|
It’s September already and the rains have arrived.. already! A little earlier than usual which has been great for the park. Areas that were routinely burned in our burning programme are now lush and green. It’s been an exceptionally busy high season with record visitor numbers in July and August; for the first time Akagera received over 5,000 paying visitors in a single month, and in fact closer to 6,000, with July clocking up 5,685 visitors for the month! Some great wildlife sightings have been reported too.
|
|
The Community department have concluded their student environmental education visits for this year, with a total of 1,830 students visiting the park from school around the parks' boundary. Many tangible conservation and community issues are discussed, including human-wildlife conflict and how these can be mitigated. Crop-raiding by baboons is a hot topic right now and the park staff have been working with local community members to remove rocks from near the fence which baboons are using to jump between the park and the community.
The community team are currently showing film screenings in the local communities bordering the park. A mobile unit including a projector, generator and screen is moving around villages showing conservation related films and generating discussion on conservation issues. Over 10,000 people have attended the shows held in 14 different locations along the parks boundary.
Over 10,000 seeds planted at the community nursery are now ready to plant out, with plans to have 20,000 seedlings planted before the end of the year. The trees are a mix of indigenous and exotic species and fruit trees. They will be planted at five locations, mostly schools involving children in their planting and care, and with a focus on the Ndego area to the south of the park which is a particularly dry area and prone to drought. Ndego has also been the site of some development projects launched as part of the Kwita Izina festivities recently. The projects include a village water pump, solar street lighting and three tricycle ambulances as part of a commitment by Solektra International, a company co-founded by singer, songwriter and businessman, Akon.
Community centre nursery preparing to propagate more seeds, photo Jordi van Oort
|
|
If you follow our updates on social media you will have seen the birth of 11 puppies to mum, Nyumba, eight weeks ago. Nyumba, recruited form the local community and the only female, was trained up as a tracking dog and is now considered one of the best in the unit. She was mated with Gozer, a Belgian Malinois, earlier this year in the hope their offspring may have some natural resistance to the tsetse transmitted disease, trypanasomiasis, which is a constant struggle for the Belgian Malinois who are on a rigorous vaccination programme. The 11 puppies are all doing well and this week they began their training. Follow us on social media for updates!
Canine unit Manager, Boaz, with all 11 puppies.
|
|
Kwita Izina 2018 concluded earlier this month with the naming of 23 baby mountain gorillas at Volcanoes National Park. As part of the week-long events, Akagera had a stand at the tourism and conservation exhibition in Kigali and hosted groups of media and tour companies for familiarization trips to the park. This year had some focus on technology and its role in conservation. Akagera staff member, Jordi van Oort, who manages our LoRa network and Smart Parks system, gave a presentation at the Conversation on Conservation conference discussing how we employ technology to aid our law enforcement and conservation efforts in Akagera. Read more about Smart Parks here.
Panel discussion participants, Kwita Izina 2018. Photo by Igihe
|
|
Two representatives from Akagera, Community Liaison Manager, Joseph Karama and researcher, Drew Bantlin, were asked by the organisers of Green Drinks Kigali, to make a presentation on Akagera lions in August, three years after their arrival. We are now sitting with a population of over 20 lions, following the birth of another set up cubs to sisters Kazi and Umwari. Sightings are becoming more regular and we’re receiving feedback such as this: “[We] feel we have been the luckiest tourists ever at Akagera! We spot during 2 following days a small pride of 3 lions, 2 males and one female (we were told that they were cubs born in 2016) in the middle of the park with a buffalo kill. Spectacular! With hyenas and vultures every day. A rare and fantastic leopard kill on a night safari with Innocent. And another leopard resting on a tree in the Mohana plains! We also enjoyed the outstanding track on the Mutumba hills, with good sightings the rare roans and elands”
Joseph Karama and Drew Bantlin at Green Drinks Kigali, photo by David Toovey
|
|
We were pleased to have a visit from Dr. Vincent Biruta, Minister of Environment, who visited Akagera with the Head of Conservation for RDB, Eugene Mutangana in August. The main purpose of the visit was to learn more about the parks’ fire management protocol. Minister Biruta also visited Ruzizi Tented Lodge and posted a photo on Twitter with lodge staff and this comment; “I was pleased to conduct a working tour to @AkageraPark today. I was very impressed by the professional and high tech management of the park, the Ruzizi Tented Lodge and the huge increase in animals - from 4,400 in 2010 to more than 12,000 in 2018. Keep up the good work!”
|
|
We’re continuing to improve Ruzizi Tented Lodge and have installed doors in place of the tent flap zippers, we’ve made new bedframes and mosquito nets for the beds and are developing a massage bungalow so that in future we will be able to offer guests a massage while staying at the lodge to make their experience even more relaxing! The team at Ruzizi have been receiving rave reviews on TripAdvisor. Karenge Bush Camp had a successful season with July reaching 57% occupancy for the month, a new record for Karenge. It has now closed but will re-open in mid-December. While Ruzizi is already fairly booked up over the Christmas period, Karenge does have some availability so if you’re thinking of a Christmas safari, get in touch with the team!
|
|
|
It is with sadness that we announce that Mutware, Akagera’s most well-known elephant, has died. Mutware was one of the original 26 young elephants, who were all under the age of eight years, brought to Akagera from Bugesera in 1975 in what was, at that time, a groundbreaking conservation effort to eliminate human-wildlife conflict from the area and restore the species to Akagera where elephants had previously existed. At approximately 48 years old Mutware was one of the oldest elephants in Akagera. He was easily recognizable to those who knew him, he had broken his tusks years ago. Mutware was infamous, raised alongside humans as a young elephant, he was familiar with people and, in the past, was quite a tourist attraction with visitors coming to touch or feed him. Unfortunately, however, he was also notoriously disruptive and had a long rap sheet of anti-social behavior, sadly all as a result of his early human interaction. In his last years Mutware would spend most of his time at the very southern tip of Lake Ihema, often in the water, only traveling through the park once a year for a few weeks at a time. Mutware’s death appears to be of natural causes.
|
|
|
|
