We are so excited to be hosting bush camps again after our long hiatus over the COVID era! From the 21st to the 25th of March we were thrilled to have a group of students from Chobokwane Primary School join us at our Tiisano Education Centre for an exciting five days of fun and learning. Joining us for the bush camp were 43 standard (grade) seven students, three teachers and one guardian from the small rural village of Chobokwane in western Botswana. The students travelled over 100km (60 miles) to spend the week with us and enjoyed their wonderful time in the bush. 
 
Uncovering a whole world of information about the wildlife and the environment they have in their own backyard, students had CCB’s fun and exciting lessons, activities and games, interspersed with study time specifically requested by their school to help them study for upcoming exams. The deep dive into Botswana’s wildlife and conservation was a welcome treat for the students. But according to the attendees, it was the games and different activities they experienced that were the highlight. During the camp, the students got to witness one of our livestock guarding dog (LGD) veterinary clinics, where a veterinarian was spaying and neutering LGDs that had been placed by CCB’s placement programme. This is an important part of our service to LGD recipients, with sterilised dogs being less likely to spread disease and wander away from their livestock. This initiative also helps reduce the numbers of unwanted puppies in communities, helping to curb the street dog populations in Botswana. 
 
The camp was also visited by officers from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks who gave a talk to students on how to identify snakes found in the local area, the venomous and non-venomous species, how students can stay safe in the bush, first aid for snake bites and how to react if you encounter a snake. This talk was a new addition to our curriculum, but was a particular highlight of the bush camp and one that we will endeavour to include in upcoming camps in future. 
 
A new initiative taken by CCB was to have a “gratitude jar” at the front of the classroom for the duration of the camp, where the attendees could write down things they were grateful for. The responses ranged from students’ sketches of cheetahs and messages of thanks to CCB for hosting them at the bush camp. The feedback we received from the students and staff warmed our hearts and reassured us that our bush camps are having a real impact on those that attend.  “CCB is a very nice place and I would like to work here, teaching children from different places. I’ve learnt that there are different ways of learning like playing educational games” – Natosha Jacob (student). Our use of educational games is perhaps the best (and most fun) way to help students remember important conservation messages. What makes these games so impactful is the fact that games like ours are not often used in the education system in Botswana, and their novelty makes them even more exciting for the students. 
 
We were very happy to host this wonderful group of students and look forward to welcoming them back to CCB soon. 
 
“I would like to thank CCB for the love, caring nature and the education they teach our children as they didn’t want to leave” – Amogelang Modikwe (Chobokwane Primary School teacher)

In 2022, through our partnership with Tarleton State University from Texas, USA, CCB welcomed a Masters student (who has now upgraded to a PhD) to study the movement of lions through the vast landscapes between the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in the centre of the country, and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the south-west and the conflict issues that ensue. Kaileigh Smith took on the daunting task of fitting satellite trackers (both new innovative Ceres GPS ear tags, together with standard GPS collars to compare their reliability) to three lions in the area – no mean feat when you consider the vastness of this wilderness! A single lion took her and CCB’s research team and our friendly veterinarian, Erik Verreynne, 44 days in the field to track and collar in June 2023. Through Kaileigh’s and CCB’s work with the farmers in the area we realised that the conflict close to the CKGR was pronounced and farmers weren’t receiving the support they needed to mitigate those conflicts. This became starkly evident when CCB discovered the shocking news that a lion had been killed not far from New Xade – a beautiful male lion who had predated on one horse a few nights previously. Images received of the dead lion brought shock and sadness as it was immediately clear, thanks to a distinctive hernia on his side, that it was one of the big male lions Kaileigh had collared nine months previously. She had named him Russell after her late father who contributed to funding the research. The team had watched his progress through the vast landscape, initially congregating around the southern edge of the District, where several problem animal reports were reported and then seen him move north towards the village of New Xade. Our team was hopeful that perhaps he would avoid conflict as he made his way further north, but sadly, that wasn’t the case. 
 
