The forgotten victims of veld fires
The veld fire that raged between Omaruru and Kalkfeld on 14 September, specifically on Farm Okosongoro belonging to Peter Clausen and his family, not only destroyed half of their pasture and veld, many animals burned to death or were injured.“The fire started on the neighbouring farm, but we suffered the most damage. About 3 000 hectares was decimated. Half of our wildlife paradise has been destroyed.”
According to him, the fire started on Okosongoro around 15:00 and they fought the blaze until the early morning hours.
“We had a lot of help. The Kalkfeld farming community and volunteers came from Otjiwarongo and elsewhere to help. It was a massive, extremely hot fire. Everything is gone. The trees burned down and all you see is white ash lying like a mosaic of snow on the black ground. It's just sad.”
There were at least five ostrich nests with between 20 and 30 eggs each in the game came that Clausen was aware of. Four of the nests were destroyed.
“The eggs cooked from the heat and flames. All the chicks died in the eggs. The female ostriches sat on the eggs as long as they could to protect them. Unfortunately, they jumped up too late to flee. We found some of them a little way from the nests; they burned to death. A solitary male ostrich is sitting on one of the nests. If he stays there, it means the female is still alive and the eggs may still be too. Perhaps there is still hope for them, but we will find out in time.”
However, the ostriches were not the only animals to have suffered in the fire. Clausen found numerous other charred carcasses, as well as animals with burns or limping.
“Many of the animals are so badly charred that I cannot make out the species. Many stood on coals or walked over them and burned their paws/hooves and now they are limping. We still find burnt animals, charred carcasses or animals with burns that have died when we drive in the field. Just yesterday we came across dead wildebeest.”
Photos of the devastation caused by the fire were posted on the WhatsApp group Veldbrande and one of the comments was: "The female ostrich near the nest paid dearly to protect her brood. Maybe it will make people think before they do anything that could cause a wildfire. It is the victims who do not have a voice.”