2. NAGANA CAMPAIGN
The tsetse fly and the disease that it spreads - Nagana, have played a major
role in the history of the Mkhuze Game Reserve. Nagana is a wasting disease in
domestic stock caused by a blood parasite spread by the fly. There are 19
species of the fly, 3 of which were to be found in Zululand. One species in
particular, Glossina
pallidipes almost resulted in the abolition of not only the Mkhuze
Game Reserve, but of the other major game reserves in Zululand, such as
Umfolozi and Hluhluwe as well. Unwittingly though, the fly was to become an
unlikely ally in the battle to retain the reserve, by delaying its
deproclamation.
To understand the problems caused by Nagana, it is necessary to take a brief
look at the life cycle of the fly and the history of the disease in Zululand.
Tsetse flies are to be found in "fly belts", the limits of which are
controlled by various factors such as vegetation, shade, moisture and the
presence of game. The flies are solely dependent on blood for their food and
become infected by engorging on game, which are immune to Nagana. The
mouthparts of the tsetse fly contain a hollow proboscis that is used to pierce
the skin and draw up blood, as with a syringe. The blood, along with
trypanosome parasites from game animals, passes into the insect's stomach and,
in time, some of the parasites lodge in on the fly's proboscis. When the fly
takes it next meal, and if this is on a domestic animal, the parasites are
transmitted to the new host. The flies therefore become the carriers of the
trypanosomes parasites responsible for the Nagana disease in domestic animals.
A single infected fly may infect several animals through its bites in the
course of obtaining a single blood meal.
This highly specialised insect has a unique life cycle. The fly larvae are
deposited in sheltered spots on loose sandy soil, in bush thickets or under
the low canopy of a single plant. The larvae burrow their way into the loose
soil where they pupate within 1 to 3 hours. The pupal period varies from 15 to
70 days although they have been known to survive in this state for as long as
90 days. Since 1890 the tsetse fly Glossina pallidipes had been the cause of great
concern in South Africa, particularly in the Transvaal Lowveld and Zululand.
This hardy insect could exist in thinly scattered communities, feeding on
small game such as warthog, bushpig and bushbuck and it was considered to be
the most difficult of all the species of tsetse flies to eradicate.
Following the annexation of
Zululand to Britain, it was brought to the attention of Sir Charles Saunders,
later Chief Magistrate and Civil Commissioner for Zululand, that the local
population were dependant on game for food and that very little game existed,
except in the uninhabited localities. As a consequence of this, strict laws
for the preservation of game were passed. This had a counter-productive
effect. Unknown to the colonists, the subsequent increase in the numbers of
large game animals in the Colony caused a corresponding increase in the
occurrence of tsetse flies, which spread Nagana amongst domestic cattle.
Drastic action in this matter became an urgent necessity.
When Surgeon-Major Sir David
Bruce, arrived in the primitive settlement of Ubombo, near the Mkhuze Game
Reserve, in 1894, he found conditions a far cry from his native Scotland. He
was on an important mission though. Very little was known about the tsetse fly
until the 1890s and he had been invited by the Governor of Natal and Zululand,
Sir Hely-Hutchinson to investigate the causes of Nagana, which was resulting
in large-scale mortality in cattle. Since the expansion of European settlement
into Zululand in the 1890s, following the Anglo Zulu War of 1879, there had
been speculation amongst the Colonists that the disease known amongst the
local population as "Unagane",
was caused by cattle associating with the tsetse fly. The fly was prevalent in
areas inhabited by big game and, to many residents in Zululand, there was a
definite relationship between game, the tsetse fly, Nagana and Rinderpest.
Bruce was employed to investigate the problem.
Long before Bruce began his
investigations into the disease, the Zulus had their own theories as to why
their cattle were dying. They believed that their cattle caught "Unagane"
by grazing and ingesting the saliva left by big game feeding on plants in
areas where such animals were to be found. When Bruce arrived at Ubombo, the
mechanics of the disease were not clearly understood. From his research post
at Ubombo, Bruce reported that the whole of the Ubombo and Ingwavuma Districts
were tsetse "fly belt" areas. It was impossible to keep domestic
stock here because of the disease and, towards the end of 1894, by analysing
the blood of diseased animals, he had identified the tsetse fly as the carrier
of Nagana. It was David Bruce who discovered that the adult tsetse fly acted
as a carrier of the living parasite that was to be found in the blood of wild
animals. His early findings were published in a report entitled Tsetse Fly
Disease or Nagana in Zululand.
