Dear Hippo Members of www.savethehippos.com.
Normally, there are two bulls in two different sections of the Turgwe. Back in June 2000, Bob chased the other bull, Happy, away from the last weir (Chichindwi, which is within the Turgwe River). Due to cyclone Eline, which hit Mozambique and caught us here in the southeast Lowveld of Zimbabwe, we lost three of the four weirs that are built across the river to hold deep water during the dry season. These weirs are where all the hippos live when the rains stop and the river becomes shallow. The concrete and rock wall allows water to be retained in an area stretching up to 2kms and allows the hippos to have a decent size pool to live in. As Chichindwi was the last remaining weir, all of Bob’s females and calves moved in with Happy and his family. Bob, being a larger and older bull, resented the loss of his family, challenged Happy and claimed Happy’s territory and took over the 18 hippos.
I last saw Happy in late August of 2000 and he was in good health, so hopefully he is okay and just hiding somewhere so as not to come into contact with Bob. In the meantime, the weir began to slowly fill with sand brought down in the Turgwe and by January of 2001 we realized something had to be done quickly. We put up a temporary barrier, about 100 feet upstream of the 19 hippos: two fences made with mopane poles and bags filled with sand placed at the foot of the fences. For the following month, we dug a channel between the fences daily and managed to keep further sand from entering the hippos' pool. Up until that time we had had extremely poor rains so there was hardly any water entering the pool. By mid-February this all changed, with the rains coming in full force. By late February the hippos left their pool as there was now running water in all areas and depth in various parts of the river system. Overnight, their last dry season pool was totally silted up and within one week most of the 150 odd poles we had laid had been swept downstream.
As I type, all the hippos have moved up and downstream in the Turgwe. They split up, with Bob’s original females moving to their old areas and Happy’s females and calves remaining close to the Chichindwi weir. It has not yet stopped raining, so the work we wish to carry out on the weir pool has to be put on hold until we are sure the rains are over.
We are hoping to bring in the suction pump, weighing over two tons, by mid to late April depending on the river’s flow and depth. We will need to re-enter the Turgwe to put the fence back up and then, when the work commences with the pump, have four or five people working in the river shoveling sand and working with the pump. As 18 crocodiles shared the hippos' pool before the river rose, we know they will move back there once the Turgwe has ceased flowing as strongly and the depth of the river has decreased. Hence it is imperative that the water drops to the level it was before the late rains so that we can see the bottom of the area we will work in. I will send photos for the web site once the machine is in operation.
Thanks to all of you who contributed to the hippo’s plight, we managed to put the main deposit on the suction pump. We believe it is the only machine in Zimbabwe and were terribly worried that others may wish to hire it and we would have lost out. Without your financial aid we could not have booked the machine. My husband, Jean-Roger, and I, and of course all the Turgwe Hippos, thank you all for your wonderful help. I have worked with these hippos for over ten years now. Every project that we have carried out has been thanks to help from people like you: people living all around the world who genuinely care about the welfare of animals. Some people might ask “why help 20 odd hippos when there are hundreds of hippos, say in Zambia?”. The reason these animals need help is because there used to be nearly one hundred just in this small Turgwe River. After I fed them during the horrendous drought of 1992, only 13 hippos remained alive. Up until 1999, over 33 hippos lived back in this river. Since then, some have moved away or disappeared. The Turgwe River has always been a habitat for hippos.
We have had immense problems in the last year with the invasions of land by “war veterans”. Sadly, this wildlife conservancy was not spared from such an onslaught, even though the land is not arable and proven unsuitable for land resettlement. This area is terribly drought-prone and surface water exists only in a small part of the one-million acre area. Due to a total breakdown in law and order, poaching within the area escalated and many hundreds of animals have been killed by the use of the savage wire snare, which is a wire noose attached to a tree that traps an animal by its neck or leg, and then the poacher kills the animal when he returns to check the snare.
I pray with all my heart that none of the Turgwe Hippos who have been missing since the invasions began have met such an awful fate. Normally, a large animal like a hippo, rhino, or elephant would be able to break the snare from where it’s attached to a tree. The noose would remain attached to the animal and would eventually cause gangrene, or, if around the animal’s neck, death, but in the case of the hippos I would notice any snare caught on their bodies. The problem is that, with the missing hippos, I do not know what has happened to them and have not seen them since last year, but I do not lose hope.
In the meantime, the conservancy members have informed us that the government of Zimbabwe do wish for this area to remain a wildlife conservancy, for the benefit of the animals and for the people surrounding this area. Various concessions have been made and the conservancy has offered land to the adjacent African reserve for resettlement, as well as four other farms out of this area- a total of 90,000 acres of land. Plus, there is talk of a “Campfire Project,” which benefits the people through wildlife management on other land adjoining the new resettlement section. Hopefully the ministers and government officials who have instigated this new plan will be listened to by the people on the ground (the war veterans and the people they brought into the conservancy), peace will once more reign, and the poaching of defenseless animals will stop. Poaching in Africa has always been a problem, but never in this area have animals been killed on such a large scale. The odd man poaching to feed his family has been the usual occurrence in the past and, in some way, is understandable. Sadly, due to the complete breakdown in law and order within Zimbabwe, many criminal types as well as entrepreneurs have got on the bandwagon of lawlessness, with nature and animals in this area being the first and foremost to suffer from the greed of man.
We who work for the hippos believe that there is good in all and we hope that rational thoughts and sensibility will return soon and that the wildlife here will be able to get on with their lives without fear of man. The Turgwe Hippo Trust is committed to protecting these hippos and, thanks to past and present help from people like you, the hippos have a chance of a good future. I have also found that individuals are the most supportive of these hippos and that you may live in America, or England, or Hong Kong for that matter, but it is you who is personally helping the hippo survive. I may be the person on the ground, working and studying the Turgwe hippos, having the fortune of seeing them each day of my life, but these magnificent animals would not be alive today if it was not for people caring and helping them: with finances that provided food in the drought, a pan providing water to stop dehydration, and all the projects that we have carried out to date.
I wish that all of you who have helped these hippos could come to our home and personally meet them for yourselves. I know that the written word is not as wonderful as seeing the hippo with your own eyes, but I do hope that everyone of you realizes how deeply grateful we and, of course, the Turgwe Hippos, are for your support.
The hippo is a large animal which needs water to live in and grass to graze. Our natural world is rapidly shrinking in size due to over-population. Land is an issue that provokes many heated arguments as to who should utilize it. This is not just an African problem. I believe, though, that if we humans destroy nature our own lives are meaningless. Hippos are recognized by CITES as an Appendix 2 animal. Their habitat is shrinking daily, their waterways destroyed by man’s ever-increasing need to farm and feed himself and others. Where hippos have existed naturally for thousands of years, I feel it is important that, if at all possible, they should remain. The Turgwe Hippos lived here before any human set foot upon this wild land. We of the Turgwe Hippo Trust are working for the hippos to remain for the benefit of countless children and people to appreciate in the thousands of years ahead. I salute all of you who care.
With warm wishes to you all,
Karen Paolillo.
Chairperson of the Turgwe Hippo Trust. Save (pronounced Sarvey) Valley Conservancy,
S.E Lowveld of Zimbabwe, Africa.