game capture

Game capture/ game auction
Matthew Roach
9311265012080
2013-03-26

The game capture
 The task at hand was to do the chemical game capture and perform it on kudu bulls, wildebeest bull and impala rams. In order to perform chemical game capture you need to have a vet on hand to perform the darting. The vet has to also administer the drugs into the animals for transportation. We got the first years to go out in different teams to perform the capture on the different bulls and rams. Then the second years went with our supervisors and the vets to go out and dart the kudu bull. We jumped onto the back of the cruiser and then got briefed on the way to go dart. We were told to keep quiet and not make any sudden movements. We went out in to the 400 hector and went on the search for the kudu bull. When we finally caught up with the other cruiser they had already darted the bull and we followed the other cruiser. Now how it works is the dart that went in to the kudu bull and the dart contains a tracker which goes in to the kudu. Now on the cruiser the vet had a radio which picks up the frequency of the dart which allows us to track the kudu after it has been darted. When we came close and the signal got strong then we all climbed off the cruisers and went further on foot. When we got to the kudu then the first thing that we had to go is pick up the kudu’s head to open the airwaves. Then we had to roll it over on to its legs which are folded under the body to help the kudu breath. Then we moved the kudu onto a stretcher and 3 of use carried it on each side and then two people carried the horns so that they don’t hurt the people carrying the body. Then we moved the kudu on to the cruiser and climbed on. We had to remember that while doing this you have to keep watch of the animals eyes in case the animal wakes up for any reason. The other thing we had to do was to check that the animal waking it up eventually is still breathing by putting your hand just in front of the nose making sure that the animal breathes out. When we got back to the trailer then we loaded the kudu into its trailer and then watched the vet administer the drugs into the kudu.



















Who was involved?
Sieg, Arno, Second years, Pip, Vets on standby and Armand and Kyle
What happened?
Chemical game capture
When did it take place?
2013-03-19
Where did it take place?
It took place on Sondela Nature Reserve in the 400 hector
Why did it take place?
So Sondela can make some money off their bigger game and to lower the amount of game on the farm.




The auction
The auction was a very new experience for me and a wonderful one at that. All the boys and girl dressed up in our best Sondela uniform and arrived at Sondela early in the morning. We then all jumped in to the cars that were leaving to the auction. We drove to a little town called Naboom nearby bela-bela and arrived at a small farm where they held all the animals for the auction. Then we all got a pamphlet telling us all the animals and who caught the animals and the auction price that you could fill in. Then we all went together along with Steve (the vet who helped catch the animals) and he explained to us about all the animals. He then explained to us how the whole procedure works. He explained to us in each boma there is an animal and on the boma there is a paper with the amount of females, males and juveniles in the boma’s and the lot number which is the boma number which the animal is in.
Lot number with details
Animals inside their boma’s
 

Inside a few of the boma’s we could see how the animals had been stressed but were still very well kept and looked after by the people which worked there.
Where the Kudu tried to jump out the cage and the horns went through the roof
The boma’s which had been made and the orange drum is where you put in the grass for the animals
 



How the auction worked is first you work through the holding grounds and look at the animals that you would like to buy. Then you open the pamphlet to the animal and write down how much you think that animal is worth to you depending on the size and condition it is in. Then after we walked through and got an idea of all the animals on the grounds we left to go to the actual auction on the golf estate.  There we sat down in a conference room with a big projector screen where It showed all the animals and their lot numbers next to it. Then in front when everybody was ready and sitting down a man walked to the front and explained how the auction is going to work. He explained about all the animals and then introduced everybody involved in the auction so that everybody could get a clear understanding of the rules and regulations.
 
We then started at lot number one and went through all the numbers in till we were completely finished. The only time that the animals did not go for sale was if the asking price was not met and then the sale was with held.
 This experience was very interesting and opened my eyes a little to what happens behind the scenes of game capture. It was an extraordinary experience and really learnt a lot.











Who was involved?
All the second years, Sieg, Arno and Armand
What did we do?
We went to the auction to get an idea of what happens after we do the game capture>
When did this take place?
26-03-2013
Where did it take place?
Naboom golf estate
Why did we do this?
We needed to learn the whole procedure of the game capture and all the scenes that happen after.