Trank - Lufuno Netshitavhadulu
Dr Lufuno Netshitavhadulu - Wildlife Veterinarian, SANParks, Kruger National Park. #wildlifevet
Lufuno’s SuperScientist was brought to you by a grant from the Khetha Story Project. In addition to this profile and character, 100 posters of Lufuno and other conservation champions will be provided to outreach programmes around the Kruger National Park.
His Job as a Wildlife Vet: Removing snares from hyenas, caring for bullet-wounded rhinos and darting elephants from helicopters to help conduct world-class scientific research - it’s all part of the job for wildlife vet Dr Lufuno Netshitavhadulu at Kruger National Park. The Kruger National Park is huge, the size of some small countries. To cover the area- 350 kilometers (217 miles) long and 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) wide - is a massive job for Lufuno and colleagues that are part of the Veterinary Wildlife Services. This group of vets, vet assistants and technicians works on a range of projects at both the Kruger National Park as well as in other parks when needed.
Their scope of work includes planned work and emergencies. Desnaring animals, assisting rare injured animals and sorting out animals that shouldn’t be where they are (animals in rest camps or lions that have escaped the park!) are some of the emergencies they deal with. Combine that with planned work such as their regular rhino dehorning programme, conducting or assisting in research in which animals are immobilised, and wildlife captures for sales and relocations, and you have a job with a ton of variety and countless stories.
His SuperScientists Name - Trank: One of the most important parts of a wildlife vet’s job is knowing how to tranquilise an animal and then revive it when any procedure or care is complete. You want to give enough so that a bull elephant doesn’t unexpectedly wake up while you’re removing a snare from its trunk, but also not too much. Lufuno is known for using his hair to store an extra syringe or two when he doesn’t have a spare hand - when you’re in the middle of the bush and a 5,000 kg elephant or a rhino is asleep next to you, every bit helps.
His Favourite Part of the Job: “I'm someone who is driven by adrenaline, so when I first started doing rhino dehorning, I really enjoyed it. I did 100s in the first year. Riding in the helicopter and running in the bush, I thought I loved it. Until I realized that the thing that I love the most, is removing snares. It's very challenging. You go to the bush looking for a certain animal. Sometimes you can go for a week looking for the animal without finding it. Finally you find it and get the snare out of the animal's neck. You knew that animal was going to die, and then, by removing that snare, you just saved a life.”
His Favourite Animal: “I ended up falling in love with hyenas after removing a lot of snares from them. They've got a huge space in my heart. They are unique, they are very misunderstood and people see them as bad. They are always villains or evil in movies, stories and in African culture and they are perceived as not so smart. Observing them after snare removals, I realized hyenas are one of the smartest animals. They are very special - they are good at what they do, they clean up our environment. I feel like they are one of the most misunderstood animals.”
Research, His and Other Projects: Lufuno is currently completing his masters, conducting research at the same time that he is doing his job. His project is looking at how parasite load (the amount and types of parasites - gut and blood parasites) leads to stress levels in rhinos. Higher stress means a weaker immune system and poorer health.
To do this research, they take advantage of the dehorning programme at Kruger. All the rhinos are regularly dehorned to combat rhino poaching. When the rhinos are immobilised for dehorning, Lufuno can take different samples. They can take blood and fecal samples and then take them back to the lab and look at parasites and general stress levels. These samples also go into a biobank.
A biobank is like a regular bank - secure and regulated - but instead of money locked away it’s biological samples frozen at -80C. A biobank can have DNA, blood, tissue, fecal matter, urine, etc. The samples are linked to identifying information about the animals and can include the location at which they were sampled and more. It becomes a treasure trove of information and can allow researchers to answer new research questions without having to go into the field. Learn more about the biobank.
There are many research projects ongoing at Kruger, enough that they have regular conferences to share their work with other wildlife scientists in South Africa and beyond.
His Spark and Career Path: Lufuno grew up just outside of Pafuri Gate on the Northern border of the Kruger but he never thought that he’d end up working in the park let alone with the Big Five. “I had never heard of veterinary science or knew what a wildlife vet was,” said Lufuno.
He wanted to be an electrical engineer. His dad had a soft spot for animals, and that did rub off, but he still thought engineering was his path. He was accepted to the University of Pretoria but unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, he didn’t get accepted for engineering.
He went to the Biological Sciences building as this was his second option, and an administrator there suggested that he look into veterinary biology. Once he understood what it was he thought this might be a better fit for him and it was, at least initially. “I enjoyed the studies, it was hard, it was tough,” said Lufuno.
In his final year, he started working directly with animals, and their owners. “When we started working with clients, animals, dogs and cats, that’s when I realised I chose the wrong career,” said Lufuno. “I can’t deal with the emotions and people coming in with sick animals. The reason I ran away from human medicine was emotions, but they were still there with pet owners. I thought I made the wrong choice.”
He thought working with production animals - cattle, chickens, goats, and sheep - would be a better option, “less emotions and more work.” While pursuing this track he was called for a job as a wildlife vet. “I said no, wildlife is not in my dreams, I’m not going there. Being a Black vet, you don’t know anyone in wildlife. You don’t want to go there, you feel that it is a foreign area, not for you.” They convinced him to take the job and he was wrong, he enjoyed it and stayed for one year. “I realised, I was made for that.” He had to leave that job to work for the Department of Agriculture, who paid for his university education, and worked there for four years. “My post was in Musina, there was a lot of wildlife. I thought I was done with wildlife but I realised I had only just started. I was doing a lot of buffalo disease testing and a lot of locums at nearby clinics dealing with wildlife.” He learned about a job at SANParks. “At first I was hesitant to apply, but some of my friends pushed me and convinced me. Eventually I applied, and here I am!” Lufuno has now been at SANParks for more than 5 years and now has a wealth of experience.
What do you need to succeed, to get to where you are? (in rank order) Hard work, communication, curiosity, and creativity
What else do you need that is just as important? Patience and focus
His Heroes: “I’ve never looked to others to define me. I’ve got my own strength. I always look to the person that I’m going to be, the person that I’m working towards. I want to be them.
If I have to name someone else, there’s a state vet here in Skukuza that really inspires me - his work ethic, his skills - his name is Dr Louis van Schalkwyk.”
His Top Tip: “We always want to stay in our comfort zone and not want to do the difficult stuff. Nothing is easy and nothing is impossible, you just need to put some work into it and believe in yourself.”
Why Diversity in Wildlife Conservation Matters: “The majority of people staying around the parks are Black people, the majority of the people who are snaring are Black people. They are the people living with these animals. When animals go out into the communities and cause damage, they are the people who suffer. So they look at the park in a different way. They don’t see conservation as something they should care about, they feel that the park is not for Black people.
When you have young Black people working for the park, they connect with the communities and they feel that the park belongs to them too as a community. When they talk conservation it’s not just animals, it’s people too and they can understand and relate to the issues that they face.
I’ve had a lot of people on social media saying I’m making them proud, that I’m inspiring them, and most of those are young Black South Africans. Having Black professionals in conservation changes things a lot. I grew up in similar communities. I connect with those people because I get to see things the way they see them.
If we had more Black people in decision making positions, people who understand the way the communities see the park, it would help conservation and reduce poaching. We could save both people and animals.“
Follow Lufuno: Instagram
Read more about wildlife vets and Lufuno: https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/lnn/article/vets-vital-contribution-to-wildlife-conservation/