Hi esteemed Ecologgers! I have recently moved to Uganda, near Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (home of half the world¹s mountain gorillas), where I started a small (501c3 pending) nonprofit organization the REDEMPTION SONG FOUNDATION (http://www.redemptionsongfoundation.org or http://www.facebook.com/redemptionsongfoundation like us on FB!). The kids are now off to college, so I decided to do something a bit different :)
I am looking for collaborators and will soon be applying for grant funding to farm duiker and/or bush pig. This will serve two simultaneous goals: to reduce poaching via snares that injure mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, and to provide much-needed protein to impoverished and malnourished local peoples who have suffered since the park¹s creation eliminated their ability to hunt wild game (this particularly affected the Batwa forest pygmies who were evicted from the forest in 1991). Does anyone know of any contact names of researchers who might be helpful? I know of the Dambari (Duiker and Mini-Antelope Breeding and Research Institute) in Zimbabwe, which I hope to visit if I receive grant funds, but have not been successful yet getting in touch with folks there. I know different duiker species are bred and kept in many zoos, so I know it can be done, and some research suggests they become docile when bred in captivity. Bush pigs have more offspring per litter and locals like the meat even more than duiker, but they also have sharp tusks and I cant tell if anyone has ever bred them successfully. Has anyone worked on duiker or bush pig in the wild or captivity? Or on breeding micro livestock? (there¹s even a book online - http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=030904295X ). One study found that duiker have tested positive for Ebola. I think but do not know for sure if we are breeding them that they would not be exposed to it (the paper suggests that they ³lick² and eat carcasses, and great apes carry Ebola, and the ones in captivity wouldn¹t have any dead Ebola-laden carcasses to lick or eat), so we could theoretically be reducing the chance of bush-meat poachers to introduce a new Ebola breakout into the human population. I am looking for collaborators on this grant, too, and others as we hope to grow the project beyond the initial pilot phase, if successful. There are many steps in the process, but we are just in the initial investigation stages and welcome any feedback. Or grant suggestions! Wendee Wendee Nicole, Founder & Director, REDEMPTION SONG FOUNDATION (http://www.redemptionsongfoundation.org) M.S. Wildlife Ecology * Freelance Writer * Photographer * Bohemian (http://www.wendeenicole.com) Write for magazine! online class http://www.wendeenicole.com/nature.htm