Following the Rinderpest epidemic
of 1896, strict measures for the preservation of game were introduced and
enforced. No permits were issued for the destruction of "royal
game", a category that excluded kudu and buffalo, two of the major
carriers of the disease. The Rinderpest epidemic had led to a practical
absence of Nagana from 1897 to 1905 but, with the stricter game laws in force
at the time, Nagana started to reappear. Numerous complaints were received
from transport riders and the local population concerning deaths amongst their
cattle as the disease spread from one district to another, beyond the confines
of the game reserves.
The opening up of approximately a third of Zululand for white
settlement in 1906 aggravated the position. Many of the new settlements were
close to the game reserves that were in existence at the time and they were
thus exposed to Nagana, a factor that was to have far-reaching consequences
later. The problems associated with Nagana continued to plague the inhabitants
of Zululand for more than a decade, before the central government appointed
R.H. Harris in 1921 to carry out further investigations into the tsetse fly
problem. With the allotment of farms in the Mkhuze area in the late twenties,
the Nagana problem had became more serious and the measures of bush clearing
and burning, which had to date been employed against the tsetse fly, were
intensified. Additional staff was appointed in 1927 to work on the Nagana
problem and Harris, who had retired in 1926, was re-employed in 1929 to renew
the battle against the tsetse fly. From 1929 through to 1931, 35 000 head of
game was destroyed in Zululand, including 2000 zebra and many inyala from
Mkhuze. Dr George Campbell, Chairman of the Natal Branch of the Wildlife
Society, paid a visit to Zululand at the time and wrote a scathing indictment
for the press of the wholesale slaughter that was carrying on. He complained,
in particular, of the "complete
lack of scientific control of the whole campaign. Take for example, the
destruction of game in Mkhuze, and the terrible slaughter of inyala, our
rarest and most beautiful species on the Ubombo Flats".
It was around this time too that the regional control of the Zululand game
reserves underwent significant changes, with the retirement of Vaughan Kirby
and the appointment of Symons and Potter.
Harris's investigations had led
him to a realisation that the tsetse fly hunted by sight rather than smell and
this, in turn, led to the invention of the Harris Fly Trap in the late
twenties. In Harris's early experiments with his tsetse fly trap he used an
inverted packing case with a hessian skirt around the base and within a few
hours of placing it in the bush, the box had trapped 82 tsetse flies. The
design of the trap was refined and later consisted of a large hessian-covered
wooden structure, with galvanised iron sides, surmounted by a wooden box. It
was designed to resemble an animal in size and shape. It used no bait and
attracted flies purely through their visual sense. A tsetse fly, seeing the
trap, would take it for an animal and settle on the "underbelly of the
beast" entering the trap through an opening at the bottom. It then made
its way to the wooden box at the top of the trap, from which there was no
escape. The traps, which cost \A37 each, were considered to be a good
mechanical device for recording the presence of the fly and by 1938, 25 000 of
them were in use in Zululand.
The Veterinary Department had
planned an extensive anti-Nagana campaign in Mkhuze and on 24 October 1938,
Captain Potter wrote to the Provincial Secretary advising him that activities
of the Nagana research team were about to be begin. On 19 May 1939, the
Director of Veterinary Services, Dr P.J. du Toit, wrote to the Provincial
Secretary as well, confirming that it had been agreed some years ago that
Mkhuze should be deproclaimed as a game reserve. This was to allow the
Veterinary Department free rein in their measures to combat Nagana. Action in
the matter had however been delayed because of fly-trapping operations taking
place elsewhere in Zululand. He informed the Provincial Secretary that
Onderstepoort was now anxious to start its campaign in Mkhuze and that the
first consignment of traps would be sent to the reserve during the next few
weeks. At the same time he sent in his recommendation that the deproclamation
of the reserve should not be gazetted immediately.
