Sunday 28 February 2016

Mass Impala Capture.


A very frequent occurrence we have here is Mass Game Captures. Conducted with a helicopter, bomas, a few very talented pilots and a large ground crew!
The boma setup takes up to a day of blood and sweat to construct. Normally the location selected is quite dense but as open as possible. The boma is erected in a funnel shape moving the animals downward towards the loading ramp and the truck in which they will be transported in. The pilot is out scanning the area for the closest herd, in this case it was Impala(Aepyceros Melampus). The pilots working these machines are absolutely amazing, this is a very scarce set of skills. A lot of people can fly a helicopter and obtain their pilots license but this is sheer, raw passion and a love for aviation and wildlife combined. The level of skill that these pilots are at are just amazing and not enough credit is given. 
Ground to air radios are used for communication from the pilot to the one in charge on the ground. Once the herd of animals are in the boma the back curtain is closed, from there they are moved forward into 3 sections. Once they enter a section the curtain at the back of the herd is closed, preventing them from running back and forth causing unnecessary distress for the animals. As they enter the last section which is the smallest, the loading process will start. Once the animals are in the truck they are given a sedative to calm them down for the truck ride. Normal drugs for this will be Haloperidol and Azaperone.

For the love of African and her amazing Wildlife.

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