Another busy week, and now for the last post in a while - going to be 3 weeks before you get another update!

The Big Tree!

Week started with Large Predator Occupancy Survey on Monday morning. We saw loads of lion tracks, and one very old hyena one, but as usual no sign of the animals who left them there! We finished up with breakfast by the river in the park - possibly one of the most beautiful breakfast spots I've ever been to - then came home via "The Big Tree". This is a Zimbabwean National landmark, which is a 18 m round, 23 m tall baobab of 1000-1500 years old! The afternoon was really great doing game count in the park, giving us some particularly great giraffe sightings. 

Young giraffe

Tuesday we had hyena tracking round one, followed by Giraffe and Elephant research. Hyena tracking was fun, but very long and didn't get us all that far. We got off the car at the closest point to the GPS location they'd last been recorded at, but that was still over 4 km from the further point! We had to walk a full hour and a half, and when we got there there was absolutely nothing to see! Oops.... Ah well, it's still useful to get an impression of vaguely how close they are and how much they're moving around. Afternoon we headed back out into the park for a research session, but no elephants... 

Zebra!

3 species in 1 photo!

Wednesday was a very long day, but it was great! We started off by joining the photography volunteers on their sunrise shoot, which was awesome - the sunrise was gorgeous, and the spray from the falls was beautifully tinged pink. The baboons only ruined it slightly by being extremely overconfident with us, leaping all through the trees above us and screaming. They got so close we were really quite scared for the safety of our cameras! Being Wednesday, most of the day we spent doing Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation survey. Having had no rain at all this week, the roads have dried out a bit so we were able to get to 2 of the 3 homesteads that we've been missing out. We got back early, so went to the dump to set up a trail camera looking for hyenas, before going out at 7:30 pm for our early night drive. We saw 5 hyenas, but all on the way back - we drove for a full hour and saw absolutely nothing! Lots more identification work to do!

Dragonfly at sunrise

Sunrise over the Zambezi

Sunrise over the Pink Spray from the Falls

Stunning sunrise 

Elephant on Chamabondo

Thursday was both frustrating and awesome. Started off with a research session, where we tried to go to the Chamabondo Flay - a new area of the park for me - but thanks to wet roads we couldn't make it. We headed back into the normal park and saw some giraffes and a herd of zebra, but no elephants. This was the frustrating part.... The afternoon we went out on hyena tracking again, but the hyena had moved to Chamabondo so we headed back onto the flay using a different route.... and we found about 50 elephants and some giraffes! It was so brilliant to see, but as I wasn't doing elephant research at the time I had to just let them go. SO ANNOYING! Even more annoying, is that due to the elephants being there, we couldn't do the research anyway since there was no way we could get out the car and walk up to the GPS point! Oh dear.... The point is, it was a totally awesome day, and even if I couldn't do any research I still saw some awesome stuff! Finished off with sunset drinks at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, where we saw a squirrel, 7 elephants, and a hyena! May not get anything when we're doing research, but we certainly get stuff when we aren't!

Purple Roller

Grey Backed Camaroptera

Friday was another fun day. Started off with bird survey, on which we saw 15 species, including one brand new one - the Grey Backed Camaroptera. We saw a huge number of zebras too, and a big male adult hippo on the road! I really enjoy bird survey - only way to quickly improve my bird knowledge, a beautiful drive through the park, and we see some great stuff. Came back from bird survey, and we went out looking for more birds - back to the vulture feeding, where we saw hooded and white backed vultures. A particularly awesome feed, and afterwards we were able to get a camera set up so that next time the hyenas show up we'll know who they are! I tried to check it this afternoon, but thanks to my camera malfunctioning, I know that 1 of the 75 pictures on there is indeed a hyena, but that's all I could see. Ah well - we'll find out next week! 

