dr Hugo Pereira at Sabie during the capture. Four hyenas were safely immobilised and loaded into the vehicles and
then driven to Karingani.

The clan spent just over a week staying in the Karingani predator holding boma before embarking on the next leg of
their journey by small aircraft to Zinave. The animals were once again immobilised, this time during a much quicker
operation while inside of the holding boma and driven to Massingir Airport where they boarded for the flight to
Zinave. The hyenas were unloaded into the holding boma at Zinave to help them establish themselves in their new
surroundings before being released as the first large predators roaming Zinave National Park in decades. Landscape
restoration and collaboration are at the core of our ethos – what better example of that than to be a part of the
restoration of Zinave National Park in partnership with like-minded public and private conservation organisations.
The emphasis on collaboration is key to successful and holistic conservation – multiple stakeholders all driven by the
same desired outcome of safeguarding the planet’s heritage, is a significant aspect of this and future projects.

NATURAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL IMP A CT & SUSTAINABLE DEVEL OPMENT PROGRESS REPORT 2021 C1 | 82