With a conservation mission encompassing Swazi wildlife, culture and heritage, Big Game Parks is Swaziland's leading eco-tourism destination. Its wide variety of accomodation, activity and dining options set within three distinct ecological habitats provide the perfect get-away to suit all pockets, leisure preferences and palates.

Big Game Parks' Mission Statement

Parks are not only for wildlife,
Parks are also for people

Believing in one without the other
Is a recipe for poverty,
The mission of Big Game Parks is:

To promote environmental literacy;
To develop, conserve and expand
Her land base to increase scale, ecological
Viability and protected bio-diversity;

To achieve and sustain optimal economic
Viability in order to facilitate a safe and secure
Future for Swaziland's historically beleaguered
Wildlife within representative habitats;

To promote and to marry eco-tourism
With all other ethical components
Of environmentally friendly land use and to
Develop these collectively as justification
Against contesting land use

To uphold and sustain the highest levels of
Conservation integrity, discipline, conservation
Ethics and the rule of law as necessary
Elements to conserve nature and natural resources

To propound the necessity for limits to growth,
Thereby keeping options open for a better
Quality of life for future generations
Of wildlife and people.

Big Game Parks' Trailing Philosophy 

The trailing philosophy of the Big Game Parks of the Kingdom of Swaziland is to promote an affinity with nature and kinship with all life. 

The walking trails which meander through game country are not intended as endurance walks, but should be seen as providing an opportunity to walk with nature. If this is done slowly and sensitively, it may bring rich reward, a renewal of soul and a better understanding on man's place in nature.

If you are quiet, you should see a wide variety of faunal life along the different trails, varying from giraffe and kudu to dassies, black eagles, red rock hares, field mice, centipedes and ants. Our message to you is " treat them all with respect and don't unnecessarily cause them harm".

The emphasis here is on the word " unnecessarily" for you will undoubtedly take life on trail; you will tread on an ant or a bug for instance, and if you do so unintentionally and without malice, you will be excused. It is when such things are done deliberately and for no good reason that they become unacceptable.

With this concept, let us develop and foster a national ethic of respect for, and coexistence with, our wild places and the plants and creatures that inhabit them. Let us all leave them clean and tidy and unpolluted for those who follow unimpaired for the enjoyment of the future generations.

Hlane Royal National Park, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary and Mkhaya Game Reserve are the three Big Game Parks that enjoy a common management, have a good choice of accommodation, an interchange of staff, a wide diversity of habitats and a common mission: “To conserve the rich biodiversity of Swaziland's natural heritage'.

Big Game Parks’ contribution to the restoration and protection of the Kingdom’s biodiversity is of great significance and can truly be appreciated by the discerning traveller.

For Tour Operator Queries please email:

Mike Richardson, Big Game Parks' Tourism Executive

Hlabazonkhe Community

The Imvelo Mountain Bike Classic, staged on Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary in June each year has been raising money for various community projects. Nedbank Swaziland has been a sponsor of the MTB race for a number of years and with their sponsorship and the race entry fees collected, funds have accumulated in the BGP Projects account. These funds have been used strictly for community projects and the value of money in this account now is such that a substantial project can take place. The neighbouring Hlabazonkhe School, bordering Mlilwane North in the Siphocosini district has been a project for some years now, and these projects have led to the evolution of the Water Spring project.

Big Game Parks together with Nedbank Swaziland have been assisting the community of Hlabazonkhe since 2008. We have assisted the community in the following ways: 

1. Painting of the School

2. Installed gutters to capture rain water for collection in the school in 2008.

3. Donated 2 water tanks to the school to store the water collected through the gutters. 

4. Donated office equipment which included a desk, office chair and photocopying machine. 

Our current on-going project is the construction of a borehole, not just for the school but for the entire Hlabazonkhe community. Big Game Parks together with the Nedbank and The Community are hard at work to see this project through as it will not just benefit the school, but the whole entire Hlabazonkhe community. 

The experience consists of a visit to the nearby chief’s village at Esitjeni for Mlilwane and KaLanga for Hlane for guests to see and experience authentic Swazi culture through dance. The two and a half hour cultural experience allows guests to engage with the residents as they show them their culture and traditions by inviting them to participate in their cultural practices. Visitors observe how Swazi rural women weave indigenous grass into beautiful baskets and help prepare traditional thatching for Swazi beehive huts. The women will also engage guests in the process of grinding grain to make the Swazi local staple food, mealie meal.

Big Game Parks markets the activity at no cost to the Umphakatsi through the nothing for nothing concept. A share of the costs of the experience goes directly to the Chief and this is in turn used by the chief for the upliftment of the community.

By having guests enjoy themselves while learning the Swazi way of life, the Esitjeni and KaLanga Community benefit directly from BGP.

A meeting was called with interested individuals within the community – anyone who supports OVC’s, orphans themselves, anyone who is jobless or those that just want to earn a little extra. In October 2007, a group of 10 people began making piggy banks out of balloons, scrap newspaper, egg boxes and the like. Grand Circle Travel sponsored materials for the project, while Mlilwane Management set about holding a number of skills workshops on paper mache – and dishing out the Sanctuary’s raw materials.

As we worked through physical manufacturing skills, we discussed accountability, responsibility and the idea that progress was completely up to the individual. As part of the training, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary organised a walk in the park, identifying the animals and discussing details of their individual design. We spoke about creativity, abstract and realistic representation, variety of size and species. The idea was to link this exciting project to conservation and wildlife.

Once the basic manufacturing skills were learnt, accounting books were handed to each individual. Materials (paint brushes, glue, balloons, the book itself) were issued and recorded to each individual with a price tag so that they knew from the start the value of input into their produce. 10% of every sale would be paid back to the project to buy materials at cheaper bulk rates, and this percentage will grow as the sponsorship runs dry making the project sustainable.

The unique semi-open accommodation found at Mkhaya is thatched and so is most of the accommodation featured at other BGP reserves. Every year, Mkhaya Game Reserve, because of this abundance, opens her doors to the community to cut some grass for themselves.

The 50-50 approach to the project is quite simple. With however many bundles one harvests, half of them are kept by BGP and half is taken home by them to members of the community.

This grass is used by the community to thatch their own homes or sell for profit.

This is also a method of giving back to the community of Swaziland by selling game meat at subsidised rates.

Big Game Parks sells game meat in the form of carcasses at subsidised rates. The idea being that game should cheaper than beef.

During the culling process, which is done by BGP conservation, the animal carcasses from the reserves are all collected and placed at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. The public is then informed through newspaper advertisements to purchase the carcasses at Mlilwane.

These carcasses are sold at a rate cheaper than beef. The policy helps with conservation efforts and indirectly discourages poaching. Also, by having game sold at rates cheaper than beef, this ensures that venison is afforded by all sectors of society.

The Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Mtiti Fakudze, approached Mkhaya Game Reserve for help for his community, and so Big Game Parks in turn approached Mrs Pam Carlson, the instigator of Swazi Kids. As Pam and her family have been to visit Swaziland several times since, they have developed a friendship with Big Game Parks’ CEO, Ted Reilly, whom she approached for direction for the installation of a borehole. ‘Machobane’, as Ted Reilly is known in siSwati, knew that the area next to Mkhaya was also in dire straits caused by the drought and asked if there was funding for two boreholes – and a delighted Pam found that there was.

The boreholes have now been drilled in the two relevant areas, and the 3 x 10 000 litre tanks per borehole were installed on Monday 5 December 2011, and will soon ease the plight of the two communities and their animals.

1. Offering reduced rates to schools and churches when these groups organise a group visit in advance with our Central Reservations department at Hlane Royal National Park or Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary.

2. Donation of Christmas Hampers to the Lobamba Lomdzala Constituency.

3. Stocking our Curio Shops at the parks with locally produced products only.

With our good, long-standing relationship with Ngwenya Glass, BGP collects the tons of glass from all the parks to Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary.

The glass is cleaned at Mlilwane and thereafter sent to Ngwenya Glass for recycling purposes. The hottest attraction in Swaziland then recycles the glass to make the most beautiful glass in the Kingdom. Our long-standing relationship with Ngwenya Glass has seen the donation of glittering Imvelo MTB Classic Trophies.

James Weighton Reilly (nicknamed Mickey)

Ted Reilly’s father, settled at Mlilwane in 1906 – this name, meaning ‘little fire’, being derived from the numerous fires started by lightning strikes on Mlilwane hill. It was here that Mickey Reilly constructed the quaintly colonial building (the main homestead) shortly after the turn of the century, which is furnished with the many antique pieces and artifacts from the family’s fascinating history. He mined tin on Mlilwane, was the largest employer of industrial labour in Swaziland for many years and brought electricity to Swaziland. He was known the locals as Machobane.


Ted Reilly 

Like his father Mickey, is known as "Machobane" Billie Wallis, formerly Reilly, came to Swaziland in 1920 at the age of fifteen and married Mickey Reilly in 1925. She was, for many years, the only white woman between Mbabane and Manzini. Ted Reilly was born a native to Mlilwane in 1938 and became Swaziland’s pioneer conservationist.

The Reillys witnessed the disappearance of Swaziland’s game and this had a profound impact on young Ted Reilly. Between the rinderpest (or cattle plague) in 1896, excessive hunting, the ‘wildebeest plague’ in the 1930’s, poison traps, herbicides and insecticides, and unenforced game laws, the slaughter and depletion of Swaziland’s game and flora resulted to remnant populations in some areas and totally disappeared from others by the 1960’s. In less than a lifetime, from a wildlife paradise, Swaziland’s faunal wealth was reduced to the verge of extinction. The last wild animal was seen on Mlilwane in 1959 and something had to be done!


The only area available for a sanctuary was the Reilly’s own 460 ha farm which was then a highly productive mixed farming operation. Where the Rest Camp is now was a productive mealie land and tin mining added substantially to revenues. Having experiencing the spiritual values of wildlife, and seeing its escalating destruction country-wide, Ted Reilly decided to give up farming and turn over Mlilwane to provide a sanctuary for at least some of the Kingdom’s wild animals using limited personal resources and absolute dedication.


A huge tree planting operation commenced, a wetland system created (now known as the Hippo Pool), dams built, a furrow opened out and aquatic plants established, even dead tree stumps were planted for hole-nesting creatures. Then indigenous animals of all descriptions were ‘hunted’ for – from water scorpions, fishes, frogs and insects to whatever large animals remained to be caught and brought to the safety of Mlilwane. At this time, the Reilly’s approached His Majesty, King Sobhuza II for game from Hlane and that was the beginning of a long and very close personal association with the king who showed total support for Mlilwane and even donated animals from his own dwindling herds. The early days of catching game for Mlilwane are legendary and many tales, inevitably often exaggerated, are still told around the campfire. The rest camp was built on the 29th of November 1963 and opened to the public and 2 hard years later, on the 7th of January 1966, Mlilwane was gazetted as a game sanctuary under the agricultural act.


Liz Reilly

In 1969, Mlilwane was entrusted to a non-profit making trust, constituted for the benefit of the people and wildlife of Swaziland. On the 1st of April 1977, Mlilwane was proclaimed as a Nature Reserve under the newly created Swaziland National Trust Commission act of 1972, as amended. The commission also financed the ‘Hippo Haunt’ restaurant in the camp.



Mlilwane has grown to 10 times it original size through the support of the Monarchy, international support and true individual dedication and is a favourite destination for many people. Mlilwane has created entrenched conservation ethics for the Kingdom and the Swazi people are appreciative of all efforts at Nature conservation and have developed a pride in the natural heritage of their kingdom.

The reason given was that Swaziland did not need its own parks was because Kruger National Park was to the North and Hluhluwe Game Reserve to the South (both in South Africa) and were within easy reach of Swaziland and could therefore service the people of this kingdom!

As a direct consequence of that response, Mlilwane, up until then the Reilly’s private farm, was set aside by the Reilly family as Swaziland's first game reserve.

Farming ceased; so did income. Game-proof fences were erected and animals of all description, large and small, were captured from where they were being persecuted, and taken to refuge at Mlilwane.

King Sobhuza II saw this rebirth of the Swazi natural heritage and he defended it. He became the patron of Mlilwane and consequently the father of Nature Conservation in his Kingdom.

Petrus Ngomane or 'Mabulane' meaning 'he who walks in dangerous places' gave over 40 years of dedication defending The Kingdom's wildlife heritage. For the first seven years (from 1960-1967) against hostile and often vicious opposition and severe monetary constraints, the Mlilwane concept was fought for. For all those years Mlilwane was the only protected area in Swaziland and it was here that most of Swaziland's lost species were re-established.

In 1966 King Sobhuza II, encouraged by the idea and the emerging success of Mlilwane which he himself had supported so strongly, relieved Chief Mlimi of his custodianship of Hlane and appointed Ted Reilly or 'Machobane' to protect and build the game populations there. The proclamation of this magnificent area, held by the king in trust for the nation, followed in 1967 and Hlane became the second protected area in Swaziland.

In 1898 he enlisted with the British Troops in India to fight the Boers in Africa. He landed in Durban under General Sir-William Penn-Symons, who was the first British General to be killed in the Boer War. After being seriously wounded with a shattered shoulder blade. Reilly recovered to take up duties with Steinackers Horse. This border regiment patrolled the Lubombo Mountains between Komatipoort and the Great Usuthu River in the south. It also ranged far and wide over the surrounding countryside to keep German weaponry, landed at Lorenco Marques (now Maputo) from reaching the Boers in the Transvaal. Reilly, a young Irishman of adventurous spirit was in the detachment, which took Bremersdorp (now Manzini) from the Boers.

