UoG conservation research is helping South African wildlife reserve become ‘rhino ready’
University of Gloucestershire conservation experts are helping prepare a South African wildlife reserve to become a safe and secure haven for rhinos, as these iconic animals continue to face the threat of extinction.
Professors Anne Goodenough and Adam Hart are supporting the management team at Izintaba – a private wildlife reserve in Limpopo province – where their research is helping to shape practical approaches to grassland monitoring, habitat assessment and conservation management.
The work forms an important part of preparations towards Izintaba becoming ‘rhino ready’ as a secure site for wildlife conservation, ensuring the reserve has the habitat, management and conservation infrastructure needed to support white rhinos safely and sustainably in the future.
White rhinos remain under severe and sustained pressure from poachers who kill them to retrieve their horn. Having reserves dedicated to ensuring the safety of a breeding population is vital for the conservation of the species as a whole.
Professor Goodenough and Professor Hart are founding trustees of Endangered Rhino Conservation, the charity that helped raise the funds to purchase Izintaba. The reserve currently supports more than 40 species of animal, including antelope, aardvark, bat-eared fox and honey badger.
They have worked for many years with conservation organisations in wildlife reserves and national parks across southern Africa, developing practical approaches to assessing grassland condition that can be used to inform habitat and wildlife management.
Professor Goodenough and Professor Hart met with the management team at Izintaba to observe how their research is being applied to inform grassland management and monitoring across the reserve.
Professor Goodenough, Professor in Applied Ecology, said: “Healthy and appropriately managed grassland is fundamental to supporting wildlife. Being able to get our ‘boots on the ground’ at Izintaba is the culmination of over a year of working remotely with conservation professionals in South Africa.
“It was particularly rewarding to see how our research is being used to inform real management decisions at a reserve with such an important conservation future.
“Understanding the condition of the grassland, how it varies across the reserve and how it responds to management will help the Izintaba team make evidence-based decisions as they work towards becoming ‘rhino ready’.”
As part of their research, Professor Goodenough and Professor Hart and the Izintaba reserve management team have launched a new project to create a long-term system for monitoring wildlife and supporting ecological research.
Funded by the University, the University of Gloucestershire–Izintaba Sentinel Network will establish an extensive network of monitoring devices across Izintaba that will capture imagery and record sound so animals can be observed in their natural habitats without being disturbed.
Professor Hart, Professor of Conservation Ecology, said: “As Izintaba develops, effective monitoring will be essential so that management decisions are informed by evidence for the benefit of the natural world.
“The new monitoring infrastructure being rolled out across Izintaba represents a significant expansion of the University’s conservation research in southern Africa and we’re looking forward to seeing how this new venture develops.
“We’re delighted to be involved at the very start of the project and look forward to continuing our valuable work with our friends and colleagues at Izintaba.”
Image: left to right, Professor Adam Hart and Professor Anne Goodenough at the Izintaba wildlife reserve