The purpose of this research was to study the effect of electrical stimulation of carcasses on the meat quality of impala (Aepyceros melampus). The impala is one of the most important species in game meat production. A total of 40 impala (Aepyceros melampus) were harvested on Mara Research Station (23° 05' S and 29° 25' E; 961 m.a.s.l.) in the Limpopo province, South Africa. Animals were obtained during daytime by shooting from vehicles and by the walk and stalk method. Animals were shot high in the neck with .308 calibre scoped rifles and were immediately exsanguinated by cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries with a sharp knife. The harvested animals were then taken to the processing facility at Mara Research Station, electrically stimulated, eviscerated and the carcasses cleaned according to standard South African and Zimbabwean practices. The animals were then hung by their Achilles tendon in a cold room at ca 4 ºC and left in the cold room for 24 hours with the skins on after which the skins were removed. The 40 animals were randomly grouped in the following groups and marked accordingly: Group 1: Electrical stimulation (ES) group consisting of 20 impala of which 10 were male and 10 were female (Experimental group). Group 2: Non-electrical stimulation (NES) group consisting of 20 impala of which 10 were male and 10 were female (Control group). Impala were electrically stimulated within 40 minutes after being shot. ES was applied using a Jarvis BV-80 unit (Jarvis Products Corporation, Middletown, CT) that delivered an electrical charge (230V; 50 Hz for 60 seconds) via a clamp attached to the nose and a steel hook (probe) inserted into the anus. The live mass (kg) of each animal was recorded and after dressing the carcass, the dressed out percentage (%) was calculated per individual animal. The average live mass of impala males was 55.5 kg which was significantly (p<0.001) higher compared to the females with an average live mass of 46.4 kg. The dressing percentage however did not differ significantly between the sexes where males had a 60 % dressing percentage and females a 59.4 % dressing percentage. ES, sex and muscle group had a significant (p<0.001) effect on muscle pH as measured at 45 min. 3, 6, and 12 hours post mortem. ES had a significant (p<0.001) effect on the pH of m. semimembranosus (SM), m. semitendinosus (ST), m. biceps femoris (BF) and m. longissimus dorsi (L1-L6) (LM) at 45 min., 3,6 and 12 hours post mortem. The pH of m. triceps brachii (TB) samples from impala in the ES group did not differ significantly (p=0.096) from samples from the NES group, samples from TB had a significantly (p<0.01) lower initial rate of pH decline compared to BF, LM, SM and ST. The interaction between ES x sex was significant (p<0.01). Muscle pH of samples from male impala in the NES group had lower initial pH values (at 45 min., 3,6 and 12 hours post mortem; p<0.001) than samples from the female impala in the NES group while there was no differences between samples from male and female impala in the ES group. Electrical stimulation influenced the pHu-value (p<0.05) of m. semitendinosus, with muscles from the ES group having a lower pHu (pH 5.52 ± 0.02) than muscles from the NES group (pH 5.59 ± 0.02). No significant differences were observed between ES and NES for the pHu-values of m. semimembranosus, m. biceps femoris, m. longissimus dorsi et lumborum and m. triceps brachii. Sex had a significant (p<0.05) effect on the pHu-value of the m. triceps brachii, with muscles from the male group having a higher pHu (pH 5.64 ± 0.02) than muscles from the female group (pH 5.58 ± 0.02). Electrical stimulation had a significant (p<0.05) effect on the L*24-value of the m. biceps femoris muscle, with muscles from the ES group (35.8 ± 0.08) being lighter than muscles from the NES group (33.1 ± 0.08). No significant differences were observed between ES and NES for the a*24- and b*24-values for all muscle groups. The L*-, a*- and b*-values of m. longissimus dorsi et lumborum muscle from ES and NES carcasses declined significantly (p<0.001) from 24 hours post-mortem to post freeze-thaw. ES also had no significant effect on the L*F- and a*F-values of the m. longissimus dorsi et lumborum muscle. ES however, had a significant (p<0.05) effect on the b*F-values. The b*F-value for ES meat (7.1 ± 0.1) was higher than NES meat (6.5 ± 0.2).The muscle x ES interaction was not significant. A significant difference (p<0.01) was found before and after freezing between the L*-values, a*-values and b*-values for both the ES and NES groups whereas the NES b*-value (p = 0.0638), showed a tendency to differ. No significant differences were observed between ES and NES for the thaw loss, drip loss, cooking loss, pH u, sarcomere length and shear force for the m. longissimus dorsi et lumborum muscle. Sex of the animal influenced (p<0.05) the thaw loss and cooking loss of the m. longissimus dorsi et lumborum muscle. No significant differences were observed between male and female for the drip loss, pHu, sarcomere length and shear force of the m. longissimus dorsi et lumborum muscle. In conclusion, it was found that ES did not have a significant effect on the meat quality of impala Aepyceros melampus ES however decreased muscle pH early post-mortem for impala by accelerating post-mortem glycolysis and hastening the onset of rigor mortis. This decrease in muscle pH probably reduced the possibility of cold shortening especially as impala have leaner carcasses. Thus ES may provide a commercial advantage with a decrease in processing and cooling time and an increase in meat production and shelf life. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

