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MY FATHERS AWARD
AGE – 2
My mother and my father were both biologist. When
my father died so tragically in that horrific accident, my mother asked
that instead of flowers, people should rather donate to a trust (South
African Ornithological Society), now Birdlife Africa to support his
dream of re-introducing Yellowbilled Oxpeckers to
South Africa. If you want more
information simply go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxpecker
and you can learn more about these birds and why they are considered as
living fossils.
There are
two different Oxpeckers, the Redbilled Oxpecker and the Yellowbilled
Oxpecker. Oxpeckers feed on
ticks and other parasites that occur on mammals.
The Yellowbilled Oxpecker died out in
South Africa around 1800 with the
introduction of pesticides to control cattle diseases.
Ironically the pesticide did not help much to control disease but
lead to the destruction of Oxpeckers, and other birds, that kept tick
numbers under control.
Now
if you kill the birds by trying to kill the insects, then the insects
flourish and the result is, you’re increasing the damage to your
agriculture and herds.
Thanks to my Father, he first proposed the idea to
help reduce pesticide use and reduce the country’s plague of ticks by
helping to restore the Oxpecker populations and use pesticides
not-lethal for birds.
It
all started before my time while my Father was studying Oxpeckers in the
Kruger
National Park.
The whole problem was that nobody has managed to find, capture
and breed these living fossils.
It
proved to be a difficult project, so Birdlife Association couldn’t find
anyone to undertake the project. When I was three years old, my Mom (and
me and my sister) took over the project.
She was the first person to breed them on our plot of land and
also to re-introduce them to
Hluhluwe National Park
where they are flourishing.
Today they are recognized as a solution to significantly reduce large
tick numbers on both cattle and game.
Basically my father was the one that started a very
noble and impressive project.
In recognition of their achievement, SA Nature Foundation honored
us with a Conservation Award. We went with my mom to
Johannesburg
to receive the award. My mom dedicated it to my dad, so that we, and his
family would remember my father in this way; rather than remember his
horrific accident. I am currently in the possession of his Nature
Foundation Award .
Just a quick note; I started my life in the
wilderness of Africa.
My
mother supported me and my sister.
So we had to accompany her on all her Nature Conservation
missions until years later when we were old enough to go to school.
And now you can understand that I grew up with 2 girls, and I
grew up very different than most people.
I grew up in the most remote and wildest parts of
Africa.
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