CCB have been working to alleviate human-wildlife conflict in the Ghanzi District for almost 20 years, however, in focusing our efforts on cheetah conflict, our target areas have historically been around the commercial cattle ranches and the rural communities south of Ghanzi town. The Ghanzi District, minus the impressive Central Kalahari Game Reserve encompasses an area of 65,110km2 – a work site roughly the size of Lithuania. It is challenging to cover this large expanse, and we are constantly adapting to where our support is needed most. This is the case at the moment with the community of New Xade, which sits just outside of the western boundary of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Being so close to the reserve, there is wonderful biodiversity to be had around this village, but with many farmers and expanding cattleposts around the village, it is also a hotspot for human-wildlife conflict. It is not usually cheetahs that are causing conflict in these areas, but lions, leopards and African wild dogs which are causing the most strain for farmers here.
 
Thankfully, late in 2023 an opportunity arose where we could expand our conflict alleviation work to support the community of New Xade. CCB was engaged by Birdlife Botswana through the UNDP Kgalagadi and Ghanzi Drylands Ecosystem Project (KGDEP) to trial innovative approaches to reduce human-wildlife conflict (HWC) in the village of New Xade. The main aim of the project is to engage with the community, especially farmers, to discuss issues relating to human-wildlife conflict in the area and to discuss potential conflict mitigation options. Upon engagement with the community, a selection of relevant conflict mitigation tools will be chosen by CCB and the communities to be trialled in selected cattle posts around the village between May and August 2024.
 
CCB staff visited 13 of the New Xade cattle posts between the 25th and 31st January to engage with farmers and to conduct rapid assessment surveys to gather information on carnivore species causing conflict, levels of human-wildlife conflict, current methods used for conflict mitigation and ideas about potential conflict mitigation methods that could be trialled. A total of 77 people from 33 cattle posts participated in the exercise. The CCB survey team was accompanied to all cattle posts by Mr Matenego Mothukhuthe, the chairperson of the New Xade Farmers Committee. The information collected during these surveys has helped us with developing innovative approaches to reduce human-wildlife conflict in the area. CCB are focused on finding cost-efficient and effective approaches that will help reduce predation risk to livestock, whilst improving productivity for cattle-post farmers. 
 
Results from the survey showed that farmers identified five carnivore species that posed the biggest threats to livestock in the area (lions, wild dogs, leopards, jackals and caracals). Respondents consistently reported that even though most farmers kraaled their livestock at night (kept their livestock in enclosures at night), stragglers left out overnight were much more vulnerable to predation by nocturnal carnivores. Herders were reluctant to venture out after dark to recover cattle that didn’t come into the kraal before sunset, as they were afraid of being out in the bush after dark for fear of encountering lions and elephants. Consequently, a lot of predation reportedly occurred overnight out in the bush. 
 
Considering the specific circumstances of these cattleposts, it was decided that one of the best solutions to their conflict would be to enlist teams of eco-rangers who will be based at the cattleposts and who will help round up stray cattle at dusk, help deter carnivores if they are threatening livestock and who will report accurately on mitigation measures, livestock movements and carnivore presence. CCB has worked together with farmers in the pilot project area to select local teams of eco-rangers who are familiar with the area. The trials will also include a variety of deterrent devices, including lights mounted at kraals to help deter any wildlife that may approach kraals at night and using desirable supplement feeds to ensure that all cattle come into the kraals at night. Smallstock (goat and sheep) farmers in the area will be supported by CCB to incorporate livestock guarding dogs into their farm management to reduce depredation on goats and sheep. Other mitigation measures that will be trialled include GPS ear tags for monitoring cattle movements. 
 
Participants of the surveys were generally welcoming and open to suggestions of innovative approaches to help mitigate their conflicts with wildlife. Most of the farmers and herders were fascinated by the innovations proposed and are looking forward to the trials beginning in the next few months.