The role of territoriality was investigated using 25 impala rams in a site in South Africa. Field data were used to determine known rams as territorial and bachelors, as well as aspirant and indeterminate. The mean territorial tenure was 67.25 days, with a mean territory size of 21.0 ± 11.27 ha, compared to the home ranges of 34.1 ha ± 9.03 ha for territorial and 58.8 ha ± 33.35 ha for bachelor males. Territory boundaries seemed to remain constant through the season, and are smaller when bordering important features such as water holes, which appear to be neutral in terms of territoriality. Mating was observed on three separate dates between 16 May - 4 June 2001, three times by territorial males, the exception being an aspirant ram. The most important diurnal behaviour was feeding, followed by watching, walking, ruminating, resting and licking salt. It was found that bachelors browse more than territorial males, and all males browse and lick salt more in the non-rut. All rams were also more vigilant after lions were released. Only bachelors spar and allogroom, and they also orally groom themselves more than territorial males. Territorial males chase and roar more, and perform longer object aggression acts during the non-rut than bachelors. Other behaviours were rare or performed by all rams during the year. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Studies / MSc / Unrestricted

A dissertation submitted to the Geophysics Department, School of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science. Johannesburg, February 2012 / Impala Platinum Mine (Impala), situated north of the town of Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa, has experienced an increase in seismicity from ~841 seismic events in the year 2005 to ~1588 seismic events in 2008. The seismologists and rock engineers need to understand the underlying mechanisms and driving forces responsible for seismicity to develop and design mining layouts and support strategies to lessen the risks posed by rockburts. However, most previous studies of seismicity conducted on Impala and other Bushveld Complex mines in the Rustenburg area provided limited information regarding the source parameters and mechanism due to insufficient data. The study is designed to investigate the seismic hazard on Impala Platinum Mine by means of two approaches: an investigation of seismic source parameters and the mechanism of potentially damaging seismic events, and mapping of the weathered layer of the near surface within the Impala mine lease area. A number of detailed investigations of rockbursts were conducted whereby damage was mapped and photographed. The investigations includes reviews of the seismic history, short-, medium- and long-term seismic hazard assessment methods, and an analysis of the source parameters of the seismic event and associated ground motions. The study has revealed that most of the seismic events occur close to the reef plane, and are the result of the failure of a volume of rock that includes the pillar and the host rock that forms the foundation of the pillar.

No description available.

