Eskom, which supplies about 95% of South Africa’s electricity, is using an innovative new way to talk about its expanding conservation efforts.

The utility has to balance the need for more power stations - to secure future electricity supply - with conserving the environment. Conservation efforts and large-scale construction are happening hand in hand.

At the site of the vast Medupi power station near Lephalale in Limpopo province, for example, Eskom conservation staff are capturing and relocating wildlife on an ongoing basis. In this way, more than 1 000 snakes have been relocated.   

To educate and inform communities and the general public about conservation efforts, Eskom last month launched a Facebook campaign called “Fifi the Flufftail.” http://tinyurl.com/njkpt6a

‘Fifi,’ an animated character that represents the rare White-winged Flufftail, provides daily updates on Eskom’s conservation efforts and other activities, from relocating Baboon Spiders at Medupi to creating a conservation area at Ingula, which is home to the Flufftail and a wide range of species – including South Africa’s national bird, the Blue Crane.

The response to the campaign has been phenomenal  - `Fifi’ garnered close to 1 000 `likes’ in the first month since her launch on Facebook, which is arguably the most preferred social media platform in South Africa.

The White-winged Flufftail is a rare African bird that is found only in parts of South Africa and Ethiopia. The Flufftail, along with other endangered species, has been part of conservation efforts at Eskom’s Ingula power plant under construction near Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, where the utility has collaborated with leading conservation groups, such as Birdlife South Africa, to protect the local species.

The Flufftail’s scientific name, Sarothrura ayresi, honours the South African bird specialist, Thomas Ayres, who initially discovered the bird in the Potchefstroom area, in the North West province, in the late 1800s