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Creating awareness about the plight of giraffes

21 December 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Supplied

read more — The research team helps a giraffe to get up after they have finished collecting data.

Researchers from the University of the Free State (UFS) hope their research to investigate why some animals prefer or avoid some habitats, will also create awareness for the plight of giraffes which have lost more than 80% of some of their subspecies in East Africa and are facing extinction in the wild.

Dr Marietjie Schutte-Smith, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, says the collaborative research being done in South Africa is very unique and could help save subspecies from the brink of extinction – as South Africa has managed to double its giraffe numbers whilst subspecies have declined tremendously.

Why some animals prefer or avoid some habitats

“By using modern analysis techniques and instruments (such as drones and GPS devices), it is possible to study complex environments on a spatial ecology scale and has created the opportunity to investigate why some animals prefer or avoid some habitats,” explains wildlife expert Dr Francois Deacon.

“This in turn opened the door to explore geographic, soil and nutritional qualities the giraffe might prefer or avoid. This is one of the main reasons we are exploring the different factors and driving forces behind a large herbivore’s habitat selection, well-being, body condition parameters and physiological adaptations,” Dr Deacon says.

Veld conditions, plant species composition, tree densities and other available resources such as production yield and water quality determine reproduction successes and how animals disperse, move and distribute over an area. Spatial and ecological distributions of giraffe specifically depend on habitat resources and qualities that in turn affect their complex behavioral tactics and survival.

Strange habits

The research was started back in 2010 by Dr Deacon and Prof Nico Smit from the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the UFS with the pioneering of GPS devices to investigate giraffe spatial ecology and habitat use. The current study was initiated as to why the giraffe would utilise one area more than the other, even if the two habitats had the same tree species, says Dr Schutte-Smith.

Dr Deacon contacted Prof Hendrik Visser and Dr Schutte-Smith from the Department of Chemistry for a possible collaborative effort. Ms Jeaneme Kuhn started her MSc research degree on this project in January 2019 and completed her degree in August 2020 with distinction.

Dr Schutte-Smith says from research done at Rooipoort Nature Reserve it was found that a certain group of giraffes had the strange habit of only eating from specific trees, avoiding similar trees a few metres away. “We wanted to see if this behaviour was due to chemical influences, i.e. if there are specific minerals that are possibly in excess at some places which they avoid, especially since there are mines close by.”

Aim of the research

The main aim of this MSc Chemistry degree, according to Dr Schutte-Smith, is to validate an analytical method for testing leaves and soil samples, using IPC, to see if heavy metals (in excess) are present in the soil, leaves and water and whether this has an influence on the browsing pattern of the giraffes. “Then as secondary aims (for the collaborative effort) we would like to investigate if the giraffe can select one area above the other (core home ranges), to understand what the qualities are that they would select for in the preferred area and what the qualities they avoid are in the other. And lastly to understand what the minimum requirements are to keep the animals happy and healthy, but also to investigate how they search for these qualities,” says Dr Schutte-Smith.

Giraffe conservation

Besides creating awareness of the plight of giraffes, the researchers also aim to create a model for conservation via research and education to be used as an example for other countries. This model incorporates students, academia, professionals, sponsors and stakeholders that cover various topics relating to giraffe education, management and conservation.

They would also like to see the UFS as the institution that has contributed the most to giraffe conservation strategies in Africa by being the leading university in the collection and analysis of information about giraffes and their habitats, increasing conservation education awareness about giraffes and African biodiversity and to develop national and/or regional plans aimed at giraffe conservation.

The research team successfully applied for funding which they used for chemicals and solvents to perform testing as well as sampling.

News Archive

Socially inclusive teaching provides solution to Grade 4 literacy challenges

2017-01-23

Mots’elisi Malebese, postdoctoral Fellow of the Faculty
of Education at the University of the Free State (UFS) tackles
Grade 4 literacy challenges.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Imagine a teaching approach that inculcates richness of culture and knowledge to individual learners, thus enhancing equity, equality, social justice, freedom, hope and fairness in terms of learning opportunities for all, regardless of learners’ diversity.

This teaching strategy was introduced by Mots’elisi Malebese, postdoctoral Fellow of the Faculty of Education at the University of the Free State (UFS), whose thesis focuses on bringing together different skills, knowledge and expertise in a classroom environment in order to enhance learners’ competence in literacy.

A teaching approach to aid Grade 4 literacy competency
Titled, A Socially Inclusive Teaching Strategy to Respond to Problems of Literacy in a Grade 4 Class, Malebese’s post-doctoral research refers to an approach that improves listening, speaking, reading, writing, technical functioning and critical thinking. Malebese, who obtained her PhD qualification in June this year, says her research confirmed that, currently, Grade 4 is a bottleneck stage, at which learners from a low socio-economic background fall behind in their learning due to the transition from being taught in their home language to English as a medium of instruction.

Malebese, says: “My study, therefore, required practical intervention through participatory action research (PAR) to create conditions that foster space for empowerment.”

PAR indoctrinates a democratic way of living that is equitable, liberating and life-enhancing, by breaking away from traditional teaching methods. It involves forming coalitions with individuals with the least social, cultural and economic power.

Malebese’s thesis was encouraged by previous research that revealed that a lack of readiness for a transitional phase among learners, teachers’ inability to teach literacy efficiently, and poor parental involvement, caused many learners to experience a wide variety of learning barriers.

A co-teaching model was adopted in an effort to create a more socially inclusive classroom. This model involves one teacher providing every learner with the assistance he or she needs to succeed, while another teacher moves around the room and provides assistance to individual learners.

“Learners’ needs are served best by allowing them to demonstrate understanding in a variety of ways, because knowledge is conveyed and accomplished through collaborative work,” Malebese said.

She believes the most important benefit of this model is assuring that learners become teachers of their understanding and experiences through gained knowledge.

Roleplayers get involved using diverse expertise in their field
Teachers, parents and several NGOs played a vital role in Malebese’s study by getting involved in training, sewing and cooking clubs every weekend and during school holidays. English was the medium of teaching and learning in every activity. A lodge, close to the school, offered learners training in mountain biking and hiking. These activities helped learners become tour guides. Storyteller Gcina Mhlophe presented learners with a gift of her latest recorded storytelling CD and books. Every day after school, learners would read, and have drama lessons once a week.

AfriGrow, an organisation that works with communities, the government and the corporate sector to develop sustainable community-driven livelihoods through agricultural and nutrition programmes, provided learners with seedlings, manure and other garden inputs and training on how to start a sustainable food garden. The children were also encouraged to participate in sporting activities like soccer and netball.

“I was aware that I needed a large toolbox of instructional strategies, and had to involve other stakeholders with diverse expertise in their field,” Malebese said.

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