Predator Conservation Trust

Interview carried out in conjunction with Safaritalk

Dr Ingrid Wiesel runs the Brown Hyena Research project based in Luderitz Namibia. Ingrid has been working in this area with the Brown Hyenas for over 10 years and is known locally as "The Hyena Lady".



The study area is part of the Sperrgebiet - the forbidden area, where diamond mining has been carried out for around a hundred years. As such access is tightly controlled meaning the area is a largely empty vast unspoiled wilderness. There are several seal colonies in the area where the Brown Hyenas go to feed.




What made you choose to study the Brown Hyena?

The choice to study brown hyenas was a pure practical one. While I was still studying for my degree in biology, I decided to apply to do a pilot study on a carnivore species in Africa to figure out whether I was capable of becoming a field biologist. My goal was to study the behavioural ecology of a large African carnivore species and after a thorough literature review in 1994, I realised that most long-term studies of brown hyenas had been done in the 1970s. Nobody else was studying brown hyenas at this point and this provided me with the unique opportunity to start a pilot project. My application to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Namibia was successful, so that I started with the project in 1995.

What are the difficulties of working in an area like the Sperrgebiet?

The area is large (26 000 km²) and there is only a limited network of roads. Off-road driving is strictly prohibited, which makes it difficult to reach many of the interesting areas. Hiking long distances is a great part of the fieldwork. Most roads are 4x4 tracks, which makes the availability of a reliable off-road vehicle essential. At the beginning I usually worked on my own, without any communication possibilities to town in case of emergency. This hasn’t changed much and I have to make sure that I always have enough water available and that some people in town know my approximate whereabouts and planned time of return from a field trip. Due to the vastness of the area, telemetry is quite an undertaking. We usually have to locate the animals from a plane and also download the GPS positions while we are flying. All collars are dropped off once the battery life has expired. Some of the hyenas are in very remote areas, when we do the drop-off and again, accessibility with a vehicle is difficult, so that we often have to hike many kilometres to retrieve the equipment.

What impact do you think tourism is likely to have on the area and the Brown Hyenas in particular once the area becomes a national park?

Tourism will be strictly regulated and self drives will only be possible with an escort. The existing network of roads will be used, some of the roads might be upgraded, but otherwise not much will change in this regard. Accommodation for tourists will be in the surrounding area, not in the park itself, and if accommodation sites are going to be planned inside the park a full Environmental Impact Assessment has to be undertaken. Most activities will therefore be during the day, so that I think that the impact on brown hyena behaviour will be minimal. I definitely see tourism as a positive development for this area. The brown hyena will be a flagship species for the park and will be one of the species that will be monitored according to the Park’s management plan. This can only raise the profile of the brown hyena and will hopefully lead to creating a more positive image for these animals in future.

Have you noticed any changes in local peoples attitudes to the Brown Hyena since you first started working there?

In general the locals had a positive attitude towards the brown hyenas in this area, possibly because there was no real conflict, as we have no farms in the immediate vicinity of Luderitz. However, I had to do a lot of awareness raising in the poorer parts of the community. People there were rather afraid of hyenas and we also found out that hyena body parts were used in traditional medicine.
However, the presence of the project in Luderitz already had a positive effect, but I started to give talks at schools and I also organised trips with students and teachers into the field to show them brown hyena dens. I also developed a questionnaire for farmers in the southern region and the results showed that there still is a lot of work to do, not only with regard to hyenas but also with regard to the smaller carnivores in our area.
This is an on-going process, but there is a definite change in the attitudes of the children.

How important for you is it to have financial support from the Predator Conservation Trust and the exposure their website and publicity offers you?

Every donation is extremely important for the project. It is invaluable to have a long-term sponsor, such as the Predator Conservation Trust, especially since we get funds for equipment or logistical support that are often difficult to get through other grants. Furthermore the support from the Predator Conservation Trust is not only on a financial basis, but the trustees also spend a lot of time helping the project by raising awareness. The website is well visited and the distribution of my project’s newsletter on their site is extremely important as it reaches a wider audience than through the hyena project’s website alone. Furthermore the trustees also make sure that correspondence, comments and questions that they receive on their webpage are forwarded, which gives researches like me the chance to be in direct contact with the public.