Colonel Steinaker, a German of diminutive size (he was 5' 1'' in his boots), was probably the British army's most irregular commanding officer, but he managed somehow to persuade the Brits to give him command of a force of 300 men to patrol the Lubombo region of the Eastern Lowveld. Steinaker saw himself as the ''Napoleon'' of the lowveld, which role he certainly acted out to the full. Steinaker had many detractors but let no man feel disgraced for serving in Steinakers Horse for, through Steinaker gathered around him a contingent of mounted hunters, chanters, adventurers and fortune seekers, among them were some of the most accomplished and finest shots in Africa, with scouting and bush skills not easily matched anywhere in the world.

Of Steinaker a story is told where he swaggered into the pub at Komatijoort and drawing both his pistols he fired six shots from each of them into the ceiling. Only two holes were visible in the ceiling above and the crowd gave way in awe at this remarkable marksmanship. Only Colonel Steinaker knew that his six-guns each had one loaded bullet - the remaining five cartridge chambers in each gun were loaded with blanks!

After the Boer War of 1899 - 1902, and after losing his horse to African Horse Sickness, Mickey Reilly, as he had become known, walked into Swaziland from Barberton possessing only the clothes that he was wearing to start a surprisingly successful career as a tin miner. The Reilly fortunes, and these apparently included vast estates in Ireland and tea plantations in India and in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), had been given to the church. For this, and for being the chosen son to take Holy orders at the Vatican instead of a promised Cambridge education, Mickey Reilly never forgave his father; He rebelled, left home and rejected the Catholic Church to his dying day. He taught his children the difference between right and wrong and between good and bad and that was the extent of religion in the Reilly household. He always said his children could choose their own religions when they were old enough!

Mickey Reilly was remarkably resourceful and successful in Swaziland. With entrepreneurial skills, he managed the McCreedy tin mine and purchased land which he faulted. It is this land which fifty years later became Swaziland's first wildlife sanctuary. He managed the McCreedy Tin Mine in Swaziland for Sir Abe Bailey of the Eastern Transvaal Consolidated Mines Ltd. McCreedy himself had wandered off and disappeared. Year’s later McCreedy's signet ring was found in a large crocodile which was shot on the great Usuthu River.

Reilly built his home (a mud hut) on Mlilwane hill in 1908. It was struck and gutted by lightning. He built his second home, also a mud hut, a little further down the hill. This too was struck and demolished by lightning. ''Mlilwane”, literally translated, means ''little-fire ''; this alludes to lightning strikes that frequently started fires on this hill, so giving rise to its Swazi name.

Reilly built his third home of wood and iron - this time lower down the hill - and, now hopefully, beyond the reach of lightning.

After the First World War in 1914-18, Mickey Reilly was approached by a man named Moolman - an illiterate Afrikaner who couldn't even read the figures on a footrule. Moolman said to Reilly – “You’re going to needing a house; - I need an ox-wagon. You buy me a wagon and I’ll build you a house.'' The deal was closed. The wagon cost 80 pounds, which was an awful lot of money in those days, and the house took several years to build. Time was of little importance in the early 19th Century but Mickey Reilly didn't make it any easier for Moolman when he insisted that the house be built of stone - and that it be built around his wood and iron shack, which was later dismantled and cleared through the front door when his new home was completed!

Reilly’s Rock had its beginnings from this early “horse deal''. Rocks were fetched from far and wide to build the Reilly home. By sledge, by wagon and by hand-held stretcher, each rock was carried to site where Moolman placed them one upon another using mud as mortar, and so creating the magnificent monument Reilly's Rock has now become. A visiting British Parliamentarian once remarked that the skill and finish of the old stonework resembled some of the old stonework of 14 and 15th century England.

Reilly's Rock Today

There is no doubt that Reilly received more than fair exchange in the solid stonework and the long verandahs of Reilly’s Rock - a hilltop site which is as great a part of Swaziland history as the remarkable family who, for a century, have called it home, and who brought the concept of Nature Conservation to this tiny African Kingdom, establishing Parks and even restoring 22 different species of larger wild animals to Swaziland after they had gone locally extinct.

Mickey Reilly married Billy Springle in l 924 and brought her to his home of rock, where for years she was the only white woman between Mbabane and Bremersdorp. For half a century, she lived her life here in paradise as the wife of the most popular and most colourful white man in Swaziland.

Mickey Reilly was remarkably versatile. The first electric light to light up the night in Swaziland was installed at Mlilwane with a 52.5 Kva hydro turbine driven generator. Reilly later installed this plant on the Mbabane River, below where the Swazi Inn was later built, to supply Mbabane with lights. He subsequently sold it to Mercer Cox, who then sold it to the Swaziland Government. Mickey Reilly brought electricity to Bremersdorp also, where he created a roaring trade selling single light points to the town and in particular to the families Howe and Stewart whose rivalry caused them to compete with each other so escalating hot only the price of-electricity, but also the number of light points sold!

Mickey Reilly's sojourn here was at a time when there was no shortage of land – no shortage of natural resources and little respect for the environment, which had to be tamed and exploited. A time when Britain ruled and Britain needed raw materials. Tin was an essential resource for war materials and during both World Wars, tin miners were not conscripted - they had to feed the Allied war machine.

Tin was mined with water and Reilly soon developed a remarkable skill in hydrology. He became known as the water wizard of Swaziland and was reputed even able to defy the laws of gravity by making water flow up hill!

Tin, technically known as cassiterite, occurs in the pegmatities, which are in an advanced stage of decomposition at Mlilwane. The ore-bearing soil is channelled with a flow of water through sluice boxes, which are simply long boxes 24 to 30 inches wide and up to 20 feet long, comprising a base, two sides and an open top. The base is stepped and the ore-bearing soil is passed through the boxes with the help of the flowing of water. The muddy mixture is agitated with gravel forks and spades by a team of men as it passes down the sluice box. The tin (occurring in crystals varying in size from that of a woman's fist to dust) being heavy, sinks to the tailor and is caught by the steps. The lighter soil and other materials are washed over the steps and away. Ilmanite (iron) was the main impurity but this, unlike tin, is magnetic and easily separated by a magnetic separation.

In the beginning, men dug the soil with picks and shovels, carrying it to the stream where the sluice box was positioned. But to step up production, Machobane, as - Mickey Reilly was known to the Swazis, asked for a budget to construct his Mhlambanyatsi water-way, whose source would be on the Mhlambanyatsi River up in the mountains near where Mhlambanyatsi Village is now located, and the Company sent down their engineer with a couple of directors from Johannesburg to assess the feasibility of his proposal. They took one look at the indicated route through the mountains and laughed it off as madness! Machobane had a big labour gang - he was the largest employer of men in Swaziland at the time - and he borrowed from this as many men as he could spare from time to time from his tin workings and started the construction of the “impossible” 271km long water furrow. A year or so later, when tin yields suddenly rocketed, the directors in Johannesburg became excited and thought Reilly had found the “Mother Load'' of tin. They came down to investigate and found the impossible aqueduct in use!

