Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 1 Module # 13 Component # 4 Introduction In this Component, the management of both release bomas and complex pen systems is discussed at length. Day-to-day management, feeding, watering, shelter and cleaning options are suggested. It goes without saying that good boma management is essential to avert unnecessary injury and stress to the animals within the complex, thereby avoiding consequent loss of capital invested. Wildlife translocation is an expensive exercise and, having gone to the expense of capture, it is unnecessary to lose any animals in release bomas or in the multi-pen system. To take short cuts in the construction of the release boma, which result in the escape or injury of animals breaking through the game fence, is inexcusable. Three aspects mentioned earlier need to be reiterated here, because of the importance of understanding animal behaviour in a boma. Failure to observe the animals in this setting can lead to unnecessary problems in managing them.
Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 2 Understanding Animal Behaviour in a Boma 1) Animals caught in the wild, particularly in areas where they are not accustomed to fences, do not naturally accept them as boundaries. What they can see through in the wild, they can get through. They will attempt to do so in a capture situation, leading to increased stress and sustained injuries. No matter how small the hole in the wall, they will work at it until eventually they get through. Only a completely blanked-off wall blocking the outside from view will not be seriously challenged. 2) Animals in their respective home ranges know where they are, where water and food are at different times of the year, and where they can find refuge when danger threatens. They learn this through experience and not deduction. Consequently, capture and translocation constitute a major disruption to them in that they are now suddenly dumped in a new environment. The properly managed boma provides all their basic requirements in a small area where the animals can quickly find them and settle in their new environment. It is therefore paramount to ensure minimal disturbance until the animals are established. Any management action must be planned with this in mind. Visitors and non-routine management practices should be allowed only after they are reasonably settled. 3) Animals identify and respond to routine management; changes should therefore be introduced slowly. The bomas should be well prepared prior to the arrival of the animals to ensure minimum disturbance. Repairs to the boma, for example, must be carried out well before occupation. In this respect, it is good practice to renovate bomas completely at the start of the winter season so that running repairs thereafter are minimal, particularly during occupation. Water for the boma or pens must be clean and the ball valve fully functional at all times. The hayracks must be full. Cubes, lucerne, Rhodes grass or bean hay, sufficient for three days, are placed in the pens. In release bomas, all gates should be checked and secured with wire after the animals arrive. On arrival at the boma, depending on the urgency of returning the truck, the animals should be allowed to come out on their own. If this is not possible because the truck is required to return quickly, the animals may have to be forced out. The degree of difficulty in this exercise depends on the species involved, the length of the journey and how well the animals have become settled and have adapted to the security of the crate. Even if they are not to be offloaded immediately and are lying down, they should be encouraged to stand to improve blood circulation to their limbs.
Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 3 Management of Release Bomas To offload the animals, position the vehicle and the crate adjacent to the ramp and place a log between the truck and the ramp to prevent the animals from stepping in between, should there be a gap. Check the security of the boma and open the vehicle s doors to allow the animals out. Where they refuse, they should be coaxed out by banging gently on the top of the crate. Should they further refuse, the rear doors will have to be opened and the animals gently chased out. A small piece of plastic may be used, or a leafy branch. It is important that an electric cattle prodder is not used too frequently, as it increases stress to the animals, with some eventually ignoring it. Once the animals have been offloaded, the ramp doors should be closed and the truck moved away. A built-on ramp is not essential for offloading, although it is preferable. A portable ramp made from angle iron with a wooden base and no sides will suffice. Alternatively, hay bales or grain bags may be placed inside the main release gate. On arrival of the truck, the gate is opened and the ramp pulled or built against the truck that is parked across the gate. The vehicle in this position acts as a barrier preventing the escape of the animals whilst unloading. The ramp is finally pulled clear out of the boma and the boma gate secured. The portable ramp is also useful for the free release of animals into large areas rather than using anthills or forcing the animals to jump off the truck. Provided the ramp is wider than the door, there is no need for sides, as the animals tend to run directly away from the truck and down the ramp. Once the animals are secure, the boma area should be vacated completely to reduce disturbance during the first two days of occupancy. This is the most dangerous period when most post-capture losses occur. Sufficient food for this period should be placed for the animals. In the event of a death, care should be taken when recovering the carcass. Avoid at all costs having people who are not directly involved in the boma work looking over the top or peering through a hole in the side of the boma. Visitors should be discouraged, as it is normally at this stage that the animals become scared and jump into the corners, usually resulting in broken necks. The use of long-acting neuroleptics has largely protected animals in captivity, as they are usually tranquil enough to permit cautious human entry into the boma. The animals in the boma should be checked at least twice each day, each morning and again in the afternoon. One needs to ensure that they are all feeding and their condition and temperament should be determined to prevent potential problems later. During early occupancy, it is unnecessary to go into the boma as such, but rather the animals should be viewed from the outside until they have tamed sufficiently.
Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 4 An attendant should remain at the boma at all times during occupancy in case of fire, and to discourage and report fighting or any abnormal behaviour among the animals. Under no account should anybody interfere with the boma, and the attendants should be given strict instructions in this regard. They should reside adjacent to the boma with their family to accustom the animals to sounds of human activity. The animals need to become used to such noises, particularly if they came from large, wild game areas and are bound for smaller game reserves. Noise of this nature, provided the animals do not see anybody and the boma is not tampered with, is quickly accepted, as the animals soon establish that their area of security is not being invaded. After two days, particularly where tranquillisers have not been used, food needs to be replenished from the top of the boma or from the door. Persons directly involved in daily management of the boma must announce their arrival beforehand by gently whistling or talking, so that the animals are aware of their presence and can move away from the side to their place of security. It is important to clean the boma and feed at the same time each day, thus establishing a routine to maximise the time the animals can be left to rest. Animals mostly investigate the boma confines at night when there is minimal human disturbance. Food is introduced slowly through the gate until the attendant while judging the reaction of the animals within finally carries it in. The taming process can take from a week to six weeks, depending on how wild the animals were when they arrived. Trilafon is recommended for all captured animals that are destined for pens. The drug is then allowed to wear off over the next week to allow for the natural taming process thereafter as the animals respond to routine boma management. Tamed in this way, rather than through maintaining tranquillisation over the entire penning process, the animals are better managed and respond better to management activities and movement later on. Obviously, there will be exceptions, as certain individuals never seem to tame down and require re-darting or even separation and removal from the system altogether. Final release of the animal should take place gently. Ideally, the manager should open the gate in the evening, with no spectators around, and allow the animals to move out on their own accord. Occasionally, depending on how long they have been in the boma, the animals may refuse to exit and have to be gently coaxed out.
Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 5 Released in this way, the animals slowly familiarise themselves with the boundary fence and accept it as a barrier. Disturbance in the area surrounding the boma should be considered when planning to release the animals. Release should be arranged at the end of a day or, preferably, at the start of a weekend when there is less activity on the farm. Avoid the temptation to locate the released animals on the farm over the following week; rather provide them with an opportunity to settle and find their way around. Staff should only check the surrounding fence for signs of the animals exiting.
Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 6 Management Of Multiple Pens Many of the observations discussed above under the section on release bomas also apply to multiple pens. Animals held for quarantine purposes should be settled before the first bleed, declaring the quarantine period open. Each group of animals arriving should be allowed to settle for two days before sorting them into the required sale groups. Once settled, they should be funnelled into and through the corridor at least once a week, to change bomas for cleaning purposes and to establish this routine for bleeding and other management requirements. Even when the animals are finally transported away, they should again be temporarily settled into fresh bomas for a week before finally being released into their new game area. Due to the complex nature of the system, the management of the animals in multiple pens is a great deal easier than for release bomas. For example, should the animals need to be tranquillised, they can be brought into the corridor adjacent to them, blocked off, pole syringed from the top and returned to their pen. Once the animals enter the corridor system they tend to go forward all the way, presumably in a bid to escape, until they enter the required pen, which an attendant then shuts on their entry. Being larger than the corridor, the pen is more acceptable to the animals and they are unlikely to re-enter the passage unless forced to do so. Occasionally, they will turn in the corridor but will turn back again when they reach a dead end. The corridor system is arranged in a ring within the main complex, through the centre from the unloading ramp and then around the front of the system back to the centre. Using the gates, animals can be manoeuvred from any pen and from any direction. The animals can also be channelled into the restraint area in the same way they would proceed into a pen. If necessary, they can be brought around and taken through the system a second time. Animals moving through the corridors are best supervised from the walkway above, where they can be followed through the system and instructions can be given directly to gate staff beneath. Prior to moving the animals, it is important personally to check their intended route to ensure that only the relevant gates are open while the rest remain secure. From time to time throughout the penning process, there will be occasions requiring the separation or additional management of individuals causing problems.
Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 7 Being generally smaller than the pens for release bomas, multiple pens quickly become cluttered and require regular cleaning. It is recommended that the animals be moved at least once a week for this purpose. Changing pens on a regular basis will ease final loading of the animals, as it will have been established as a routine movement for them. Daily management must be routine, with specific times allotted for feeding, cleaning and regular management of the animals. It is most important to maximise the time they have to rest between the morning and afternoon feeds. Early each morning and late in the afternoon, the person responsible for the pens should view every animal from the catwalk to check up on its condition. The following day s activities should be discussed with all staff to maximise the efficiency of pen management.