In the conservation field, where there are so many entities seeking funding, how do you approach each application and what do potential funders seek from your work?

Fundraising for pure research or conservation projects is extremely difficult, especially if one is only associated with a Non Government Organisation (NGO) and not associated with a university. At the moment, most of our funding comes from national grants via the Namibia Nature Foundation. However, this foundation receives funds also from overseas and gives NGO’s, such as the Brown Hyena Research Project the chance to apply for funding through some of their programmes. I usually have a strong research component in the application, but can address conservation issues with the results from the research programmes. Furthermore, I increasingly include the educational component in my applications. Most of the outcomes of my studies can be easily analysed and applied to the conservation of hyenas in the study areas, especially with regard to mitigation measures in areas, where land use is planned, and our progress and final reports to the funders usually highlight this component. Most funders are genuinely interested in the work the project is doing and not in raising their own profile. We have established a long-term relationship with many sponsors, such as the Predator Conservation Fund, and I think this is a clear indication that the funders are generally satisfied with the results.

What are the biggest challenges you face in your work?

Finding the time to manage the project and do all the field work is a big challenge. I love my work, but it is sometimes hard and energy draining to have every part of the project running smoothly. There are always unexpected problems, no matter how well one tries to plan every aspect of the work. Most of the challenges occur during capture operations. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have with capturing the animals, how much time you spend out in the field or how many methods you have tried, every trip presents its new challenges. Whether the hyenas are just not attracted to the bait, because they prefer to kill their own prey, or whether the jackals finish off the bait before a hyena has the chance to get a bite, or whether it starts raining in the desert, when it usually hardly ever rains, life in the field is always interesting. But this is also the beauty of the work, as it is unpredictable and does not become boring. You continue to try to outsmart the animals, but it never works. They learn quickly and you have to adapt again.

What is the most rewarding aspect of the work for you?

Just having the privilege to work with wild carnivores is very rewarding. Although many days of my work are routine and data collection protocols have to be followed, the animals never stop surprising you, so that every day, especially the ones spend in the field are unique. Even the smallest successes become extremely rewarding, from reaching the public and getting their positive and encouraging feed back, to experiencing the amazement in the faces of visitors (students, children, volunteers), when they encounter a wild hyena for the first time, to convincing the Namibian government that we need brown hyena road warning signs to reduce mortality on the roads. This list could go on forever. I think to have work that you love and identify with is rewarding and very seldom to find. I consider myself very lucky that I was able to fulfil my dream of working with wild carnivores and still continuing to do so.

How much time is spent in the field and how much in the office?

With the years of the projects’ existence, office work (fundraising, report writing etc.) became more and more important, so that the amount of fieldwork I can do is limited. When I started with the project, I spent about 80 to 90% of the time in the field. Now, the time I spend doing fieldwork differs throughout the year and project volunteers often spend more time in the field than I do. However, when we capture hyenas, we spent 50 to 60% of the time in the field. There are some weeks when I hardly get to do any fieldwork. However, since the project’s base is close to all study sites, I often go on daytrips to download GPS telemetry data, to check camera traps or to map study areas for hyena signs. This means that whenever I feel I need to get out of the office and into the field, I can do it very easily. Another aspect is that I’m reachable, when in town, 24 hours a day. It is not unusual that I get called out in the middle of the night regarding for example sightings of brown hyenas in the area.

How does it feel to be known as "The Hyena Lady" following the documentary about your work on South African TV?

I was actually given this nickname when I started working in Luderitz in 1995 so it is not unusual or new for me to be known as the “Hyena Lady”. I think it is a compliment. Hyenas are such wonderful animals with an extremely fascinating social system. Therefore I feel extremely proud to be associated with them through being known as the “Hyena Lady”.

For more information on the Brown Hyena Project, click here