SKUKUZA – Various Kruger National Park (KNP) lovers have expressed their disappointment over the fact that SANParks is making use of poison to kill rats in rest camps. They feel that the organisation should rather make use of ecologically more friendly methods to curb rodents.
Mr Sean de la Harpe-Parker commented on Kruger National Park – The Ecology and Science of Managing a National Park on Facebook, that a properly managed rest camp in a national park should address pest control in a more environmentally friendly way. “Owls, snakes and small predators would do a much better job than poison. And before anyone tells me that these traps are not harmful to any other species other than those that get trapped… I know that the intention is for the target animal to die inside the trap, but many actually die outside the box and then get eaten by owls, etc. The experts say that the poison/toxin used is safe. Really? Anything that kills anything is not safe.”
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Many Facebook users shared de la Harpe-Parker’s sentiment. “I saw the boxes under the tents in Lower Sabie about three weeks ago. Owl boxes that attract owls are now widely used in the farming industry to deal with rodents. It is even used in squatter camps in Gauteng with great success. I am disappointed that our leading conservation agency has not considered this as a solution. Resident owls in the camps would add so much more to the tourism offering than boxes with poison.”
Mr John Adamson, commented that the section ranger at Letaba is completely against poisons of any sort. “They cannot be used in an environmentally friendly way, no matter how careful you are, simply because as mentioned, where you place the poison is not necessarily where the rat dies. It also can be ingested by a variety of indigenous species. The only way to control rats is to limit waste food available to them. I would be surprised if this was a measure implemented by the ranger/conservation services and is possibly the shop/restaurant staff taking matters into their own hands.”
Kruger responds
However, Dr Danny Govender, disease-ecologist at SANParks, confirmed that they are making use of poison to kill rats. “Kruger applies pest control management in camps where exotic, invasive species of rodents have been detected. These rodents compete with the native species for resources as well as prey on smaller birds and reptiles. The numbers tend to increase around camps due to availability of human habitation and food scraps. Their severe impact on native fauna is well-described and therefore proactive early removal is imperative.”
He explained that they are making use of targeted bait stations, using only first generation anticoagulant rodenticides. “First generation anticoagulant rodenticides need relatively high, repeated doses to cause death and are therefore quite specific for the invasive rodents; they are also less persistent in the environment and are not likely to bio-accumulate and cause secondary poisoning. These rodenticides have been selected to be specific for mammals and have low toxicity in birds that may prey of affected/dead rodents.”
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He continued by saying that Kruger will continue to review the responsible use of pesticides in the park with the help of reputable scientific experts to include safer and more ecological sound alternatives as they become available.
Support for Kruger’s approach
Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, Director of Griffon Poison Information Centre, sent a letter to Beeld which has also reported on the use of rat poison in Kruger. He is a member of the Animal Utilization and Care Committee of SANParks and has volunteered his services to SANParks in terms of pest management and poisoning intervention.
He said that the black rat is one of the 10 worst invasive species on earth. “It is a species known to decimate human food resources, especially grains, contaminate human, companion animal and farm animal food resources with its urine and faeces causing severe salmonellosis, damage infrastructure such as electric and information technology cables, carry fleas that are vectors for amongst others bubonic and pneumonic plague and impact on indigenous rodent fauna, birds by nest predation and displacing indigenous fauna by its sheer numbers. The KNP is one of the places where rats are a menace, while the house mouse is an occasional problem but not nowhere near the magnitude of the black rat.”
He said that in terms of rodenticides, they are indeed highly toxic to mammals, “otherwise they would have served no purpose”. He added that a large percentage of the rodenticides are highly hazardous to birds if they ingest the baits, but that is highly unlikely. “Some of them are also hazardous in terms of secondary poisoning of both mammals and birds that may scavenge on dead rats or catch rats that have begun displaying the symptoms of the rodenticides. However, there are some of the active ingredients that are highly hazardous to mammals and virtually non-hazardous to birds such as owls.
Such rodenticides pose an extremely low risk to owls and other birds, should they consume rats that have ingested such.”
Mr Ian McDonald commented on Facebook: “I would love to know how these poisons distinguish between indigenous rodents and brown rats.” Verdoorn said that the method of application minimizes the risk of primary poisoning of indigenous rodents.
Why not make use of owl boxes?
Verdoorn said that suggestions that owl boxes should be erected in the KNP to lure owls in to manage the rodents, is against ecological principles in a protected natural environment. Owls of different species are present in all of the KNP and one cannot disturb the ecological balance and processes that are in place in by trying to attract more owls to camps.
It is extremely unlikely that owls will only predate on black rats. The nature of the black rat is unlikely to make it a primary target for the owls while indigenous rodents will fall prey. It is also highly unlikely that cage traps and snap traps will be successful in exterminating black rats as they develop trap shyness rapidly.
“The correct placement of selected rodenticides are highly effective, with a zero or near-zero effect on indigenous fauna. SANParks have an obligation under the Convention on Biodiversity to conserve South Africa’s indigenous wildlife. If that means targeting invasive species with management protocols,SANPArks are executing their mandate. Rodents have for example been exterminated on islands by use of rodenticides that are compatible with birds and no bird mortality was observed.”