Reilly had a problem in getting his tin across the Usushwana river which lay between him and his market. He unsuccessfully tried to persuade the government to bridge the river on the main Manzini Mbabane road. After repeated pleas for help which fell on deaf ears he built a pont and levied a fee of 2 shillings and sixpence to all government officials who used it. This was strictly enforced by 2 loyal burly Swazis! All non government servants had free float across the river! Huge indignation followed and resulted in the government paying Reilly out for his pont and eventually constructing the old Baily Bridge, which now spans the river at Mantenga. Thereafter Reilly's tin had much easier passage to market!

Reillys Rock has been added to over the years - the additions, also cast in stone – are differently styled to Moolman's original hand hewn masterpiece, but they blend with the ancient look of the original homestead.

And the views! They are stunning! Reilly 's Rock enjoys a commanding position in the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Swaziland's pioneer conservation area. Game and birdlife are an integral part of its setting. More than 75 bird species can be counted from the verandah. The exquisitely furnished interiors with hand-carved hardwood furniture and antique fittings, compete only with the privileged view which every secluded garden terrace and walkway enjoys. To the east, a very striking range of mountains of blue granite lies across the plains below. These are the Mdzimba Mountains, which in former times Billie Reilly referred to as her ''garden wall''. Alas, not so anymore, with the sea of development and rural sprawl which now starts halfway across the plain from the Park boundary to the Mountain. This sprawl has already encroached the foothills and is climbing higher up the slopes of the mountain day by day. But, mercifully, and thanks to Dr Anton- Rupert, half the plain below is protected within the boundary of Mlilwane and the large herds of-wildebeest, zebra, blesbuck, impala and warthog can be seen in occupation there from the verandah and terraces of Reilly's Rock, while nyala, kudu and a wealth of birdlife inhabit the slopes of Mlilwane hill. Where once not long ago, a single pair of car lights occasionally appeared on the Bremersdorp-Mbabane road in the distance below, now the entire valley beyond the Park boundary is lit up with a continuous blaze of lights between these two cities.

It was also across these grassland plains that another old pioneer used to find his way home in an old steam driven car. Buchanin was his name. And in Winter when the grass was tinder dry, his car set the veld alight as far as he went with sparks spewing skywards and burning coals falling from the stoking-oven every time he hit a bump. Whenever he crossed a stream or even in heavy rain the engine fire was doused and the engine died ! He sometimes said it would have been quicker to walk!

The Reilly family has decided to share this natural remnant of Paradise and has decided to share this natural remnant of Paradise and has opened it to National tourism. The atmosphere of Reilly's Rock is unique and the maturity of it lends a priceless agelessness to this “out of Africa” experience. The barking of the zebras on the plains below, the grunting of the impala rams contesting their territories, and the raucous call of the 'gwalagwala ' (Purple Crested Lourie) leave one in no doubt that this is Africa.

As much as the ingenious Reilly espoused Colonial interests, so have his son and family committed their lives to preserving the Swazi natural heritage. Beginning with the proclamation of Mlilwane, the family farm and Swaziland's pioneer conservation area, the Reillys have since 1961 contributed National Parks to the face of the country and shared in the Nation's joy at again being able to see lions and elephants and rhinos roaming wild in Swaziland once more. Indeed they have restored twenty two species of larger game to the Kingdom after these had become locally extinct at the hand of man. For 40 years the Reilly family has, with dedication and loyalty, served the Royal House of Swaziland in the field of Nature Conservation - And indeed has also enjoyed the total support of the Monarch with whom a long rich and productive relationship has made Nature Conservation in Swazi land so successful.

The Rhino War

Commercial horn poaching arrived from the north in November 1988. Poaching had always existed, but the extent and sinister character of commercial poaching was new. Due to the exaggerated value of horn, this new wave brought with it mafia-style gangsterism, organised crime syndicates, murder and corruption at all levels. Africa had already lost 98% of her black rhino population due to horn poaching. Swaziland’s Rhino War began in 1988, and ended in December 1992. During these 4 years, Swaziland lost nearly 80% of her rhino. During this time, the general crime, with particular reference to violent crime, rose substantially in Swaziland. Rhino poachers were more often than not involved in other serious crimes, including armed robbery and trafficking in both contraband and illegal substances.

Swaziland’s first rhino to fall to a spray of AK47 bullets was at Hlane. The massacre of nearly 100 rhino was to follow, four of which were lost at Mkhaya during 1992 after the dehorning of the Hlane rhino. Near the end of the Rhino War, Swaziland was losing a rhino every two weeks. It was during and because of the rhino poaching investigations that Petros Ngomane, Chief Ranger of Big Game Parks, had his second life assassination attempt.

It was a busy time for the rangers, arresting offenders and then spending countless hours in courtrooms, only to be disillusioned when they were released. With their covers blown and the culprits free, the rangers were now in constant danger. The need for stronger laws was evident, and in April 1991 the Game Amendment Act became law. Since being passed, this Act has been acclaimed the best anti-poaching legislation in Africa! This law was drafted as preventative rather than remedial legislation because of the continual assault on rhino. It, together with the Big Bend Shoot-Out, resulted in an abrupt end to rhino poaching in Swaziland. The penalties are too harsh to make poaching worthwhile. Rangers were arrested for aiding and abetting poaching, and rewards were doubled if parks employees were complicit in any such activities.

The mandatory penalties did not sit well with the courts and the number of acquittals and reduced penalties (at times below legislated minimums) increased. The poaching escalated and in a desperate attempt to save the rhino, Hlane dehorned its remaining animals in December 1991 and confined them to high security bomas. By this time 39 carcasses had been recovered. Even in the bomas poachers put rangers to flight with superior weaponry and killed 2 confined rhinos for their horns. Mlawula’s count of 16, then 12 rhino (1992) reduced to 0, with unexplained discrepancies in carcass recoveries.

The rhino crisis was presented to King Mswati III with a recommendation to relocate Swaziland’s remaining rhino to South Africa for safekeeping. Instead, the result was the Amended Game Act and the rangers armed with R5 automatic and LM semi-automatic weapons, equalising the terms on the battlefield.

In April 1992, Mkhaya lost two pregnant rhino cows, in the second rhino poaching incident on Mkhaya. A shoot-out between rangers and the poaching gang ended with only the horns of one rhino being taken and the recovery of four AK47’s, a .38 Special and a .22 rifle, both stolen during a recent AK47 armed robbery on a nearby farm. This operation culminated in the well publicised Big Bend Shoot-Out at the Bend Inn, where rangers converged on rhino horn traffickers who were trading the missing horn. Two traffickers were shot when they drew guns and resisted. The horns were recovered. Only one rhino poaching incident followed in December 1992 at Mkhaya, where 5 men were arrested and an AK47 was recovered. The last rhino slain was Mthonddvo, who at the time may have been the most photographed rhino in southern Africa. Since his slaying and his killers brought to book, not a single rhino has been poached in Swaziland – almost 2 decades ago! (article published 2010)

The Game Act and Legislation

The Game Act of 1953 was amended in April 1991 with the Game Amendment Act – passed by Parliament, ratified by the King. This Act, applied by Swaziland’s rangers, has worked and thousands of Swazis and visitors to Swaziland now peacefully view rhinos and other wildlife species in the protection of our parks. It is hard to believe rhino had become locally extinct, and then very nearly went extinct for the second time - until the King and the leadership of our country came to the rescue with the Amendment of the Game Act and its transfer to the Office of the Head of State.