Subtropical thicket supports a large variety of indigenous browsing herbivores, such as elephants, black rhino, kudu and bushbuck, but impala historically never occurred in the Eastern Cape. The aim of this study was to determine what impacts extralimital impala (Aepyceros melampus) have on subtropical thicket. The thicket of the Shamwari Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, was used for the study. To quantify the effects of impala, feeding behaviour and diet was investigated during summer and winter. Sixteen impala were also enclosed in a camp of subtropical thicket where they would be limited to feedings on thicket. Vegetation composition and structure were monitored for a period of 12 months in the enclosure. Impala followed the expected high percentage graze and a low percentage browse in thicket in summer. However, the expected was not observed during winter: at this time grazing and browsing were equally important. Field collection of feeding behaviour data showed that impala are attracted to fringes of intact bush clumps or degraded thicket. Analysis of the impala diet confirmed this, with a significantly higher percentage graze (48 percent) than browse (22 percent) during summer. However, during winter, diet analysis indicated grazing to be much higher (36 percent) than browsing (6 percent) with the impala temporarily taking advantage of nutritious grasses still present. The enclosed portion of thicket was originally at 80 percent ecological status but it showed significant changes after addition of 16 impala. Animal trails increased in number and in width, resulting in a trampling effect. Grass cover was significantly different inside the enclosure after 12 months compared to outside. The amount of available browse of the enclosed thicket was also significantly different after addition of the impala. It is concluded that impala have a negative effect on thicket, with trampling the most significant effect. Long term monitoring of the effects of extralimital impala in different types of thicket will be required to accurately quantify their direct effects on subtropical thicket in the Eastern Cape. The main aim of this study was to determine the impacts of impala on Thicket. The study showed significant impacts on Thicket as found in Shamwari, and therefore the aim of the study was achieved.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / The mining industry has had a significant role to play in addressing socio-economic development (SED) issues, such as the high levels of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. For South Africa to be able to eradicate poverty and illiteracy, a collaborative partnership between the government, the mining industry and local mining communities is critical. The Minister of Mineral Resources, Shabangu (2012), has encouraged the mining industry to ensure that corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments make a significant impact on the communities in which the mining companies operate and to stop making CSR a mere exercise in ticking off a scorecard. The Mining Charter states that the mining industry must promote employment and advance social and economic welfare of mining community and the major sending areas. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of the Impala Platinum (Implats) CSR programme, Marula Chrome Project, on the Marula community. The challenges that Implats and the Marula community experienced during the implementation of the project were explored. If the project was to be successful, the key success factors had to be identified. The Marula Chrome Project was commissioned in 2010. The Project created 69 job opportunities during its construction period, and 35 permanent jobs after its completion. A number of SED issues were addressed by the project through skills development and training. The community leaders attended an intensive business principles course, covering the basic principles of mining, business skills and corporate governance. The employees of the project also were empowered with relevant operational and management skills. The project had, by the time of the report, paid out dividends to the value of R20 million to the communities. Two community halls had been built with the amount of R4 million. The dividends were distributed to the six Marula communities, who spent the money obtained in this way for addressing such SED problems as infrastructure, education and enterprise development. This project is one of the few examples of CSR initiatives in South Africa. The researcher hopes that other local mining communities can learn what made this project successful. The findings of the projects show that the community and Implats have managed the challenges faced during the project and have focused on the important issues. Collaborative partnership and leadership is one of the key success factors highlighted. Kinnear and Miles (2009) agree that partnerships and local coordination between the mining industry, the government and the community are vital. Positive outcomes can be achieved by means of community‐driven initiatives. According to CSR scholars such as Muthuri (2012), CSR is a potent force for social change and poverty alleviation. The lack of CSR impact evaluation tools required addressing by Implats and the mining industry. The mining industry and the Department of Mineral Resources should work together on developing an evaluation tool by means of which to measure CSR initiatives. Doing so would assist the mining industry CSR investments to add value and to contribute to the eradication of poverty and illiteracy in the local communities.

The need to understand the dynamics of the impala population in Mkuzi Game Reserve arose during the early 1960's when it became clear that various factors were contributing to an overpopulation of the species in the reserve. Population management was recognized as being necessary and was carried out, but it was based on inadequate information. This study set out to establish a rational basis for future management. The social organization and behaviour of impala in Mkuzi were analysed and placed in perspective relative to the population dynamics. Two methods of counting the animals were used and a relationship obtained between the respective results. The distribution of impala within the reserve, both on a gross population basis and with respect to the various sex and age categories, was determined from sampling. In order to establish the age structure of the population, samples obtained from the control programme were used, and these were aged on the basis of molar wear. At the same time the proportions of young animals and the population sex ratios were obtained by field sampling. Using these data, life tables were constructed, from . which it was possible to interpret the behaviour of the population at the time of the study. However, caution should be exercised in extrapolating these results literally to the same population under different conditions. The study only provides guidelines for regular monitoring to be carried out. At the same time a more detailed study of the vegetation dynamics of Mkuzi Game Reserve is a priority so that the relationship between the animal and plant elements of the reserve can be properly analysed. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1979.