Dr du Toit followed up his letter
with a personal visit to Zululand in September 1939. After this trip he
changed his mind about agreeing to take over control of Captain Potter's
guards and having them in the reserve. He met with Potter during his visit. In
the report written on his return from this trip he stated "I
made it quite clear at the outset that to make a success of our campaign in
this reserve we should have to take complete control over the whole area,
including the game in the area. I explained that it would be better not to
have any of Captain Potter's guards in the Mkhuze reserve, when once we
started our operations. We should prefer to appoint our own guards, should
that be found necessary. I also made it clear that, for the present, we did
not wish to have the Mkhuze Reserve deproclaimed. It would be better for the
public still to regard this as a reserve in which no shooting was allowed;
otherwise deproclamation would simply have the effect of attracting large
numbers of biltong hunters who would come to Mkhuze for a cheap shoot".
It is again ironic to note at
this point in the history of the reserve, that the existence of the fly in the
reserve once more saved it from deproclamation! The very argument that had so
persistently been presented for the past 25 years in efforts to get the
reserve deproclaimed, namely the presence of the tsetse fly, was now to become
an ally in the retention of the game reserve. In the light of what
subsequently happened it is sad to note how inaccurate an earlier statement of
Dr du Toit's, that it would not be necessary to destroy much game in the
reserve, was to become. He did add at the time "it
would be quite impossible to guarantee the safety of all Royal Game as it
might be necessary to shoot some of these animals in the course of our
work". He also added that the "the best way of overcoming the
difficulty would be to give special rights to Mr Harris and his staff to shoot
Royal game and any other game in the Mkhuze area. Mr Charter (Secretary, Zululand Game
Reserves and Parks Board) will
take the necessary steps to obtain this right for our staff".
On 1 October 1939 it was agreed
that control of Mkhuze would formally pass to the Veterinary Department and
Captain Shenton was appointed to the reserve in November as a temporary
ranger. On 15 February 1940 a letter from the Provincial Secretary was sent to
Shenton, appointing him under the game ordinance to control Mkhuze. He had 8
game guards under him, whose duties were to be the prevention of poaching
within the confines of the reserve. His staff was supplied with tunics and
identification armbands to indicate that they had the necessary authority to
act in this capacity. The Zululand Game Reserves and Parks Board was again
given the assurance that there was no intention at the time of destroying
large numbers of game animals and, in particular, of interfering with the
black rhinos in the reserve. Practical control of Mkhuze passed from the
Zululand Game Reserves and Parks Board to the Veterinary Division in 1941.
The Veterinary Division's initial
campaign was based on the belief that Nagana could be eradicated through the
extensive use of the Harris Fly Trap and by clearing areas of bush to create
effective barriers, thereby destroying likely breeding places of the fly. By
clearing the bush the flytraps would also become more visible to the flies.
Twenty-one thousand traps were already in use at this time in the Umfolozi and
Hluhluwe reserves and arrangements had been made early in 1940 to send
additional traps to Mkhuze. The traps did not have the desired effect though
of eradicating Nagana from the area.
A second major campaign against
the disease was undertaken from March 1943 to February 1950. The objective of
this campaign involved the wholesale destruction of game. The thinking behind
this strategy was that, if sufficient animals were destroyed, the fly would be
deprived of its host and Nagana would disappear. The rationale behind this
theory ignored the fact that it would be virtually impossible to wipe out all
the species of wild animals that could act as hosts to the fly.
This was a controversial subject,
even within the Division of Veterinary Services and Dr du Toit himself was not
in favour of it. By the time the campaign started 24 guards had been employed
to do the shooting and patrol the boundaries of the reserve.
Before the shooting started, a
report was submitted to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Laboratory on 30 October
1942, which included estimates of the numbers of impala in the reserve to be
2500, inyala 1500 and blue wildebeeste 1600. The inaccuracy of these figures
was to become apparent when the final tally of animals destroyed was made.
After completion of the campaign, a report submitted to the Chief Conservator,
Zululand, Captain H.B. Potter by W. Foster of the Nagana Research Station at
Mtubatuba revealed the enormity of the slaughter that had taken place.
