Giraffe poaching incident – images may be distressing

Category: Uncategorized
Date: January 19th 2010
By: elephantsofbotswana

 

Yesterday afternoon Sim and I headed up to Tubu Lodge (our neighbours) to help advise on an elephant that keeps digging up the water pipes. They are only 16km away as the crow flies but it takes a good 90 minutes to drive there and more when you have issues to deal with on the way.

After we had crossed most of the deep water crossings and headed for the truck road that would take us to Tubu we smelt something dead and just by the road we could see vultures and marabou storks feeding on the carcass. We approached and found it be to a giraffe. After checking for predators I got out the car as something did not look right – on closer inspection it was obvious that this giraffe had not died of natural causes, he had been poached. Chased on horseback to the point of exhaustion and then killed. He had torn off the skin off one of his knees, so he must have hit the ground with huge force to do that. Both of his ears had been cut off, which we presume is for muti (traditional medicine).  It was heart breaking to see him like this and imagine his last minutes of life.

Poached giraffe head

We radioed it through to the office who informed the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, but there was little they could do about this incident, except add it to the list of poached animals found in the area, as it was already a day or two old and the trial for the poachers would be long gone.

Poached giraffep1020134.JPG

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Mthondo is released

Category: Uncategorized
Date: January 7th 2010
By: elephantsofbotswana

Today we leased a 34 year old male elephant – it is a long story – so I will do it tomorrow as it is late and I am tierd.

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The promised rain finally arrives

Category: Botswana Elephants
Date: January 6th 2010
By: elephantsofbotswana

We went out last night to celebrate the camp managers at Seba’s birthday and so we headed for the bridge and had a lovely bush dinner. As we sat around watching the hippo prepare for their nightly feeds and the birds flying to roost across the water we were also treated to lightning and thunder rolling in the distance. A dark cloud loomed on the horizon but was blown around us. We enjoyed a feast of jacket potatoes and butternut cooked on the open fire the wind picked up and changed direction, the thunder was louder the lightning nearer. We quickly packed up and headed home – poor Chris (Heathers husband) was on the back of the pickup whilst Sim, Heather and I were squashed in the front, Sim drove as fast as he could over the bumpy roads to get his home safely. Chris seems to be enjoying the rain shower on the back as we could hear the occasional whoops of joy, the exhilaration that only a big African storm can bring at a human’s soul – one that rejoices in the power of nature and the life giving waters the storm brings. As we pulled up in camp the heavens opened – we retreated into the kitchen and enjoyed a cup of tea before making the dash to our tents. A hot shower later and we were tucked up in bed, enjoying the spectacular show nature was putting on.

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Storm clouds over the camp lagoon

It rained all night, a sleepless night for me, as a canvas tent is not the quietest thing in the rain. I woke up to the 0530 alarm, it was still dark the heavy clouds had not lifted but the rain had decreased to a drizzle. I walked up to the office in a dash from lack of sleep and in need of a coffee and was met by Mphoeng who was a little distressed. The office had flooded and the trunk where we stored our data books, computer discs and other important things had filled with about 5cm of water. So we have been spending the morning sorting all of that out. Not the best way to start the day.

 

As for how much water we had, we do not know, because it over flowed the rain gauge. So all we know is that it is more than 100mm. This is about our average monthly rainfall for the month of January in one night…….that is a lot of rain.

 

 

 

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Storm a brewing

Category: Uncategorized
Date: January 4th 2010
By: elephantsofbotswana

Woke up at 0530 to a very dark sky.  Our plans of going out and doing some routes were delayed, and jolly glad we decided that now the heavens have opened.

We are currently borrowing a safari vehicle from Seba Camp which is open topped and so we would be soaked at the moment. Our steering block is leaking and we have been waiting 3 months to get it fixed. It keeps going into town and it comes back still leaking!!! All rather frustraing.

2010 has started off quite quietly as their are few elephants around, they are following the rains and getting the fresh grasses.

Today we will have the chance to catch up on data input and identifying elephants.Mphoeng Tracking elephants

Mphoeng out tracking elephants on our reseach vechicle, which we sorely miss at the moment

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Mthondo gets his collar

Category: Uncategorized
Date: December 31st 2009
By: elephantsofbotswana

 Just got back from the camp where Mthondo is and he has been fitted with his satellite radio collar and we are getting the downloads of his position via emails avery hour (technology is amazing).

