VOLUME 16. 2013 / 14
BIRD’S EYE VIEW
SAFE HAVENClaire Hodgkinson recounts the story
of saving orphaned baboons and
keeping Durban’s Centre for the
Rehabilitation of Wildlife alive.
David Allan reveals the frightening decline in waterbirds in Durban Bay over the last 14 years.
A museum about the earth, its historyand life on earth, both past and present.
Letter fromthe Editor
welcome
Thola Magazine is published by:The Durban Natural Science Museum
P. O. Box 4085, Durban, South Africa 4001165 Anton Lembede Street, Durban, South Africa 4001
Tel: +27 31 311 2256. Fax: +27 31 311 2242Director: Allison Ruiters
Editor: David AllanDesign and Layout: Science™
The editors wish to extend a special thanks to Emil von Maltitz for donating his photographic expertise
Durban Natural Science Museum TrustThola is a non-profit educational magazine and any financial
contributions to the Durban Natural Science Trust are welcomed.
Mr. David R. Bennett (Chairman)Mr. David G. Allan (Secretary/Treasurer), Mrs. Nicky F. Armstrong,
Mrs. Marilyn N. Bodasing, Mr. B. Themba T. Mathe
David [email protected]
thola
All material is copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or editor, who reserve the right to amend articles. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of information, the publisher and editor cannot be held responsible for any errors or views expressed. Readers are invited to express their views to the editor.
© Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
(Ph
oto
: Ch
arle
s Kreb
s – w
ww
.kreb
smicro
.com
)
VOLUME 16. 2013 / 14
Thola first emerged as the Museum’s popular magazine in 2011. At that time,
I’d just finished serving a stint as ‘acting-director’ of the Museum. Well this year
I drew a similar, but much less onerous, sentence as your ‘acting-editor’. As you
will read elsewhere in this edition, our regular editor, Kirstin Williams, was on
a sabbatical completing her PhD and Allison Ruiters, our Director, asked me to
steer Thola through to publication. I’ve edited the Museum’s scientific journal
Durban Natural Science Museum Novitates since I joined the Museum as long
ago as 1996, so I’ve some experience with the pleasure and pain of the task. As
a popular product, Thola has been more fun to work with than the Novitates but
its multi-faceted nature has rendered it equally challenging.
In the pages that follow, there are the usual departmental report-backs, packed
with evidence of exciting progress on many fronts, and we welcome no less than
five new staff appointments, all involving young and dynamic individuals. Perhaps
most thrilling is the landmark announcement of the Museum’s new mobile facility:
GO-WILD! As in the past, some of our like-minded collaborators weigh in with
stories of shared interest. Crispin Hemson exposes us to one of our City’s gems of
a nature reserve. Martin Clement describes the City’s new partnership with the
South African National Biodiversity Institute. Ginny Stone extolls our hosting of a
major science-centre symposium. Claire Hodgkinson reveals the heroic work of
her centre for the rehabilitation of wildlife. Craig Richards shares his insights into
the interaction between wind-energy and the environment. Finally, Paulo Candotti
spells out some ground-breaking advances in sustainable, community-based
conservation initiatives that are happening right in our own backyard.
Hope you enjoy these varied offerings. I know I did!
3 Comments Page
4 Director’s Report
8 Pigeon Valley
10 SANBI Collaboration
13 Library Department
14 Mammalogy Department
20 SAASTEC Conference 2013
22 Special Report: CROW
26 Palaeontology Department
30 Exhibitions Department
35 Wind Repowering Project
38 Herpetology Department
44 Entomology Department
48 Education Department
54 Conservancies
58 Ornithology Department
64 Events
65 Museum Diary
VOLUME 16. 2013 / 14
BIRD’S EYE VIEW
SAFE HAVENClaire Hodgkinson recounts the story
of saving orphaned baboons and
keeping Durban’s Centre for the
Rehabilitation of Wildlife alive.
David Allan reveals the frightening decline in waterbirds in Durban Bay over the last 14 years.
YOUR COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU.
KWAZULU-NATALCONSERVANCIES
ASSOCIATION
Private Bag X 3, Congella 4013
SELECT YOUR WEAPON.
A conservancy is a voluntary, co-operative initiative to help owners and residents provide environmental management and promote stewardship of our natural resources at a community level. All conservancies are registered with our provincial conservation authority, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.The first urban conservancy was established in 1991 with the Everton Conservancy in Gillitts. Twenty one years later, we now have a proud record of voluntary environmental work with over 40 other urban conservancies in and around eThekwini.We hold regular bi-annual workshops to empower our residents with valuable knowledge and information and use many of our local experts for advice. Contact Jean Lindsay on 082 550 4427 or email her at [email protected]
Form a conservancy with like-minded people in your area to control invasive alien plant life and maintain your local environment.
Visitor’s comments
3
inbox
Tell us what’s on your mind, we’d love to hear from you. Send your news, views and suggestions to David Allan at [email protected]
Ekuphakameni Primary School 05-09-2013‘Noma Khoza’s presentation to my learners was brilliant! Thanx lots.’
Belinda Upfold 28-06-2013‘Very enjoyable and educational. An asset to Durban.’
Ruth Rhodes 12-01-2013‘We were very impressed – fantastic displays, nice new ones and the old ones much improved. Loved the rhino poaching focus. Just a note that some of the bird noises were not working.’
Limpopo Junior Chess Team 18-12-2013‘The guides did a great job with the large groups of children. Love it!’
Salomi Kirsten 29-06-2013‘Awesome experience for my 11-year-old son. Good attraction for Durban. Friendly staff helped to make the experience good as well. Thanks.’
Skyset Tours 18-07-2013‘The Museum is well-organised, self-explanatory and educational. Staff are friendly and accommodating.’
Jessica Broom 03-07-2013‘Really enjoyed it! Schools should come here. Very educational, I loved the whole experience. Will be back soon!’
Karyn Muruyan 06-09-2013‘It was very educational and everything so beautiful and life-like. Will come back very soon, would love to learn more.’
Ebrahim Ahmod 23-01-2014‘Most memorable and educational place in Durban. Learnt a lot.’
B. D. Yerakiah 18-12-2013‘The museum contains great artifacts of prehistoric information. The tour guide was quite informative. This building and it’s contents is an amazing heritage site.’
M. Potgieter 04-09-2013‘I was really impressed. Displays were top-class.’
Gabriella Broom 03-07-2013‘Really lovely museum. Will definitely come back soon!’
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
Museums are presented as
places that produce, hold and
disseminate knowledge. At
the same time our institutions
are all grappling with the challenge of how
we can become agents of change; how we
can become more relevant. Despite the many
efforts that are being made, there still
remain many questions around most
museums’ civic role in addressing the critical
social needs of our communities.
Furthermore, there is a general perception
that science is isolated and accessible to only
a few members of society. This view is
reinforced by the mind-sets and practices of
most scientists and science-linked institutions
that focus on insular research needs.
Museums today need to operate from a
position of shared authority, a concept that
pushes beyond the idea of collaboration
and partnership, but rather promotes the
stance that all stakeholders involved must be
understood to be authorities who are able to
offer something of value to the relationship.
We need to let go of positions of actual and
perceived privilege and embrace the wisdom
and experiences of co-creators, adding this to
our own areas of expertise, thus providing a
new lens through which to consider our work
and our goals.
This authentic, reciprocal engagement
needs to be centred on Jacques Rancière’s
philosophy, where those who know something
engage with those who know something
else. In doing this, we then transform the
knowledge and skills of all collaborators,
as long as we engage in genuine equal
relationships and conversations, better serving
both institutional and social needs.
Our collaborations with Kloof Conservancy
and KwaXimba Conservancy during this
year are evidence of such partnership. The
International Museum Day (IMD) activities at
Krantzkloof Nature Reserve fitted well into the
2013 IMD theme - Memory + Creativity = Social Change - which aimed to contribute to
community development, in promoting social
cohesion and in creating community interest
and involvement with our museums and the
natural environment. This initiative, borne out
of an existing relationship with our Mammalogy
Department and Kloof Conservancy, then
prompted the KwaXimba Natural Heritage Day
event with KwaXimba Conservancy, which
formed part of the Parks, Recreation & Culture
(PRC) Month programme. This particular
activity was an excellent example of cross
pollination between departments, as well as
with two different communities, ultimately
“bringing the museum to the people”.
Whilst great strides have been made to
expose the insulated world of science to
our public, a strong statement needs to be
made that science is part and parcel of the
cultural life of a city. Although there are a
few existing models, there needs to be more
focus on the development of centralised
“science knowledge campuses”, a unified
network of relevant internal and external
City stakeholders working towards achieving
similar objectives. These campuses need to
incorporate the elements of science research,
a science museum / centre, science education
and career development, encompassed
within the City’s urban planning and
regeneration framework and economic
development plan.
In May 2013, vast progress was made
in the new Natural Science Museum
development project, with a seminar
facilitated by Imagine Durban and MILE
(Municipal Institute of Learning), in which
Architectural Services, Skills Development
and our museum participated. Invited
external stakeholders included Prof. Michelle
Hamer, Director of Zoological Systematics,
South African National Biodiversity Institute
(SANBI), Mr David Kramer, CEO of Sci-
Bono Discovery Centre, Johannesburg, and
Dr Beverley Damonse, Group Executive,
Science Advancement at the National
Research Foundation (NRF). Discussions
were held in the context of perhaps one
of the most exciting projects for our City;
the development of the Arts and Cultural
precinct within the CBD on the Centrum
site, of which a new Durban Central Library
will serve as a central resource centre
for residents, and will also help drive the
economic revitalisation of the CBD area,
and be a new attraction for visiting tourists.
This has initiated a major move in the urban
redevelopment efforts to revitalize the area
and also lends itself to envisaged plans of the
creation of a knowledge hub.
There are plans to include within this
knowledge campus a new Natural Science
Museum that will also include a science
centre. The Durban Natural Science
Museum (DNSM), with a history of 126
years, will continue to position itself as a
Director’s Report: Allison Ruiters
“Museums today need to operate from a position of shared authority, a concept that pushes beyond the idea of collaboration and partnership.” - Allison Ruiters
Whilst great strides have been made to expose the insulated world of science to our public, a strong statement needs to be made that science is part and parcel of the cultural life of a city.
4 Director’s Report
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
5
leading institution, both at a national and
international level, in pioneering knowledge
and creating awareness of the richness and
benefits of our biodiversity.
This is especially important given that,
following the DNSM being identified as one
of five regional collections hubs in South
Africa in the National Audit of Natural History
Collections conducted by the NRF, we have
just been awarded funding, together with
KZN Museum, of R1 million per annum
over a 3-year period towards upgrading,
maintaining and managing our collections,
thus increasing our absorptive capacity for
collections from other institutions that may
fall into disrepair.
A vast amount of work has already gone
into the City’s vision of creating a new
Natural Science Museum on the Centrum site
alongside the Central Library. In keeping with
the City’s vision, this Precinct envisages “to
create a leading-edge footprint and digital
gateway in Africa that provides knowledge,
opportunity and experience of culture,
heritage and science”. It is this vision that
informs the mission of the Libraries & Heritage
Department “to provide access to information
and knowledge; to develop, interpret and
preserve culture & heritage; to enhance
the quality of life, promote creativity and
encourage life-long learning through libraries,
museums, art galleries, science centres,
performing arts and living heritage centres.”
Contributing to this mission, and
reinforcing the philosophy of “those who
know something engaging with those who
know something else”, was our various
initiatives within the Education and Exhibition
Departments. Our National Science Week
activities were made possible through funding
received from the Department of Science &
Technology and was done in collaboration
with youth ambassadors from different wards
within eThekwini Municipality. Our “Green
Heroes for a Changing Climate” exhibition
was developed to recognize members of
our communities who are doing simple but
inspiring acts within their everyday lives
to reduce the impact of climate change.
A “living” extension of this exhibition, a
permaculture garden at the Research Centre,
was developed with the assistance of Durban
Botanic Gardens. The Joint Biodiversity
Seminar Series has been developed in
partnership with our sister organizations,
the South African Association for Marine
Biological Research (SAAMBR) and the Royal
Society of South Africa, and has seen our
audience grow, due to the rotation of these
monthly seminars to different venues. All
these programmes have been centred on
the DNSM embracing the knowledge and
capabilities of our co-creators, thus adding
value to our own areas of expertise.
The highlight of our activities to dispel
the perception of science being narrow and
exclusive was our involvement with Prof.
Mpilo Pearl Sithole, Associate Professor at the
Community Development Programme at the
University of KwaZulu-Natal, who delivered
our keynote addresses at both our Annual
Magqubu Ntombela – Ian Player Lecture and
the 15th Annual Conference of the South
African Association of Science & Technology
Centres (SAASTEC). Pushing boundaries, by
bringing a social scientist within a natural
science environment, dispelled the apparent
notion that science is accessible to only a few,
elitist individuals and organizations. Professor
Sithole challenged the distinction between
“science” and “indigenous knowledge”,
and expanded on “science not being owned
exclusively by certain sections of society and
the globe, but is a feature of every society;
scientific production is a shared practice”.
The curation and research on our
collections by both our voluntary and
permanent Research Scientists has resulted in
the continued expansion of our collections,
as well as re-iterated the need for this
fundamental biodiversity research. Leigh
Richards’ contribution to the Education
Department’s Volunteer Programme to
include training some of our volunteers in
field surveys, not only enabled her to continue
to support the Environmental Planning and
Climate Protection Department’s mandate of
The DNSM, with a history of 126 years, will continue to position itself as a leading institution, both at a national and international level, in pioneering knowledge and creating awareness of the richness and benefits of our biodiversity.
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
6 Director’s Report
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
surveying the City’s nature reserves, but also
contributed to the ongoing development of
our enthusiastic volunteers, providing them
with an opportunity to improve their skills and
knowledge in an area quite foreign to most
of them. Assisting Leigh with this programme
and other technical tasks within the
Mammalogy Department, is Zama Mwelase,
the latest addition to our team. Leigh, along
with balancing the Mammal Department’s
many research collaborations, field work,
skills development, ongoing Chiropteran
research and her co-ordination of the GRAP
103 exercise and the NRF Collections Funding
Proposal, also completed her PhD in Biological
Sciences. Truly a proud moment for her, her
family and her other family, at the DNSM!
Kirstin Williams was awarded a Sabbatical
Grant from the NRF, enabling her to take time
away from her administrative and curatorial
responsibilities to work on the completion of
her PhD. The arrival of Natasha Govender, an
addition to our team within the Entomology
Dept, assured the day-to-day running of
the department during Kirstin’s absence.
The vision and support of the PRC Executive
Team, namely Mr Guy Redman (Deputy Head
responsible for Libraries & Heritage) and Mr
Thembinkosi Ngcobo (Head of the PRC Unit),
enabled Kirstin and the DNSM to benefit
from this funding programme, ensuring
that we remain at the pinnacle of our
profession. I am proud to reveal that Kirstin
has also completed her PhD, even though
this will only officially be awarded to her in
2015 due to Rhodes University’s graduation
process. I look forward to the new projects
and collaborations that this will bring to the
museum, amongst these a fully functional
Forensics Entomology Laboratory.,
David Allan’s monthly field surveys of
waterbirds in Durban Bay for the past 14 years
has resulted in him, with the assistance of
many partners over these years, being able to
produce a convincing account of the changing
diversity and numbers of waterbirds within
this site. It has been David’s dedication to his
profession and area of expertise that has driven
this programme, and resulted in a worthwhile
monograph being added to the Novitates journal publication. David’s continued
involvement in various wind-energy projects
has ensured that expert avifaunal input has
been provided to wind-energy developments
ensuring that important precedents are set.
The Ornithology Department welcomed a new
technician, Onica Mukhuwana, who served as
a DST intern in 2012, and was already part of
the DNSM team.
The voluntary assistance of Dr Angelo
Lambiris, and Prof. Mike Cooper and Mrs
Betsie Greyling, with the Herpetology and
Palaeontology collections respectively has
enabled these “departments” to grow,
supporting the medium-term plans of the
DNSM. Angelo’s meticulous reorganisation
of the Herpetology collection has resulted
ABOVE: Busi Gumede, Sindi Nzama and Theshnie Naidoo of the Education Department. ABOVE RIGHT: The Museum family at the City Stars Awards evening.RIGHT: The concept for the realignment of Soldiers Way that has yet to be approved by the City Council.
The curation and research on our collections by our voluntary and permanent research scientists has resulted in the continued expansion of our collections.
7
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
in it now being fully data-based, and huge
progress has been made in producing
taxonomically definitive inventories of the
collection, which should be complete in the
near future. Angelo’s resurrection of this
collection has also resulted in a significant
donation of specimens from Mr Richard
Boycott, as well as a visit to our collection,
and loan of specimens, by Dr Mike Bates
from the National Museum in Bloemfontein.
Mike and Betsie’s curatorial research
work on the Palaeontology collection has
revealed in our collection a significant
holding of type material, with this number
set to increase as they are in the process of
describing several new marine invertebrate
species. The NRF’s Collections Funding will
enable the DNSM to provide an honorary
stipend for continued work on this
collection, as well as forge a relationship
with the DST’s Palaeosciences Strategy team
to engage interns.
Our Education Department has been
enriched with the addition of two new staff
members, Theshnie Naidoo and Sindi Nzama,
to add to the good work already being done
by Busi Gumede, who is to be commended for
maintaining this department single-handed
for over a year, with the competent assistance
of our volunteers, Zamo Shazi and Deron
Dlamini. The achievement of a complete
Education team enabled the DNSM to host a
hugely successful SAASTEC Conference, with
the assistance of partner departments and
organisations within the Municipality, as well
as further develop the Biodiversity Curriculum
Programme, which now includes Educator
Skills Development, Gallery Education
Programme, KwaZuzulwazi Programme
development and Facilitator Training.
Definitely the highlight of this department’s
work, and indeed for the Museum generally,
has been the culmination of a project started
in 2011, GO-WILD, eThekwini Municipality’s
first mobile museum. This ambitious
enterprise was made possible through joint
funding from the KwaZulu-Natal Department
of Arts & Culture and the Municipality. This
initiative has been enhanced by the above
biodiversity education programme, developed
specifically for this mobile unit and ensuring
easier accessibility to the DNSM education
programmes for learners, educators and the
community. It has also led to the GO-WILD
branding application being relevant to our
entire Education offering. This service to our
communities will contribute to closing the
gap between science and the public, again
highlighted in the Human Sciences Research
Council’s 2013 publication, which found that
there still remains a disparity between public
attitudes towards science and science literacy.
Congratulations are again in order in this
department, as Theshnie was also awarded
her PhD. Well done – we are proud of you!
In terms of the National Heritage Resources
Act, No. 25 of 1999, heritage resources have
lasting spiritual value in their own right and
provide reference to historical moments in the
construction of South African society. Since
they are valuable, finite, non-renewable and
irreplaceable, they must be carefully managed
to ensure their survival in the places where
they are located. Every generation has a moral
responsibility to act as trustee of the national
heritage for succeeding generations and
the government has a political mandate to
manage heritage resources in the interest of
its citizens. It is in light of this sentiment that
the GRAP 103 project was started in 2013 in
the DNSM, Local History Museum and the
Durban Art Gallery.
All our achievements within the past year
are again testament to the amazing team of
people that form part of our DNSM family.
I am truly blessed, humbled and privileged
to have such a remarkable mix of staff and
volunteers that are always giving of their
best, going beyond what appears in their
job descriptions, and all with their unique
strengths, expertise and quirkiness, making
us an exceptional team. This was duly
recognised when we were nominated in
the 2013 City Stars Awards. Our Exhibitions
Department, headed by Dudu Hlatshwayo
(who is supported by Immie Mostert and
Andrew Carter), through their Rotating
Exhibitions initiative, secured this accolade for
our institution.
This co-creation within the DNSM, in
relation to our custodianship of collections
and the knowledge that we derive and
share from these assets, feeds into the
long-term sustainable development plan
of our communities and City. In doing this,
we are further entrenching our institution
as a relevant agent of change, protecting
the environment, driving social equity and
promoting economic prosperity, so that we
inspire our citizens to develop a relationship
with science, ultimately creating access to
lifelong learning so that they are personally
empowered and confident.
ABOVE: The new GO-WILD mobile museum. ABOVE RIGHT: The Museum’s volunteer staff 2014.