Student Number: 0514022R Masters of Arts, Department of Sociology FACULTY OF HUMANITIES SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES / This study seeks to investigate the sources and the content of sexual information available to Rwandase youths aged 15 to 20 in Impala district. The rationale of this study is that young people need to have information on sexual development, reproduction, contraception, physical changes and about sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS. By getting such information, young people are likely to avoid a number of sex-related problems, including diseases, unforeseen sexual behaviour (early sexual intercourse and unintended pregnancy). To gather data, this study used in –depth interviews with 20 youths of both sexes and 20 key informants from different groups involved in youth sexual education. The study found that there is a range of sources of sexual information in Impala district such as school, peers, church, community meetings, anti-AIDS clubs, parents and radio. The school and peers emerged as the key sources of sexual education for educated youth, while community meetings and church are pointed to be the primary sources of this information for uneducated youth. However, most youth reported having little or no sexual education from parents. Concerning the content of this information, adolescent’s reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, gender roles, sexual experience and practice are the most discussed, and vary depending on the source involved. The information provided by those social agents has been well appreciated by most of the youth I interviewed. However, I argue that the interpretation is different in people depending on their beliefs, background, attitudes and so on. The study concludes with a number of recommendations both for policy implications and further research.

How so many species coexist while utilizing the same resources is both of ecological interest and important for the management of wildlife communities and parks. This thesis endeavours to understand how grazing herbivores co-exist, with special emphasis on understanding the mechanisms of competition and facilitation over temporal and spatial scales. I compared the dry season use of grasslands, grass species, grass height and grass greenness by white rhino and three other ungulate species, zebra, wildebeest, and impala. I was specifically interested in the extent to which white rhinos, with their capacity to graze both short and tall grass, either competed with or facilitated other grazers. In Chapter Two, I clarify the mechanisms of facilitation and competition in terms of temporal and spatial scales, and discuss why there is little evidence in the literature to support these mechanisms. I conclude that evidence for facilitation through stimulation of grass re-growth during the growing season appears stronger than that for increased resource access through removal of obstructing grass structures during the dormant season. Facilitation may benefit the nutritional gains obtained by certain species in the short term, but these benefits do not appear to be translated into the expected population consequences. In collaboration with co-author Norman Owen-Smith, we suggested this could be due to seasonal tradeoffs between facilitation and competition, as well as to restrictions on the spatial extent of trophic overlap. In Chapter 3 Norman Owen-Smith and I compared the grass height use in relation to body size. We expected that the grass height favoured would increase with the body size of the herbivore species, as suggested from past studies of resource partitioning among large mammalian herbivores. Instead we found that the largest of these species, white rhino, concentrated on the shortest grass, while the smallest species, impala, favoured grass heights intermediate between those grazed by wildebeest and zebra. Results suggest that the scaling of mouth width relative to body size, and hence metabolic demands, is the primary factor governing grass height selection, rather than body size alone. Hence grazing successions governed by body size differences may not be a typical feature of their ecology, contrary to past suggestions. Furthermore, there was considerable overlap in grass height grazed among these four species, indicating that niche separation by grass height is inadequate alone to explain their coexistence. More attention needs to be paid to other aspects such as the grass species selected and habitat structure favoured. Chapter Four compared the overlap in grassland use and grass species use, as well as grass height and grass greenness of swards utilized by the herbivores as the dry season advances. I show that all species prefer grazing lawns during times of abundance, and that zebra leave grazing lawns before other species, and wildebeest leave grazing lawns before white rhino and impala. This suggests zebra and wildebeest may be competitively excluded from grazing lawns through a reduction in grass height, by white rhino and impala, during the dry season. However, white rhino are also potentially the ‘supreme’ facilitator increasing the availability of nutritious grazing lawns, as well as increasing the quality of those lawns through grazing in the wet season. A better understanding of the trade-off between “habitat facilitation” and competitive exclusion by white rhino, allows us to better understand how grazing herbivores co-exist.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The aim of this research it to investigate factors that can sustain T1 category small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that provides service at Impala Platinum Mine in Rustenburg. The population for the study was 53 SMEs owners/directors, convenient sampling was used and a sample of 26 percent responded to the questionnaire.