Final Leopard Reintroduction to Majete Wildlife Reserve

Resident researcher, Dr Ralf Mullers, tells the story of the two shoebills - Bwalya and Kapotwe - that were rescued instead of being sold to illegal traders.

In 2011, the shoebill named Bwalya was confiscated from Samfya, a town located at Lake Bangweulu, after it was taken from its nest to be sold illegally. The bird was rehabilitated by the shoebill researcher, David Ngwenyama and his assistants at the Chikuni research station situated in the Bangweulu Wetlands. Bwalya underwent a full evaluation and was fitted with a GPS-transmitter before being released. Bwalya is currently doing well and the transmitter is providing important information about shoebill’s whereabouts and movements.

The shoebill is not the only species to fish in the Bangweulu Wetlands, humans use the area intensively and often in the same areas as the shoebills. One of the research objectives is to understand whether human activities could be a limiting factor to the viability of the shoebill population. However, Bwalya seems to be undisturbed by the people and continues to feed on catfish, the shoebill’s main source of food.

In addition to Bwalya, a second shoebill was confiscated in 2011, now from a fisherman at Gibson fishing camp. Kapotwe, was only a few weeks old when she was brought to Chikuni. She was hand-reared for several months, becoming quite habituated to humans. A pond was built in her enclosure and she was supplied with live fish to help with her fishing skills. Kapotwe has grown to be a healthy shoebill and was identified to be a female.

When Kapotwe was old enough, the feeding stopped and she was encouraged to move into the wetlands. In the beginning, Kapotwe did not venture out too far from the research station. On the plain, directly in front of the research station, she found an easy way to get her food by emptying the fishing nets set by the local fishermen.

After a few weeks she started to move away from Chikuni, from one fishing camp to another. Eventually, she settled at a foraging spot close to Shoebill Camp and then became the local celebrity with the tourists. Kapotwe received lots of attention from the locals and tourists, which was not always beneficial for her independence, but currently she feeds in an area where she can live undisturbed for most of the time.