Studying the reptiles and amphibian species of the Okavango River Basin, Dr Werner Conradie discovered some not seen earlier than in Angola and a few newly found ones.
During a number of expeditions to explain the species of the Okavango Delta, Eastern Cape conservationist Dr Werner Conradie not solely wrote a PhD thesis, he additionally found no less than eight new species, most of them snakes.
Accolades apart, the scientist hopes his work will contribute to the safety of the valuable and distinctive pure space.
Conradie is the curator of herpetology (the research of reptiles and amphibians) at Bayworld, a pure and cultural historical past museum in Gqeberha. Last month he obtained his doctorate in nature conservation at Nelson Mandela University’s George Campus.
Growing up within the Karoo, first in Willowmore after which in Uniondale, snakes weren’t his old flame.
“I liked frogs,” he mentioned. “The only time I dealt with snakes was when they tried to catch my frogs.”
But when he began working at Bayworld he got interested within the lives of snakes.
For his thesis, he studied the reptiles and amphibian species of the Okavango River Basin, an space that has not obtained a lot consideration due to the civil conflict in Angola.
The survey began in 2012 and continued till 2019. The snakes and amphibians discovered included some species not seen earlier than in Angola and a few newly found ones.
“Additionally, the novel data generated allowed us to identify the headwaters as an area of high diversity and endemism that translates to high conservation importance,” Conradie mentioned.
Headwaters is a time period scientists use to explain a river near its supply.
“By protecting the headwaters of the Okavango River Basin, we protect the world-renowned delta and its abundance of wildlife, together with the lifeline these waters provide to humans as well,” he mentioned.
Conradie mentioned the civil conflict in Angola has led to the Angolan aspect of the Okavango Delta being uncared for by way of analysis however, due to its isolation and the hazard of landmines, the world had been protected.
Now this a part of the delta is beginning to face the pressures of deforestation, items of land being cleared, the bushmeat commerce and the gathering of honey, which can have an effect on the water high quality and amount.
“This research confirmed the huge ecological riches the Angolan highlands possesses, and offered background, in addition to assessments of reptiles and amphibian species.
“Losing the quality of this complex river system… would result in immeasurable loss, both economically and ecologically,” Conradie mentioned.
Conradie began his job because the curator at Bayworld in 2007.
Delta at risk
“I was always keen to do a PhD,” he mentioned. And so the making of an journey within the Okavango began. “The Okavango Delta… is an area rich in biodiversity and one of the areas in the world with the largest population of elephants,” he mentioned.
“The delta is fed by water from Angola that flows through Angola and Namibia, so if something was to happen to the water along the way we can potentially lose what we have in the delta.”
He mentioned there are issues concerning the delta, together with a discount within the quantity of water flowing in, a delay in seasonal flooding and a drop within the chicken inhabitants.
“We wanted to find out what was causing this. The eight new species we found was almost by accident,” he mentioned.
Five had been new species of snakes. He is now engaged on describing a sixth new one. The researchers studied the snakes within the best element, evaluating genetic samples to substantiate a brand new species.
“It takes about three years to describe a new species,” he mentioned.
One of the newly described species from the delta was a water snake.
“The others are what we call terrestrial snakes. They eat frogs. An interesting one was the shovel-snouted snake. This one eats eggs and its snout is perfectly formed to cut through the shells,” Conradie mentioned.
Two of the opposite species had been new geckos.
“The one lived in an area where the river didn’t flow fast and the other where the river flowed strongly and the water ran over waterfalls and many rocks and cliffs,” he mentioned.
“We also found a new type of frog, similar to the one the people in Namaqualand call the reënpadda,” he mentioned.
Conradie’s colleagues who accompanied him additionally labored on describing chicken species, dragonflies and fish.
Landmines and lions
But doing analysis within the Okavango Delta got here with its personal distinctive obstacles.
“Where we worked there still are a lot of landmines. So we were limited in where we could go. At one of the rivers we wanted to set up camp, and Halo, the demining company that accompanied us, said we can, but only on the right side and only under the bridge, nowhere else. When we woke up we saw the guys picking up landmines on the other side of the river,” he mentioned.
“In the southeast, we had a few encounters with lions and elephants but the higher up we went the fewer of those we saw,” he mentioned.
He mentioned he by no means felt unsafe. “We had the guys from Halo with us all the time… It is a rough life doing these expeditions. You live on rice and beans and you sleep in a one-man tent. You must bring everything in and take everything out again with you.”
But, Conradie added, it was value it.
“It is a unique area on Earth… I am hoping our research will lead to it being declared a national park.”
It is a place of nice magnificence and peace.
“It is the world out there that is more scary,” Conradie mentioned. DM
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