All our achievements within the past year are again testament to the amazing team of people that form part of our DNSM family.
Pigeon Valley
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8
Durban residents often fail to realise
the richness and complexity that
our urban reserves offer. They are
rich both in the number of species
– trees, shrubs, birds, butterflies, mammals,
reptiles and insects – and in their diversity.
Pigeon Valley, the small reserve on the Berea
(co-ordinates 29.86444°S 30.98861°E), barely
11 ha in extent, is a case in point. There are
larger reserves, such as Burman Bush to the
north and Stainbank to the west, but Pigeon
Valley is a jewel of a reserve.
The reserve slopes down towards the east,
as is typical on the Berea, but it is unusual in
also having north-facing and south-facing
slopes. The south-facing slopes have tall trees
such as fluted milkwood (Chryophyllum viridolium) and relatively little undergrowth,
while the north-facing side has thorny thickets
and trees like the coast monkey-orange
(Srychnos gerrardii). Perhaps for the same
reason it has different habitats, and is notable
for having two very rare tree species. The
majestic Natal elm (Celtis mildbraedii, or
uZinhlu) is
found here in large numbers, as is the Natal
loquat (Oxyanthus pyriformis). One tree, a
Cryptocarya, has yet to be clearly identified,
and may be a hybrid or possibly a species
typically found far from here. A recent survey
has identified no less than 109 locally
indigenous tree species. For purposes of
comparison, the equivalent number for the
British Isles is 33.
The visitor who walks along the leaf-strewn
trails may encounter unexpected delights.
The number of bird species recorded in the
reserve is 145. Most notable perhaps is the
Spotted Ground-Thrush, an endangered
species typically present from April to August,
often detected by the rustle of leaves as it
pushes them aside in search of food. Green
Twinspots were recorded as breeding in the
reserve in 2013-2014, while the stern call of
the Black Sparrowhawk is regularly heard.
The attentive observer may see the Buff-
spotted Flufftail, whose strange hooting can
be heard on damp evenings, or the deep
yellow of the Dark-backed Weaver (in
Afrikaans, Bos Musikant), with its strangely
attractive squeaky-gate song. In the
background there is the constant hooting of
a Tambourine Dove, shy beauty of the forest.
Dotted around the reserve are the red
duikers, while every few years the prevailing
understorey plant, buckweed (Isoglossa woodii), dies back, revealing the shy blue
duiker. While the blue vervet monkeys and
banded mongooses are evident in large
troops, so are other mammals. A hot day in
spring brings out the hordes of alates (flying
ants or izinhlwabusi); which attract flocks of
birds, as the slender mongoose hides quietly
in the grass, ready to partake in the feast.
Adjoining the reserve is a reservoir
managed by eThekwini Water, adding an
area of coastal grassland and thus another
habitat. The interface between the two
areas is often rich in birdlife.
Pigeon Valley brings together the
management of the reserve, which falls
under the Natural Resources division of the
NATURALLY RESERVED FOR YOUCrispin Hemson of the Friends of Pigeon Valley, sings the praises of Durban’s urban reserves for bringing a delightful and rich biodiversity to our doorsteps.
Reserves play an educational role as a place where people can learn about the complexities of life around them.
LEFT: A KwaZulu dwarf chameleon(Photo: Adrian Armstrong)
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
9
eThekwini Metro, and Friends of Pigeon
Valley, a network of local residents linked to
WESSA, who support the management
through reporting of problems and assistance
with alien clearing. They are well placed to
address the invasive plant problems in the
areas around the reserve. The presence of
volunteers plays a role in enhancing security
and provides a rapid response to such
matters as a tree falling onto a fence that
may otherwise be missed.
A recent joint initiative is a tree labelling
project sponsored by one of the Friends,
Doug Kirton. This project started at Pigeon
Valley but is moving to other reserves and
parks of the city. The aim is to encourage
the conservation and understanding of the
trees of the city. While young people are
increasingly distanced from nature there
is also a strong desire amongst them to
explore and to connect with nature
around them.
Recent work by the Friends has included
building up databases of trees, butterflies,
birds and mammals. The aim of this work is,
in part, to improve the monitoring of our
biodiversity so that we can respond to threats
more effectively. It also serves to reveal to the
public the richness of this natural diversity.
The reserves play an important role in
tourism, attracting visitors with a strong
interest in accessible urban reserves.
Increasingly the reserves play an
educational role as a place where people can
learn about the complexities of life around
them. The Friends have worked with
different groups of visitors to Pigeon Valley,
promoting a space that reveals far
more than can easily be
grasped in a classroom.
For young people
working on environmental
issues, these reserves are a
valuable context to explore.
The reserves also provide access
for scientific research. Some of the
reserves, such as Pigeon Valley,
harbour individual plants that may differ in
their genetic makeup from those of the
same species elsewhere. For this
reason, we do not favour planting trees
from outside the area in the reserves.
This approach, combining a high
standard of management with ample
information to sustain the most demanding
of visitors, demonstrates what is possible in
an urban reserve where there is effective
collaboration between local government and
civil society.
For the average visitor, though, reserves
simply provide an opportunity to enjoy the
peace and diversity that restore the soul and
bring a sense of connection to nature.
LEFT: A tall Natal elm (Celtis mildbraedii) shows its striking buttressing. (Photo: Richard Boon) TOP RIGHT: The author talks to youth delegates to the COP17 summit on climate change about Pigeon Valley. MIDDLE: A cautious blue duiker. RIGHT: An African Goshawk on the watch for prey. (Photo: Hugh Chittenden)
BELOW: A Green Twinspot(Photo: Hugh Chittenden)
eThekwini’s Integrated Development
Plan (IDP) is a transformational tool
for achieving the eThekwini
Municipality’s commitment to developing a
“caring and liveable city”. This includes the
long-term sustainability of Durban’s natural
resource base, which requires appropriate
research; the regulation and management of
development; the development of relevant
policy; and the implementation of a
monitoring programme of key biodiversity
indicators. To achieve this, the eThekwini
Municipality has initiated several programmes
in key areas such as education, awareness,
incentives, green economy, town-planning
mechanisms and public-private partnerships.
Critical to the achievement of these aims is
eThekwini’s collaboration at a local,
provincial, national and international level.
SANBI, as mandated by the
National Environmental Management
Biodiversity Act (NEMBA), has in place
a number of internationally esteemed
programmes in research, gardens,
conservation, education and training,
and many are being strengthened by its
partnerships with other organisations.
Given the mandates, collaboration is a
critical base upon which to plan and
implement land policy objectives,
mainstreaming, information exchange,
resource sharing, research, education
and capacity development to achieve
the conservation and sustainable use
of biodiversity.
The eThekwini-SANBI Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) addresses the
following areas of collaboration:
i. Making the Case for BiodiversityeThekwini and SANBI have acknowledged
the need for increased investment in
biodiversity conservation, particularly within
the development context. Political decision-
makers are seen as key to this initiative and
the message regarding managing biodiversity
and ecosystem services will address the
social, political and economic development
paradigm of the Government of South Africa.
ii. Biodiversity Management Plans for Ecosystems (BMPE)This collaborative area will address norms
and standards for Biodiversity Management
Plans for Ecosystems (BMPE) that have been
requested by the Department of
Environmental Affairs (DEA) in terms of the
Biodiversity Act (NEMBA).
10 SANBI Collaboration
The eThekwini Municipality and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen biodiversity collaboration between the two organisations. Martin Clement, Curator of the Durban Botanic Gardens, further elaborates on this beneficial union.
ONE BIG STEP FOR BIODIVERSITY
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iii. Green EconomicsFurther work is required on the economic
benefits of healthy natural systems that
remain poorly understood and
communicated to the private and public
sectors. Green-economy initiatives will
include industries derived from biodiversity,
for example: ecotourism and game farming,
catchment rehabilitation and alien clearing.
iv. Municipal Property RatesStrengthening legislative and fiscal
frameworks for ensuring the protection of
biodiversity in local governments includes
the need to develop or amend national
guidelines for the inclusion of biodiversity
considerations in municipal property rates
policies and valuations.
v. Climate Change CommunicationAddressing climate-change issues remains a
strong area of collaboration for both SANBI
and eThekwini Municipality. This includes
key policy reports such as the ad hoc
Technical Expert Group report for the
Convention on Biological Diversity. There is
scope to build on this, especially as the
second national communication exercise
moves to implementation through the DEA
Policy Framework for Biodiversity and
Climate Change Response. An opportunity
exists for collaboration in preparation for
the third national communication report.
vi. Protected Area ExpansioneThekwini Municipality will be trialling
innovative protected-area management
arrangements and developing new
mechanisms for possible national uptake as
part of the protected area expansion
toolbox. This includes potential
development of new incentives.
vii. Threatened SpeciesOne of the objectives of species
conservation or range expansion projects is
to improve the body of knowledge on focal
species in South Africa and the Southern
African Development Community (SADC).
eThekwini Municipality and SANBI will share
any available and relevant knowledge
pursuant to species conservation and trade-
policy issues.
viii. Climate Change AdaptationThe mutually beneficial relationship
between societal adaptation via the use of
natural resources – also known as
“ecosystem-based adaptation” – provides
opportunities to research, document,
formalise and communicate these co-
benefits more widely, especially through the
development of well-monitored pilot
projects; as is the need to detect and
attribute ongoing changes in natural
ecosystems to climate-change drivers. This
is especially important in light of the high
degree of uncertainty that still remains in
this important area, and which is
obstructing political support for a fair and
equitable global climate policy regime that
will protect biodiversity. South Africa is a
key world region that could contribute
these necessary insights.
ix. Botanical GardensBotanic gardens in South Africa focus on
core areas of biodiversity, education,
heritage, research, horticultural excellence
and green innovation. Both parties are
responsible for managing, maintaining and
developing botanical gardens, and potential
areas for collaboration between SANBI’s
National Botanical Gardens and the Durban
Botanic Gardens include: garden-, estate-,
data- and collections-management;
interpretation; capacity building and skills
development; curriculum-based
environmental education work; joint
publications; commercialisation; fund-
raising; support for Mozambican botanical
gardens; links with museums; and
biodiversity research.
x. ResearchAs both Parties manage natural
conservation areas, with their associated
biodiversity, there is scope for collaborative
research projects to survey the fauna and
flora in these areas to monitor the health of
these biomes. Knowledge of the Red-Listed
species that occur in the municipal area is
important for informing biodiversity
planning. SANBI is dependent on the
network of 11 institutions carrying out
research on animal taxonomy for input into
projects such as SABIF, SAEoL and SAIBOL.
11
LEFT: Christo Swart, Deputy Head of Parks, Recreation & Culture, representing the office of the City Manager of eThekwini Municipality, with Carmel Mbizvo, Head of Biodiversity Research, Policy and Knowledge Management, SANBI, following the signing of the Memorandum of Understating on Biodiversity Collaboration between eThekwini and SANBI (photo: Jody Fuchs).
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
eThekwini and SANBI have acknowledged the need for increased investment in biodiversity conservation, particularly within the development context.
The loneliest tree in the world Wood’s cycad (Encephalartos woodii) is endemic to Ongoye Forest in KwaZulu-Natal. It is one of the rarest plants in the world, being extinct in the wild with all specimens being clones of the single remaining type. The specific and common name both honour John Medley Wood, curator of the Durban Botanic Garden and director of the Natal Government Herbarium of South Africa, who discovered the plant in 1895. Cycads evolved 240 million years ago and are the ancestors of flowering plants. Like all other cycads, Wood’s cycad is dioecious (meaning that there are male and female plants). Wood’s male specimen is the only representative of the species ever found. Luckily, the plant regularly forms side-shoots at the base of the stem which are cultivated. By sending these stems to other botanical gardens worldwide, the survival of this unique prehistoric plant species is ensured.
12 Collaboration
xi. Collections ManagementAs both Parties manage natural conservation
areas with their associated biodiversity and
hold important plant and animal collections:
• The Parties can explore mechanisms for
collaboration in curation of collections to
promote potential synergies and best
practice; and
• The Parties can facilitate access to such
collections for staff and students from
both Institutions.
xii. Invasive Alien Species – SANBI’s Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) Programme Collaboration between SANBI and the
eThekwini Municipality with regards to
control of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is
expected to take place in a number of ways,
including the following:
• Collective strategy development, or at least
integration of relevant strategies and action
plans, as well as collective input into current
and appropriate legislation and regulations;
• Development of appropriate co-
management agreements/arrangements
which incorporate collaborative mapping
and monitoring of IAS and, in particular,
of IAS within the eThekwini Municipal
Area (EMA);
• Setting priorities of important IAS or IAS
populations to be targeted for eradication;
• Sharing of relevant IAS data and general
information including best practices for IAS
control and IAS locality data;
• Developing pilot IAS control projects; and
• Working together to develop and distribute
IAS education and awareness tools or
hosting informative workshops,
presentations, etc.
In addition to the above, it is recognised that
both Parties play a significant role in
developing, promoting and supporting green
job opportunities, and that successful IAS
control programmes are likely to form the
foundation of many green job projects within
the EMA.
xiii. Biodiversity PlanningeThekwini Municipality has produced a
fine-scale Systematic Conservation Plan
(SCP) in order to identify and prioritise areas
for the conservation of biodiversity and the
ecosystem services they provide. The
Municipality has worked closely with
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife in terms of a
MoU and the Municipality’s plan will
replace the provincial plan for its
jurisdictional area. Furthermore, the
Municipality plans to develop biodiversity
sector and bioregional plans.
There is a justifiable fear amongst
practitioners that plans, in themselves, serve
only the planning process, and are never
effectively put into operation. The
Municipality’s longstanding work in the field
of environmental planning lends itself to
effective implementation through integration
at all levels and types of municipal planning
and decision-making, and by proactive
initiatives such as land acquisition and a drive
for ‘green jobs’.
Knowledge of the Red Listed species that occur in the municipal area is important for informing biodiversity planning.
13
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During the course of 2013, all the
Museum library holdings published
before 1900 were formally
categorised as ‘rare’ material. A
total of 481 of these items were barcoded,
listed and submitted. This was in line with the
Generally Recognised Accounting Practices
(GRAP 103) issued by the South African
Treasury relevant to the accounting of natural
heritage collections. One of the oldest books
in the GRAP 103 list is ‘The Aurelian: or natural history of English insects; namely, moths and butterflies’ written by Moses
Harris and published in 1766.
Unfortunately there was a delay during
2013 with the renewal of subscriptions due to
the challenges encountered with internal
processes. Happily, the journals were renewed
just before the end of the financial year and
the first issue for 2013 was received in July.
The Journal of Museum Education and Curator: the Museum Journal are two new
additions to the journal subscription list.
There were also challenges with acquiring
books and DVDs during 2013 due to
modifications to internal processes, and
only 24 books and four DVDs were
acquired. These processes have now been
rectified and we look forward to more
acquisitions during 2014.
Library Committee meetings have been
revived and take place every quarter. The
Library Committee forms an advisory board
and comprises representative staff from the
library, the curators, and the education and
exhibition departments. The purpose of the
committee is threefold: 1) review and make
recommendations on planning for library
resources; 2) review the performance of the
library in supporting museum activities; and
3) consult and advise on the library budget.
Miriam Natalwalla was appointed
Departmental Senior Librarian. This led to
changes in reporting lines, with the
departmental librarians reporting to the
Senior Librarian who reports in turn to the
District Manager.
A keen youngster, Mondli Ngcongo, was
hosted by the Museum library for work-
integrated learning. He spent a busy eight
weeks at the library learning a range of
tasks. He assisted with the onerous GRAP
103 process, as well as with sorting the
reprints on birds.
The Museum exchanges publications with
many international and local partners. It also
publishes a formal scientific journal, the
Durban Natural Science Museum Novitates,
and a popular magazine, Thola, which are
sent to exchange partners annually. In return
the library receives free copies of a variety of
valuable publications from its exchange
partners. In the absence of a Library
Assistant, a post that remains vacant, the
Museum volunteers assisted with the mailing
of material to exchange partners.
A process currently underway is to ensure
that all the materials in the Library collection
are correctly categorised. In addition to
typical print material, such as books and
journals, these items include
photographic slides, photographs, video
cassettes, DVDs, posters, pamphlets
and reprints. Once this cataloguing task
is complete, staff will be able to check
the Museum’s entire library collection,
as well as the full eThekwini libraries’
collection, from their desktops. On
completion of this process a full stock-
take will be conducted. This will be
followed by the compilation of a
manual detailing how to search the
library’s database.
MATERIAL MATTERSLibrarian, Lumka Ludwaba, reports on categories, catalogues, collections, compilations and committees.
ABOVE: Lumka Ludwaba and Mariam Natalwalla examine new journals in the Museum library. BELOW: One of the oldest book in the Museum library, The Aurelian.
A process currently underway is to ensure that all the materials in the Library collection are correctly categorised.
Library Department
14
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
Mammalogy Department
It was another bumper year for the Mammal Department. In 2013 we accessioned no fewer than 350 specimens. We received a sizeable
donation from Prof. Peter Taylor, former Curator of Mammals, comprising approximately 250 small mammals collected from the Limpopo Province, particularly the biologically diverse Soutpansberg area. Most of the collected material emanated from various post-graduate student projects supervised by Prof. Taylor.
Amongst the donated material were 100 bat specimens that included several individuals of the newly described Smither’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus smithersi). This newly described species of horse-shoe bat is known only from
the Limpopo Valley, Soutpansberg foothills and North-west Zimbabwe. (For more on the bats of the Soutpansberg read Taylor et al. (2013) Diversity of bats in the Soutpansberg and Blouberg Mountains of northern South Africa: complementarity of acoustic and non-acoustic survey methods. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 43: 12–26.)
UNDER THREAT Other notable acquisitions included the donation of three serval specimens by Dr Tharmalingam Ramesh, a postdoctoral fellow based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus. Dr Ramesh has utilised several methods, including camera-trap data, to assess the influence of changing land-
use patterns on the abundance of serval within the KZN Midlands. This medium-sized cat is currently listed as Near Threatened within South Africa, owing to the dependence of the species on ever-dwindling wetland habitats. The donated animals were casualties discovered during the course of survey work in the Midlands. Dr Ramesh’s on-going research will undoubtedly provide valuable data to support the conservation and management of the species. NEW SHREW The mammal collection boasts yet another series of type specimens in the form of the newly described Meester’s forest shrew (Myosorex meesteri). Using genetic and morphological data,
15
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Leigh Richards, Curator of Mammals, reports on the comings and goings of people and other creatures in her department.
WILD NEWDISCOVERIES
The Mammal Collection boasts yet another
series of type specimens in the form of
Myosorex meesteri (Meester’s forest shrew).
LEIGH RICHARDS
16 Mammalogy Department
African Serval(Leptailurus serval)
Male: 960–1205 mm; Female: 970–1230 mm
Male: 8.5–13.5 kgFemale: 8.5–11.5 kg
Nocturnal hunter, feeding mostly on rodents, especially vlei rats and multimammate mice. Shrews, reptiles and birds are also taken. Birds can be captured in mid-air flight.
Gestation takes approximately 2.5 months, with young (1–4 kittens) typically born in the summer months. Females tend to give birth in clumps of vegetation in grasslands or in underbrush.
Servals have a wide distribution range throughout Africa, yet are absent from the drier regions of the continent. Estimated home ranges for males within KZN are 15–30 km2.
Estimated to live up to 23 years in the wild.
TOTAL LENGTH:
WEIGHT:
DIET:
BREEDING:
HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION:
LIFESPAN:
the team of scientists led by Prof. Taylor,
found that shrew populations from Mount
Gorongoza in Mozambique and the Eastern
Highlands of Zimbabwe were clearly
distinguished from other Myosorex species
found within southern African. Myosorex meesteri, named after J.A.J. Meester,
evolved as a separate species approximately
2 million years ago. Relative to other
southern African species this shrew has a
smaller cranium and has a minute fourth
upper singular-cusped tooth that is encircled
by the adjacent teeth.
ANIMAL RE-HAB The department forged a new partnership
with the Centre for the Rehabilitation of
Wildlife (CROW). Regarded as the first
rehabilitation centre established in South
Africa, CROW has been in existence for over
30 years. The organisation is dedicated to
the rescue, rehabilitation and release of all
indigenous wildlife found in KwaZulu-Natal.
