Biblical swarms of locusts still threaten
Disturbing trophy trade in the US
People describing great swarms of locusts inevitably reference the eighth biblical plague to sweep over Egypt. When the Lord told Moses to “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt" - locusts covered the whole country for three days. Moses had warned the Pharaoh that the voracious insects would "cover each and every tree of the land and eat all that is there to be eaten".
We all recall that Bible story, especially when dark clouds of insects sweep out over our countryside.
Swarms of brown locusts (Locustana Pardalina) have been destroying everything green over large swathes of South Africa since September last year. In the March 30 edition of Real Safari Newsletter I wrote a brief description of what it is like to drive through a swarm. You can read about it here and watch a short video my wife took of the swarm hitting our windscreen.
We have not had a biblical style plague that could darken a country for three days, but we have had huge swarms that have darkened the skies over wide regions for a long time now.
Earlier this month, Christiaan Viljoen working at RiverBend Lodge inside the Addo Elephant Park (AEP), posted photos of what locusts can do to a lawn in only two hours.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations said that “Just a single square kilometre of swarm can contain up to 80 million adults, with the capacity to consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people”.
The locust outbreak in South Africa currently affects wide areas over three provinces: the Northern, Eastern and Western Cape Provinces.
There are several different types of locust and the one that afflicts this country is known as the brown locust even though they are not all brown. Some have been described as yellowish grey to yellow while adults are green.
Agriculture Minister, Thoko Didiza, blames the latest outbreak on recent rainfalls in the normally semi-arid agricultural areas. As one might expect, farmers are complaining to government and demanding more spraying with insecticides.
She said in a media statement, “This locust outbreak is the highest in decades as continuous rain is falling in the Karoo and nearby areas. The wind is also playing a role in migrating the swarms to the areas where it was never been such as the garden route area in the Western Cape and in citrus farms of Kirkwood and Patensie in the Eastern Cape”.
Government is spending enormous amounts on efforts aimed at controlling the swarms. Didiza added that ground teams comprising of 1,200 controllers have been appointed and “two helicopters are currently doing the aerial spraying, mostly on inaccessible areas and where there are huge locust outbreaks”.
Environmentalists have objected to extensive spraying because no one wants to spread poison all over their farms.
Some argue that locust swarms are a natural part of the circle of life and provide healthy nutrients for many birds and animals that live off insects.
In the Addo Elephant Park (AEP), jackals, meerkats, lapwings and many other species have been seen feasting on the locusts.
The direction of swarms is largely dependent on winds. Sometimes airstreams can swirl the locusts around or even over certain areas. A farmer not far from my hometown, Makhanda was recently spared devastation when the locusts ravished all the vegetation on every side of his property, but seemingly left his crops alone.
The farmer thanked his lucky stars for sparing his lands.
Two weeks later, new locust swarms invaded the district and launched themselves on the only untouched pastures in the area. The farmer’s lucky stars had only delayed his misery – within hours his fields were as bare as those of his neighbours.
Visitors to the AEP naturally pay close attention to any sudden increase in insect numbers.
Recently I was happily driving through a shallow valley on the Ngulube Loop in the AEP when I noticed a number of insects taking to the air and flopping about. I immediately slowed to a stop to check them out – surely they can’t be locusts in this lush valley?
As it happens, they weren’t. It had just rained and flying ants (termites) were taking to the air everywhere. What a relief. While flying ants can be really annoying, they don’t reach the numbers of locusts and don’t seem to do too much damage before they die.
Disturbing trophy trade in the US
Hunters imported more than 700,000 trophies into the United States in the five years between 2016 and 2020, according to the Washington DC based Center for Biological Diversity. In a report released online, it revealed a steady increase in the importation of hunting trophies including mounts, skulls, skins, teeth and other parts.
Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center said that “Giraffes, rhinos and other imperilled animals are gunned down for trophies, along with animals from wallabies, zebras and porcupines to birds and lizards. The Biden administration should take a hard look at how green lighting trophy imports contributes to the biodiversity emergency.”
The trend reversed somewhat when the COVID-19 restricted international travel, but very rich hunters did not allow a simple pandemic to stop the carnage. They used private jets to travel around the world and kill wild animals.
The report shows that in 2019, for example, 554 giraffe trophies were imported into the United States but in 2020 this number dipped only slightly to 436 specimens imported.
This is horrific. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature assessed giraffes as “vulnerable” to extinction in 2016.
In my view it is shocking that anyone would want to shoot a beautiful giraffe for the fun of it; to show how macho you are; or have it stuffed and mounted on your wall.
In next week’s edition of the Real Safari Newsletter, I will discuss the most dangerous animal in the Addo Elephant Park. You have probably already guessed which one I am referring to.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition and please share it with your friends.
Dear Steven,
Where the pictures of the locust damage left me wondering whether this isn't of our own making - the deforestation, the agriculture, the other unsustainable farming practices. The story about trophy hunting left me sad and angry, but thanks for sharing nevertheless.
Kindest regards,
Schalk