Before enactment, the Game Bill stuck with the Minister of Agriculture for more than a year until in desperation, Reilly loaded a rotting poached rhino carcass and delivered it to the King. The result was the prompt enactment of the Bill by Parliament.

The salient features of the Game Act are:

First Schedule – Specially Protected Game (rhino, elephant, lion) – 5 years minimum mandatory imprisonment, without the option of a fine PLUS replacement of the animal taken or its value compensated, failing which an additional 2 years imprisonment;

Second Schedule – Royal Game - Mandatory minimum sentence of E4000,00 or 2 years imprisonment, PLUS replacement of the animal taken or its value compensated, with provision that the fine imposed may not be less than the value of the animal taken; Third Schedule – Common Game – Minimum of E600,00 or 6 months imprisonment, PLUS replacement value of the animal taken;

Values of each species are gazetted for each Schedule; Section 28 reads – “No sentence or part of any sentence may be suspended by the court” and “No vehicle, gun or other apparatus may be released by the court unless the accused is acquitted”

Mandatory minimum prison sentence of 12 months without the option of a fine for any official, including a judicial official, convicted of frustrating or defeating the ends of justice;

Rangers may search and arrest without a warrant; may use all reasonable force necessary to affect arrest; may bear arms and use them in life threatening circumstances; and in doing any of the above in the course of duty, rangers are not liable to prosecution; (This became necessary when arrested poachers invariably and as a matter of course, brought their own fictitious charges of assault against arresting rangers, who were then prioritised and called to trial while poaching cases were relegated to the back of the queue).

Non-Bailable Offences Act – Offenders of First & Second Schedule of the Game Act may not be granted bail by the court. The Non-Bailable Offences Act was repealed in 2004.

The Game Act currently sits with the King’s Office, a Ministry in Swaziland.

Points to consider:

• The responsibility for wildlife in Swaziland has traditionally always been vested in the King. This responsibility became legally formalised with the responsibilities for the Game Act and CITES placed under his direct control in the King’s Office by legal notice 142 of 1998.
• The Game Act, enacted by the Nation’s elected representatives to Parliament in spite of a law society petition against it, has legal application Kingdom wide – inside and outside Parks and Nature Reserves.
• The Chief Officer in the King’s Office assumes all the roles previously designated to the responsible Minister under the Act
• Big Game Parks has been delegated by the Head of State to administer the Game Act, CITES and all international Conventions/Agreements on Nature Conservation, under the governing control of the King through the King’s Office.
• The Swaziland National Trust Commission (SNTC) authority and jurisdiction is limited to the boundaries of its own Nature Reserves and institutions (SNTC Act 1972). There is no other legislation at variance with this. The SNTC Act has legal application only inside its own properties.
• Game Rangers gazetted under the provisions of the SNTC Act have powers only within the boundaries of their own Parks and institutions (such rangers are gazetted by the Minister of Tourism).
• Game Rangers gazetted under the Game Act or appointed by Royal Warrant have powers Kingdom wide (such game rangers can only be gazetted by order of the Head of State through the King’s Office).
• All Game Rangers are subject to the laws of the land.

Swaziland can be very thankful that the responsibility for Wildlife has been formally elevated to the portfolio of the Highest Authority in the land. Being elevated to the King’s Office gives wildlife its best chance of survival in Swaziland.

In exactly the same way as cattle and goats have ownership, so does Wildlife. Game that has been legally purchased with money – not public money but private money – has legal ownership. To say you cannot sell an elephant you have legally purchased is the same as saying you cannot sell your cow or goat. To say that you can steal an impala or warthog to feed your family is the same as saying that you can steal a cow or goat in order to feed your family.

The infamous BIG BEND SHOOT-OUT, 1992

The biggest and most successful anti-poaching/trafficking bust of all time in Swaziland

In March 1992, a neighbour of Mkhaya, Tim Purcell, was awakened when two intruders entered his home wearing balaclavas and held an AK47 to his head. They forced him to produce the keys of his safe and tied his hands behind his back. As the two criminals ransacked Purcell’s safe, they took his .22 rifle; his .38 revolver and holster; all his ammunition; his stun gun for cattle; his briefcase and all his money. While they were robbing the safe, they discussed killing Purcell, which caused him to make a break and he fled into the darkness with his hands still tied behind his back. Later that night he was admitted to the Big Bend Clinic with injuries sustained during his escape.

Some days later, automatic gunfire broke out not 400m from the ranger Head Quarters at Mkhaya, followed by the anguished screams and groans of rhinos dying. The rangers rushed to the site and found two heavily pregnant females dead, sprayed with AK47 bullets. One had already had the horn chopped off, but the other rhino’s horn was abandoned as the rangers had interrupted the process of removal.

Early the next morning, the game rangers followed the tracks of the poachers through miles of bushveld – the poachers were accomplished at evasive retreat, but late that afternoon their tracks led to the homestead of Dumakutse Gamedze. The rangers surrounded the house and Gamedze came out, giving himself up, but then suddenly and unexpectedly he made a break and escaped into the night. The other occupant of the hut was arrested. He confirmed that the escapee was Dumakutse Gamedze. He also told the rangers that the rhino horn was hidden in a tree. When the rangers got to the tree, the horn had already been removed. The rangers were told Dumakutze Gamedze had shot the rhinos with an AK47, which was hidden under a barrier of branches protecting a field. The AK47 was recovered, and then the rangers were shown where pieces of rhino skin and bone chips had been buried.

Col Pieter Lategan of the Endangered Species Unit of the South African Police was contacted to alert him that there was a fresh rhino horn in circulation. Col Lategan wanted to photograph the dead rhinos for publicity material, and while he was in the country, a telephone call came to say that a rhino horn was being offered for sale at Matata. As Col Lategan had vast experience in this field and he was also a stranger with a foreign registered car, it was suggested that he make contact with the trafficker.

The plan worked. The deal was set to take place in the car park of the Bend Inn, at a given time. The ambush was set up in the surrounding garden. Col Lategan emerged from the hotel with the dealers and they went to a vehicle from which the rhino horn was produced. As soon as it was visible, the game rangers closed in and two of the traffickers immediately drew guns. Shooting broke out and the two traffickers who had drawn guns were shot. All the others were arrested, taken to the police station at Big Bend and charged. The two injured traffickers, Dumakutse and Ncampalala, were taken to hospital where Dumakutse revealed the whereabouts of additional stolen and unlicensed weaponry before he died. The gun Dumakutse went down with was the .38 stolen from Purcell. Ncampalala went down with an unlicensed handgun of Chinese origin. These guns were both handed to the police.