Animals that unfortunately succumb to
their injuries are donated to the Museum,
ensuring that they retain a long-lasting value
to science. Mammal specimens donated
within recent months have included a large
male bushbuck, blue duikers, scrub hare and
a bushbaby.
TALKING HEADS In July my MSc students and I attended the
2013 symposium of the Zoological Society
of southern Africa (ZSSA), co-hosted by the
University of Venda and the University of
Limpopo. The conference was held at the
beautiful Tshipise Resort located north of
the majestic Soutpansberg. The theme of
the conference was “Biodiversity Value
and Changes”.
I presented a paper on “The utility of
geometric morphometric data in delimiting
taxa within the Afrotropical Hipposideros caffer-ruber complex (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae)”. The systematic
relationships amongst bats belonging to
the H. caffer-ruber complex have often
been questioned due to the existence of
morphologically similar cryptic species and
difficulties in delimiting species. Genetic
studies have begun to clarify the
evolutionary patterns within this species
complex and have revealed cryptic lineages
within the species H. caffer and H. ruber. My preliminary research, based on cranial
morphological data, supported the
recognition of cryptic lineages within the
H. caffer-ruber complex and revealed
lineage-specific morphological traits that
can be used in taxonomic diagnoses.
My students, Sylvana Reddy and Tarin
Ramsaroop, both presented papers on the
morphological diversity of Afrotropical bats
within the Molossidae (free-tailed bats)
family. Tarin was awarded third place for
the student oral presentations – certainly a
proud moment for her supervisor!
During the course of the conference I
also attended the ZSSA AGM and was
elected to serve as a ZSSA Council
member during 2014-2015. I have been
tasked with managing the archives of
the organisation.
ABOVE: Meester’s forest shrew – Myosorex meesteri. (Photo: Julian Kerbis, www.planet-mammiferes.org)RIGHT: Hipposideros ruber. FAR RIGHT: Hipposideros caffer. (Photos: Ara Monadjem)
Mammal specimens donated within recent months have included a large male bushbuck, blue duikers, scrub hare and a bushbaby.
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Citation: Skinner JD, Chimimba CT (2005) The mammals of the southern African subregion. 3rd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (and references therein).(Photo: Jiri Bohdal, www.naturfoto.cz)
17
GOING BATTY Most of the year was dedicated towards
finalising my doctoral thesis which was
submitted for examination in November. I
did, however, manage to devote some
time to other research projects.
My collaborative research work on
the bats of West Africa culminated
in another publication: Monadjem A.,
Richards L., Taylor P.J., et al. (2013) Diversity
of Hipposideridae in the Mount Nimba
massif, West Africa, and the taxonomic
status of Hipposideros lamottei, published
in Acta Chiropterologica. Mount Nimba
represents one of the most biologically
diverse habitats for hipposiderid bats in
West Africa. Research efforts have focused
on a better understanding of the
distribution and evolutionary relationships
of the taxa occurring within the region.
My research on the biogeographic
distribution of KZN small mammals through
field-based surveys continued in 2013. The
focus of 2013 was directed towards the
eThekwini Municipal area. Of the
approximately 30 recognised nature reserves
within the Municipality, many remain largely
under-sampled.
The Mammal Department has in recent
years partnered with eThekwini’s
Environmental Planning and Climate
Protection Department (EPCPD) and
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) to
undertake small mammal surveys of the
Municipal reserves.
In 2013 three reserves were surveyed:
Bluff Nature Reserve, Kenneth Stainbank
Nature Reserve and Treasure Beach Nature
Reserve. I was assisted by five Museum
volunteers (see below) and Rohan Boer, an
MSc student registered with the University
of Groningen in the Netherlands. Rohan
collected ticks from various small mammals
to screen them for Borrelia bacterium which
is known to cause Lyme’s disease in humans.
Our surveys resulted in the collection of 30
voucher specimens belonging to six different
small mammal species. We added two new
occurrence records: the least dwarf shrew
(Suncus infinitesimus) for Treasure Beach
Nature Reserve, and pygmy mouse (Mus minutoides) for Kenneth Stainbank Nature
Reserve. A small mammal survey of Giba
Gorge Environmental Precinct in Hillcrest is
scheduled for January 2014.
SMANGELE SHABALALA I have worked as a volunteer in the Mammal Department since February 2011. I am currently studying towards my BSc in Life Sciences. I was privileged to be part of the field survey team. During the field surveys, I learnt everything from how to capture the animals to processing and collecting important research samples used in a wide variety of studies.
LEROY NALAI was afforded the chance to assist the Curator of Mammals with research on the distribution of small mammals within eThekwini. It was a great experience and I gained new insights into small mammal biodiversity and the important role that these animals play in ecosystems.
NOMPUMELELO DLOVAI have been working as a volunteer in the Mammal Department since March 2013. I assist the mammal technical assistant with the day-to-day activities in the department. I was given the opportunity to be part of the team that surveyed three natural areas within eThekwini. I gained valuable training in the capture of small mammals, their identification and the processing of voucher specimens.
HLENGIWE HADEBE I completed my National Diploma in Chemical Engineering at Mongosuthu University of Technology. I have been a volunteer since March 2013. I accompanied the Curator of Mammals on three field surveys and learnt a great deal during this time. The most interesting part of the surveys was learning how to process the study specimens.
KWAZI NTOMBELA I joined the field survey group that worked in various reserves in eThekwini. The part that I enjoyed the most was finding out that I had captured something in the live-trap that I had set. Small mammal surveys certainly teach you perseverance. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again!
VOLUNTEER FIELD ASSISTANTS
18 Mammalogy Department
GOODBYE ... It was with heavy hearts that we bid farewell
to mammal technical assistant, Sindisiwe
Nzama. Sindisiwe left the department at the
end of June 2013 to take up her position as
one of the two new Museum Education
Officers. During her relatively short tenure
with the department Sindisiwe oversaw the
accessioning of an astounding 310 small
mammal specimens. She assisted with various
outreach activities and several small mammal
surveys within KZN. We hope her time spent
in the Mammal Department will serve her
well in her new career.
AND HELLO! Zamawelase Mwelase was appointed as the
new technical assistant in the Mammal
Department and commenced her duties on 1
January 2014. Zama worked as an intern at
the South African Sugar Research Institute
(SASRI) during 2012–2013. She obtained her
BSc from UKZN. We welcome her as the
newest member to our team.
The Department also welcomed the arrival
of a new volunteer, Nompumelelo Dlova.
Mpumi, as she is affectionately known, is
from Mthatha and holds a National Diploma
in Information Technology (Business
Applications) from Walter Sisulu University.
She commenced work in March 2013 and has
been trained by Smangele Shabalala, another
volunteer in the department since 2011.
Both were instrumental in getting the
ichthyology collection fully inventoried and
data-based (read more in the article on
GRAP103). They have also completed an
audit of the Pringle Collection that contains
2000 mammal specimens on permanent loan
from the KwaZulu-
Natal Museum.
In July 2008, the South African Treasury
issued the Generally Recognised
Accounting Practices (GRAP 103) for the
accounting of natural heritage
collections. GRAP 103 applies to all
institutions operating under the Public
Finance Management Act (PFMA) or the
Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA)
and requires the recognition, valuation, and
disclosure of all heritage assets of an
organisation. Heritage assets are regarded as
items “that have cultural, environmental,
historical, natural, scientific, technological or
artistic significance and are held indefinitely
for the benefit of present and future
generations” (Accounting Guideline: GRAP
103, Heritage Assets. South African National
Treasury). In this respect, heritage assets may
include artworks, rare books, artefacts, and
biological specimens held by libraries,
galleries, and museums.
GRAP 103 came into effect on
1 April 2012. The Durban Natural Science
Museum (DNSM) and its sister institutions the
Durban Art Gallery (DAG) and Local History
Museums (LHM), geared up to conduct full-
scale inventories of their collections in
compliance with GRAP 103 guidelines. The
months of May to August 2013 saw a flurry
of activity with Museum departmental staff
industriously cataloguing, data-basing and
verifying their heritage assets. All efforts
were supported and supervised by the
Finance Department supporting the Parks,
Recreation and Culture (PRC) Unit.
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GRAPLeigh Richards, Curator of Mammals, explains how heritage assets of the Durban Natural Science Museum were inventoried according to GRAP 103.
The months of May to August saw a flurry of activity with departmental staff industriously cataloguing, data-basing and verifying their heritage assets.
Welcome to Zamawelase Mwelase.
19
For further information on GRAP 103 please visit:
http://www.asb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6 or
http://oag.treasury.gov.za/Publications/Forms/AllItems.aspx
The natural heritage collections of the
DNSM comprise 11 sub-collections
distributed across three main sites, namely
City Hall, Research Centre, and the
KwaZuzulwazi Centre (KwaMashu). The 11
sub-collections were divided according to
three categories: scientific research
collections (three); collections on permanent
or temporary display (two); and ‘orphan’
research collections (six). The ‘orphan’
research collections include the following;
spiders, echinoderms, amphibians and
reptiles, fish, fossils, and mollusc shells.
Honorary curators and research associates
Dr Angelo Lambiris, Prof. Michael Cooper
and Mrs Betsie Greyling kindly assisted with
inventories of the amphibian and reptile,
and fossil collections.
All but two of the DNSM heritage
collections have been fully inventoried,
databased and specimen records verified. The
next step is the valuation of all heritage
assets. This process will be conducted over a
three-year period.
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
Give us five days of your life and we will give you an experience that
might change the rest of it.
Tel: +27 (0)31 462 8642Email: [email protected]
www.wildernesstrails.org.za
20
On 4 November 2013 the science-
centre community from around
South Africa converged on
Durban to attend the 15th
SAASTEC Conference hosted by the Durban
Natural Science Museum. SAASTEC, short for
Southern African Association of Science and
Technology Centres, is a network comprised
of all the science centres in southern Africa.
However, membership is not only limited to
science centres but also includes museums
and any other like-minded institutions. This
conference is an annual event and in 2013,
Allison Ruiters, SAASTEC Board Member and
Director of the Durban Natural Science
Museum (DNSM), offered to host the
conference in Durban.
Last year the event was held at the National
Zoological Gardens in Pretoria. The
conference moves around the country each
year to give different science institutions the
opportunity to profile their centres. In
addition to the DNSM, there are a number of
science centres in KwaZulu-Natal: the KZN
Science Centre based at Gateway, STEC
(University of KZN), the SA Association for
Marine Biological Research, as well as the
UniZul Science Centre in Richard’s Bay.
Delegates from further afield in KZN also
attended, including representatives from the
Isibusiso Esihle Science Discovery Centre in
Kosi Bay, ArcelorMittal Science Centre in
Madadeni and Olwazini Science Centre which
is based at the Golden Horse Casino in
Pietermaritzburg. Traditionally, many science
centres experience financial constraints and
rotating the conference annually enables
local centres to send more staff to attend the
conference as they don’t have to pay travel
and accommodation costs.
Registration and the ice-breaker were held
on the afternoon and evening of 4 November
at the KwaMuhle Museum. Here delegates
had the opportunity to explore the museum
and catch up on some local history before
the evening function began. Indeed, the ice
was well and truly broken in traditional warm
Durban style with the excellent entertainment
that the DNSM had literally drummed up with
the musicians from the Drum Café. Delegates
also had the chance to let their hair down
and unleash their own musical abilities under
the guidance of the talented musicians.
The conference was held at Durban’s
famous Royal Hotel. Most of the delegates
stayed at the Garden Court South Beach
Hotel and were transported daily by bus to
and from the conference venue and
functions. For locals and others with their
SAASTEC Conference 2013
Ginny Stone, Secretary of SAASTEC, talks about the science-centre community dropping in on Durban for three days of learning, skills-honing and fun.
PEOPLE-CENTRED SCIENCE
134 people registered and attended the 15th SAASTEC conference. This included three delegates from Kenya, one from Germany and one from the United Kingdom.
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
21
own transport, free parking and shuttles
were kindly sponsored by City Fleet of
eThekwini Municipality. In addition, the
eThekwini Municipality’s Energy Office
donated 20 bicycles for the delegates to
use freely during the conference. This gave
people the chance to dash off during
lunch and tea breaks and go and explore
the City and surrounds. These bikes were
greatly appreciated and enjoyed by all who
used them.
Michael Peter (SAASTEC Chair) opened
the conference bright and early on Tuesday
5 November before handing over to His
Worship, Mayor of eThekwini Municipality,
Counsellor James Nxumalo, who heartily
welcomed delegates to the City of Durban.
“Science centres have become an
indispensable asset in the creation of
bridging the gap between science and
society and we are getting closer to a
knowledge-based economy” said Minister of
Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom, in
his opening speech. He noted that while
science centres play an extremely important
role in assisting teachers, most South African
learners cannot read, write or compute at
grade-associated levels and that science
centres need to rise to this challenge. “We
need to work harder to address this situation.
Take bold steps!” reiterated the Minister
before announcing that the Department of
Science and Technology will be spending
more than R50m in supporting science
centres over the next three years.
After his address to conference delegates,
Minister Hanekom was given an extended
tour of the Durban Natural Science Museum
Research Centre.
A total of 134 people registered and
attended the 15th SAASTEC conference.
This included three delegates from Kenya,
one from Germany and one from the
United Kingdom. The theme of this
conference was aligned to the 7th Science
Centre World Summit 2014 that was
recently held in Mechelen, Belgium. The
topics were as follows:
• Research and communication of research
• Formal and informal learning
• New technologies for learning and
engagement
• Monitoring and evaluation.
A total of 61 presentations based on these
topics were delivered over the three days.
Feedback from conference delegates
suggests a high standard of talks and the
general consensus was they learnt a lot.
Hands-on, capacity building workshops
were also hosted during the course of the
conference, the highlight being a post-
conference workshop on “How to conduct
visitor research and evaluation in your
institution” by Marie Hobson of the
Natural History Museum and Science
Museum in London.
To spice things up, delicious lunches were
served in the beautiful DNSM City Hall
galleries. Big beasties from the past loomed
over the tables creating a unique ambience.
Of course, no conference is complete
without a really special closing function. On
the evening of 6 November delegates were
bussed to the Presidential Suite at the
Moses Mabhida Stadium for a slap-up
dinner and some great music. They were
also treated to a sky car tour, courtesy of
the DNSM. Nobody noticed that the
weather did not exactly play ball and a
marvellous time was had by all.
SAASTEC would like to thank the
Durban Natural Science Museum for
generously sponsoring all lunches and teas
for the conference and the eThekwini
Municipality for their wonderful hospitality.
Last, but by no means least, SAASTEC
would also like to thank the Department of
Science and Technology for their continued
and valued support.
LEFT: Delegates at the 15th SAASTEC Conference 2013 held at the Royal Hotel in Durban. MIDDLE: Opening Address by Minister Derek Hanekom (Department of Science and Technology).BOTTOM LEFT: Tour of the DNSM Research Centre by Minister Derek Hanekom (with Leigh Richards – Curator, Michael Peter – SAASTEC Chair and Allison Ruiters - Director).BELOW: Conference delegates enjoying the entertainment and dinner at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and having a blast at the 15th SAASTEC Conference Gala Dinner.
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22 Special Report: CROW
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23
Tucked away in the quiet, leafy
Durban suburb of Yellowwood
Park, this 3.8 ha facility provides
life-saving care and treatment for
up to 450 sick, injured and orphaned animals
at any given time. As KwaZulu-Natal’s only
registered wildlife rehabilitation centre
permitted to work with all indigenous
species, the organisation’s team of staff and
volunteers work tirelessly to treat and return
to the wild as many of their special patients
as possible. As a member of both SAWRA
(South African Wildlife Rehabilitators
Association) and the IWRC (International
Wildlife Rehabilitation Council), CROW’s
rehabilitation programmes and facilities are
strictly regulated and must conform with
both local and international minimum
standards.
The vast majority of the 3000 animals that
CROW rescues, rehabilitates and releases
every year have been injured, orphaned or
displaced as a result of human interference,
conflict or abuse. Some of the most
common cases treated by the organisation
include wildlife injured on our roads,
attacked by domestic animals, hunted for
muthi or illegally sold on the black market
as part of the rapidly growing illegal pet
trade, whereby all manner of indigenous
Founded over 34 years ago by Isolde Mellet, the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) serves as a beacon of hope for thousands of injured, orphaned and displaced wildlife across KwaZulu-Natal. Claire Hodgkinson, Director of CROW, discusses some of the challenges faced by the organisation.
CROW’s rehabilitation programmes and facilities are strictly regulated and must conform with both local and international minimum standards.
SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT
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Durban’s Centre for Rehabilitation of
Wildlife prides itself on giving KZN’s injured
and orphaned wildlife a second chance.
24 Special Report: CROW
wildlife – from vervet monkeys and chacma
baboons to banded mongoose and genets
– are increasingly seen as the latest “must-
have” pet.
We see countless cases every week
whereby people have attempted to keep
a wild animal illegally as a pet, only for it
to be handed over to us once the “owner”
has grown weary of it or it’s become too
difficult to care for.
Bob, the chacma baboon is one such
victim of this growing phenomenon.
Rescued by CROW in early 2012, Bob, then
18 month’s old, was living with a herd of
sheep after being kept as a family pet by
a local farmer and his family in the Natal
Midlands. On order of the farmer, Bob’s
mother was hunted down and shot by
local farm workers to ensure the farmer’s
three-year-old daughter could have the
cute and fluffy newborn baby baboon she
craved at the time. A year or so later, Bob
the baboon was inevitably not so cute and
cuddly anymore. Fearing for the safety of
his family, the farmer banished Bob from
the farmhouse and chased him into the
outlaying fields where he lived with a small
herd of sheep. It was here, riding on the
back of one of the sheep, that Bob was
found by CROW.
Following months of intensive
rehabilitation at the CROW centre, which
is licensed to care for up to 25 baboons at
any one time, Bob was gradually introduced
and merged with 13 other injured, orphaned
and displaced baboons. In November 2013
Bob was released to roam free with his
adopted troop on a private game farm near
Richmond. As part of the stringent permit
conditions applied to the release of primates
in KZN, the small troop is being closely
watched by an onsite monitor responsible
for overseeing and recording the troop’s
progress during the first phase of their post-
release programme.
In keeping with CROW’s mission to
educate the public and involve communities
in the conservation and protection of
indigenous wildlife, the organisation is
working closely with local leaders to ensure
the fledgling troop’s long-term survival and
sustainability in the Richmond area.
“Educating local communities and instilling
a sense of pride and ownership is crucial
ABOVE: Free at last! Two of CROW’s recently released baboon’s exploring their new release site. LEFT: Nelson, another of the chacma baboons in the released troop. BOTTOM: EKZN Willdife DCO, Mike Tyldesley releases CROW’s baboons from their transport boxes.
“Educating local communities and instilling a sense of pride and ownership is crucial to the success of this and future primate releases in KZN”
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to the success of this and future primate
releases in KZN,” explains CROW Primate
Manager, Mabel Watts. “It is imperative
that we work with local wildlife authorities
to address the myriad of cultural myths and
fears that currently exist about our wildlife,
particularly in the more rural areas where
the conservation of these animals is not only
crucial from a biodiversity point of view, but
also as a way to help alleviate socio-economic
problems such as poverty and unemployment
through eco-tourism.”
Working closely with Ezemvelo KZN
Wildlife, the SPCA, and other animal
welfare and conservation stakeholders,
CROW is currently the only wildlife
rehabilitation centre that is registered to
rescue, rehabilitate and release injured,
orphaned and displaced chacma baboons,
such as Bob, within KwaZulu-Natal. The vast
majority of these highly intelligent and social
animals arrive at the CROW centre severely
traumatised, and face a long and complex
road to recovery.
Keeping the doors of the centre open is
an on-going concern for the organisation.
As a registered non-profit and public benefit
organisation, CROW does not currently
receive any government subsidies and has
always relied on donations from the public
to fund its programmes.
In addition to covering their monthly
animal feed, veterinary and other
operating costs, CROW is also dependant
on donations to build and maintain its
extensive network of pre- and post-release
enclosures to house patients during
rehabilitation. For instance, the organisation
is currently raising funds to expand and
upgrade its main pre-release baboon
enclosure following the release of the
latest troop at the end of 2013. The project
includes expanding the current enclosure,
running a new electric fence around the
perimeter of the enclosure, and repairing
the sheltered hides and jungle gyms within
the enclosure itself.