Hooded Vulture in flight

White backed vulture

Today has been a good morning - we had seedling project first, followed by a lion walk. Seedling project we go out into the town (and also the park but not on this occasion) and plant trees along the side of the road. We planted about 50 trees, slashing the area all around and then digging and watering the Zambezi Teak seedlings in. It was good fun, though insanely hot! Headed straight to Masuwe afterwards, where we took Lekker and Liuwa for their walk. It was good fun, but less exciting than normal - the lions were fed yesterday, and again it was really hot so they were just pretty inactive. 

Slashing on Seedling Project

Lekker

One of these weeks I'll manage a short post.... Not this time though! And next time will be covering 3 weeks so that's going to be even longer than normal!

Busy busy busy! Been a somewhat hectic week squeezing everything in! I've done occupancy survey, hyena tracking, hyena night drive, elephant research, giraffe research, human-wildlife conflict mitigation survey, lion walks, meat preparation, enclosure painting, we went to the Old People's Home, game count, village tour, and a whole lot of ID sessions!

Occupancy Survey

Occupancy survey was fun - LOTS of hyena tracks! I think I saw a hyena too but it was so far away that I couldn't be sure and it was gone by the time I got my binoculars out. We follow the tracks of anything we find along the roads. Other hyena research was pretty awesome this week - we went out on hyena tracking where we saw plenty of spoors, and a whole load of vultures. We followed the GPS signal for about half an hour through the bush, until we eventually came across a fairly fresh (but completely consumed bar some skin) young elephant carcass. There were tracks for lion and leopard there too, and when the parks ranger went ahead of us he said there was a hyena there when he arrived! It smelt gross, and was really sad to see, but still awesome to find out why they weren't moving from that area. We knew it must be something like that, but good to find out. The hyena night drive was really good this week again, seeing 6 hyenas though that was counting in both directions so 2 we may have double counted. The photos weren't good - we only had my 70 mm lens again so hyena IDs will not be possible... But still it was a good night! We've moved them later, so we were out 21:30 to midnight, and then started again at 6:30! Not a long sleep on Wednesday!

Out on Hyena Night Research!

Elephants!

Elephant and Giraffe research was fantastic this week. We saw 8 giraffes in the area near the start of Zambezi Drive, the same place we usually see them. There were 4 males and they'd paired up and were practicing sparring, gently bashing each other's necks with their heads. Yet again I only had my short lens so I couldn't get any photos! AAH! That became even more annoying later on when I finally saw a big herd of elephants again for the first time in months! It was amazing - they are just unbelievable creatures! We were able to count 64 in the first herd, but there could easily have been 80 or 90! We then saw another one, then another 2, then another 14! Such an amazing afternoon... The big group totally surrounded us - it was crazy! Though also slightly scary... the driver here is less used to elephants, and the car is smaller and less powerful so we can't be totally sure of getting out! There was just one point where I really wasn't sure about it... There was a male elephant coming quite fast towards us, so we were just backing off slowly when we heard "FORWARD, GO FORWARD NOW FAST!"  and there was a young male charging at us from behind! Thankfully, neither was more than a mock charge and so they didn't commit and kill us...! This was the best afternoon I've had so far in Zimbabwe, and to cap it all, I know there were 3 definite sightings, and I think a few more that I'm yet to confirm, of elephants that I know from Zambia! We already know some of the ones that cross back and forth, and we know that they all disappear from Zambia in December, but still awesome to have the proof! 

Giraffes in the Park

Wednesday we had our usual Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation survey out in the Matetsi Community. It's a very long drive - 70 to 80 km depending on the particular homestead - but we see a good amount of countryside getting there! We have a good system set up - I record the data, while 2 of the other 3 interns each take a camera, and the last checks the lights. It's fun and a great chance to have a chat and get to know the others. We have an American (Alex), and then 2 interns from the University of Zimbabwe, so we're a mixed up bunch but we get along well!

