After our stay in Harare, we visited the Bumi Hills Antipoaching Unit (BHAPU) as our first stop in the wilderness. It is run by Mark Brightman and Catherine Norton. This unit has been supported by our association "Saving Endangered Wildlife" with considerable funds in the last time. As a gift, we brought medicines (anaesthetic and awakening drugs) for injured wildlife. Mark informed us about the tasks and successes of this unit by means of a PP presentation. We slept at the Bumi Hills Lodge.
Mark Brightman, the head of BHAPU
This unit is dedicated to fighting all forms of poaching, especially ivory poaching by shooting elephants, poaching by snaring any mammal in the bush and illegal fishing with prohibited nets in Kariba Reservoir, especially in the parts of the lake located in the national park. Every quarter we receive a report on the activities of this unit.
fltr. Richard Hoare, Gisela Hennig, Mark Brightman (with the new drugs), Catherine Norton, Wolfgang Hennig
Shocking and incredibly sad is the number of 11,000 elephants killed in this region since 2008, which is 75% of the total population. Due to the effective work of this unit, elephant poaching has decreased very significantly.
Lower jaws of elephants killed by poachers
Briefing im Situationsraum
Quarterly Report of BHAPU
salvaged wire snares that had been laid out by poachers
salvaged prohibited fishing nets (too tight meshes, non-degradable material), which often float around the lake as ghost nets
Patrol on the Kariba Lake, which we were allowed to accompany
Arrived at the destination
Preparing the night camp
an illegal net is salvaged
This net is small, but can still cause great damage.
Many thanks to Catherine and Mark for their hospitality and the great job they do together with their team.