To ensure CROW can accommodate
the growing number of baby baboons
currently in the nursery enclosure, it needs
to raise R130 000 to proceed with urgent
renovations. Anyone who would like to
donate towards CROW’s Chacma Baboon
Rehabilitation Programme and facility
upgrade project, is asked to please
visit www.crowkzn.co.za or make a
donation directly:
Bank: First National Bank
Acc Name: CROW
Acc No: 50770230859
Branch Code: 221426
25
Super TroopersThe CROW team is very pleased to report that following the release of our troop of 14 rehabilitated baboons in November last year, they are now thriving in their new home. Over the past five months, the troop’s progress on the 10 000 hectare private game farm up in Richmond where they’ve been released has been carefully monitored by CROW’s onsite baboon monitor. From the onset, the baboons were happily foraging for themselves, so much so that they walked right passed the supplementary food offerings that were put out for them by our monitor! The troop will continue to be closely monitored over the coming autumn and winter months, when they will have to work a little harder for their food as the natural vegetation in the area starts to dry up and become less plentiful.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
• Visit CROW: CROW holds one guided tour for members of the
public on the last Sunday of every month at 11 am.
• Volunteer at CROW: CROW has a very active local and
international volunteer programme. All volunteers aged 16 and
over are welcome.
• Support CROW: Become a member, sponsor an animal or join
CROW’s One Thousand, One Hundred Club, for more details
go to www.crowkzn.co.za on how to support CROW’s work.
• Follow CROW: follow CROW’s work on Facebook: CROWKZN
or Twitter: Crowkzn@crowkzn1
Chacma baboon Fast Facts: NAME: Chacma baboon or Cape baboon (Papio ursinus)
SIZE: A mature male measures 1.5 m from head to tail and weighs up to 33 kg, whereas the more slender female measures 1.1 m and has a mass of about 15 kg.
DIET: Omnivorous, under natural conditions they feed on wild fruits, seeds and insects, even scorpions, and on occasion even the flesh of small mammals and birds.
BREEDING: Baboons are sexually active throughout the year. Gestation period is around 140 days, after which a single young is born.
PREFERRED HABITAT: Baboons inhabit a wide range of habitats, from woodlands to open grasslands.
Reference: http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_chacma_baboon.html
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26 Palaeontology Department
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Among the large number of marine
invertebrates in the Palaeontology
Collection of the Museum we
currently have 35 holotypes and
225 paratypes, by far the largest in the
holdings of the museum. In addition,
Honorary Curator Prof. Mike Cooper and I are
in the process of describing several new
species, which will add more type material to
the already invaluable collection.
Type specimens are the basis for the
recognition of all species. They are an
important part of any museum collection
and contribute enormously to the
international standing of the museum. They
provide the basis for all subsequent
comparison. In describing a new
species, a specimen that best reflects the
characters of the species is selected as the
holotype. Where possible, a number of
specimens from the same population are
selected as paratypes so as to provide
supplementary information about the
species. Additional to the type material,
there are also around a thousand specimens
in the collection that are figured and
referred to in formal publications.
Unfortunately, because the collection was
without formal curation for at least 80 years
and was put in storage for a number of
years, a number of type specimens have
Palaeontology Department Research Associate, Betsie Greyling, delves into matters concerning lost specimens, dynamite-wielding fossil hunters and Cretaceous trigonias.
NEW LIGHTON OLD FOSSILS
AmmonitesAmmonites are an extinct group of marine invertebrate animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs lived throughout the world’s oceans and are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e. octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) than they are to shelled nautiloids such as the living Nautilus species. The earliest ammonites appeared during the Devonian (420 Ma), survived the Permian (250 Ma) and Triassic (206 Ma) extinctions and the last species died out during the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event (65 Ma).
Ammonites are excellent index fossils, and it is often possible to link the rock layer in which a particular species or genus is found to specific geological time periods. Their fossil shells usually take the form of planispirals, although there were some
helically coiled and non-spiraled forms (known as heteromorphs).
The name ‘ammonite’, from which the scientific term is derived, was inspired by the spiral shape of their fossilised shells, which somewhat resemble tightly coiled rams’ horns. Pliny the Elder (d. 79 AD near Pompeii) called fossils of these animals ammonis cornua (“horns of Ammon”) because the
Egyptian god Ammon (Amun) was typically depicted wearing ram’s horns. It was to the glory of this most revered deity of the Egyptians that the vast Karnak temple was built on the east bank of the Nile, near the city of Luxor, a well visited attraction for thousands of tourists. Often the name of an ammonite genus ends in -ceras, which is Greek (κέρας) for ‘horn’.
BETSIE GREYLING
27
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gone missing. The search is now on to find
these “lost” items. Should they never be
found it will become necessary to select
another individuals from the remaining
specimens to serve as neotypes.
Finding specimens was the order of the
day in June-July 2013 as part of a drive to
draw up a detailed inventory of the
palaeontological collections. Out of the
approximately 180 000 reported specimens
in the collections, 7500 numbered specimens
could be accessed and inventoried. This
exercise entailed checking specimen
numbers against the 25 year-old written
catalogue and entering all available data into
a database. For each specimen the unique
number, generic and specific names,
lithostratigraphic unit, chronostratigraphic
level, locality data, collection date and
inventory date had to be entered.
Good teamwork among Curator Leigh
Richards, myself and volunteer Siyasanga
Mrawusi, saw the project through to
completion on time. Leigh set up the
database, organised volunteer assistance and
took the photographs, while I supervised and
coordinated the project, Siya did much of the
online recording. During 2013 we also spent
many hours producing a comprehensive
catalogue of the type and referred material of
marine invertebrates, which we hope to
finalise for publication in the coming year.
Also in preparation is a paper on the
geology and palaeontology of the Mzamba Formation the type locality of which is the
“fossil forest” just south of the Wild Coast
Casino. This fossil site, dated to the Late
Cretaceous (85-82 million years ago), was
first brought to the attention of science in
1824 by H.F. Fynn. In 1855 fossils were
TOP: Fossiliferous packstones north of the Mzamba estuary. ABOVE: Fossil corals from the 1.7 Ma False Bay Coral Limestone along the shores of Lake St Lucia. RIGHT: Upper Cretaceous strata of the Mzamba Formation. (All photos: Betsie Greyling)
The Mzamba Formation whose type locality is the “fossil forest” just south of the Wild Coast Casino is dated to the Late Cretaceous (85-82 million years ago)
28 Palaeontology Department
collected from the site by Captain R.J.
Garden of the 45th Regiment, and taken to
England. He gave the material to Mr W.H.
Baily who formally described them in 1855.
This paper represents the first record of
fossils from South Africa.
Subsequently the Mzamba deposit was
extensively collected by E.C. Chubb, then
Director of the Durban Museum, and W.J.
Plows in 1919. Mr Plows reported:
“…I accompanied Mr Chubb, Curator of the Durban Museum, on a visit to Pondoland, for the purpose of exploring the Cretaceous deposits there and making a collection of their fossils. The district is somewhat wild. Roads deserving the name are absent in the vicinity. Natives, a few coloured people, and an occasional European storekeeper are the only human denizens. Mr Chubb and I went by motor car as far as the mouth of the Umtamvuna, and after crossing the river by boat, journeyed on foot three miles or so along the sea shore to the mouth of the Umzamba River.”
Another spirited geologist, Prof. T.W.
Gevers, also took a keen interest in the
Mzamba fossils. During the summer
vacation of 1923-1924 Gevers spent three
months at the mouth of the Mzamba River.
To reach the fossils in the higher sections of
the steep cliff, he laid his own ingenious
plans. In his report he wrote:
“Held by two trusty Pondo henchmen I lowered myself by rope and laboriously cut a small platform into the fossiliferous marls and shelly limestone. For a brilliant idea had illuminated my mind: Why not blast a lot of fossiliferous rock down the cliff? Suspended in mid-air I myself turned a long chisel while a Pondo hanging above my head hammered it to make two holes for dynamite.”
He promptly borrowed a horse from a
Swedish trader named Anderson and secured
some sticks of dynamite, detonators and a
length of fuse from a nearby farmer. The
farmer warned him that the dynamite was
very old and temperamental. Heeding this
advice he wrapped the dynamite sticks in
newspaper and stuffed the parcel into his
right hip-pocket, far out of reach of the
detonators, which he stowed in his left
pocket, and the fuse, which he tied around
his tummy like a belt. But the horse was high-
spirited too, and no sooner had he leapt into
the saddle when:
“that brute of a horse bolted and careered down the road. The horse had the bit firmly between the teeth and tugging at the reins
was useless. So I just let it gallop full tilt, standing in the stirrups like a jockey in the endspurt of a race. A farm gate loomed up and the horse halted its mad gallop with a sudden jerk, all four legs stemmed forwards. Through the sudden stress the right stirrup straps snapped and I fell heavily to the ground, bang on my right hip…It was only when I put my right hand behind my back and felt my pants to be all oily, that I suddenly remembered the dynamite. Gingerly I felt my hip-pocket. The four sticks had been smashed flat!
Back at the Umzamba, I gingerly kneaded the sadly deformed sticks of dynamite back into something at least resembling a cylindrical shape – shoved two, equipped with detonators and very short fuses, with a stick in the holes near the top of the cliff, tamped them down with sand and, hanging in mid-air, set the fuses alight, yelling ‘phezulu’ to my two Pondos holding the rope at the top of the cliff. They pulled smartly and I had just arrived at the top where we threw ourselves flat on the grass, when two loud booms sent highly fossiliferous rock into the air, large chunks clattering down the cliff and landing with a thud on the sand below.
Eventually oxen dragged three tons of rock on forked tree branches three miles to the Umtamvuna. I rowed them across in a boat, bag by bag, carted them by ox wagon to Izingolweni and from there dispatched them by train to Cape Town, thereby greatly enriching knowledge of Maestrichtian and Danian fossil stratigraphy and the various possible modes of transporting dynamite.”
Today the area is not as wild, with a
suspension bridge over the river to carry
travellers from Durban to the Eastern Cape
on the paved highway in style and comfort.
For fieldwork at the mouth of the Mzamba
River, however, we still have to hike from the
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There are still no access roads other than an overgrown bush track, formerly used by ORI to check their shark nets.
Wild Coast Casino with all our gear in our
backpacks, not to mention the weight of the
fossils on the return journey. There are still
no access roads other than an overgrown
bush track, formerly used by ORI to check
their shark nets.
Not much has changed at the river mouth
since the endeavours of these pioneers 80
years ago. Plows commented that:
“It is curious that the few observers who have visited the spot differ so much in their descriptions, and I have to differ from all of them. The probable explanation is that at different times rocks are hidden by sand, or uncovered by the waves, as tides and currents vary.”
This is still the case today, so that with
every visit we have to make the most of the
fleeting opportunities that nature allows.
While working on the deposit in 1991, we
were fortunate enough to observe the
lowest stratigraphic levels ever recorded
since the first record of 1827, with several
hitherto unknown beds exposed by high
springtide swells, adding unique and
invaluable knowledge of the deposit. A later
slump at the type section presently obscures
part of the cliff face.
The material (numbering about 100
specimens) that Chubb and Plows collected
in 1919 formed the bulk of the invertebrate
palaeontological holdings of the Durban
Museum for the next 65 years. The Mzamba Formation is the type locality for
a substantial number of new species,
including ammonites, gastropods (snails),
bivalves (clams), echinoids (sea urchins),
foraminifers and fossil wood. Unfortunately
for our Museum many of these type
specimens landed up in overseas museums,
such as those collected by Garden and
Gevers. Since the late 1980s Prof. Cooper
and I have been adding countless specimens
of marine invertebrates to the collections,
ranging from the Cretaceous to the Tertiary
and Quaternary, a period spanning more
than 130 million years and collected from
numerous sites along the southeastern coast,
stretching from Port Elizabeth in the south to
Ndumo in the north, on the border with
Mozambique. While this material is housed
in the Museum, it is mostly unnumbered and
begs proper curation.
Prof. Cooper is finalising a paper on
Pleistocene molluscs from the Quaternary
False Bay Coral Limestone which is
exposed along the shores of Lake St Lucia.
This 1.7-million-year-old deposit, in the
Isimangaliso wetlands, is fascinating in that
it records substantial environmental and
ecological change, when sea levels were
some 7m higher than at present and the
lake was filled by a clear shallow sea in
which corals flourished. Conditions were
much like the present-day Red Sea. In
addition he is finalising his work on the
Cretaceous trigonias (extinct clams) of
Maputaland and has just completed an
illustrated book entitled The Cretaceous fossils of Southern and Central Africa,
with illustrations from his own pen. This
will be invaluable to field geologists,
teachers and naturalists.
29
References:
Gevers, T.W. 1977. Fossils and dynamite. Quart. News Bull. Geol. Soc. S Afr., 19:10-11.
Plows, W.J. 1921. The Cretaceous rocks of Pondoland. Ann. Durban Mus., 3:39-66.
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TOP LEFT: Ammonites from Maputaland. MIDDLE: Trigonia type specimens, a group of extinct clams. BOTTOM LEFT: Prof. Cooper contemplating the characters of a specimen from the collection. BELOW: Compiling an inventory of the palaeontological collections.
Exhibitions Department:
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The year 2013 proved to be
another extremely busy one for
the Exhibition Department.
Besides the usual maintenance of
dioramas and exhibitions, and the
production of various promotional and
educational materials, the Department
ensured that the Museum retained a fresh
approach in its interactions with the public.
The on-going ‘Stop Rhino Poaching’
exhibition in the Temporary Exhibitions Gallery
was upgraded with the construction of a new
light box to highlight the title of the exhibition.
This exhibition was also updated with the
latest poaching figures and new labels were
printed and fitted for this purpose. A new
display case was constructed in the Mammal
Gallery to house our black and white rhino
skulls and horns, using steel, armour-plated
glass and a state-of-the-art alarm system. New
labels were made for the exhibit and a
specially designed light box was also installed
to illuminate the exhibit from above.
One of the more ‘unusual’ requests came
from artist Tom Van Herrewege who asked to
place some of his sculptures in selected
dioramas and photograph them for his solo
exhibition ‘Paradise Lost’, hosted at the
KZNSA Gallery. GRAP 103In the first half of 2013 we were occupied
with GRAP 103 procedures, involving the
formal auditing of heritage assets - as were
all the Museum departments. One of our first
tasks was to locate all the ’homeless‘
exhibition specimens and move them into our
workshop so that they could be accessioned.
This required fitting shelving, achieved with
the aid of our able-bodied volunteers, storing
the specimens thereon, allocating unique
numbers to each specimen, and collating this
information into a database. A total of 249
specimens were added.
Thereafter every specimen in all the
Museum galleries was accessioned. The most
time-consuming gallery was the Insect Gallery,
with 722 specimens. This took over a week to
complete, as each display case had to be
opened and each specimen removed, pinned
with a unique number and then replaced.
Other galleries included the Bird Gallery with
718 specimens (of which 351 were eggs in a
single display case), 337 shells and assorted
specimens and artifacts in the front-of-house
display cabinets, 203 specimens in the
Mammal Gallery, 139 specimens and artifacts
in the Palaeontology & Geology Gallery, and
30 specimens in the Reptile Gallery. In all,
2401 specimens were accessioned.
FOR THE RECORDResident photographer Andrew Carter was
kept busy documenting various events hosted
The Exhibitions team gives us an update of the department’s work in 2013.
THE REAL SHOW OFFS
A new display case was constructed to house our black and white rhino skulls and horns, using steel, armour-plated glass and a state-of-the-art alarm system.
Exhibitions Department
31
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by the Museum and the Libraries and Heritage
Department generally. Sixteen events were
covered during the September Heritage
month, with over 12 000 photographs taken.
The SAASTEC Conference hosted by the
Museum in November resulted in over 7 000
photographs. Other functions and events
photographed included nine Biodiversity Series
Seminars,hosted jointly by the Museum, South
African Association for Marine Biological
Research (SAAMBR) and the Royal Society of
South Africa, the Hillcrest Christian Academy
Winter Fair, which also used our ‘Stop Rhino
Poaching’ rotating exhibition to promote their
world record attempt in anti-rhino poaching
fund raising, International Museums Day held
at the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve, National
Science Week, and KwaNunu Exhibition. Some
23 000 photographs, covering approximately
33 events were taken, in addition to general
photography of specimens, galleries, exhibits,
museum patrons, GRAP 103 procedures, etc.
TAKING THE MUSEUM TO THE PEOPLEOver the years the Museum has produced
numerous temporary exhibitions which were
displayed in our old coffee shop area,
commonly referred to as the ‘Waterhole’.
Each exhibition usually lasted for six
months, before being replaced with a new
one. Due to space restrictions, the old
exhibitions were either placed in storage or
were discarded, which seemed a pity given
all the work that went into researching and
developing them.
In 2012 the idea of developing these into
travelling or ’rotating‘ exhibitions was
mooted. Information from previous temporary
exhibitions was restructured to fit onto pull-
up banners, as these were determined to be
the best means of transporting the exhibitions
and displaying them in areas not generally
designed for this purpose. We have developed
rotating exhibitions covering the following
ABOVE: ‘Stop Rhino Poaching’ rotating exhibition – HCA Entrepreneur Week (August 2013) anti-rhino poaching fundraiser. LEFT: New rhino horn case displaying black and white rhino skulls and horns.FAR LEFT: Dudu Hlatshwayo, Immie Mostert and Andrew Carter of the Exhibitions Department.
Man vs beast‘Paradise Lost’ is a series of photographic prints from UK-based artist Tom Van Herrewege. It depicts synthetic material sculptures placed within selected dioramas, providing a foil to the natural beauty of the long-dead diorama inmates. These juxtapositions acquire an alien, almost apocalyptic feel. These works do not humanise, rather they speak to inhumanity. They appear as assemblages of litter in a constructed natural environment (the dioramas) that may have been created out in the wild. And they are placed so the animals are encountering them in various ways, from protecting, attacking and investigating the object.
topics: ‘Curators and Collections’, ‘I am an
African’, ‘Invasive Alien Plants’ and ‘Stop
Rhino Poaching’. We currently have 35
exhibition sets that are moved around the
municipality and are placed in municipal
libraries, Sizakala Centres, schools and
exhibition halls – and even once at King Shaka
International Airport.
This initiative has proved an excellent way
for the Museum to reach out to the public in
the eThekwini region, particularly in
previously disadvantaged areas. People who
usually can’t afford to come to the Museum
can now have the Museum come to them!
This has enabled us to disseminate the
information in a cost-effective manner and
has saved the public the costs of travelling to
and from the Museum; not to mention saving
the municipality the cost of establishing
further museums in the metro.
For this endeavour, the Museum was
nominated in the “Best Innovation and
Cost-saving” category of the 2013 City
Stars Awards.
GREEN HEROES FOR A CHANGING CLIMATE“Seriously, why should I care about this thing
called climate change?”
With these words Museum volunteer,
Londiwe Mthemba, represented as a
cardboard cut-out, challenges Museum
visitors on the staircase below the foyer.
And the answer is provided by another
cardboard cut-out, representing Museum
Volunteer Coordinator Zamo Shazi, who
says: “… because unfortunately, it will touch
every part of our lives …”.
How do we inspire a green shift in
lifestyle without scaring our visitors into
hopelessness and passivity given the
daunting challenges posed by our
planet’s changing climate?
From the outset Dudu Hlatshwayo,
Exhibitions Curator, and Immie Mostert,
Museum Officer, knew that success would
depend on a delicate balance between
depicting the harsh reality on one hand and
providing inspiration to change personal
behavior on the other. Initially we focused
on selected staff members who had already
adopted a greener lifestyle, but Director
Allison Ruiters suggested casting the net
further to include the greater eThekwini
community.
An advertisement placed in the internal
e-newspaper, iThekuNet Bulletin, formerly
INFO INFO, called on members of our
society involved with small but vital activities
that lessen the impact of climate change to
contact us. Anyone in the greater eThekwini
area who was growing food, even on a very
small scale, destroying alien invasive plants,
harvesting rainwater, keeping earthworms,
composting kitchen or garden waste,
recycling their waste products, and so forth,
was asked to record their activities and
share their stories.
