Without innovation and the creation or discovery of new solutions, many of the risks being faced by the current generation of farmers, will remain unmitigated with the real possibility of these devolving into permanent, negative features of the South African farming landscape. Stock-theft and predation by jackal and rooikat (caracal/lynx), known as ‘ongediertes’ (pests) in Afrikaans, continue to generate huge losses for sheep farmers. The farming community in general, and sheep farmers in particular have over the years, gone to great lengths, and spent countless hours and millions of rands in research, experiments and the application of mitigation strategies.
To set the scene for the discussion of the problems and costs confronting sheep farmers when faced with ‘the jackal and caracal problem’, it is important to consider what the loss of a sheep through predation, entails. Calculating the total value of the loss of a sheep as a production unit due to predation, or theft for that matter, must include costs such as the originating breeding or insemination costs, supplemental feeding of the pregnant ewe, animal health care costs, lambing and rearing costs of the predated animal, grazing and water costs, all associated labour and energy costs related to the predated sheep, the future value of the mutton or wool of the now predated sheep, other lost opportunity costs, and loss of cash-flow, the time of the farmer or manager, to note the more obvious. It is clear that there are most often considerable costs involved in the loss of just a single sheep.
The ‘Black-backed Jackal Problem’ in the Rosmead / Schoombee area is now so serious that the local farmers have taken to the skies and hire helicopters and professional hunters to fly through the area hunting jackal. Yet despite the introduction of this extremely expensive mitigation measure together with regular hunts by day and night, with night-sights and dogs, trapping, and the setting out of poisoned bait, predation by jackals and caracal on these farms continues to grow at an alarming rate. Many farmers in this district seem ready to accept that “no solution for the Jackal Problem exists” and that “all possible solutions and interventions have been tried”. When it comes to risk mitigation in farming, there is no single, silver bullet, there exists no one solution to address all the aspects associated with even just one risk such as predation by jackal and caracal. Sustainable risk mitigation in sheep farming should be an ongoing focus of attention where new ideas are continually tested and added to the menu, then implemented and monitored for the desired results. This series on risk management has a focus on innovative solutions, and in line with this, allow me to ‘throw my hat into the ring’ on the issue of the predation problem by presenting what is an extreme idea - leopard!
The Mitigation of Risk - a wolf in sheep’s clothing - Part 3 / The Mitigation of Risk ( Part 2)/ The Mitigation of Risk
With regards to the risk presented by jackal and rooikat on and around sheep farms, the fact that leopards have all but been removed from the Karoo eco-system as top predator, lies at the heart of the problem. Mother Nature has filled the gap left by the leopards, replacing the spotted cat with jackal and caracal. Further, many decades of hunting and trapping of jackals and rooikat, has removed the genetics of the less smart canines and felines, leaving only the most cunning to continue to breed. The smartest jackals and rooikat now find themselves atop the food pyramid of the veld in much of the Karoo. Has any sheep farming district in South Africa tested the impact of the reintroduction of leopards on the following:
1. jackal and rooikat numbers,
2. predation by jackal and rooikat on sheep with leopard present in the district, and
3. predation on sheep by leopard?
From the perspective of the reduction of losses of livestock through predation by jackal and rooikat, the maths is firmly in favour of leopards! A jackal matures sexually at a much younger age (11 months) than a leopard (24-28 months), have large litters (6 - 9 pups) of which up to 60% survive. Leopards produce only one or two cubs, experiencing very high cub mortality rates of up to 65% by the end of Year Two. Rather a single, territory-bound leopard on a large, extensively farmed property than possibly up to three or four breeding pairs of jackal, and any number of nomadic, sub-adults or single, non-breeding adults. Of course it would be imperative to ensure the overall health of the eco-system, with sufficient numbers of primary, wild prey species for leopard being available for the reintroduced top predator. Regular patrols of fence-lines, grazing camps and lambing areas would be imperative. The re-introduction of leopards as a proposed mitigation measure requires much more serious research and testing by participating farmers, together with the rehabilitation of ‘wild, unfarmed areas’ in farming districts. Does the ‘out-of-control’ Jackal Problem warrant the further investigation of this seemingly drastic mitigation measure?
A number of farms in the Nieu-Bethesda area follow a different ‘Vermin Control’ strategy which is part of a broader, holistic approach to farming based on the re-establishment of balance within the eco-system. The hunting of all animals, including jackal and rooikat using dogs, rifles or traps, is prohibited on these farms where the thinking is that if the numbers and variety of the wild, preferred prey species of the predators, such as hares, ground squirrels, meerkat, rodents, reptiles, insects, birds, young antelope, and even certain fruit in the case of jackal, are left undisturbed, the predators will have no need to target domestic livestock, as their traditional food sources will be plentiful. The counter argument is that predators will always select ‘easier’ prey with energy conservation and lower risk of injury being the two key motivations. Supporting the approach of ‘less shooting, and more research’, in an interesting article titled ‘Superdogs’, the author Don Pinnock, after field-research and interviews with experts involved in ‘pest-control’ programmes, came to the following conclusion: “We now have a sheep farmer’s worst nightmare – a predator which thrives on persecution. By fast-tracking natural selection, we’ve produced a superdog.” (Africa Wild Forum, 19 June 2021.) Further investigation is warranted to follow up and document if and how these alternative risk mitigation strategies are working.
Risk mitigation is no longer an optional issue as illustrated by the apparent emergence of yet another scourge, which if left unchecked and unchallenged has the potential to become an even greater problem than jackal and rooikat predation. There is a cultural tradition among the Xhosa nation of hunting with dogs for both ‘the pot’ and for sport. There have been reports of hunters travelling from the Transkei to the Karoo with up to forty hunting dogs, and returning home with bakkie-loads of small game. I have not been able to verify this independently and repeat it as a ‘word-of-mouth’ conversation. A twist in the tail is that local Karoo communities, although no strangers to hunting game with dogs, now also wager money on the hunt by placing bets on the achievement of various hunting feats. Greyhounds, whippets and other breeds of ‘racing dogs’ (windhonde) are the most popular in these hunts with springbok being a highly prized target specie. Since communal land in South Africa has long since been stripped of all game, it is only a matter of time before private landowners will come face-to-face with this new threat. How long before sheep, lambs, goats and other livestock fall as casualties in what could become an unregulated craze among communities living as ‘neighbours’ to our farming districts?
‘Management-by-walking-about’ was once a popular method of keeping ones finger on the heartbeat of a business! Short of the erection of eight-foot, solar- or generator-powered, double reinforced, electric fencing at the cost of a small farm, seemingly the only feasible mitigation strategy to combat predation, illegal hunting, poaching and other uninvited visitors to the farm, will be twice daily physical patrols of high risk areas on horseback, carrying a licensed firearm together with trained security dogs. Oh, and don’t forget the leopards !!
If you would like to communicate directly with the author, you are invited to contact PJ at the following email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
