Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 2 April 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# SANParks in the Western Cape is encouraging residents to report any suspicious activities that may threaten the wildlife and protected areas in the province. A forty-four-year-old man was arrested in connection with alleged poaching after he was found with 34 kilogram of abalone at Grootbank on the western side of Nature’s Valley. SANParks spokesperson JP Louw says after noticing the patrol underway, four divers came out from the sea and started running:

# Efforts to save the Clanwilliam sandfish from extinction are bearing fruit in the Western Cape. For the past four years, conservationists have rescued thousands of these unique fish from the Biedouw River in the Cederberg where they hatch, to rear them in dams of local landowners. The rescue operation involves carefully netting juvenile sandfish from the river and relocating them to farm dam nurseries, where they can grow safely away from predators.

# And finally: Three people have been killed and another person injured in an avalanche at Riffelberg, near the Swiss Alpine ski resort of Zermatt. Intense snowfall coupled with powerful winds had prompted authorities to caution against a significant avalanche hazard in the southern Swiss Alps over the past weekend. It remains unclear how many people are still missing. According to the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, Switzerland has already witnessed 14 fatalities in 12 avalanches and accidents during this season, with the majority of victims being cross-country skiers.

Stay tuned for more news………….