The advertisement elicited a swift
response and Dudu and Immie set about
visiting a range of potential ‘green heroes’,
starting with a food gardener. Considering
that 21st century food production greatly
contributes to the carbon footprint through
CO2 emissions, growing or buying locally
produced food that is in-season is a great
way of going green.
At Umzinyathi near Inanda Dam we met
Mrs Edith Shezi, a gracious and hospitable
person who showed us around her
substantial food garden, which undulates
down a gentle slope. It supports a variety
of mature fruit trees and neat rows of
vegetables. The well-established garden
sustains the Shezi household
and surplus crops are sold
in the community. To
collect fresh water for the
garden, the gutter
downpipes have been
modified to catch
the rainwater
in large plastic drums. Kitchen scraps are
composted to enrich the garden soil. We
had found our first green hero and to our
delight Mrs Shezi was happy to step into
that role.
Climate change, with its altered
temperature and rainfall patterns, is an issue
that affects us all as it is set to impact on
food production. Future food scarcity cannot
be ruled out. Roughly 70% of Africans live
by farming and 40% of all exports are
farming products. In some African countries,
crops dependent on rainfall could be
reduced by up to 50% by 2020.
Next on our list was Jabulani Memela, a
former Museum volunteer and the
permaculture coordinator at the Durban
Botanic Gardens. The organic methods of
permaculture gardening are ideally suited
for ameliorating the negative impacts of
climate change. Organic matter which
decomposes in a landfill creates
methane, a potent greenhouse gas
with 21 times the impact of CO2.
Local composting avoids this
problem and creates natural
fertilizer and soil conditioner.
With over 50% of oil
produced worldwide used
for transport, and with road
transport responsible for a
large and growing
proportion of human-made
CO2 emissions, we went
looking for green transport
heroes. Several members
of the eThekwini Energy
Office led the way with their
preferred mode of transport
for commuting: bicycles and
e-bikes. Clinton Jackson and
Alison Stanley were selected to
introduce the energy
consumption and energy saving
aspect of the display.
Biodiversity, the fragile and
crucial web of interconnected
life, plays a vital buffering role in
the natural world. The protection of
We had found our first green hero and to our delight Mrs Shezi was happy to step into that role.
32
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Exhibitions Department
ecosystems and biodiversity are therefore
crucial as climate change threatens havoc
across the globe. Museum Officer Andrew
Carter does his bit by protecting the
biodiversity of indigenous forest on his
Hillcrest property by destroying alien
invasive plants. As climate change takes
hold, the rapid growth of alien invasive
plants will impact more severely on
biodiversity and ecosystems.
Our small planet, dominated by members
of a single species and awash in their waste
products, especially the petroleum
byproduct plastic, desperately needs to
implement the three R’s: reduce, reuse and
recycle. Renusha Baldev, supervisor at the
Museum’s Research Centre, is in charge of
recycling the Centre’s waste and was one of
the green heroes featured in the display.
With ecosystems under pressure, we
decided to include the issue of discarded
waste and Museum Volunteer Coordinator,
Zamo Shazi, a fierce anti-litter campaigner,
was the natural choice to address this
substantial problem.
“eThekwini Municipality is aware of
the seriousness of climate change, but
cannot tackle it alone. It needs support
and daily action from you and me to make
a difference” – Zamo Shazi, DNSM
Volunteer Coordinator.
SOWING THE SEEDS OF PERMACULTURE AT THE MUSEUM RESEARCH CENTREThe term permaculture refers to
“consciously designed landscapes which
mimic the patterns and relationships found
in nature, while yielding an abundance of
food, fibre and energy for provision of local
needs” – David Holmgren, co-founder of
the permaculture movement.
The new food garden, which is sending
out its first roots and shoots, is an organic
extension of the Museum’s current display
on climate change. It was specifically
conceptualised to inspire and inform, in
particular with regard to the impact of
climate change on food availability and
water scarcity. Furthermore, it aims to
highlight the role and importance of
biodiversity, with particular emphasis on
biodiversity as a buffer zone during times of
climatic turbulence.
The outlook is harsh. Climate change will
harm food markets and food security on a
household level in many parts of the world.
Africa, in particular, will be hard hit, as most
of the continent relies on farming that is
rainfall-dependent. Temperature and rainfall
patterns will change and this will influence
planting seasons, which in turn will affect
the amount of food that can be produced.
To add to this, natural disasters like floods
and droughts will be more severe and pest
outbreaks affecting both crops and farm
animals will occur more often.
Right from the onset, Dudu, Immie and
Zamo forged a partnership with one of our
green heroes, Jabulani Memela. True to form,
he gently but firmly tucked the Museum’s
‘food-gardening pioneers’ under his wing
and guided us through the permaculture
approach of growing food in a sustainable
manner. Words like ‘mulching’, ‘compost’ and
‘worm farms’ started to crop up in our
ABOVE: Museum volunteers nurturing the Research Centre’s food garden.FAR LEFT: Our green hero, Mrs Edith Shezi.
Top of the listTree Tops School is one of several WESSA/WWF Eco Schools in Durban and was therefore high on our green heroes list. Debi Wells, former design and technology teacher and environmental coordinator at the school, kindly granted us a visit and a photo session. At Tree Tops a love and respect for the natural world is nurtured and the seeds of social and environmental responsibility are sown from a young age. The school shows an appreciation of the fragile nature of our planet and carefully considers how the actions of its community affects the Earth and the future of all who share our planet. This outlook was abundantly clear as we inspected their Eco-Schools portfolios and viewed the school’s permaculture garden, worm farm and rain-harvesting tank.
33
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conversations, and as the days lengthened
into summer we set off for the hills to collect
bakkie-loads of straw and horse manure
from the Durban Shongweni Club, cheerfully
donated by Hetty Blake, the affable
manageress of the stables.
Back at the Research Centre, cardboard
and dried leaves were collected and stored
and Dudu raided Materials Management for
gardening gear and tools. Renusha donated
a wheelbarrow and additional gardening
implements, while Dudu and I foraged for
madumbe bulbs and pumpkin, butternut
and mielie seeds amongst the food crops on
offer from the informal traders of Warrick
Triangle. Jabulani donated brinjal seedlings
and rosemary plants on behalf of the
Durban Botanic Gardens.
After visiting the proposed site, Jabulani
planned the layout of the first beds and
pathways, and selected the location for a
compost heap. We were ready to start.
Under a sweltering Durban sky, the team of
staff and volunteers prepared the first
beds, planted seedlings and sowed the first
seeds. As a fitting tribute to the merits of
the permaculture approach, the young
plants are reaching for the sky from their
protective straw mulch cover, in spite of a
roasting sun and some neglect during the
Christmas holidays.
The Curator of the Durban Botanic
Gardens, Martin Clement, suggested the use
of marigold flowers as insect deterrents and
horticulturist Ricky Chetty from the Parks
depot at Malvern responded with a generous
donation, and added a few lavender plants to
boot. To line the garden pathways, Senzo
Sibiya, a Parks senior horticulturist, offered
woodchips from Albert Park.
The indigenous plant spekboom
(Portulacaria afra) has exceptional
carbon-storing capabilities. It is said that
a hectare of spekboom is capable of
capturing up to four tons of carbon a year.
It is therefore justifiably known as a carbon
sink when occurring en masse. Lining the
driveway at the Research Centre with a plant
that conveniently guzzles car emissions
seemed appropriate, and horticulturist Justin
Oxland, Manager of Production & Display,
made that possible by generously donating a
veritable forest of spekboom plants.
From this year, members of staff and
volunteers, as well as the Research Centre
gardener, will receive training in permaculture
at the Durban Botanic Gardens.
We have embarked on an organic journey
in sustainability!
Exhibitions Department:Dudu Hlatshwayo, Immie Mostert and Andrew Carter
“eThekwini Municipality is aware of the seriousness of climate change, but it cannot tackle it alone. It needs the support and daily action from you and me to make a difference.” Zamo Shazi, DNSM Volunteer Coordinator
LEFT: Museum staff and volunteers offloading straw and preparing a dedicated area for permaculture at the Research Centre. ABOVE: The permaculture process reaping healthy young plants.
34 Exhibitions Department
35
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Figure 1: Estimated bird mortality rates for various wind farms in the United States (National Wind Coordinating Collaborative 2010).
ethekwini’s first wind-energy
project, entitled the ‘Ethekwini
Wind Repowering Project’ was
initiated in 2010 during the lead
up to the COP17 climate-change meeting
hosted by the City. It stems from
collaboration between the Bremen Overseas
Research and Development Association and
the Municipality. Bremen is one of
eThekwini’s ‘twin cities’. The project involves
the transportation of two 150 kW wind
turbines from Bremen to eThekwini and their
installation somewhere in the metropolitan
area. The project has proved to be complex
and finding a suitable site in eThekwini has
been challenging. This article highlights
some issues around the impacts of wind
energy on birds and bats, a subject which
many in the Municipality knew little about
prior to the project.
The wind-energy industry has expanded
significantly over the last decade. This
growth looks set to continue as the cost of
wind-energy decreases and the need for
more energy while reducing greenhouse gas
emissions increases. It is forecast that wind-
energy costs will drop substantially in the
future and that wind will become a more
cost-effective solution than traditional coal-
fired power generation. In the face of
climate change and the associated need to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, eThekwini
needs to assess the local viability of wind
energy, gain expertise in wind-project
development, and understand the
environmental and technological impacts
and how to mitigate these.
The wind-repowering project received
extensive media focus in the lead up to
COP 17. Much of this attention was due to
the proposed location, the Bluff Military
Base, being near a colony of Egyptian slit-
faced bats. This is not a threatened species
but the colony at the Bluff is the largest in
South Africa. The base is also an important
foraging area for the large-eared free-tailed
bat, which is a more vulnerable species.
Primarily due to pressure from wildlife
groups, the Municipality decided not to use
Bluff as a site for these turbines.
BIRDS AND WIND ENERGYConcern around birds colliding with the
blades of wind turbines has existed since the
1970’s but until the late 1990’s the topic
received little scientific attention. The
significance of such bird fatalities was first
pinpointed through experiences from the
Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, one of
the first regions in the United States to be
Craig Richards of the City’s Energy Office considers the impact of wind energy on birds and bats.
AGAINST THE WIND
Wind Repowering Project
Buff
alo
Mnt
, TN
(‘00
-’03
)
Blue
Sky
Gre
en F
ield
, WI
Lean
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Juni
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OR
Buff
alo
Ridg
e, M
N (P
h III
; ‘99
)
Map
le R
idge
, NY
(‘06
)
Diab
lo W
inds
, CA
Buff
alo
Ridg
e, M
N (P
h I;
‘96)
Buff
alo
Ridg
e, M
N (P
h II;
‘99)
Stat
elin
e, O
R/W
A (‘
02)
Map
le R
idge
, NY
(‘07
)
Foot
e Cr
eek
Rim
, WY
(Ph
I; ‘9
9)
Klon
dike
II, O
R
Buff
alo
Ridg
e, M
N (P
h I;
‘98)
Judi
th G
ap, M
T
Mou
ntai
neer
, WV
Stat
elin
e, O
R/W
A (‘
03)
Nobl
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iss,
NY
Nine
Can
yon,
WA
Com
bine
Hill
s, O
R
Big
Horn
, WA
Buff
alo
Ridg
e, M
N, (
Ph II
; ‘97
)
Buff
alo
Ridg
e, M
N, (
Ph II
; ‘98
)
Foot
e Cr
eek
Rim
, WY
(Ph
I; ‘0
0)
Nobl
e Cl
into
n, N
Y
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unty
, WI
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, WY
(Ph
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nt S
torm
, WV
(‘08
)
Mar
s Hi
ll, M
E (‘
08)
Mar
s Hi
ll, M
E (‘
07)
NPPD
Ain
swor
th, N
E
High
Win
ds, C
A (‘
04)
Wild
Hor
se, W
A
Buff
alo
Ridg
e, M
N (P
h I;
‘99)
Nobl
e El
lenb
urg,
NY
Buff
alo
Gap,
TX
Hopk
ins
Ridg
e, W
A
High
Win
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A (‘
05)
Buff
alo
Mnt
, TN
(‘06
)
Sum
mer
view
, Alb
(‘0
5/’0
6)
SMUD
, CA
Vans
ycle
, OR
Klon
dike
, OR
Cres
cent
Rid
ge, I
L
Top
of Io
wa,
IA (
‘04)
Top
of Io
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IA (
‘03)
OK W
ind
Ener
gy C
ente
r, OK
Num
ber o
f fat
altie
s/M
W?y
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Wind Energy Facility
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
developed for wind-energy on a commercial
scale. Altamont Pass drew attention because
of the number of endangered bird species
involved and the high concentration of wind
turbines (Altamont Pass Avian Monitoring
Team 2008).
Subsequently, numerous studies have
been carried out to assess bird fatalities
caused by wind turbines (e.g. see Figure 1)
and while much is still unknown, our
understanding of the interactions between
wind turbines and birds is improving. Most
studies have indicated that fatality rates are
generally low and that location is a crucial
factor in avoiding bird fatalities.
In assessing wind-energy impacts on
birds it is important to put such fatalities
into context. Figure 2 gives an indication of
bird fatalities due to other human activities.
Such comparisons are often used by wind-
energy backers to oppose the arguments of
conservationists. This can be misleading,
however, as it does not reflect the different
types of birds impacted by each activity,
e.g. factors such as oiling, fishing by-catch,
electrocution and wind turbines can kill
substantial numbers of large, rare and
formally threatened bird species, whereas
casualties through window collisions and
feral cats are typically restricted to smaller,
abundant passerines.
In a similar fashion, bird fatalities from
other traditional energy sources are rarely
compared and fatalities due to wind energy
are often presented without comparing
them with coal or nuclear facilities.
Benjamin Sovacool (2009) attempted to
do this (see Figure 3) and concluded that
fossil fuels represent a threat 17 times
greater to birds than wind energy. This
author makes three very telling conclusions
in his paper:
1. “Firstly, far more detailed, rigorous, and
sophisticated analysis is called for that
takes into account the complexities of the
wind, fossil-fuelled, and nuclear energy
fuel cycles.”
2. “Second, while the avian deaths
attributed to fossil-fuel, wind, and
nuclear power plants do vary, they also
imply that there is no form of electricity
supply completely benign to birds. The
best strategy for preserving avian wildlife,
therefore, would be to encourage the
more efficient use of energy before any
type of new power plant or wind farm
is constructed.”
3. “Third, and perhaps more important, for it
applies to many types of assessment
beyond the electricity sector, is the lesson
that the most visible impacts from a given
technology are not always the most
egregious. Wind turbines seem to present
a significant threat to birds because all of
their negative externalities are
concentrated in one place, while those
from conventional and nuclear fuel cycles
are spread across space and time. Avian
mortality and wind energy has
consequently received far more attention
and research than the avian deaths
associated with coal, oil, natural gas, and
36 Wind Repowering Project
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
Figure 2: Estimated annual bird fatalities in millions of birds in North America stemming from various anthropogenic sources (Barnard 2013).
hunting
fishing by-catch
oil waste pits
oils spills
pesticides
electrocution
cars
wind turbines
high tension wires
communications towers
feral cats
windows
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 Wind Energy Nuclear Power Fossil Fuels
Tota
l Avi
an M
orta
lity
/ Mill
ions
per
Yea
r
Avia
n De
aths
/ Gi
gaw
att-
hour
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Figure 3: Estimated annual avian mortalities due to wind, nuclear and fossil fuels in the United States (Sovacool 2009).
nuclear power systems, even though this
study suggests that wind energy may be
the least harmful to birds.”
Although it can be argued that wind may be
less harmful to birds overall because the
impacts of wind energy are highly localised, if
a wind facility is poorly located, say in the
vicinity of populations of a threatened or
endemic species, e.g. Cape and Bearded
vultures, it could represent a significant threat
to avian biodiversity (Subramanian 2012).
Bats and Wind EnErgyWhile the issue of birds has been around for
some time, the problem relevant to bats is
newer and even more poorly understood. In
fact, it is not even certain what causes bat
fatalities associated with wind farms and in
many ways the wind industry has highlighted
how little we know about these animals,
particularly in South Africa.
The prevailing current theory as to why
bats are particularly vulnerable to wind-
turbine fatalities is related to the low-
pressure zone behind a rotating turbine
blade which causes the bat’s lungs to
expand rapidly – a phenomenon known a
barotrauma – causing internal bleeding
which can be fatal. The alternative theory,
supported by the most recent research, is
simply that direct turbine strikes are primarily
responsible for most bat deaths.
Bat turbine fatalities are strongly related to
the bat species involved – it seems that some
bats are far more vulnerable than others. Of
fatalities recorded in North America, 11 of
the 45 species inhabiting this continent were
involved. In the United States, more than
75% of all collisions involved foliage-roosting
eastern red bats, hoary bats and the tree-
cavity-dwelling silver-haired bats. The
available information seems to indicate that
migrant bat species in particular seem to be
most vulnerable to wind-turbine fatalities.
iMPaCt On Bat and Bird sPECiEs in KZnBecause impacts appear to be very specific to
species, findings from one study cannot
simply be extrapolated to another, particularly
when these projects are in different regions.
This means that many of the findings from
international studies may not be applicable to
South Africa. Taking this further, findings from
the western and southern Cape, where most
of the wind-energy development in South
Africa is currently occurring, cannot be applied
willy-nilly to the eastern regions of the
country. This means that when attention
begins to shift to areas like KwaZulu-Natal,
the lack of information available on bird and
bat impacts on species specific to this province
may become a major barrier to the effective
roll-out of wind energy.
While small, the Ethekwini Wind Repowering
Project aims to gather sound scientific data
on the impacts of birds and bats in a local
context. This will be achieved by recording the
pre-existing conditions on the site selected
through a pre-construction monitoring
program and measuring the impacts thereafter
through a similar post-construction program. In
addition to this, the experience gained by the
Municipality regarding wind-energy
development and related environmental issues
should improve policy development, legislation
and spatial planning, which will benefit project
developers and conservationists alike.
37
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
References:
Altamont Pass Avian Monitoring Team. 2008. Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area Bird Fatality Study. July. (ICF J&S 61119.06.) Portland, OR. Prepared for Altamont County Community Development Agency.
Barnard. M. 2013 “How significant is bird and bat mortality due to wind turbines?” Available online: http://barnardonwind.com/2013/02/15/how-significant-is-bird-and-bat-mortality-due-to-wind-turbines/.
National Wind Coordinating Collaborative. 2010. Wind turbine interactions with birds, bats and their habitats.” Available online: http://nationalwind.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/publications/Birds_and_Bats_Fact_Sheet_.pdf.
Sovacool, B.K. 2009. Contextualising avian mortality: a preliminary appraisal of bird and bat fatalities from wind, fossil-fuel, and nuclear electricity. Energy Policy 37: 2241-2248.
Subramanian, M. 2012. The trouble with turbines: an ill wind. Nature 486: 310-311. [Available online: http://www.nature.com/news/the-trouble-with-turbines-an-ill-wind-1.10849.
KwaZulu-Natal MuseumA never ending journey of discovery!
237 Jabu Ndlovu Street, Pietermaritzburgt: 033 345 1404 | f: 033 345 0561 | www.nmsa.org.za
Open on weekends and public holidays
There is always somet hing new to see!
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
38 Herpetology Department
39
MODERN MUSINGS OF AN ANCIENT GREEKAngelo Lambiris poses some penetrating questions regarding the role of the Herpetology Department and its specimen collections in our ever- evolving society.
In the previous edition of Thola I
outlined the principal issues that
needed urgent attention in order to
resurrect the moribund Department of
Herpetology. Progress has been slow,
frequently beset with problems, both
foreseen and unexpected. Nevertheless, we
have made huge strides and the
computerised databases for the amphibian
and reptile collections have now been
completed, providing a firm foundation for
further developments.
Despite many frustrations, it has been an
illuminating and rewarding task, and has
given many tantalising glimpses into the
history of the collections. These glimpses
will, I hope, be developed into fuller stories
once the essential steps forward are fully
under way. I often feel (perhaps unjustly?)
that researchers tend to focus almost
entirely on the specimens and tend to ignore
the collectors who provided the material,
and the conditions and circumstances under
which these were collected.