The Old People's Home was a wonderful place to go. It's pretty poor so the conditions aren't brilliant, but that's why we go. We spent the morning going around all the houses and just talking to people, hearing about their life stories. Some of their stories are incredible - everything from lumberjacks, to miners, to a professional football player, to some who were unemployed and uneducated. There were 2 people that were particularly wonderful to be with - firstly the man who only speaks Portuguese so can't talk to anyone, but is the happiest person ever just to be able to give people a hug, and secondly a new man who is blind, only speaks Nyanja (which is not a common language here) and has nothing. We did a donation drop while we were there too, giving them all a pair of shoes and a top, and the reactions were just so heartwarming. It was wonderful.

Crash time....

We also had some lion activities. I've done 2 lion walks this week, which meant all the lions - I've now walked everyone. Lekker is the male we have here, and it was my first walk with him. It was quite sad really, as he has a hip problem so can't walk quite normally. It means he'll never be released into a Stage 2 Release Site, and we don't know if he's in pain or not... The worst part was trying to watch him scratch his ear, because his leg doesn't quite bend properly. He's only walked to keep his sister company really... Very sad, but at least he has a much better life than in a zoo. As well as cub walks we also had to paint the fence of the enclosure, to protect the metal poles. For a while I had totally waterproof and green hands! Took a lot of white spirit to get clean... My legs remain covered in dark green spots that will not come off!

Let me just sharpen my claws.... 

Rolling in the grass

Watching the birds!

Lion on the Train Tracks!

I CAUGHT THE GRASS BUNDLE!

Lekker relaxing mid-walk

Finally (nearly done I promise!) we had village tour, where we go to a local homestead and they get all their neighbours over, a bit like when I used to go on Culture Day in Zambia. We pounded the millet for making sadza (same as nshima from Zambia!), then learnt how to harvest the different grains, tried eating some sadza (this was millet-based instead of corn-based which is what I've tried before and it has a bit more flavour) and a plant a bit like sugar cane, watched (and joined in with!) some cultural dancing with the children, and tried walking along balancing a bundle of sticks on our heads! When it came to the head balancing, we had these little bundles of sticks that were only a couple of kilos and about 3 feet long... They were carrying bundles about 10 feet long and so heavy I couldn't even lift it! How do you get that onto your head, let alone carry it without breaking your neck?! It was a really great afternoon, and they gave us a wonderful welcome. Possibly what I love most about Africa (apart from the amazing wildlife of course!) is how friendly everyone is to each other, even when you've never met.

Dancing at Village Tour

Phew! Sorry for the long post, they seem to be getting longer and longer! I'm supposed to fit all of my year onto a single poster with a maximum of about 100 words when I get back to university.... erm.... HELP?!!!!

Osprey!

Zebra watching us!

Wow! Week 2 in Zimbabwe has been just awesome! I've had the greatest week - it's been so exciting! Where to start...?

Attacking a Hornbill nest. Think it's an African Harrier Hawk!

Our view during sunset drinks

Playing dot-to-dot with hyena spot patterns!

Hyenas! First thing to say is I've finally seen one! We were supposed to have 2 sessions of hyena tracking, but only managed 1. We walked through the bushes for a good half an hour, but never saw the hyenas or even any signs of them. We were gutted to lose the second session - the collared hyena GPS signal had come from the same place for the past 3 days, so we were hoping to find them on a kill, but no luck. We may not have seen them during tracking, but we did manage to see them this week! As soon as I arrived, I was given a job to do: write a protocol for doing hyena research at night. It took me a while to do, and I had to have a long discussion with my supervisor here, having never done day research on hyenas, or night research on anything! However, I came up with a whole protocol (which is still being adapted as we learn more), I came up with all the research that we would be looking into (are they moving upwind or downwind, towards town or away from town, and is there any evidence of snares?), wrote the data sheets, and finally went out on a nighttime research drive on Wednesday night! We had a really great drive, saw 5 hyaenas and while my photos didn't work, the photos taken by our photography volunteer did. I then spent Thursday inventing a spreadsheet that would work for data input, and then using my elephant ID skills to work on hyena identification. As well as separating them into the different individuals that we saw, I was also indicating on each side where the areas of interest were for the identification. It's like playing dot-to-dot, or spotting star constellations! I think possibly the most awesome part though, was the feeling that I got when I was on the truck - it suddenly hit me that I could do this. One day soon it won't be me doing research for other people, but it will be mine. I really could be an ecology researcher! 

