Tsetse Fly Control in Zululand (5-minute Video)

Wildlife management in Zululand, South Africa, started with the attempt to eradicate the tsetse fly at the start of the 20^th century.

The tsetse fly carries the Trypanosoma parasite, which causes sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in domestic animals, particularly cattle. White farmers wanted to move into the area with their cattle, and they thought that if the wildlife were removed, the fly would disappear.

Hundreds of thousands of head of wildlife were shot, but the fly remained. Various other methods were tried over the years, but nothing worked.

The authorities finally turned to the synthetic insecticide dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane or DDT.

Vast swathes of bushveld were sprayed with DDT from aircraft, which had a devastating knock-on effect on the delicate natural balance.