Ncampalala’s home was searched by the Royal Swaziland Police with the rangers. There they recovered more of Purcell’s stolen items: his holster, cattle stun gun and briefcase. Following Dumakutse’s confession, the police and rangers continued to Dumakutse’s father’s homestead where they were shown the hiding place of more of Purcell’s stolen property and more AK47 automatic weapons of war.

Following this, there was a full Police investigation into the Big Bend affair.

To summarize, the Police took possession of:

• A total of four AK47s
• All the recovered stolen weapons and belongings from the armed robbery, March 1992
• The rhino horns of one dead rhino.

All this was recovered from the two people who drew guns in the Big Bend shootout – Dumakutse and Ncampalala.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to prosecute the game rangers, because they had no case to answer. This is the DPP’s prerogative.

Ted Reilly was not charged with murder as it is claimed. A nole proseque was granted to lawyer Sam Earnshaw following an application by Yonge Nawe to the High Court, with a certificate of urgency for the private prosecution of Ted Reilly and his game rangers. After more than a year no private prosecution had materialized, despite the certificate of urgency with which it had been submitted, and this resulted in the DPP withdrawing the nole proseque on the premise that it had had an inordinate period of time to be processed and that it was wrong to have it hanging over someone who was not being prosecuted.

So, in summary, dangerous men with dangerous weapons were robbing Swaziland of her heritage. They were stopped. And they were stopped by the law.

Any law enforcement agency, which Big Game Parks is, is never popular with criminals if it applies the law without fear or favour. In response to accusations that Big Game Parks' game rangers are above the law and shoot people with impunity, we simply say these statements cannot be substantiated because they are simply untrue. No ranger who abuses his powers is above the law, and it does not require the police to arrest him if he does because the rangers of BGP do so themselves, and hand the wrong-doer to the police. Indeed, if sensible and unbiased research were conducted, it would be found that the rangers of Big Game Parks have arrested and charged their own colleagues for breaking the law. So, if any person checks, he will find this to be true – it is all a matter of police record and can be checked on.

Operation Big Bend is still considered to be the most successful anti-poaching bust of all time in Swaziland. The Kingdom’s rhinos were without any doubt saved from extinction for the second time by the collective impact of the Big Bend Shoot-Out and the Swaziland Game Act as Amended. Since December 1992, Swaziland has not lost a rhino to poaching – a record that no other African Rhino Range State can claim! But of course, it all goes back to the top. Without the encouragement of the King and his Office, nature conservation would not have survived in Swaziland.

Food for Thought

From a simple calculation using an average rhino inter-calving period of 30 months, it can be extrapolated that the rhino recruitment yield of 20-odd animals could have been expected between 1991 and 2004 from those two rhino females that were slain in 1991. Add to this Msholo – a rhino bull known to have died by Dumakutse’s hand, and an additional two or three rhino calves born to those born in 1992, 1993 and 1994. Therefore, we are looking at a probable loss of some 25 rhinos over the 13 years following the Big Bend Shooting. WHO WILL PAY FOR THESE LOSSES?

The Swaziland Rhino Story

Both black and white rhino were absent from Swaziland for nearly 70 years, until in 1965, the first pair of white rhinos returned to Mlilwane, to be followed by more. Umfolozi Game Reserve in the now KZN province of South Africa, was where the rhino populations of southern Africa were turned around – their numbers had been reduced to an estimated 10-40 animals in the 1930’s. The Natal Parks Board, with individuals such as Ian Player, Tony Harthoorn, Moses Ntombela and Nick Steele among others, were instrumental in saving this species from extinction. The Umfolozi populations exploded and some rhino naturally dispersed beyond the park boundary. These break-out rhino were classified “problem animals” – and some among these (about 60 in total) were donated to Mlilwane. From this tiny nucleus, today’s southern white rhino population has grown to become one of the world’s most successful conservation exercises.

With the proclamation of Hlane, many of the rhino donated to Mlilwane were diverted to Hlane, with its prime habitat and greater space. Most of these original animals broke through fences and bomas and dispersed as far as Mozambique – this was termed the “First Dispersal”. How many stayed is not certain, but the rhino did well at Hlane. By early 1984, the population at Hlane had grown to approximately 110 animals and probably more!

Under the reign of King Sobuza ll, there was a no culling policy. The King stated that the animals had sought refuge from him, so who was he to slaughter them?! The game populations at Hlane continued to grow, with wildebeest alone reaching no less than 4600 animals. Space was limited and due to incredible competition amongst the grazers, natural selection took place – wildebeest, zebra and impala populations reduced by more than 50%, while the white rhino pushed through the fences in search of grass and space – moving as far as Maloma! Capture and release back on to Hlane proved pointless as they broke out of the park again and again. This was termed the “Second Dispersal”. By the end of 1984, following this second dispersal, the rhino population had settled as a resident population of approximately 36 animals. No rhino had succumbed to commercial horn hunting at that stage, but several had been killed by trains running through Hlane. From this settled nucleus the rhino population grew and founder groups were introduced to Malolotja and Mlawula.

The Mlawula rhino population was initially successful and grew to 26 animals, but this population was later devastated by poaching during the rhino war. Furthermore, Mlawula’s proximity to Mozambique did not help.

The Malolotja population also died out, probably due to sub-optimal habitat.

Mkhaya became Swaziland’s 4th protected area when it was purchased to provide a home for the Kingdom’s highly endangered Nguni Cattle, which had virtually vanished as a pure breed through contamination by alien breeds. Because the sourveld at Mlilwane was sub-optimal habitat, its rhinos also began breaking through the fences. Two of these were donated to the Kruger National Park while others were relocated to Hlane and then to Mkhaya where an endangered species programmes was being developed.

Hippo History

In 1967 Mlilwane received her first Hippo bull from Kruger National Park. Being a sole hippo on the Sanctuary, he busied himself by performing somersaults in the water – his big flat feet often seen breaking the surface of the water amid a mad of ripples. This earned him the name Somersault!

12 years later, in 1979, the London Zoological Society donated a young female hippo from Whipsnade Zoo in England. Winnie (taken from ‘Winile’ which in SiSwati means ‘to win’) flew out in a passenger carrying jumbo jet, sponsored by SAA, to join Mlilwane’s lone bull. Ian Haggie provided tickets to England for Ted & Liz Reilly to fly back with Winnie, and the news made newspaper headlines in the UK, Swaziland and South Africa. In midair, the Captain called Ted and Liz to the cockpit and asked a few questions. As the story goes, he reached for his microphone and called all passengers for their attention, notifying them that there was a good tonne of live hippo on board in the hold, destined for Swaziland. When the Reilly’s opened the door of the cockpit, returning to their seats, they were met by a scene of passengers sitting bolt upright, their white knuckles and faces bearing large concerned eyes!

The Natal Parks Board then donated a third hippo cow and the three were for many years the only protected nucleus of hippo in Swaziland. Some local businesses in Matsapha including Alfa Cement later donated another hippo, and the pod grew quickly. Another male hippo, Machobane, was later donated by Whipsnade Zoo.

