Another lion caught in a snare
Wire snares are traps that poachers set to catch antelopes for food, but snares don’t discriminate between an antelope and a lion. Sometimes lions are the unfortunate victims of snares. Our rangers and vet team are called out to save these lions all too often and today was no exception. Our vet, Rui Branco, organized an operation to tranquilize a coalition of two male lions, one of whom had a snare around its leg. Rui gathered his team, helicopter pilot Mike Pingo, colleague Louis Van Wyk, and our own Paola Bouley to fly out to a remote area in a Jet Ranger helicopter. Rui successfully darted both males, put GPS collars on them and removed the snare from this adult maneless lion we’ve named “Jatu”. This is another life saved, and a new group of lions to keep under our watchful eye.
Rui Branco darts the lions from the helicopter.
Rui Branco removes a snare from Jatu.
Louis, Mike, and Paola with the new male that we’ll be tracking.
Baby elephant caught in snare
Gorongosa’s rangers are constantly on patrol removing poachers’ snares before they capture their next victim. Sometimes, they are too late, and an animal is captured in a snare. If we’re lucky, the animal will still be alive when they find it. In the case of this baby elephant who was found caught in a snare, she was very lucky. A rescue team, including our own vet, Rui Branco, tranquilized the baby and it’s mom, so they could safely remove the snare. After baby was freed, they both woke up and went back to their elephant ways. We hope this young one will have a very long and healthy life ahead!
This baby elephant and its mom were both tranquilized so the vet team could remove the baby’s snare safely. Our vet, Rui Branco, performed the operation.
The baby elephant and its mom are both doing just fine after the snare was removed.
WildCam Gorongosa 