Accurate records which were kept at the time revealed that from March 1943 to
February 1950, 38 552 animals were destroyed in the reserve, adjoining Crown
Lands and unoccupied farms close to Mkhuze. This figure included 6726 blue
wildebeeste, 4385 inyala, 17060 impala and 7436 grey duiker. In the relentless
destruction that had taken place, rare animals such as Suni antelope were also
hunted and 80 of these were shot, as were 434 red bush duiker and 2 black
rhino. This figure is far in excess of the figure estimated to be the total
game population of the reserve in October 1942.
The method employed in the
campaign was to systematically destroy the game from the periphery of the
reserve, moving systematically towards the centre. This was to avoid
scattering the game and spreading the flies over a wider area. It was
organised to include all species of game. The operation was carefully
controlled and all animals destroyed were recorded. The tails of the shot
animals had to be submitted as well as blood, spleen and liver smears. Every
round of ammunition used had to be accounted for. By the time this futile
exercise had run its course new initiatives to combat the disease had been
developed which, after introduction, would finally spell the death knell of
Nagana in Zululand.
In 1945 it was decided that, in
addition to the shooting campaign, the use of insecticides such as DDT to
control the fly should be investigated. Laboratory tests had proved that DDT
was effective against tsetse and other species of flies and it was decided to
experiment with the trial spraying of a designated area from the air. Mkhuze
was chosen for the first experimental spraying as the terrain was flat and
therefore less dangerous for the pilots, who had to fly low over the control
area in tight formation. The area to be sprayed was demarcated by a series of
flags and the initial experiment carried out in Mkhuze was to establish the
degree of susceptibility of the fly to DDT. Other factors which had to be
determined were the most suitable aircraft to use, the solution, method and
speed of delivery, optimal flying height, best time of the day for spraying.
The effect of wind on the distribution of the insecticide also had to be
determined.
A landing strip was cleared for
aircraft and the first experimental spraying in Mkhuze, to establish the most
suitable aircraft for the task took place on 20 October 1945. The Division of
Chemical Services had developed special smoke generators, which could be
fitted to the aircraft. These worked on the principle of dissolving DDT in
furnace oil and spraying the mixture through the venturis of the aircraft. The
DDT was used in this oily solution because it was found that it achieved a
better distribution on bark and leaves. Experiments also established that Avro
Anson aircraft, which could be made available by the Department of Defence,
were the most suitable for the task. The aircraft were fitted with special
tanks, each holding 400 litres of the DDT mixture. Before the pilot took off,
the area to be sprayed was demarcated by smoke generators, in addition to the
flags.
This trial spraying at Mkhuze was
the first attempt made to eradicate the tsetse fly by means of DDT sprayed
from the air. The initial results were encouraging and eventually led to the
Veterinary Department's successful efforts to control the disease. Suitable
aircraft were put at the disposal of the Veterinary Department and the first
three fully organised aerial sprayings of the reserve took place from 26
November 1945 to 15 January 1946.
An
Anson sprays its DDT mixture onto the Bushveld
These early sprayings were not
without their problems. On the first day planned for spraying, the operation
could not be undertaken because of the velocity of the wind. When the planes
could take off, the pilots experienced difficulties with the clogging of the
venturis used to deliver the spray and they could not produce the required
swarf. It was also soon discovered that it was impractical for the pilots to
try and cover the whole reserve by navigating with their compasses, as had
initially been planned. A system of mapping out the areas to be sprayed, using
flags and smoke generators had to be developed. This method was later used
with great success. It was also soon discovered that a method had to be
evolved to use crosswinds to ensure that the DDT spray was delivered in waves
over an area. These problems were all eventually sorted out to the pilots'
satisfaction. On 10 December 1945, Dr Gilles De Kock of the Department of
Veterinary Services could report to Mr W. M. Power that
"as
regards the whole mechanical procedure, we can now say that we have mastered
the situation and the ground organisation has also been perfected".
"How
far we will be able to destroy the active fly or the lurking fly or the
resting fly by this procedure is at present not known or whether we will have
the desired effect with the residual effect of the spray. Furthermore we have
to contend with new flies hatching from the pupae deposited some time
previously. Our intensive trapping in the high fly density area, which is
being recorded daily, will indicate to what extent a drop in the fly-catches
has taken place. It will certainly take us some time before we can form a
definite opinion as regards the efficacy of the spray from aircraft".