Giraffe during our Giraffe ID session

Wasn't just ID sessions for hyenas that I've done this week. I've started doing giraffe IDs while I'm here, and they've taken quite a lot of sorting out! Giraffes are great fun to do. We head out into the park and photograph any giraffes that we see, very similar to how we used to do elephants! And talking of elephants, my new project (because I don't have enough on my plate already!) is entirely setting up the elephant project on this side of the border! We've only seen 1 herd so far, and there were only 5 (3 adult females and 2 juveniles) but that's me all set and ready to go! Loving life here, and so excited about all this! Not to mention, the researcher on the other side is going to come over, so we'll be able to discuss it and hopefully set up some kind of online system so we can compare databases as we go, rather than every few weeks comparing all the new ones that we've added in. I've got a lot of ID sessions on my time!

Baby impala! Little boy!

Lila... or Lala... I'm not sure...! I get confused!

Lala enjoying a very comfy looking spot!

Saturday was fun too, though took much less brain power! We were supposed to be doing enclosure maintenance (painting the poles on the fence), and then picking up litter in the park. However, thanks to the rainy season throwing itself at us there was no point trying that, and instead we had a language lesson then took the lion cubs out for a walk. For those people who are not familiar with the ALERT aims, the lion walks are a way to help the cubs learn how to survive in the bush, how to hunt, what all the different smells mean, how to climb trees, and so on. This is very different to most places that offer lion walks - these places walk lions until they are too old, and then sell them for canned hunting to game reserves where people can go to pay a lot of money to shoot them. PLEASE if you are ever considering a lion walk or similar activity then find out what the final aims of the project are, and make sure that the lions are being properly cared for. This lion walk was particularly fun, as Lala climbed up a tree, and hung out up there for ages! The lions were not quite so bouncy as last time for most of it, but when one of the handlers tied a bundle of grass onto the end of a stick, they just turned into massive kittens, leaping all over the place for it! So much fun to watch! The language lesson was quite fun, though slightly odd - we were taught all the letters of the alphabet so that now I can read and pronounce the different words, but I can't say I know what it means! It's quite fun to try and pronounce them though - Ndebele is a click language! Most of the letters are fairly similar, but C, Q and X are all clicky! Meaning that "Frog" is a very difficult word in Ndebele since it's spelled ixoxo! I can just about manage the Q and X, but that C? No chance!

Pawprints!

Walking lion cubs!

Playing chase with a grass bundle!

Hooded Vulture

The last thing to talk about, happened on Monday lunchtime. We headed to a local hotel where they feed the vultures each day. They only get a small amount of meat each day, but it's meat that can be guaranteed to be safe. Vultures are becoming more and more endangered by poisoning and poaching. Poachers poison the waterholes where animals go to drink, killing all the animals that go there. When the vultures then find the carcass, they are also poisoned. The vultures are also killed directly by poachers who are trying to hide their activity - by circling carcasses, they advertise where the poachers are to the Wildlife Authorities, so to prevent detection the poachers kill the vultures too. Vultures and other scavengers are a critical part of the ecosystem, as they clean up the carcasses of sick animals. Vultures are fairly immune to most diseases, and so by eating the carcasses they prevent the spread of sickness. It was a really good view that we got of them eating, and we got a great talk about vulture conservation. Another thing to branch into maybe?! Oops, no free time...!! 

Baby Warthog we found at the Vulture place

Marabou Stork that came with the vultures