Ministry says there’s no concern about grazing in Etosha
• Photographer confirms elephant photos are authentic
Francoise SteynbergWindhoek
Koos Reyneke, the photographer who captured the shocking images of a dead elephant calf and a burned elephant in Etosha National Park on Sunday, says his photo is definitely not doctored.
The architect, who lives in Windhoek, told Republikein and Kletskompas during an interview yesterday that his photo “stirred up a hornet’s nest” after appearing on newspaper front pages and being widely shared on social media.
“I am almost in trouble,” he joked after being accused — including by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) — of producing photos that were not authentic, that were generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI), or that had been taken in Etosha in the past.
MEFT spokesperson Ndeshipanda Hamunyela questioned the authenticity of Koos’s photos, as did forestry director Johnson Ndokosho, who is currently in Mozambique. The spokesperson also questioned why the photographer had not reported the carcass and the injured elephant.
“I reported it at the Okaukuejo office, but had to wait three hours,” Reyneke stressed.
Blackened landscapes
Reyneke and his wife, Paulette, spent Saturday night at Farm Kaross, adjacent to the park’s southwestern border, where he had taken photos. Fires reportedly started last Monday on the resettlement farm Helaas and spread to Kaross.
On Sunday morning, the couple entered Etosha through the Galton Gate, where their vehicle was searched “from corner to corner — from plastic bags to drones.”
Koos described the western side of Etosha as “pitch black.” His first photo, taken with a Nikon Coolpix P1000 with a 3000mm lens, was of an owl nesting in a tree.
Soon after, they came across the carcass of a baby elephant — a traumatic sight. Later, near the Charl Marais Dam waterhole, about 55 km west of Okaukuejo, they saw the badly burned elephant.
“It was distressing to see, with its ears burned and skin hanging off. The elephant was scooping mud with its trunk and throwing it over its body, probably to ease the pain,” he said.
He reported the sightings at Okaukuejo. Apart from the elephant, Koos said they saw no other injured animals, except for a limping lion with a wounded leg, “maybe due to the fire or a fight.”
Born in Pretoria and raised in Botswana, Koos is an avid photographer who has visited Etosha 17 times in the past five years. “With my first salary I bought my first camera, a Minolta SRT 101 with a 1.4 lens for N$150. I don’t edit or tamper with my photos at all. At most, I lighten or darken them, or crop out something unnecessary like a pole,” he said, showing several of his other photos.
Private veterinarians
Meanwhile, well-known wildlife veterinarian Dr. Ulf Tubbesing of Wildlife Vets Namibia has indicated he is willing to help treat injured animals when not already tied up with work.
“I am afraid that most of these patients will need extremely intensive treatment, requiring facilities that simply don’t exist,” he said.
Tubbesing added that the costs of medication and supplies would also be very high.
“In most cases, I believe nature will take its course, and the best we can do is relieve the suffering of those animals with no prognosis for survival.”
Tubbesing, who himself suffered third-degree burns on 25% of his body during a farm fire and spent weeks in hospital undergoing skin grafts, said: “We must be realistic in our approach.”
He emphasised that the decision ultimately rests with MEFT on whether to accept help from private vets. “Of course we would need MEFT to allow us or ask us to assist. We have a fund of about N$100 000 that we can use for medicines and supplies for this purpose.”
Dr. Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) outside Otjiwarongo, also confirmed their support: “MEFT must know we are all here to help if they need or want assistance.”
Bennett Kahuure, MEFT’s director of national parks and wildlife, said all ministry veterinarians had already been deployed to Etosha. “Private veterinarians are not needed at this stage, as we continue to assess the situation.”
He added that donations to the fund for veterinary supplies could be made via the ministry’s emergency division.
“An official letter will be welcome.”
Concerns remain about whether enough grazing will be available for Etosha’s wildlife before the rainy season.
“Based on our aerial observations over the past four days, there is more than sufficient grazing,” Kahuure confirmed.
Unsung heroes
Another Namibian praised as a hero is Johan le Roux, who kept the public updated on the spread of the Etosha fire through satellite maps shared on his JLR Consulting Facebook page.
“I worked for 13 years as a ranger and later as a scientist in Etosha during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Since then, I have been involved in fire monitoring, and I remember the 2011 fire south of Halali,” he wrote.
He recalled that in September 2011, veld fires from neighbouring farms, also suspected to have been caused by charcoal production, spread into Etosha and killed about 30 rhinos, 60 giraffes, and 11 elephants.
“The massive fire consumed around 370 000 hectares — roughly a third of the park. It highlighted the dangers veld fires pose in dry regions and led to greater emphasis on preventive fire practices in Etosha. It also prompted moves toward a more balanced fire management regime, including prescribed burns, to protect against large, catastrophic fires,” Le Roux said.
He estimated that a total of 9 534 km² (953 400 hectares) burned across Etosha and areas to the north and south: 7 577 km² inside Etosha (the main fire and one at Ombika), 870 km² in communal areas north of the park, and 51 km² on farms to the south.
