working weekend 29 August

The weekends work was fun,but we worked hard and long hours.

Friday was welcoming until 9pm ,there was a little problem with one of the guests but it was sorted out in no time.
Saturday was very busy working gamedrives and at the farmyard,we also exterminated more of the ink berry bush on saturday.
Sunday we did more gamedrives,and I also helped to build the box for the biltong to dry in,and then I had to hang the ''biltong'' and ''droe wors'',It was a fun weekend...

Combat problem plants

We did controlling of problem plants on sondela.
The plant we took out was Cestrum laevigatum,some of the cattle ate it and they died.

We controlled them by cutting them off at the bottom and putting poison on them.

The poison we used is Roundup..

Cultural heritage-collecting of specimens

This morning we went to tambuki to look for some tools that people used in the stone age.
I found pieces of pot,that was interesting to see...you can see the markings on them.

We also found sharpening stones and peeling stones.
It is very interesting to see how the people of the stone age also melted rock to get iron and copper out of the stone...we also found slag which was part of the meltings.

School trip

Today was nice,I had the privilege to go to 3 schools to market the academy...it was lots of fun and I got the chance to talk to allot of people!In the beginning it felt strange...but after a while you become used to it.

The children we talked to looked very interested and excited about sondela academy.
It was very good experience , learning some new people skills in communicating on their level!!

Boma building and catching Kudus

Yesterday was very cool,we built a boma to catch Kudus and it was very fun...

How it works when they set up the boma is very important because of the animals that you are catching.
It is built in a v-shape and at the front is the truck that is connected to passage where the animals run through and into the truck....at the back it is open for the animals to come in.

They use a Helicopter to chase the animals into the boma,and as soon as they enter there is an alarm that goes off notifieng the people on the ground to close the boma.....It works like a curtain...it has a cable running above the ground and on the ground and the tarp is connected above and on the ground,it glides between the 2 cables..and the people pulling it is well camouflaged by bush that they put in a certain way so the animals cannot see you.

When the back of the boma is closed there is 2 more tarps that needs to be closed,one in the middle and one near the entrance to the truck...so the siren goes off again when the animals advance to the truck and then the tarp close behind them.....so it is with the last one as well.

When the animals is in the truck and secure another siren goes off and it is now safe for all the tarps to be opened again.Then the Helicopter goes again to find more animals......and the same is done until the required amount is caught.

I learned allot,especially how to build a boma and how to catch the animals.

Species Care in a Controlled Environment(24 May)

I did my assesment on species care in a controlled environment on the 24th of May.

It was lots of fun though it wasn't that easy,but with this Qualification I would be able to do lots of work and work at different places.
I learned a lot of new things although I studdied for the assesment.
We fed the new Giraffe but it wasn't easy at all and you got to have lots of patience.
First you must put on the collar and then when the giraffe gets close and lets you work with him you must first play with its mouth for a while so that it knows you are going to give him his bottle milk.
You then put your finger in his mouth with the bottle and rub his tongue,while doing that you squeeze the botlle softly and wait till he swallows.

We also did Care for animals within area of responsibility.
Assist with selecting, preparing and providing of food.
Recognise and care for plants in area of responsibility.
Explain basic ecological principles.
Occupational Health and safety

I learned alot of new things, and this course was one of the best i've been on.....

Wild life capture(Rhino's) 5 May 2010

We went to catch Rhino's on Elandsdrift near Rustewinter.
It was real fun.
The vet flew in with his helicopter and prepared everything before going up in the air to look for Rhino's.
The owner of the farm sat in the back of the chopper and he darted the Rhino's. First they darted the Rhino then we had to race to get to it, as soon as we got there we put a blanket over his eyes and taped it, that helped because it made the Rhino's less stressed out.
Then we took a thic..k rope and put it over the head like a collar, to guide the rhino once he got up. Then at the back leg there was also a rope to brake the rhino if it walked to fast!
The whole time we had people including myself supporting the rhino's so that they don't fall over when they walk.

It was hard getting some of the rhino's up because they are so heavy.
They easily weigh around 2000 Kilograms....that is 2 ton.It is very heavy.
We had to do everything right because if something went wrong and the rhino didn't make it, the owner could have lost anything between R200 000 and R1 500 000 for a rhino depending on the size and sex.

It was an awsome experience that I will never forget, and I gained a lot of knowledge for my first time doing wildlife capture. It was unforgettable...