Somersault has sadly passed on, having reached a ripe old age. Winnie took to the delicacies provided on a neighbouring farm which lead to her capture and now lives happily at Mkhaya Game Reserve, along with Machobane.

The Return of the Royal Symbols

Probably the highlight of Swazi conservation to date has been the return of the lion and the elephant – the symbols of the Royal House of Swaziland. The lion, Ngwenyama, represents the King for his power and majesty and the Queen Mother, Ndlovukati, is represented by the matriarch elephant – respectively the wise patriarch and matriarch of the Swazi nation. These animals, so significant to Swazi culture, were hunted to extinction in Swaziland in the early 1900’s. The last known record of an elephant sighting in the Kingdom was in 1954 when two vagrant bulls crossed north to south through the lowveld, moving from SA to Mozambique. Recently 4 bulls visited from Zululand, 2 of which were darted and collared by Mick Jubela Reilly before being heralded back to KZN.

In January 1986 the first two young orphan elephant bull calves arrived from Kruger. They stayed in a boma in Mlilwane Rest Camp before going to Mkhaya, the only park with adequate electric fencing at the time. A second group of 18 animals arrived in April 1987 and where introduced to Hlane and Mkhaya.

The lion was one of the later reintroductions to Swaziland – and possibly the climax. The last lion seen on Hlane before this was by King Sobuza ll was on Hlane at Hunter’s Rock, in the 1950’s. Following a command by King Mswati lll at the opening of Bhubesi Camp on 5th April 1991, Big Game Parks organised three young lions – one male and two females donated by South African National Parks Board, with capture and relocation costs sponsored by Dr Anton Rupert. The lions arrived in Swaziland on 9th February 1994 and were released into a large specially fenced area (funded by the

Big Game Parks, Swaziland falls under 3 main sections:
 

• National Conservation Agency
• Conservation Division
• Tourism Division

The National Conservation aspect of Big Game Parks materialized from official recognition that, BGP had not only restored many species of animals to Swaziland after they had gone locally extinct, but also had the skills and experience necessary to successfully manage and administer the legislation which saves the animals from extinction within Swaziland.

That the Game Act and CITES are positioned officially under the office and portfolio of the Head of State underscores the importance of Nature Conservation and its contributions to Tourism and to sustained job opportunity. Swaziland is indeed fortunate to have had Nature Conservation officially elevated to King’s Office level.

The Head of State has delegated the administration and responsibility of the Game Act to Big Game Parks, whose mandate includes permitting, representing Swaziland at CITES and law enforcement. All of this is funded from the self generated revenues of BGP, making it essential for this institution to be self sustaining.

The following pages on this website deal with commentary from the National Conservation aspect of Big Game Parks.

All that is Nature Conservation in Swaziland today began 40 years ago with the drive and tenacity of the Reilly family to arrest the plunder of the country’s wildlife heritage, to provide safe haven for the Kingdom’s wildlife and to restore those species which had become locally extinct. In their determined mission the Reilly’s were strongly supported by King Sobhuza II. That support is now solidly entrenched and promoted by His Majesty King Mswati III, Ngwenyama of Swaziland, whose passion for all things natural is matched only by his compassion for the wild creatures of his Kingdom and by his commitment to the wellbeing of his people.

Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary (1961), Hlane Royal National Park (1967), Swaziland National Trust Commission (1972), Malolotja Nature Reserve (1974), Mlawula Nature Reserve (1976), Mkhaya Game Reserve (1980) – these were all the brainchildren of the originators of the Nature Conservation movement in the Kingdom, who initiated them.

The Kingdom of Swaziland’s Big Game Parks (BGP) today represents the culmination of 40 years of successful Nature Conservation in Swaziland. BGP is a private organization which administers Hlane Royal National Park, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary and Mkhaya Game Reserve. Today BGP has grown to become the officially delegated Administrative and Management Authority of the Game Act, CITES and all international agreements and conventions on wildlife, and BGP represents the Kingdom of Swaziland on all such fora. Big Game Parks operates under the Auspices of the King’s Office and is directly responsible to the Head of State. This may be the precedent to, and currently the only example of privatization of Government legislation in practice.

It says much for Swaziland’s commitment to Nature Conservation that this National responsibility is vested in the portfolio of the Head of State, thereby carrying the status and the honour of being overseen by the Highest Authority in the land.

The title “Big Game Parks” was chosen for it’s marketing values and in no way reflects the importance of one species over another. All creatures great and small are important, as are the habitats which support them. But, because in the absence of government subsidy each Park has to be self-sustaining, revenues from tourism are vital. While most tourists are attracted by Big Game and will pay for it, they are less likely to pay to see plants, beetles and other smaller animals – hence the title. It is a matter of pride that Big Game Parks has achieved self-sustainability without ever compromising conservation ethics.

For Marketing Queries please contact:

Katie McCarthy, Big Game Parks' Marketing Manager

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Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge becomes National Finalist in the 'Game or Nature Experience' in the AA Quality Assured Accommodation Awards.

Mkhaya Game Reserve wins the 'Travellers Value Award for Top-End Leisure Travellers' in the AA Quality Assured Accommodation Awards.

Mkhaya Game Reserve becomes National Finalist in the 'Game Lodge' category at the 2012 AA Quality Assured Accommodation Awards.

'A rhino walk at Mkhaya stands on a par with a mountain gorilla encounter in Central Africa.', Stephen Cunliffe, Freelance Photojournalist writing for Wild Magazine, Winter 2012 Edition

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‘The birding at Mkhaya was exceptional. The best sightings of the numerous Narina Trogons were right in Stone Camp.’ John Davies, Lawson’s Birding, 2012

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‘[Mkhaya] boasts that you’re more likely to meet Black Rhino here than anywhere else in Africa and, judging by our experience, this is true.’ Kate Armstrong, Lonely Planet, 2012

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'Mkhaya Game Reserve offers one of the most unique lodges in the continent', Awesome Africa, January 2012  

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Of the 23 species of crocodiles, Africa has 3. The crocodile found in Swaziland is known as the 'Nile' crocodile.

Crocodiles are highly specialised and patient ambush predators with mottled shades of green, grey and black which makes them almost impossible to detect in the water while they lie in wait for their prey.

In addition to their colour, their streamline shape, webbed feet and positioning of the eyes, ears and nostrils on the top of the head make crocodile's the ultimate aquatic ambush predator. This enables them to have full senses of their surroundings while their bodies remain well hidden below the water surface.

When potential prey approaches the water, the hunting crocodile will submerge below the water and stealthily sneak up on the unsuspecting prey which could include pigs, cattle, buffalo, and humans. The crocodile will occasionally raise its eyes slightly above the water’s surface to assess its approach before submerging again and moving closer. When the target is in range, the crocodile will suddenly lunge forward in an incredible show of strength and speed, snapping its powerful jaws closed on the closest part of the targeted prey. The victim will then be dragged into deeper water where it is drowned. The carcass (if a large animal) will be stored in the water until it decomposes. This aids the crocodile in tearing the carcass apart by rolling and twisting pieces of the body off before swallowing whole limbs etc., washing it down with water. The bones and horns are then quickly digested by the gastric enzymes (stomach acids) which are the most acid recorded in any vertebrate animal.