Often, of course, many a specimen is
brought in by someone who has never
We have made huge strides with the amphibian and reptile collections, providing a firm foundation for further developments.
“Theories pass. The frog remains.”
ANGELO LAMBIRIS
JEAN ROSTAND
The spotted bush snake is a widespread species, and also shows some spectacular colour variations. The front half is usually as shown here, but whereas most South African snakes have the posterior half of the body more or less uniform green above, those from Zimbabwe and northwards are a beautiful bronze colour. They are often killed for boomslangs or mambas, but are completely harmless.
Source: www.africaimagelibrary.com
Spotted bush snake (Philothamnus semivariegatus)
thola: VOLUME 16. 2013/14
40 Herpetology Department
The English “museum” comes from the Latin word, and is pluralised as “museums”. It is originally from the Ancient Greek “Mouseion”, which denotes a place or temple dedicated to the Muses (the patron divinities in Greek mythology of the arts), and hence a building set apart for study and the arts. especially the Musaeum (institute)
for philosophy and research at Alexandria by Ptolemy I Soter
about 280 BC.
The origins of the museum
done so before, and probably never will
again; but much material may be deposited
by investigators who have collected often
substantial series of specimens in the
course of their studies. A tiny number of
the collectors whose names are recorded in
the catalogues are known to me personally;
others are familiar only historically; and the
majority, sadly, I have no knowledge of at
all. Here is a rich field for the historians of
science to explore!
It is all very well to report that the
herpetological collections are being
reorganised, and that soon we shall have an
active and viable department that shall play
an important role in serving the community,
but first we need to ask and address some
very important questions. What are the
primary purposes of the collections? Who
are we serving? What are their needs? What
is the best way forward? How can we strike
a balance between activities intended to
benefit people in a multitude of ways, and
still provide scope for “pure research”?
Pure research is often seen, especially by
administrators whose concern is managing
money and people, as something not really
necessary, a more or less unjustifiable and
unproductive extravagance that could
better be directed to serving the community
(whatever that means) in concrete ways.
But pure research is not an unjustifiable
extravagance. What seems nebulous and
impractical today may well be essential for
human survival two years hence. The history
of medicine is fairly bursting with such
examples – penicillin being one such case to
which countless millions owe their lives.
It is instructive to recall the origins of two
things that have their roots in antiquity,
museums and libraries. A Mouseion,
Museum, was a literary and educational
(secondarily religious) centre dedicated
to research and lectures. Of these, by far
the most famous was that of Alexandria,
founded by Ptolemy Soter in about 280
BC, and the library created in association
with the museum was a major development
in bibliographical history. The Muses,
Greek deities, represented the arts and,
later, astronomy, philosophy and all other
intellectual pursuits. The one whom we
would now associate with museums, in the
modern sense of the word, would be the
goddess Polymatheia – “much learning”.
This little diversion into history and classics
is intended to remind us that museums
should not be mere mausoleums filled
with pitiful remnants of once-living plants
and animals and dusty caverns haunted
by troglodytic scientists whose arcane
communications are comprehensible
to only a chosen few. No, indeed,
a museum would have been, to
a Hellenistic Greek, a vibrant
multidisciplinary place open to all,
where both learning and teaching
were open to all who wished to
avail themselves of it.
It is precisely in this spirit that I wish to
see the Department of Herpetology grow
and develop – a department possessed of
specimens and reference literature, staffed
by specialists who are equally interested in
research and education, interacting
with the whole community.
Let us, then, return to the
questions that I posed a
little earlier, with one other
not previously asked.
It is instructive to recall the origins of two things that have their roots in antiquity, museums and libraries. A museum, was a literary and educational centre dedicated to research and lectures.
RIGHT: Polymatheia in Greek mythology was one of the three Muses recognised at the ancient Greek city of Sicyon. Her name literally means “much knowledge, erudition”, and the Greek historian Plutarch compares her to Polyhymnia to whom he ascribes precedence over accumulation and preservation of knowledge.
WHAT ARE THE PRIMARY PURPOSES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HERPETOLOGY? It is clear from what I wrote
about the origins of museums,
that they were essentially
what we would these days
call universities at their best.
As a relatively ancient Greek,
I have always followed the
precepts of my even more
ancient ancestors. My most
important objective as a teacher
is to produce students who
can think clearly, critically and
independently, with innovative
and constructive work based on a
solid, broadly based foundation.
The Department, then, should
be directed to both research and
to education. What these two words
actually mean is a large issue, but we can
summarise them briefly without excessive
distortion. Research does not mean mindlessly
following what received wisdom decrees
is the latest fashion or the One True Way.
Research is about asking a good question
and doing your best to find a good answer
to that question. Good questions come from
within the person, not from some magisterial
supervisor. Education, among other things, is
what enables one to decide what are good
questions and good answers, and what are
not; it also enables you to build, solidly, on
what you have learned so that you, in turn,
can educate others. I do not feel that it is
the function of this Department to decide
what kind of research should or should
not be permitted. All too often University
departments do little more than to turn out
clones of their professors. There is no place
for that kind of mentality in this Department.
We want original thinkers, in both research
and in education, who are encouraged to
think differently, to explore new paths, and to
defend or reject their own ideas according to
the best evidence available.
WHAT ARE THE PRIMARY PURPOSES OF THE COLLECTIONS? Museum collections have traditionally been
regarded as repositories of material to be
used for research by a select few specialists.
In the last few decades, however, their value
as historical artefacts has risen to prominence,
and they can well be described as a legacy
41
BELOW: Copy of the first page of the original Durban Museum register, which listed all acquisitions together.
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ABOVE: The first use of new labels for the herpetology collection, on which important data are permanently recorded for each specimen.
42 Herpetology Department
from the past and the present to the children
of generations yet unborn. What that legacy
is depends entirely upon what we have, and
how well we document it and care for it.
As curators, we must ensure that museum
specimens of any kind are preserved in the
best possible condition for as long as possible,
for once they are damaged or destroyed they
can never be properly restored or replaced;
our loss is the future’s irretrievable loss. We
have a great burden of responsibility to curate
and preserve our material in the best possible
way. But if to curate means limiting access
for study, then while honouring one essential
obligation of care we deny another equally
important one: promoting the wise use of
the material for the purpose of acquiring and
transmitting knowledge; education, in a word.
Museums have, quite rightly, placed a
premium on information relating to collected
artefacts. Sir Leonard Woolley said of
archaeology that all excavation is destructive;
that once a dig is completed, all that is left
is a hole in the ground and an artefact in a
museum; that any evidence not recorded
during the course of excavation is lost forever;
and that such an excavator has defrauded
science – to which we may add, that he has
defrauded the whole community – and had
better not have dug.
As with archaeology, so it is with
biology, but with one difference. A piece of
sculpture, even if its provenance is unknown
or doubtful, may still have a great deal
of meaning to most museum visitors. A
biological specimen without data is often
considered totally useless and is generally
discarded. We need to re-think this attitude.
It is becoming more and more difficult,
and very much more expensive, to collect
biological specimens these days. It should
not be heretical to suggest that even
specimens without data may have immense
value, if not to taxonomists, to whom such
information is essential, at least to teachers
and students of comparative anatomy,
adaptive radiations, and pretty well anything
else that you may think of.
Museum collections, like the dead
organisms whose diversity in life they
Cape wolf snake(Lycophidion capense)
IDENTIFICATION:
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT:
FOOD:
PREDATORS:
LIFESPAN:
MEDICAL IMPORTANCE:
The common wolf snake is identified by its black or brown colouration, white speckling, a flattened head and a nocturnal lifestyle. The average length is 40 cm but may reach up to 64 cm.
Widespread throughout eastern South Africa. It is also present in southern and central Mozambique, Zimbabwe, parts of Botswana and northern Namibia.
Lizards (including geckos and skinks), other snakes.
Eaten by other snakes.
Between 15 and 20 years.
Non-venomous and not dangerous to man and not likely to bite.
Doctors quite often need to have snakes identified when dealing with known or suspected snake-bite cases, and there is much that museums can do to help in this respect.
BELOW: Dr Angelo Lambiris is an Honorary Curator and an eThekwini Living Legends Awardee. He has published over 180 scientific papers and two books, studied reptiles and amphibians for over 50 years and owns a priceless research collection comprising close on 5000 specimens of over 480 species. Dr Lambiris is also an expert in herpetological veterinary medicine and has been nominated for the Fredric L. Frye Lifetime Achiever’s Award in this field.
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Photo: R. van der WeijdeSource: www.pbase.com/corotauria
43
represent, should also evolve and diversify.
There is much more to scientific life than
taxonomy and systematics, and museum
collections can and should illustrate these
other aspects as fully as possible. The scope
of interests is potentially unlimited; we can
only hint at it here and move on to the
other questions.
WHO ARE WE SERVING? To the ancient Greeks this question was
easy to answer: the Museum was there for
all who wished to learn. These days the
answer is not so easy to formulate, not least
because populations are so unimaginably
larger, but also because there are so many
modern constraints that simply did not
exist in the civilised world two and a half
thousand years ago.
We do, of course, serve those scientists
who wish to avail themselves of our
resources, if the costs can be met one way
or another. We serve, to a much lesser
extent, senior students at some universities.
Whether we serve the general public upon
whom our existence ultimately depends, is a
moot point. I do not think that we do so at
all well. That is not necessarily the Museum’s
fault, for this one at least does have an
active community outreach programme
vigorously and ably promoted by dedicated
people. Much of the fault lies, alas, with
the general public, or to be more honest,
with an education system that has betrayed
that public by signally failing to inculcate an
awareness of, and interest in, what should
be one of any civilised country’s most
priceless assets, their national, provincial
and municipal museums as resources in, and
aids to, teaching and to education. (These
two words are not at all synonymous, and
the reader is urged to contemplate the
differences very carefully.)
WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS, AND WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD? Researchers will know their own specific
needs pretty well, but where we have a
department in which diversity of activities and
interests is encouraged, it becomes necessary
to look beyond our own narrow interests and
actively seek out the needs of others pursuing
other lines of thought.
WHO SHOULD WE BE REACHING OUT TO?
Researchers in other institutions can, and
do, make use of our material. But we need
to make others aware of what we have
and how it can be used. School teachers
are an obvious primary target, for once
they know something about the wonders
and beauty of reptiles and amphibians they
can pass that awareness on to their pupils,
who are of course our future. There is far
too little interaction between conservation
organisations and museums, and there is
plenty of scope for enrichment on both
sides and to the ultimate benefit of both
wildlife and the general public. Doctors quite
often need to have snakes identified when
dealing with known or suspected snake-bite
cases, and there is much that museums can
do to help in this respect. Animal rescue
and rehabilitation workers often need
information when dealing with unusual or
obscure animals. All too often they resort to
the Internet (sometimes helpful, quite often
devastatingly inaccurate), and all too rarely to
local museums. The list could be expanded
almost indefinitely.
WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD? We can provide plenty of preserved
specimens for study purposes. At present
we can provide, (I speak of the Department
of Herpetology only), pretty poor field data
associated with those specimens. We need
to ensure that, in future, all specimens
coming in to the Museum are documented
as thoroughly and as comprehensively as
possible, so that they can be used for a
multiplicity of purposes. This is best achieved
by outreach programmes offering carefully
planned guidance.
One of the highest priorities is to offer
interns at the Museum a well-structured
course in the principles of applied
herpetology that addresses not only the
essential aspects of curatorial best practices,
but which also provides a solid foundation
for independent research.
Another high priority is developing a
broad-based research programme into the
biology and natural history of our reptiles
and amphibians. There are vast gaps in
our knowledge of even the commonest
species, and nowhere near enough people
sufficiently interested in filling those gaps.
Amateur naturalists can contribute much
invaluable knowledge, but only if they are
encouraged to collaborate with museums.
Such contributions require pursuing answers
to as many as possible of a relatively short
list of about 40 questions, for which the
essential requirements are only an enquiring
mind, patience, a supply of note books,
two thermometers and, perhaps, a pair of
binoculars. Surely a small investment for a
lifetime’s worth of profound enjoyment
and enrichment!
The scope for developing the Department
of Herpetology is, in principle, unlimited even
though funds are not! However, much can be
achieved with even a limited budget. Simply
follow the principle: “Decide, very clearly,
exactly what you want to do, and why, and
the rest is largely a matter of common sense
and ingenuity.”
LEFT: Scholars crowding around the herpetology display during International Museum Day.
One of the highest priorities is to offer interns at the Museum a well-structured course in the principles of applied herpetology.
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44 Entomology Department
Atlas moth (Attacus atlas)The Atlas moth is a large saturniid moth found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia, and is common across the Malay Archipelago. Atlas moths are considered the largest moths in the world in terms of total wing surface area, reaching upwards of 400 cm2. Their wingspans are also amongst the largest, reaching over 25 cm. They are said to be named after either the Titan of Greek mythology, or their map-like wing patterns. In Hong Kong the Cantonese name translates as “snake’s head moth”, referring to the apical extension of the forewing. In India, Atlas moths are cultivated for their silk in a non-commercial capacity; unlike that produced by the related silkworm moth (Bombyx mori), Atlas moth silk is secreted as broken strands. This brown, wool-like silk is thought to have greater durability and is known as fagara.
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NUNUS &GOGGAS
45
As Kirstin Williams continued her
research work on blowflies, she
was very fortunate to be awarded
a National Research Foundation
(NRF) sabbatical grant which afforded her
the opportunity to take a six-month
sabbatical to complete her PhD. This NRF
sabbatical programme is aimed at people
currently working on and completing
doctoral degrees. It is designed to give them
the opportunity to complete their studies
with funding for a six- or 12-month
sabbatical from work commitments.
When Kirstin went on sabbatical at the
start of October, Eleanor (Kate) Richardson
was appointed to work on a specialised
project in her absence. Kate has been
affiliated to the Museum for the past 21
years and has been involved with curating
the mammal collections, working on the
EcoRat project and volunteering in the
mammal collection. Kate is chair of Bats KZN
and has lectured in physiology, mammalogy,
psychology and conservation at University of
KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). She has also lectured
on invertebrate systems at UKZN and
currently tutors UNISA conservation students
on invertebrates.
The project entailed updating the
taxonomy of the moth (Lepidoptera) and
true bug (Hemiptera) collections. There are
24 888 local and international moths and
5 241 true bug specimens that required
evaluation and possible name changes.
Kate updated the specimen names on the
entomology database with the aid of online
references such as ZipcodeZoo and the
Rhodes University checklist. She then
“Time’s fun when you’re having flies”KERMIT THE FROG
NATASHA GOVENDER
Entomology technician Natasha Govender reports on sabbaticals, insect collections, mouldy ceilings and the largest moth in the world.
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Garden fruit chafer (Pachnoda sinuata)The species is part of the large family Scarabaeidae, which also include the scarabs and dung beetles. This species is large with a smooth carapace. Colouration is variable but basically yellow with dark brown central area broken by yellow spots and a transverse yellow line across the rear of the elytra.
Adult beetles feed on flowers and fruit, often destroying them in the process which makes them unpopular with gardeners. While commonly found on exotic plants like roses and camellias, these beetles also feed on a range of indigenous plants including Acacia. (Photo: Bart Wursten)
BELOW: Scholars inspecting the butterfuly collection during the Background Science tour, during Science Week. INSET: Kirstin Williams informing scholars on the bug collection on display. BOTTOM: Kate Richardson busy arranging a drawer of moths.
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updated the names of the specimens in the
collection drawers and rearranged
specimens where necessary to sort them
into their correct families, tribes, genera
and species. Kate completed the update of
the true bug collection in December 2013
and finished with the moth collection by
the end of March 2014 when Kirstin
returned to work.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACHNational Science Week, from 29 July to 3
August, showcased what the Museum has
to offer and the Entomology Department
was an integral part of this
event. The first day
brought a number of
school groups for behind-
the-scenes tours of the
collections. This was
quite challenging as we
had to conduct six
consecutive tours to keep
up with the demand!
However, with the help
of two volunteers,
Pilasanda Mngupane and Noma Khoza, we
were able to provide learners with an
informative insight into the daily activities of
the Entomology Department.
At an exhibition at Medwood Gardens I
engaged with school children, workers and
passers-by drawn by the sight of insects they
don’t usually get to see up close. During the
KwaNunu exhibition, Kirstin and I were
overwhelmed by the sheer number of school
children who attended the event. They
listened intently and gasped intermittently at
the strange creatures on show, such as the
largest moth on earth. Mixed reactions of
disgust and fascination greeted the
introduction of our live Madagascan hissing
cockroaches. It was very fulfilling to be able
to impart some knowledge to the general
public, about insects, their behaviour and
the role they play in their natural habitats.
47
DONATIONS AND ExPANSIONRenzo Perisinotto of UKZN has provided a
fantastic addition to our collection with a
donation of 569 chafer beetles. Renzo
collected these beetles from various locations
around KwaZulu-Natal. We always welcome
donations such as these; and those of Adrian
Armstrong of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, who
regularly deposits specimens with us from
the reserves around KZN.
The Department was also delighted to
obtain five new wooden cabinets which will
assist in providing more space for our
expanding collection.
CEILING RECONSTRUCTIONIn October, the ceiling of the insect collection
room was taken down and replaced. Mould
had began to develop on the old ceiling due
to the poorly insulated aircon vents which
were not only unsightly but also unsafe. Not
an ideal situation, especially since the
collection room is open to the public from
time to time. As the protection of the
collection cabinets is a high priority, the
cabinets had to be moved to avoid damage
to the specimens.
Leroy Nala and Kwazi Ntombela, two
Museum’s volunteers, and I undertook the
task. They moved the cabinets to one end of
the room (and back again after construction
was completed) and covered them with
heavy-duty plastic to prevent the odd piece
of ceiling from damaging the cabinets
housing the delicate specimens. A nifty
technique I learned from Kirstin entailed the
use of blankets placed under the cabinets to
enable easy movement.
After the cabinets had been moved and
the air-conditioning vents, smoke detectors
and light fixtures had been removed, the
month-long process of discarding the old
ceiling and installing a new one could begin.
It was far from pleasing entering the
collection room daily and seeing the dust,
rubble and a hole where the ceiling should
be! However, all the effort has been worth it
because we now have a brand new, mould-
free ceiling, with, thankfully, no damage to
the collection.
During the KwaNunu exhibition, Kirstin and I were overwhelmed by the sheer number of school children who attended the event. They listened intently and gasped intermittently at the strange creatures on show, such as the largest moth on earth.
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Madagascan hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa)The Madagascan hissing cockroach, also known as the hissing cockroach or simply hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 5.1–7.6 cm at maturity. They can be found in rotting logs and are one of some 20 known species of large hissing roaches from Madagascar, many of which are kept as pets. They feed primarily on vegetable material and unlike most cockroaches, they are wingless, are excellent climbers and can scale smooth glass. As the name suggests, the Madagascar hissing cockroach is characterised by its hissing sound, produced when they force air through the respiratory openings (spiracles) found on each segment of their abdomen. The hiss takes three forms: the disturbance hiss, the female-attracting hiss, and the fighting hiss.
Welcome to NatashaAfter a period of 10 years with no technical assistant the Entomology Department is very happy to
welcome Natasha Govender into this position. Natasha started with us at the Museum at the beginning
of June. Natasha joins us from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife where she was a DST/NRF intern and gained
experience in field surveys and data collection. Natasha obtained both her B.Sc and B.Sc (Hons)
degrees from UKZN and is currently completing her master’s degree through UKZN in conjunction
with the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI). While conducting field work with SASRI
for her project on moth diversity in wetlands adjacent to sugarcane crops, she learnt a number of skills
that will stand her in good stead in her new position such as pinning, labeling, accessioning and
databasing of specimens. Natasha is a bright, cheerful and very capable person and we hope she will
enjoy her time with us at the Museum.
Museum education is devoted to
both developing and
strengthening the role of
museums as public institutions.
The core function of museum educators is to
enhance the visitors’ ability to understand
and appreciate museum collections. Today
museums are faced with the complex
challenge of engaging a diverse audience in
vital and significant learning experiences. This
increased responsibility has resulted in the
museum educators’ role being shifted,
revised, transformed, and extended in
unexpected ways.
The Durban Natural Science Museum has
made huge strides in emphasising the
importance of interdepartmental teamwork
in the achievement of the museum’s
education mission, and by focusing on the
key elements of rigorous planning,
implementation and assessment. The
Education Department acknowledges the
importance of public advocacy to the future
stability and strength of museums.
