Diver walks for urban wildlife

LOCAL conservationist, Steve Entwistle, will embark on a six-kilometre journey from the Umgeni River mouth along the promenade to Ushaka Marine World in full 1900s diving attire, weighing 70kg, on Sunday, 28 June at 7am to raise funds for Monkey Helpline.

Steve said it was when the walked over Moses Mabhida Stadium last year, wearing the diving gear, that the idea for his next event came about.

“Taking in the views of Durban as I walked up the 500m-high arch to raise funds for the Thula Thula Rhino orphanage, I saw Durban’s beautiful beachfront spread out before me and thought that is my next adventure would be to walk six kilometres along the beachfront wearing the standard diving dress of the early 1900s divers, weighing 70 kg,” said Entwistle.

This time, he chose the charity Monkey Helpline, which desperately needs to raise funds to build a monkey rehabilitation centre in Zululand as well as to fund the release of two troops back into the wild. Monkey Helpline is planning to build three open-air enclosures, along with the required out-buildings such as a clinic and staff accommodation.

During this snail-paced, 1km-per-hour journey, Steve will be wearing a Siebi Gorman copper diving helmet, circa 1900 (1kg), a replica Siebi Gorman diving suit (5kg), chest and back weights (22kg – 11kg each), Siebi Gorman knife and sheath, circa 1950s (1kg), Siebi Gorman torch, circa 1950s (1kg) and lead-soled boots (20kg a pair).

“This event will again be mentally and physically demanding and shall take me around six hours to complete. But I want to raise funds for this fantastic project. I also hope to raise awareness of the dangers that our urban wildlife and vervet monkeys face on a daily basis, such as speeding cars, pellet guns, electrocutions via high-voltage power cables, dog attacks and more,” said Steve.

He added that every animal and insect has a place, a purpose, a reason and role to play in our ecosystem.

“Ignorance is dangerous and we all need to be continuously educated to understand why certain animals do what they do. Many people have little or no respect for wildlife. Many people drive too fast, killing many species of wildlife while rushing from A to B. Take a short moment and explore your own garden – your own little piece of Africa,” said Steve.

If you would like to make a contribution to this challenge, donations can be deposited into Monkey Helpline’s account, FNB, Umhlanga Crescent branch (220629), cheque account 6249 8595 770, with your name or e-mail as reference. Please e-mail your proof of payment to finance@monkeyhelpline.co.za.