Having mated, the female crocodile will lay 20-95 eggs into a nest in the sand which she will cover and then guard against predators such as monitor lizards and mongooses. After 2½ - 3 months the eggs will hatch. The young crocodiles vary from ± 27 – 37cm long and their sex is determined by the temperatures which they have been exposed to in the nest as hormonal responses to the different temperatures determines the hatchling's sex. This is a different mechanism to most other animals, where the sex is determined by the combination of X and Y chromosomes at the time of fertilization.

A Crocodile guarding her nest

After the female has carried the young hatchlings to the water in her mouth, the hatchlings graduate from preying on small fish, insects and frogs to eventually being able to prey on animals as large as buffalo when they grow over 4 meters long.

It is believed that under natural conditions, approximately only 1-2% of crocodile hatchlings survive to adulthood as they are heavily predated on by fish, monitor lizards, birds, snakes and predatory mammals while they are young.

Habitat

• Crocodiles are reptiles that have inhabited warm waters such as the Lowveld and Middleveld rivers of Swaziland for millions of years. Pre Historic

• Crocodiles have lived in more or less their present form for 240 million years, having outlived the dinosaurs. Status

• Crocodiles are listed as Royal Game in Swaziland and are therefore well protected.

• In South Africa, crocodiles are listed as a Specially Protected Species.

• Being listed in the United Nations Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) on Appendix I & II, the trade in crocodiles and their products is therefore strictly controlled globally.

Description

• Crocodiles hatch from eggs and grow from 27cm up to 5 meters in length.

• Only become dangerous to humans from +- 2 meters length.

• Up to 2 meters length, they feed on fish, insects, carrion and small animals.

• Need deep water to drown caught prey.

• Large crocodiles in deep water can kill animals as big as cattle and buffalo.

Habits

• Crocodiles hunt by ambushing prey, which comes to swim, drink or wallow at the waters edge.

• They lunge forward and grab the prey with their mouths before dragging the struggling victim into deeper water to drown it. Deep water is needed for drowning prey and animals as big as cattle and buffalo are killed in this manner.

• Crocodiles may go onto land to retrieve dead animals or incapacitated animals, but they do not hunt out of the water.

• On land they are likely to bite or swat their tails in self defence if one approaches too closely

• When people come to the waters edge to drink, collect water, fish or swim, they fall into the category of prey for crocodiles.

Usutu River: Entering rivers to catch fish with nets is not only illegal, but it also endangers people’s lives as they enter crocodile habitat

• Once a crocodile has killed its prey, it places it somewhere in the river or dam and waits for it to decompose.

• Crocodiles have teeth like a rake and therefore cannot cut pieces of meat off a carcass like many other predators but can exert a force of up to 1 ton when they bite.

• Once the meat becomes decomposed, pieces of the carcass are twisted off by rolling in the water.

• Crocodiles are also highly efficient scavengers and eat on any carcass that may float down the river, thus keeping the waters clean.

• For this reason crocodiles are blamed for many more deaths than they are actually responsible for because we automatically assume that because a crocodile is seen guarding a carcass in the river, it was killed by that crocodile.

• In undisturbed systems, crocodiles help to control the populations of predatory barble (cat-fish) which in turn lends to a healthy diversity of other fish species.

• When the weather warms during the Summer months a crocodile’s metabolism, (kugayeka kwe kudla emtimbeni kutoze umtimba abe nemandla), speeds up and it therefore needs to feed.

• During the cooler months, the metabolism slows down and crocodiles go for months without a meal.

It can therefore safely be said that in Swaziland, due to our temperature variations between Summer and Winter, crocodiles only actively hunt during the warmer months.

However during the cooler months if you swim or enter a crocodile's territory/habitat you may be caught and killed by the crocodile but it is unlikely to feed.

• Crocodiles also have the habit of looking for new homes and can cover long distances over land during rainy weather and at night.

Crocodiles swallow large chunks of meat and bone having twisted it off a carcass.

HOW TO AVOID PROBLEMS WITH CROCODILES

As with drinking and driving using common sense and making behavioral changes are key to avoiding conflict with crocodiles!

SURVIVAL RULES

Rule # 1: Use your common sense – If you drink and drive you are likely to have an accident – the same applies to swimming in waters likely to contain crocodiles!

Rule # 2: Consider all waters (drains, pools, canals and rivers) to contain crocodiles in the Middleveld and Lowveld. You will never know when a crocodile has moved into a pool.

Rule # 3: If you must go to the waters edge do not spend time in the same place – keep moving around and do what you need to do as quickly as possible and retreat

Find a place where the water is too shallow for a crocodile to hide underwater and do what you have to do quickly. In areas where crocodiles are known to occur, barriers (e.g. weld-mesh) can be placed in the water to protect those that are collecting water.

Umbuluzi River: The simple precaution of erecting a barrier from behind which to collect water is a cheap and logical precaution which many people unfortunately don’t take. Similar barriers can be made out of rocks, logs, thorn branches or weld mesh.

Rule # 4: Do not swim near deep or dirty waters in the Lowveld and Middleveld, you will only be invading the crocodile’s home and tempting him with a potential meal. STOP OTHERS FROM SWIMMING as well.

Rule # 5: Do not splash while in the water. Crocodiles are attracted by splashing as it indicates to him that you are struggling and this offers an easy catch for a crocodile. If you find yourself having to swim, try to do so as quietly as possible. It is a popular belief that a crocodile's favourite meal is a dog. This is untrue and comes from the fact that dogs splash when they swim and therefore are more attractive to crocodiles. Crocodiles eat a wide variety of meat.

Rule # 6: If you find a crocodile with a carcass in the water, do not try to take it away from it as this will only endanger yourself and will ensure that the crocodile remains hungry and will therefore need to catch something else or somebody else to satisfy its hunger.

Rule # 7: If you do end up being caught by a large crocodile, you have little chance of surviving as crocodiles are tremendously strong and efficient swimmers.

If you have the presence of mind, then try to stop the crocodile from dragging you to deep water and you may try gouging at its eyes to induce the crocodile to release its grip. Generally speaking – your chances of escape from a large crocodile are very slim.

PROBLEM CROCODILES.

• Remember that crocodiles are protected by law in Swaziland whether inside or outside a Game Reserve.

• It is therefore illegal to take the law into your own hands and kill, capture, keep, hunt or injure a crocodile without a permit.

• The course of action to take with problem animals is as follows:

1. Make sure it is a crocodile, which has the ability (size) to endanger livestock and human life, and not a Leguaan (Monitor lizard, “Chamu”).

2. Report the crocodile to Game Rangers at Big Game Parks – 23838100 or 25283943/4 or your nearest Police Station.