2013 proved to be an exciting year and as
we reflect on the highlights and
accomplishments, we take this opportunity to
applaud the efforts of our team, partners and
collaborators, and look forward to another
year of positive contributions.
MUSEUM DAY International Museum Day is celebrated
annually on 18 May. Working with the Kloof
Conservancy, a programme was developed
to celebrate the day at Krantzkloof Nature
Reserve with each department showcasing
their displays and specimens to the public.
People were delighted by the opportunity to
interact with the curators, ask questions and
handle the specimens at the touch table.
The curators of the Museum hosted various
talks, and the highlight of the day was a
presentation by Nicholas Liebenberg from
Natural Resources that furthered public
awareness on snakes and snake bites.
Museum Day provides an excellent
opportunity for introducing the Museum to
the public and making people aware of our
role in the community.
NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEKNational Science Week is a joint initiative
between the Museum and the Department
of Science and Technology (DST) to generate
excitement around the subject of science.
Our aim is to inspire learners to develop an
48 Education Department
A YEAR IN THE MUSEUMEducation Officer Theshnie Naidoo describes how the Museum celebrates another year of bringing knowledge of nature to communities across eThekwini.
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RIGHT: A volunteer from DNSM showcasing specimens during International Museums’ Day celebrations. CENTRE: Our little visitors at Medwood Gardens during National Science Week.
interest in science as well as provide an
opportunity for learners and the public to
engage with scientists. Working with youth
ambassadors from different regions within
the municipal areas we encouraged schools,
communities and the general public to
participate in this celebration from 29 July to
3 August 2013.
Guided tours of the Museum galleries were
conducted to showcase the diversity of our
ecosystems, biomes and fauna with the
objective of building a more environmentally
conscious society and to identify the ‘green
heroes’ in our midst.
Behind-the-scene tours of our Research
Centre introduced the public and
participating schools, George Campbell High
and Cwebezela Senior Primary, to our
research collections. Learners were exposed
to the inner workings of the museum and the
vast areas of knowledge represented by the
diverse collections, while given the
opportunity to interact with the curators.
At a public exhibition at Medwood
Gardens we again took the Museum to the
people with the public given the opportunity
to ask questions, touch taxidermy specimens
and interact with staff and team members on
a wide range of topics surrounding
biodiversity and key environmental issues.
On 1 August an event was initiated to
celebrate Women in Science in lieu of
National Women’s Day. The objective was to
share experiences, career orientate and
inspire female learners regarding the
importance of science in our society. The
highlights of the day were talks by our guest
speaker, Dr Jeanne Tarrant of the Endangered
Wildlife Trust, and our very own women
scientists, Leigh Richards and Kirstin Williams.
KWAxIMBA NATURAL HERITAGE DAYVarious events are held at the Parks,
Recreation and Culture (PRC) facilities in the
month of September to celebrate multiple
facets of our heritage. On 26 September
Kloof Conservancy and the newly developed
KwaXimba Conservancy hosted a joint event
in celebration of Natural Heritage Day.
KwaXimba Councillor, Mr Mkhize,
welcomed the guests and PRC Unit Head,
Mr Thembinkosi Ngcobo, highlighted the
49
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FAR LEFT: Busi Gumede, one of the Museum’s Education Officers. TOP LEFT: ‘Detective work’ enjoyed by the public during International Museums’ Day. BELOW LEFT: The Museum’s public display for National Science Week.
50
purpose of the event. The crowd was
enthralled by the exhibitions and the
interactive presentations by Balungile Gcaba
(KZN Wildlife) on nature conservation,
Nicholas Liebenberg (Natural Resources) on
snakes, and Zodwa Msweli and Jabulani
Memela (Durban Botanical Gardens) on plant
propagation and permaculture respectively.
The crowd was also entertained by traditional
dancers from KwaXimba .
The day ended with certificates awarded to
the local ‘Green Heroes’ who work tirelessly
in the KwaXimba Conservancy.
MAGQUBU NTOMBELA–IAN PLAYER ANNUAL LECTURE
This lecture honours two men, Magqubu
Ntombela and Ian Player, who formed a
profound relationship that played an integral
role in the conservation of South African’s
biodiversity. One of their most celebrated
conservation efforts was the capture and
translocation of the white rhino that was
then on the verge of extinction.
One of the most prestigious events on the
Museum’s calendar, The Magqubu
Ntombela-Ian Player Annual Lecture provides
a platform for leaders in the field of
biodiversity conservation and related social
sciences to address the public on topics of
the environment, culture and social cohesion.
Our esteemed guest speaker this year was
Associate Professor Mpilo Pearl Sithole of the
University of KwaZulu-Natal, Department of
Social Sciences. Her talk, ‘Communal
Activism versus Elite Activism: Working
towards embracing Community and Expert
Partnerships in Environmental Management’,
focused on the obligation and necessity for
community views, perspectives and insight in
designing and establishing environmental
conservation strategies whilst still
appreciating specialist and expert knowledge.
In her thought-provoking presentation,
Prof. Sithole urged the audience to
challenge ‘traditional’ thinking, recognise
the skills and knowledge of both the public
and the expert, and to enable more
effective community practitioners.
‘GREEN HEROES FOR A CHANGING CLIMATE’ ExHIBITIONThe evening of the annual lecture saw the
launch of our ‘Green Heroes for a Changing
Climate’ Exhibition. It served as an
introduction to climate change and as a
celebration of our local ‘green heroes’:
ordinary people making a difference by
adopting lifestyles that enhance the
sustainability of our natural resources.
Zamo Shazi, Volunteer Coordinator at the
Museum and after-hours permaculture
volunteer at the Durban Botanical Gardens, is
one such ‘green hero’ at the forefront of
change. “Climate change needs action from
you and me, from our local government,
from our national government and from all
international governments to really show
results,” she explains. “eThekwini
Municipality is aware of the seriousness of
climate change, but cannot tackle the
problem alone. It needs support and action
from you and me to make a difference”
Theshnie NaidooEducation Officer
Education Department
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TOP: Rotating exhibitions at Inchanga Community Hall. MIDDLE: Magqubu Ntombela and Ian Player, (Photo: Trevor Barrett). ABOVE: Guest speaker for the evening Mpilo Pearl Sithole
The Magqubu Ntombela-Ian Player Annual Lecture provides a platform for leaders in the field of biodiversity conservation and social sciences to address the public on topics of the environment, culture and social cohesion.
Promoting ScienceRecognised excellence in research & scholarship
Membership is open to all who have an interest in science.
For more information on the activities of KwaZulu Natal branch contact:
Mike Perrin: 033 260 5118 | Judy Mann: 031 328 8188
Royal Society of South Africa
Established by Royal Charter in 1908
51
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Theshnie NaidooThe Education Department welcomes an entirely
new staff member, Theshnie Naidoo. Theshnie
is a University of KwaZulu Natal graduate.
She completed her PhD majoring in
molecular genetics. Her research focused
on the genetic diversity of the Chaerephon
species complex from Madagascar and
the western Indian Ocean islands.
She has a number of publications in
both local and international peer-
reviewed journals. She worked as
a Laboratory Manager at UKZN
and later accepted a research
position at a diagnostics
company based in Durban. In
August 2013 she joined the
education team. We hope
she will enjoy her stay with us.
Sindisiwe NzamaSindisiwe is not entirely new to the Museum.
She previously worked in the Mammal
Department as a Mammalogy Technician.
In July 2013, she was promoted to
Education Officer. Her job as an
Education Officer entails designing and
implementing dynamic education
programmes for education
institutions and the general
public, maintaining outreach
programme to increase the
visibility and accessibility of
the main museum and
satellite museums, and
coordinating the
Museum’s volunteer
programme. “So far, I’m enjoying
my stay with the Museum!“
Please help us give injured and orphaned wildlife a second chance by joining our
exclusive One Thousand, One Hundred Club. CROW is looking for 1000
extraordinary individuals, families, schools and companies that are able to make a
monthly donation of R100 and in so doing, help us provide life-saving care and
treatment to thousands of wildlife in distress throughout KZN. To join this Club and
find out more about our work and how you can get involved, please contact us:
CROW (Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife), 15A Coedmore Avenue, Yellowwood
Park, Durban 4011, P O BOX 53007, Yellowwood Park, Durban, 4011
T: +27 31 462 1127 F: +27 31 462 9700 E: [email protected]
www.crowkzn.co.za
CROW is a registered Non-Profit organisation (NPO Reg No: 046-598) and
Public Benefit organisation (PBO Reg No: 18/11/13/4901)
WELCOME to new staff members
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The Museum is taking to the streets
in style in its continuing efforts to
bring a diverse and exciting mix of
experiences to our various
audiences. Our latest innovation is a vehicle
designed to take the museum to the people:
GO-WILD, eThekwini Municipality’s first
mobile museum!
The mobile museum is yet another means
by which we can realise our full potential
and benefit the broader community at large,
especially schools and the general public.
The demand for the GO-WILD vehicle grew
out of increasing educational outreach visits
in the past to schools and communities
throughout the eThekwini area and beyond
using existing smaller Museum vehicles
crammed with collections and other
educational resources that were just not
optimal for the need. In GO-WILD we now
have a proper nomadic museum on wheels,
fitted with spacious exhibit shelves holding
museum specimens, educational materials
and other essential resources. GO-WILD’s
colourfully branded exterior is set to turn
heads as it blazes a trail across the city. The
incredible 1.2 m-wide mouth of a gaping
hippopotamus on the back door is certain to
catch the eye, not to mention the other
intriguing and engrossing images
emblazoned across the vehicle’s exterior.
GO-WILD will not substitute for the main
museum or any of its amenities, but rather
will serve as a complement to our traditional
services. GO-WILD is destined to travel
widely around eThekwini and to appear at
municipal and provincial expos and events.
It will promote the museum and offer
informed engagement with the public
wherever a road can take it. The messages
imparted by GO-WILD will be effective,
efficient and inclusive. Its educational
material will be aimed to develop
observation and exploration skills, critical
thinking and lasting excitement about life
and environmental sciences among users.
GO-WILD will serve as a school’s effective
practical tool to strengthen and increase
learners’ understanding of class work, thus
improving their results. This will be achieved
through its offering of school educational
programmes that target specific areas of
the curriculum.
We are aiming for a local product that
meets national, indeed international,
standards. Best of all, GO-WILD means that
the Museum is now truly an institution on
the go!
Busisiwe GumedeEducation Officer
TOP: Trial fitting of the specimens into shelves. ABOVE: “GO-WILD”s first public appearance during the city parade for the opening of eThekwini Council for 2014 in Dr Pixley kaSeme Street on 29 January 2014.
ON THE GO!Busisiwe Gumede, a Museum Education Officer, gets super-excited as the city’s first mobile museum hits the road in its mission to take the people of eThekwini on a memorable learning adventure.
52 Education Department
53
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Help Mr. Bee find the flower Connect the dots by numbers
Find and circle insect wordsDraw a line from each insect to it’s name
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10
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12
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AULIRG
PTABIB
LTDUCE
FEYOKE
ARBMET
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TLGEME
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BEE
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KIDSKIDS#
54
T o find a compromise between
human development and the
preservation of our biodiversity
requires a complex and creative
balancing act. There are a growing number
of examples throughout Africa and the world
where these challenges are being tackled
with ingenuity and technology, and which
have resulted in sustainable conservation
models tailor-made to suit specific
communities and environments.
These successful examples share a
number of common factors and include a
delicate infusion of insight, knowledge
and experience.
Firstly, these projects preserve the area’s
biodiversity and integrate it into the culture
of the local inhabitants. Secondly, individuals
in the local population are trained as
stewards and learn conservation concepts
as well as skills to improve community
standards. Thirdly, the creation of income-
generation opportunities becomes a high
priority. Lastly, all programmes are
buttressed by a high environmental
educational component.
Conservation has traditionally involved
setting aside tracts of land as National Parks
or Protected Areas. These are usually the
preserve of ecologists, botanists and other
technical specialists who manage these parks
as independent units. Partly to justify their
existence and partly to generate income,
tourists are encouraged to visit these
biodiversity reserves which often become the
exclusive preserve of those who have the
means to use these resources.
Over the past 30 years the sustainability of
these relatively exclusive protected areas has
been under severe threat, particularly in
Africa and other underdeveloped areas
where human needs are pressing and
expanding. In these scenarios it is often
difficult to explain to impoverished
communities why the biodiversity must be
“protected” when the communities derive
little or no direct benefit from these areas.
There is a growing realisation that the
sustainability of conservation efforts is
increasingly dependent on a much broader
network of interactions in which people are a
key component. This has led to the rise of the
concept of Community Conservation. To
quote one such initiative:
“The Community Conservation Programme’s role is to ensure that communities are aware of the important role conservation can play in the development of sustainable livelihoods. The direct interest which neighbouring communities have in the management of protected areas is facilitated by this programme. Partnerships and interactions are processes whereby communities of all descriptions engage with Ezemvelo in co-defining and realising nature conservation value and opportunities to protect biodiversity and ecological processes in the province.”
– Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
Conservancies
Kloof Conservancies Chairman, Paolo Candotti, introduces a conservancy perspective to community conservation.
THE ART OF BALANCE
To find a compromise between human development and the preservation of our biodiversity requires a complex and creative balancing act.
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55
TRADITIONAL PRIORITIESThe conservancies’ movement in South
Africa, of which Kloof Conservancy is a
part, can in some ways be described as a
community conservation initiative. The
focus, certainly as far as urban
conservancies are concerned, is very
much on using volunteers to run
educational and conservation programmes
for the benefit of the broader community
which are the direct beneficiaries of a
healthier environment.
The programmes are aimed at protecting
the local biodiversity within the wealthier
suburbs where there is already a basic
understanding of the need for conservation.
Most urban conservancies rely heavily on
volunteers while the creation of income-
generating opportunities is not a factor.
Organisational skills levels are generally very
high, and while financial resources are never
enough there is sufficient fund-raising
capability within urban conservancies to
make substantial progress and create
relatively healthy environments as evidenced
by the generally lush and reasonably
environmentally friendly suburbs of the
Upper Highway.
This is typically so in Kloof where we can
pride ourselves on clean air, open green
spaces and the added bonus of a protected
area of exceptional biodiversity value in
Krantzkloof Nature Reserve.
ExTENDING OUR GREEN FOOTPRINTHowever, if we look beyond the boundaries
of Kloof to our north-east, in Lower and
Upper Molweni, and even closer at Wyebank,
we find no organised conservation
movement, rapid and possibly unregulated
housing construction and a generally
degraded environment which places what is
left of local biodiversity at high risk.
Additionally, the absence of a strong
partnership between the Reserve and the
neighbouring Molweni Community may well
place the long term sustainability of the
reserve in question as it will be increasingly
difficult to protect its boundaries from the
bordering environmental degradation that is
encroaching on its integrity.
As a conservancy we are very much aware
that the environment does not take municipal
boundaries into account and it is important
that we protect biodiversity across eco-
systems and not suburbs. We acknowledge
that we are part of a greater whole and that
we cannot hope to preserve our small
domain while ignoring the world around us.
We also understand that extending our green
footprint does not mean we impose the
solutions that worked well in Kloof to
communities that have a different and often
seriously disadvantaged background.
The solution, we believe, lies in transferring
our skills, knowledge and resources to our
neighbouring communities in a manner that
takes their priorities into account and
combines these with the universal priority to
protect what is left of our biodiversity.
CROSS-FERTILIZING THE INITIATIVESKloof Conservancy has, and continues to
run, numerous environmental projects
within the Kloof boundaries. These include
the educational Back-to-Nature Series, an
annual indigenous Open Gardens Show,
the rehabilitation of a number of
environmentally degraded areas such as the
Msinsi CCA, a project to clear public land in
Kloof of all invasive alien plants by the end
of 2015, and the highly successful Adopt-a-
Highway Project which maintains the M13
from Fields Hill to Hillcrest free of invasive
alien plants and litter.
ABOVE: Children at the Kwa-Ximba National Heritage Day exhibition. LEFT: Trail running in the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve, (Photo: Antony Grote). RIGHT: Installing picnic benches at Molweni River Community Park.
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56
We also co-operate with all our
neighbouring conservancies whenever there
is scope for joint projects. However, where
there are no organised environmental
initiatives, as in Molweni, then we seek more
direct interventions.
We have initiated a number of additional
projects that aim to utilise the concepts of
Community Conservation and a Joint-Venture
approach with organisations that can
contribute specific technical skills.
THE MOLWENI RIVER HEALTH SCHOOL PROJECTThis is a good example of a project involving
an entire eco-system, The Molweni River
catchment which spans several “suburb” and
community boundaries.
Seven high schools – from advantaged and
disadvantaged areas – utilise the miniSASS
system to bi-annually monitor the health of
the Molweni River, in an interactive and
educational manner, and the information on
the river’s health gathered through the
project is fed back into the local population.
This project is a joint venture with GCS
Water and Environmental Consultants,
various departments within eThekwini
Municipality, DUCT, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife,
KZN Department of Agriculture and
Environmental Affairs, and Umgeni Water.
THE MOLWENI RIVER COMMUNITY PARKThis community has been assisted to
establish a river park 50 m on either side of
the Molweni River over a distance of
approximately 3 km. Key to this project is
the protection of the river banks from new
housing construction, and plans include the
appointment of river custodians and the
creation of picnic sites where the local
residents can benefit and enjoy the park.
A programme of environmental education
is also planned for 2014. The project will not
only protect the river but will also benefit
the community by providing a recreational
and educational facility, as well as generate
jobs for the establishment of the park and
its ongoing maintenance.
This project is a joint venture with the
Durban Green Corridor.
TRAIL RUNNINGThis project is a good example of how the
beautiful natural scenery of an area can be
used to raise much-needed funding and also
create work opportunities.
The Kloof Conservancy 3 Falls Trail Run
utilises the stunning scenery and trails of the
Reserve and has generated over R70 000 for
the upkeep and improvement of the reserve.
Futhermore, all the medals and trophies used
for the event are sourced from local bead and
wire craftsmen.
A new trail-running event, The Molweni
Trail, organised by 369Communications and
supported by Kloof Conservancy, will also
take place in 2014. This event will use trails
in the reserve and in the Lower and Upper
Molweni areas, directly involving local
residents. Runners from the Molweni
community will be sponsored to participate
both events, helping integrate the local
community with the reserve.
GUIDED WALKS IN KRANTZKLOOF NATURE RESERVE Most residents in Lower and Upper
Molweni have little or no interaction with
the reserve, so following a successful test
run in 2013, further educational guided
walks are planned for 2014.
Kloof Conservancy will fund these walks
which aim to introduce learners from local
high schools to the reserve and to help them
understand the role which it plays in
preserving the biodiversity of our area.
THE MOLWENI RIVER COMMUNITY ECO-TOURISM CAMPThis project is at an early feasibility study
phase and aims to create a community run
eco-tourism camp on the boundary with
Krantzkloof Nature Reserve. The target
market will be foreign tourists, hikers,
bird watchers, rock climbers and trail
runners who can combine their interest
in nature with a local cultural experience
in the community.
The establishment of this camp will be
one means of giving the Molweni
community a real interest in Krantzkloof
Nature Reserve, something which is
currently not afforded to them.
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Conservancies
Most residents have little or no interaction with the reserve, so following a successful trial run in 2013 educational guided walks are planned for 2014.
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THE KWA-xIMBA CONSERVANCYKloof Conservancy has helped to establish
the Kwa-Ximba Conservancy near Cato Ridge
where we have provided administrative
assistance and mentored the management
team. Two highly successful events were held
during 2013.
The first event was a Green Day at
Nomfihlela Primary School which involved
greening the school and environmental
education on reptiles. The event itself was
hailed as a success and there was undoubtedly
a raising of environmental awareness – the
live reptile show made sure of that!
However, the greening project failed due
to lack of continuity and poor support from
the school. This highlights some of the pitfalls
which can be encountered when working in
under-developed areas.
The second event was a joint venture with
the Durban Natural Science Museum
(DNSM). The museum ran a number of
educational environmental exhibits for a
crowd of several hundred learners while the
logistics were managed jointly by the Kwa-
Ximba and Kloof Conservancy as part of a
skills-transfer exercise. The resources of the
DNSM were well utilised to bring an
educational opportunity to a community
that would otherwise have very little
possibility of experiencing what the DNSM
has to offer.
