World Wildlife Fund

Robin Naidoo
© Greg Stuart-Hill, WWF-LIFE

Robin Naidoo, a conservation scientist in WWF's Conservation Science program, returned from two weeks in the wilderness of Namibia's Caprivi Strip - a long, narrow band of Namibia that runs east-west between Botswana, Angola and Zambia. Get a first-person account of what it takes to capture, collar and release large African mammals - including buffalo, sable and impala. Read about his near-misses, helicopter chases and other adventures in conservation science.

Part 6: Impala and Sable Capture

The morning starts off with a game capture operation of impala and sable.

A group of sable corralled in the boma.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

WWF is helping the Namibia Ministry of Environment and Tourism to translocate the animals from Mahango National Park to some of the community-run conservancies in Caprivi. Translocation is a proven way of restocking animal populations that have declined or been extirpated. Once on communal lands, it's hoped these valuable animals will replenish depleted populations and eventually provide local people with desperately-needed income through a variety of sustainable use activities.

Sable going up the entrance ramp into the truck, for translocation.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

The capture operation involves Jan, the helicopter pilot, chasing herds of animals into a big boma - or corral. Then a ground team moves the animals further up a ramp and into a truck. This process can be upsetting for the animals - especially the more nervous impala. During capture the sable are much less frightened, but they are also big aggressive antelope that will stand and fight. Several of the men had to dash under the canvas boma sheets to escape a goring from an enraged male sable.

By the end of the day we fitted two sable and one impala with tracking collars, and sent them safely on their way to their new homes. We also fitted a good-sized seven-year-old female buffalo with a satellite collar.

Dr. Mark Jago and his two-seater plane.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

A few days later we spotted the herd of sable that had been translocated earlier in the week from Mahango. They seemed calm and healthy, and radio-tracking showed that both sable that had been collared were in this group.

At the end of the day, I went up in a two-seater plane - also known as the "vomit comet" - with Mark, who besides being a wildlife veterinarian is also an experienced bush pilot. We located radio signals from two of the three buffalo collars. It was quite an experience radio-tracking from the air and a great way to see the beautiful landscapes of the Caprivi.