Journal Entry - 20th August
2007
5:30 am I am finally getting used to the early mornings! I also see the
point of them … it is just too HOT later in the
Day! Still … could not do without the coffee!
6:00 am Our group is tasked with collecting one
of the camera traps from last night. This is combined with a general
scouting and game observation
mission. We walk along the river bed to the first one noting
the spoor of animals that have been active in the area the previous
day and during
the night. We See a group of impala and do a rough count and
note its position. We see fresh elephant sign and so must stop at
intervals to listen out
for them. We do not want to bump into them unexpectedly though
I am hoping to see them.
After taking down the first camera trap we walk back using another route
and checking two water points on our way. We see giraffe just moving off
and also see an immature Martial Eagle on a dead tree. He watches us with
his head tilted and unblinking eyes.
9:00am The day is starting to heat up now and I am pleased to see the shady
garden and the cool house. I am also starting to feel hungry (coffee can
only take you so far) and I enjoy a large breakfast.
10:00am It is off to the office with us. We download the
pictures from the camera and onto the ranch computer. We record the
details of the pictures
in a log and cross reference them to a marked position on the
map. We had a group of lion visit our camera location. We note how
many there are, what sex
they are and approximately how old they are (there are half grown
cubs in the group). We also note that one of the females is wearing
a collar.
Nick says that they were probably lying up not far from where
we walked!
I am pretty excited about the lion group. But, Nick is far more excited
about another visitor. A BROWN HYENA. Apparently quite rare and so special.
Special note is made of this animal so that they can try and work out how
big his territory is, if he has a mate and how many more of them there
are.
12:00am I head off for a swim in the pool before lunch. Refreshing. But
not refreshing enough to prevent me from having an afternoon nap. I am
going to need it as my group are doing crocodile census on the dam until
quite late tonight.
2:00pm We are visiting one of the local villages this afternoon.
We will be doing quality control and collecting finished craft items
and also checking on the progress of one of the school projects that
Chishakwe is funding.
5:30pm I enjoyed an afternoon tutoring children on the habitat, diet
and habits of elephant. The children are learning a lot about the
environment and are really enjoying the experience. The projects
are looking great!
I am glad that we got back in time for another swim before dinner.
After dinner we will set off for the dam and it is bound to be a
late night …