Further joint ventures with DNSM are
planned for 2014, which include a small
mammal survey and a Museum Day.
A key goal in 2014 for the Kwa-Ximba
Conservancy is to develop a stewardship
programme for a section of undeveloped
land in the area to protect the local
biodiversity, and possibly also create an
income-generating opportunity through a
trail run in the area.
GET INVOLVED!The Kloof Conservancy’s community
conservation initiatives are aimed at
stimulating personal involvement by residents
in understanding, appreciating and managing
the biodiversity of the area for the mutual
benefit of all. Therefore the creation of
employment opportunities has a high priority
and the projects are carefully designed to
simultaneously provide benefits for the
community as well as the environment.
We do not underestimate the difficulties of
this balancing act and fully understand that
socio-economic and political factors may
pose significant dangers for these projects.
Some of these projects may even fail, but the
alternative of returning to the comfort of
protecting our own small domain is no longer
environmentally viable.
LEFT: The Molweni River. MIDDLE LEFT: Scholars conducting the miniSASS analysis at Molweni Valley, (Photo: Kelly Taylor). MIDDLE RIGHT: Visitors overlooking the Kloof Gorge (Photo: Charlie Mitchell). BOTTOM: View of the Kloof Gorge, (Photo: eThekwini Municipality: EPCPD department).
Kloof Conservancy is an active,
vibrant organisation run by
volunteers who aim to promote
environmental awareness and
conserve our area’s outstanding
natural heritage for present and future
generations. Special attention is paid
to habitat restoration, invasive alien
plant eradication, sustainable living
issues, educational outreach and
public participation. We believe that
the efforts and contributions of people
and businesses are key to the
sustainability conservation in Kloof.
Your membership, whether active or
passive, is valuable to us as it adds
public legitimacy to our efforts.
CONTACT US:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.kloofconservancy.org.za
Protecting Nature. Inspiring Change.
58 Ornithology Department
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Greater Flamingo(Phoenicopterus ruber)
Flamingos inhabit expansive open-water areas, such as lakes, pans and estuaries. These birds are filter feeders with uniquely structured beaks designed to strain small food particles from water.
Flamingos nest in huge colonies in remote, vast saline pans, where they build nests comprising mud turrets to support their eggs above water-level. They are amongst the tallest of birds, with extraordinarily long legs and necks, and the Greater Flamingo reaches almost 1.5 m in height.
There is evidence to indicate that flamingos first evolved at least 30 million years ago, perhaps longer.
Flamingos tend to stay out in shallow water, which usually protects them from most predators. Nesting adults and their young, however, sometimes fall prey to predators such as hyenas, eagles and vultures attracted to breeding colonies.
Flamingos are social birds, typically feeding, flying and nesting in large flocks. When breeding, thousands of birds will engage in astonishing mass nuptial displays, running backwards and forwards through the shallow water in tightly massed formations.
HABITAT:
DIET:
REPRODUCTION:
ANATOMY:
EVOLUTION:
PREDATORS:
SOCIAL STRUCTURE:
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To say that the monthly counts of waterbirds in Durban Bay have become a Museum institution would be no understatement.
The first iteration was done in July 1999 and since then we have never missed a month. The counts are made from a South African Navy patrol vessel (a ‘Namacurra’) that navigates around the perimeter of the entire Bay. The observers (up to six on each outing) are drawn mainly from the ranks of the local branch of BirdLife South Africa. It is the combination of military discipline and the dedication of a large local pool of birding enthusiasts that has ensured the consistency and longevity of this effort.
The 2013 edition of the Museum’s scientific journal, the Durban Natural
Science Museum Novitates, was devoted to a lengthy monograph summarising the results of the past 14 years of monthly counts and comparing this information with earlier censuses of waterbirds intermittently carried out in the Bay dating back to the 1960s. This 74-page document, packed with detail, is a fitting tribute to the efforts of the Navy, for having made the entire initiative logistically feasible, and to the BirdLife membership.
Over the 14 years, covering no less than 168 individual counts, some 130 observers have participated. Many have been long-term contributors and the following deserve special mention in this regard: Lyn Bingham, Herman Bos, Barbara Couzens, Sally Horne, Alistair
McInnes, Barry Swaddle, Martin Taylor, Dan Thomson, Tessa White, Laurie Wicks and Tim Wood. All have taken part in over 15 counts and some in over 50.
The author has been no slouch himself and is a veteran of 148 of the excursions, which translates to some three months of working time on the water! In addition, a succession of Museum interns has participated over the years and these hard-working youngsters have also helped with the recording, entry and analysis of count data. I hope that Greg Davies, Vusi Dlamini, Nikhat Hoosen, David Maphisa, Alistair McInnes, Paschalis Mofokeng, Onica Mukhuwana and Tuba Nsani retain fond memories of the hands-on outdoor training opportunities that these counts have presented.
David Allan, Curator of Birds, has coordinated the waterbird counts in Durban Bay over the past fourteen years and shows us what an alarming decrease there has been in the diversity and numbers of these birds visiting our shores.
The waterbirds of Durban Bay have decreased
frighteningly compared with historical times and
many of these decreases continue to this day.
COUNTING ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY
DAVID ALLAN
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Ornithology Department
The bulk of the monograph is devoted to
outlining the population trends of the 57
waterbird species in the Bay common
enough to allow such insights. These
waterbirds range in size from the portly Pink-
backed Pelican and stately Goliath Heron to
the diminutive Malachite Kingfisher and
African Pied Wagtail. The accounts present
and discuss complex graphs detailing how
each species has fared in the Bay over the
long and short term. Also identified are the
areas of the Bay that are most important for
each species, as well as any patterns of
seasonality to their occurrence. Each account
is enlivened by a thumbnail photograph of
the species in question.
The bottom line of this entire endeavour
emphasises that overall the waterbirds of
Durban Bay have decreased frighteningly
compared with historical times and that many
of these decreases continue to this day.
Several species have essentially disappeared
from the Bay entirely, including such
charismatic characters as Black Heron, which
died out in the 1960s, and Greater Flamingo
and Yellow-billed Stork, both of which died
out in the 1970s. During the course of our 14
years of counts, we observed how three small
Plovers, Kittlitz’s, White-fronted and Greater
Sand Plovers, after long periods of gradual
retreat since the 1960s, finally dwindled to
essential local extinction in the Bay. By
illustration, not a single Kittlitz’s Plover was
counted during the last three years of our
counts, whereas the species was still regular
during the first six years of the study period.
Many other waterbirds, although still
present in the Bay, have plummeted markedly
in numbers over time. Striking and depressing
examples include Common, Marsh and
Curlew sandpipers, Little Stint, Red Knot,
Ruff, Grey Plover and Ruddy Turnstone, all
Palaearctic migratory shorebirds.
It is not all ‘doom-and-gloom’ though.
A fair number of species are holding their
ground surprisingly well, and have perhaps
even increased in numbers in some cases.
Examples include Pink-backed Pelican, White-
breasted and Reed cormorants, Common
Whimbrel, Common Greenshank, Kelp Gull,
and Swift and Common terns. There are even
a few species that seem to have colonised,
and become quite common in the Bay
despite being essentially absent in historical
FAR LEFT: An adult Kelp Gull utters its raucous call. This is the common large gull in the Bay, especially during the winter, and the numbers of this versatile opportunist seem to have remained stable over time. ABOVE LEFT: The Woolly-necked Stork is a recent colonist of the Bay and the greater Durban area generally, being surprisingly able to adapt to urban conditions. BELOW: Swift Tern numbers have apparently remained stable in the Bay. This species feeds exclusively at sea and only uses the Bay as a roosting site. MIDDLE: Yellow-billed Storks disappeared from the Bay in the 1970s. BOTTOM: A startled Egyptian Goose takes to the air.
A fair number of species are holding their ground surprisingly well, and have perhaps even increased in numbers in some cases.
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times, i.e. Egyptian Goose, Woolly-necked
Stork and Blacksmith Lapwing. The increase
in the last species since the 1990s can best
be described as meteoric.
Looking at the broader picture, it is
apparent that overall it is the more numerous
(at least ancestrally), smaller-bodied,
invertebrate feeders, epitomised by the
migratory Palaearctic shorebirds, that have
fared the worst, while the less abundant,
larger-bodied, piscivorous species, such as
pelicans, cormorants and terns, have persisted
best. This dietary dichotomy is perhaps no
surprise, as it is the intertidal sandbanks and
mudflats supporting the invertebrate feeders
and their prey that have been most hard hit
by past harbour development. By contrast,
such development typically increases, through
dredging, the amount of open water favoured
by piscivores and their quarry.
In terms of the areas most favoured by
waterbirds, an average of 69% of the
waterbirds are concentrated at the Centre
Bank and adjacent Bayhead intertidal flats,
the combined area of which covers only 11%
of the Bay. The conservation of these two
relatively small areas, especially the former, is
critical to preserve the core of what remains
of the Bay’s aquatic avifauna.
A particularly disturbing trend in the data
from the past 14 years is that many of the
Palaearctic migratory shorebirds are
continuing to decrease in the Bay, in most
cases quite markedly, despite an absence of
any major new harbour developments
impacting their habitat over this period. This
suggests that negative impacts elsewhere in
the ranges of these wide-ranging birds are
driving an ongoing global decline in their
fortunes, which bodes ill for these birds on a
scale far wider than our local port. There is
also some indication from the most recent
years that a major fish kill in the Bay in late
2007 may have precipitated an ongoing
decrease in the numbers of several of the
piscivorous species that otherwise had
seemed stable up until that event.
At the time of writing our monthly counts
continue unabated with the milestone of 15
years almost upon us. It is a source of pride
that we have kept up this effort so
consistently, but this is profoundly tempered
by the disheartening realisation that
waterbird counts at a waterbody can persist
for longer than some of the actual waterbird
species being covered.
David AllanCurator of Birds
A colleague of mine recently
contacted me with an intriguing
request. Could I assist Hadoram
Shirihai in arranging a pelagic
seabird trip off Durban? Hadoram is a legend
in ornithological circles. He was the founder
and first director of the International Birding
and Research Centre in Eilat, and has
authored a string of leading natural history
books. These include Sylvia Warblers, The Birds of Israel, The Macmillan Birder’s Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds and A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife. Each
has won prestigious Best Bird Book of the
Year Awards. Examples of his seabird
prowess include the re-discovery of Beck’s
Petrel off Papua New Guinea and the first-
ever observations of the Fiji Petrel at sea.
Hadoram would be travelling through
southern Africa in November and wanted to
photograph Great-winged Petrels, which
should be present in the deep waters off
Durban at that time.
Niall Perrins, one of southern Africa’s
leading birders, Martin Taylor, of BirdLife
South Africa, and I regularly organise
pelagic trips off Durban using the luxury
20-berth ‘Isihuwa’, with the proceeds being
donated to BirdLife. We put out the word
and soon had enough people interested to
fill not just one but three consecutive
outings in late November.
Hadoram gave us some homework to do
before he arrived in Durban. Pelagic seabirds
are among the few birds to have a strong
sense of smell and the odour from fish offal
thrown overboard can attract these birds
over several kilometres. Such ‘chum’,
however, quickly sinks, reducing the efficacy
of this technique. But Hadoram has
perfected a method whereby buckets of
mixed fish offal, anchovy oil and water are
frozen solid. When thrown overboard, this
icy block floats on the surface, slowly
releasing its contents over an hour or so.
Martin took on the horrible job of preparing
these evil-smelling concoctions for the
expeditions. We were even able to add
chopped-up shark’s liver to the mix, thanks
to Geremy Cliff of the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks
Board. Hadoram had emphasised that this
was the first prize in attracting seabirds, due
to its pungent odour and because it floats of
its own accord.
The so-called ‘gadfly petrels’ in the genus
Pterodroma, of which Hadoram’s quarry the
Great-winged Petrel is one, favour deep-sea
conditions and shun inshore areas.
Hadoram identified a deep drop-off zone
some 60 km south-east of Durban and
targeted this as our destination. This was a
good bit further than we normal venture
and it took some persuasion to get John
Jarvis, our skipper, to acquiesce.
PETRELHEADSThe visit of ornithology legend, Hadoram Shirihai, to our shores inspires three epic trips in search of elusive avifauna. David Allan shares his experience.
62
Over and above Hadoram’s quest for
Great-winged Petrel, we also had our own
agenda for these trips. In early October we
had done a pelagic trip and Niall had
convinced us to venture a little further than
the fairly close-inshore trawler zone which is
our usual target. Trawlers attract large
numbers of the more common seabirds,
such as albatrosses, shearwaters and skuas
which scavenge around these vessels. But
the specialised gadfly petrels steer well clear
of these melees. A few kilometres beyond
the trawlers we had a brief glimpse of a
delicately patterned Barau’s Petrel, another
gadfly, and one far rarer than the Great-
winged Petrel in South African waters. It
was my first sighting of this species off
Durban. The entire world population of
Barau’s Petrel breeds on Réunion Island in
the tropical Indian Ocean and it is thought
to be an extremely rare vagrant to the coast
of South Africa, with only a handful of
confirmed records. We were hopeful that
the three trips might render further insights
into the status of Barau’s off our shores.
On the morning of the first trip we set off
into fairly choppy seas heading for the distant
drop-off zone. On the way we passed a
trawler with its attendant horde of free-
loaders and quickly spotted species such as
Indian Yellow-nosed, Shy and Black-browed
albatrosses, White-chinned and Pintado
petrels, Flesh-footed and Cory’s shearwaters,
Subantarctic Skua and a few Cape Gannets.
But we could not afford to lose focus and
pressed on to our more far-flung destination.
Arriving at the deep-water drop-off area
we dumped the first of the frozen chum
blocks overboard. We did not have to wait
long. Within minutes, the first Great-wingeds
arrived, wheeling and towering over the chum
before swooping down to pluck up fishy
fragments from the surface. Soon the
cameras were clicking away furiously. This
species is all-dark in colour and, typical of
gadflys, has an erratic and fast flight – not an
easy target to photograph, especially from the
unstable platform of a small boat heaving in
the restless Indian Ocean. Another bird
attracted in good numbers was the diminutive
Wilson’s Storm Petrel, a bird about the same
size and colour as a Little Swift and an even
greater challenge to capture on camera.
Several hours later, with camera cards full
and our chum for the day exhausted, we set
course for home. The wind in the meantime
had gathered force and was blowing head-
on. Every time we crashed with towering
spray into a monstrous oncoming wave the
curses emanating from John at the helm
were in the finest maritime tradition. Not
long after we started back a shout of
“Wandering Albatross!” went up and in the
distance we glimpsed the lazy flight of this
legendary ocean monarch – the bird with
broadest wingspan in the world. It was my
first off Durban and a clear testament as to
just how far we had ventured into the
oceanic realm.
The trips on the following two days were
almost as exciting. We did not get as a far
offshore, John made sure of that, but we
ventured deep enough for our chumming to
lure fair numbers of Great-winged Petrels
within range of the waiting cameras.
What of Barau’s Petrels? Well, on the first
day we saw no less than six and this was
followed up by more sightings on the
second and third days. We were ecstatic.
Taking the October trip into account, this
meant that we had encountered Barau’s on
four pelagic trips in a row. Clearly this
enigmatic ocean wanderer is more than just
a sporadic vagrant to our waters.
David AllanCurator of Birds
It was my first sighting of Barau’s Petrel off the coast of Durban.
ABOVE: A Flesh-footed Shearwater. This species is more common off Durban than anywhere else in South Africa and visits us from Australian breeding grounds. RIGHT: The adult Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross sports a colourful beak. BELOW RIGHT: A Barau’s Petrel. FAR RIGHT: a typical seabird feeding melee behind a trawler.
Thola: Volume 16. 2013/14
Ornithology Department
63
Thola: Volume 16. 2013/14
BirdLife Port Natal congratulates David Allan on the publication of ‘The waterbirds of DurbanBay, current and historical population trends’. This research is invaluable when considering the impact of any developments in the Port of Durban.
We love helping you David! It is our privilege to be part of this ongoing research project
Allan, DG, 2012 – ‘The waterbirds of Durban Bay, current and historical population trends’. ‘Novitates, vol 35, Special Edition. Durban Natural Science Museum’.
For more information, contact us:Lesley Frescura: 083 231 3408Arnia van VuurenL 083 271 [email protected] | http://blpn.org
Bird club assists with 14 years of bay counts
Join our club & help conserve birds
RIA WINTERSTwo years after the visit by Prof. Leon
Claessens to the Museum to study our
famed Dodo skeleton, this priceless
exhibit attracted another celebrity in early
January 2014 in the form of the famous
Dutch artist Ria Winters. Ria was on her
way to Cape Town to research ancient
archives that she hoped might throw
further light on live Dodos shipped to
various corners of the world in the bygone
era. She recently published a fascinating
historical account of a living Dodo
transported to Japan in 1647 – the last
known captive individual. Ria was recently
commissioned by the Artists for
Conservation Foundation to produce the
magnificently illustrated book ‘A Treasury of Endemic Fauna of Mauritius and Rodrigues’. She has a particular interest in
painting parrots, many of which are highly
endangered and some of which are
restricted to isolated oceanic islands. Ria
has travelled the globe in pursuit of her
passion. She was clearly in awe of our
prized skeleton – let’s hope it entices her
to return one day!
Onica Mukhuwana Onica Mukhuwana served as a DST/NRF
intern at the Museum in 2012, including a
six-month stint in the Bird Department. In
June 2013 she joined the
Museum as a fully-
fledged staff member
taking up the technical
assistant position in
the Bird Department
vacated by Ezra
Mdletshe some back.
Onica’s assistance as an
intern was vital and
we are sure she will
be even more
invaluable as a
formal member
of staff.
Welcome Onica!
WELCOME
64 Events
EVENTS OF 2013International Museums’ Day KwaXimba Heritage Day National Science Week
Some of the many educational events organised by the Museum last year.
Thola: Volume 16. 2013/14
Frogs in our backyard12 FebruarySea World
Jeanne Tarrant & Carl Schloms
Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in eThekwini and Renewable Energy in eThekwini
5 MarchDurban Natural Science Museum
Dr Susanna Godehart & Craig Richards
A naturalist’s sabbatical in Brunei, abode of peace3 AprilUKZN
Dr Serban Proches
Indigenous trees of Durban21 MayDurban Natural Science Museum
Richard Boon
“Primates, Parasites and Palm Oil.” The plight of the Sumatran Orangutan
4 JuneSea World
Dr David Pearton
Medical Research6 JulyUKZN
Dr Paula Sommer
Rhino Conservation6 AugustSea World
Cedric Coetzee (Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife)
Conservancies – conservation for the future3 SeptemberDurban Natural Science Museum
Jean Lindsay
Marine Film Festival1 October Sea World
Jone Porter
Bats5 NovemberUKZN
Dr Corrie Schoeman
Museum Diary: 2013/14
BATS KZN
Join us and bring a new thrill and purpose to your life!The Bat Interest Group of Kwazulu-Natal is proud to have been
associated with the Durban Natural Science Museum since 1994
WHAT WE DO:•Outings to batty places in KZN.
•Talks to members, schools and clubs.
•Advice to homeowners with bats.
•Training courses such as “Introduction to Bats”, “Pest Control Workshops”, “Bat Worker Training”, and “Bat Rehabilitation Training”.
•Scientific field work, organise wind farm working groups and attend the eThekwini Biodiversity Forum.
•Long term monitoring of KZN bat roosts and populations.
www.batskzn.co.za email: [email protected]
Ph
oto
: Mo
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Go-Wild, eThekwini’s new, burst-of-colour, mobile museum is zooming off to take the learning adventure that is
the Durban Natural Science Museum to the people of our great metro. Go-Wild is a museum on wheels packed
with exhibits, specimens and educational resources to complement the Museum’s mission and extend its reach to
the schools and communities of the region. Offering a fun and engaging experience, Go-Wild promotes life and
environmental studies amongst a range of audiences, with educational programmes that target specific areas of the
school curriculum. Don’t miss out on a world of wonder – catch Go-Wild in a neighbourhood near you!
To find out where GO-Wild is going to be next or to invite us to your school, please contact us on 031 311 2256.