– [email protected]
Koos Reyneke, the photographer who captured the shocking images of a dead elephant calf and a burned elephant in Etosha National Park on Sunday, says his photo is definitely not doctored.
The architect, who lives in Windhoek, told Republikein and Kletskompas during an interview yesterday that his photo “stirred up a hornet’s nest” after appearing on newspaper front pages and being widely shared on social media.
“I am almost in trouble,” he joked after being accused — including by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) — of producing photos that were not authentic, that were generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI), or that had been taken in Etosha in the past.
MEFT spokesperson Ndeshipanda Hamunyela questioned the authenticity of Koos’s photos, as did forestry director Johnson Ndokosho, who is currently in Mozambique. The spokesperson also questioned why the photographer had not reported the carcass and the injured elephant.
“I reported it at the Okaukuejo office, but had to wait three hours,” Reyneke stressed.
Blackened landscapes
Reyneke and his wife, Paulette, spent Saturday night at Farm Kaross, adjacent to the park’s southwestern border, where he had taken photos. Fires reportedly started last Monday on the resettlement farm Helaas and spread to Kaross.
On Sunday morning, the couple entered Etosha through the Galton Gate, where their vehicle was searched “from corner to corner — from plastic bags to drones.”
Koos described the western side of Etosha as “pitch black.” His first photo, taken with a Nikon Coolpix P1000 with a 3000mm lens, was of an owl nesting in a tree.
Soon after, they came across the carcass of a baby elephant — a traumatic sight. Later, near the Charl Marais Dam waterhole, about 55 km west of Okaukuejo, they saw the badly burned elephant.
“It was distressing to see, with its ears burned and skin hanging off. The elephant was scooping mud with its trunk and throwing it over its body, probably to ease the pain,” he said.
He reported the sightings at Okaukuejo. Apart from the elephant, Koos said they saw no other injured animals, except for a limping lion with a wounded leg, “maybe due to the fire or a fight.”
Born in Pretoria and raised in Botswana, Koos is an avid photographer who has visited Etosha 17 times in the past five years. “With my first salary I bought my first camera, a Minolta SRT 101 with a 1.4 lens for N$150. I don’t edit or tamper with my photos at all. At most, I lighten or darken them, or crop out something unnecessary like a pole,” he said, showing several of his other photos.
Private veterinarians
Meanwhile, well-known wildlife veterinarian Dr. Ulf Tubbesing of Wildlife Vets Namibia has indicated he is willing to help treat injured animals when not already tied up with work.
“I am afraid that most of these patients will need extremely intensive treatment, requiring facilities that simply don’t exist,” he said.
Tubbesing added that the costs of medication and supplies would also be very high.
“In most cases, I believe nature will take its course, and the best we can do is relieve the suffering of those animals with no prognosis for survival.”
Tubbesing, who himself suffered third-degree burns on 25% of his body during a farm fire and spent weeks in hospital undergoing skin grafts, said: “We must be realistic in our approach.”
He emphasised that the decision ultimately rests with MEFT on whether to accept help from private vets. “Of course we would need MEFT to allow us or ask us to assist. We have a fund of about N$100 000 that we can use for medicines and supplies for this purpose.”
Dr. Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) outside Otjiwarongo, also confirmed their support: “MEFT must know we are all here to help if they need or want assistance.”
Bennett Kahuure, MEFT’s director of national parks and wildlife, said all ministry veterinarians had already been deployed to Etosha. “Private veterinarians are not needed at this stage, as we continue to assess the situation.”
He added that donations to the fund for veterinary supplies could be made via the ministry’s emergency division.
“An official letter will be welcome.”
Concerns remain about whether enough grazing will be available for Etosha’s wildlife before the rainy season.
“Based on our aerial observations over the past four days, there is more than sufficient grazing,” Kahuure confirmed.
Unsung heroes
Another Namibian praised as a hero is Johan le Roux, who kept the public updated on the spread of the Etosha fire through satellite maps shared on his JLR Consulting Facebook page.
“I worked for 13 years as a ranger and later as a scientist in Etosha during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Since then, I have been involved in fire monitoring, and I remember the 2011 fire south of Halali,” he wrote.
He recalled that in September 2011, veld fires from neighbouring farms, also suspected to have been caused by charcoal production, spread into Etosha and killed about 30 rhinos, 60 giraffes, and 11 elephants.
“The massive fire consumed around 370 000 hectares — roughly a third of the park. It highlighted the dangers veld fires pose in dry regions and led to greater emphasis on preventive fire practices in Etosha. It also prompted moves toward a more balanced fire management regime, including prescribed burns, to protect against large, catastrophic fires,” Le Roux said.
He estimated that a total of 9 534 km² (953 400 hectares) burned across Etosha and areas to the north and south: 7 577 km² inside Etosha (the main fire and one at Ombika), 870 km² in communal areas north of the park, and 51 km² on farms to the south.
– [email protected]
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