He went on to say "I am of the opinion that, with the organisation as
it exists at present and providing weather conditions are satisfactory, the
spraying of approximately 25 square miles of the fly density area in Mkhuze
Game Reserve should not take longer than 3 to 4 days. That will give you time
to go to the reserve to see what is being done under existing conditions
".
After the first three sprayings,
further spraying had to be delayed until the winter of 1946. This was due to
heavy rain in the reserve and the prolific growth of grass and bush. Two more
sprayings were done in August and September 1946. The success of these early
sprayings could be gauged from the results recorded in the traps. Using 230
Harris traps the number of flies caught in them dropped from 22007 in November
1945 to 3705 in March 1946. By September 1946, 291 Harris traps caught only
405 flies.
One of the Avro Anson aircraft
came to grief in the reserve near the present airstrip and its remains are
still to be seen there today. The area was subsequently named "Bhanoyini"
- the place of the aeroplane, by the African staff employed in the reserve at
the time.
Leonard Charles "Singie"
Denyer arrived in Mkhuze from East Griqualand in August 1941, having been
employed shortly before by the Department of Veterinary Services as an
Assistant Stock Inspector. He was to take control of the anti-Nagana campaign
in the reserve. Known amongst the Africans as "Majuta" a name given
to him for his shrewd bargaining prowess whilst managing a trading store in
Mtubatuba. The circumstances of Singie's arrival and early days in the reserve
will be related elsewhere. Having been employed by both the Veterinary
Department and subsequently by the Natal Parks Board, Singie was a mine of
information regarding the anti-Nagana activities in the reserve and the later
return of Mkhuze to the Board's control.
One of his first tasks after he and his wife Dawn arrived in the
reserve was to move into the very simple three-roomed reed cottage, with a
lean-to. After that he was to recruit a labour force of 50 men for bush
clearing, road making and for the building of huts for the staff employed in
leading the "bait cattle", which were used to monitor the presence
of tsetse flies. These camps, built entirely from local material in the form
of bush timber, mud and thatch, were later to be used by the shooting gangs
employed in the game eradication campaign.
Roads in the reserve were non-existent at the time and only a few rough
tracks connected the various shooting camps. When it rained these became
impassable and the camps were isolated until the roads dried out again.
Tsetse flies were, of course not
the only insects killed by the aerial spraying and a team led by Dr Ripley
from the Division of Entomology at Cedara College near Pietermaritzburg
monitored the situation closely to establish the effects of the DDT on other
insects, including useful ones. Lamps were put outside at night over sheets to
establish the extent of the remaining insect population and rotten meat was
left outside to see what insects could be attracted to it. There were other
and more pleasant ways of determining the effects of the spraying on the
insect life. One procedure was to identify specific flowering plants in the
reserve and count the number of bees on a plant at a particular time of day.
These figures would then be compared with the number of bees recorded at the
same time of day, after an aerial spraying had taken place. Singie told me
that after each aerial spraying, a fine mesh net was placed in the water
across the Mkhuze River, when there was sufficient flow to do this, and catch
any insects that had died from the spray and were floating, down the river.
The mortality in insectivorous birds, dying of residual DDT poisoning after
feeding on insects killed by the spray must have been horrendous and may be
left to the imagination. In one report from the Nagana Research Section
submitted in September 1947 it was stated that "material
sprayed on 5 October 1946 still showed lethal residual effect to exposed flies
on 22 October 1946".
By April 1949 Dr E.B. Kluge,
Officer in Charge of the Nagana Research Station could report that " In the Mkhuze Game Reserve the fly position is
very satisfactory. During July 1948 only 2 flies were recorded and in August
1948, only 1". In August, Dr Gillies de Kock of Onderstepoort could
report that "in the last three weeks not
a single fly was caught in the Mkhuze area. No further flies were recorded
until March 1949, when 1 G. austeni was caught at Masheza".
In January 1949, Singie Denyer was appointed an officer within the meaning of
the ordinance to ensure that the provisions of the game ordinance were carried
out.
The remarkable success achieved
at Mkhuze in eliminating the tsetse fly from Zululand resulted in a meeting
being held in Pietermaritzburg on 21 October 1952 to discuss the future of the
Zululand game reserves. On 17 January 1953 the Secretary for Agriculture wrote
to the Provincial Secretary to inform him that his Department had decided to
relinquish control of the Mkhuze Game Reserve within three months. In 1953 the
reserve was accordingly handed back to the Natal Parks, Game and Fish
Preservation Board, but an agreement was reached with Onderstepoort: bait
cattle were to be kept in the reserve to establish whether any tsetse flies
would make their reappearance. Cattle were, in fact, kept there for a number
of years after this date.
At a subsequent meeting, held on
9 February 1954, the Natal Parks, Game and Fish Preservation Board met with
representatives of the Department of Veterinary Services to discuss the future
of the reserve. It was agreed at that meeting that Singie Denyer would be
offered a post with the Board. It was further agreed that he would also be
permitted to control the Veterinary Department's bait cattle, which would have
to be left in the reserve to monitor the fly situation. It would be necessary
for him to retain his official vehicle to cart water for the cattle. So it was
that Singie Denyer joined the service of the Natal Parks, Game and Fish
Preservation Board on 1 September 1954. As late as 1960 there was still
evidence of the Nagana operations to be found in the reserve. Shortly after my
arrival at Mkhuze I was intrigued by platforms of sticks that I had noticed in
some of the trees lining the older roads in the reserve. These platforms, I
was told, had been put up to store game carcasses that had been shot in the
game eradication campaign and which were awaiting collection. Behind the old
office next to Singie's house, I also remember seeing the rotting wooden
remains of numerous Harris flytraps and their galvanised iron sides, which
were haphazardly piled up. Some of the galvanised iron from these old traps
was used in a Heath-Robinson device for the collection of rainwater at the
ranger's quarters at Sordwana Bay, which at that time fell under the control
of the staff at Mkhuze. The rainwater supply was collected from the roof of
the ranger's squaredavel and led through a pipe into a funnel made from the
sides of Harris fly traps. This funnel led into a hole which had been made in
one of the fuel tanks retrieved from the Avro Anson aircraft that had crashed
in Mkhuze during the Nagana campaign. The tank in turn was mounted on a rough
wooden platform. An old Nagana camp at Sycamore Park, once a popular picnic
spot next to the Mkhuze River, now unfortunately inaccessible, was demolished
by Ranger John Dixon as late as 1962.
Perhaps the most interesting
relics of the Nagana campaign still in existence in the reserve are the
remains of three .303 rifle cartridge cases, from ammunition used in the
shooting campaign. These cartridge cases were hammered into a Ziziphus
mucronata tree by staff engaged in the destruction of game, who
had their camp on the crest of the Ndunagazi ridge, in the western section of
the reserve, about 5km from the Mtshopi entrance gate.
According to Singie, these
cartridge cases were from some of the first shots fired in the Nagana shooting
campaign. More than fifty years later, the tree, now aged and weathered by the
elements, still survives. The three weathered rings of the brass rims of the
cartridge cases are still faintly visible in the trunk of the tree - a small
memorial to the thousands of animals that perished in the Nagana campaign.
They remain as a mute reminder of the senseless slaughter of the time and
responsibility, which we all carry to ensure that we act with caution and
circumspection in matters that affect our natural order.
The"cartridge
tree" on Ndunagazi Hill
With the successful conclusion of
the Nagana campaign, one of the major battles for the retention of Mkhuze as a
game reserve had been won, but the fight to preserve the reserve was far from
over. The effectiveness of the aerial spraying of the area and the success it
achieved in eliminating Nagana from Zululand, invalidated for all time one of
the of the major arguments that had been put forward in favour of
deproclaiming Mkhuze. It was later recorded that "the initial results
obtained from the early experiments in the Mkhuze Game Reserve were of the
greatest significance in the planning of the subsequent campaigns to eliminate
Nagana in southern Africa". Despite the success achieved in destroying
the tsetse fly and eliminating Nagana, new and persistent demands for the
deproclamation of the reserve would continue to be made, under one pretext or
another, right through to the early seventies.