Now we wait for his release date.

Getting the collar ready

Getting the collar ready

Mthondo the elephant

Mthondo

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Mthondo’s collar has arrived

Category: Uncategorized
Date: December 30th 2009
By: elephantsofbotswana

The new collar for Mthondo has arrived and we are just about to drive down to where he is and put it on him – soon he will be released into the wild and then we get to follow him and see how he copes.

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Merry Christmas in the Bush

Category: Uncategorized
Date: December 24th 2009
By: elephantsofbotswana

Dear All,

We would like to take the opportuntity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and/or holiday period. We hope that 2010 is good to you and thank you for your wonderful support this year.

We are looking forward to what 2010 has on offer for us and sharing that with you all.

Best wishes

Kate and the Elephants For Africa Team

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Nandipa has baby number two

Category: Uncategorized
Date: December 23rd 2009
By: elephantsofbotswana

Just back from a weeks break in South Africa for some friends weddings and came back to the wonderful news that Nandipa (the released female) was spotted with a new baby that very morning (she already has a 3.5yr old male).

So yesterday afternoon, having just driven for 2.5 days up from Pretoria, Mphoeng and I went out and to found them, Pula (the released male that has joined up with her) her calf, Ntongeni, and the newborn.

Nandipa and her new baby

After headed up towards our picnic site as that where they were spotted last and we picked up Pula’s signal. The signal was bouncing off thick forest we were in and so I stood on the waters edge and there I spotted them……. on the other side of the flood plain. I could see Nandipa, Pula and Ntongeni but no sign of a baby. I waited impatiently, standing on tip toes on top of an overturned Mokoro (wooden Canoe) …….. then Mphoeng spotted it a grey bundle of fun running across the flood plain through the grass after Ntongeni. Nandipa has another baby, I was bursting with pride. They soon were out of visual as they had done behind an island. Thankfully the water has dropped enough for us to cross over and so we went through a deep crossing (keeping fingers crossed that wedid not get stuck!!!) and made it across to the other side.

Baby

We spend the next hour with them, before the sun set and enjoyed watching the little one running around and having fun, it seemed to love its older brother, Ntongeni, as it spent more time with him than its mother. Going backthrough the notes we think it was born round and about the16th December, as Mphoeng sawPula and Ntongeni and Ntongei was running around screaming. Normally Nandipa would have rushed over to calm him, but there was no sign of her. So she may have been busy with No.2!!!!

We think it is another male but we are not 100% sure as it was in tall grass and we could not get a good view of the important bits. Mphoeng would like it to be a girl, as he quite rightly pointed out that Pula and Ntongeni will leave her one day and he does not want her to be lonely.

Either way, the calf is very healthy, running all over the place and full of beans. I feel like a proud grandmother!!!

Merry Christmas (I have had the best Christmas present ever) and all the best for 2010.

Thanks for your support in 2009 and we hope you can support us through 2010. We look forward to sharing our adventures and findings with you.

Best wishes
Kate

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B131 coming out of musth

Category: Botswana Elephants
Date: November 29th 2009
By: elephantsofbotswana

Yesterday, I was in camp trying to ID the elephants I have seen this month when Joseph, the guide in camp and a volunteer researcher, came back to announce that there was a herd of elephants at the Bridge. I abandoned the ID work and went off to see who were there. Unfortunately most of the were in thick forest but when I went around the island I found a large male and to 5-9yr olds hanging out under a large tree. It was midday so this was not unusual for them to be chilling under a tree. But this male was in musth, or at least coming out of musth …..  I think. He was not secreting much from his temporal glands, but when his 5th leg appeared it was obvious that he had been in musth as the top half was green.

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The reason I think he was coming out of musth is that he was not dribbling urine from his penis, he was not secreting a lot, he was not with the ladies and his temporal glands were not swollen. He was slightly aggregated as he kept pushing over a tree, or at least trying to. The young bulls were stood dusting behind him, and they did not seem to bother him, nor did I. So I was able to get a 1/2 hour focal on him and some good ID photos and can tell that he is B131.

botswananov09-130.JPG So now it is back to the ID’s of the other elephants.

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Chungwe in Musth – 25th November 2009

Category: Botswana Elephants
Date: November 27th 2009
By: elephantsofbotswana

0530 and the alarm ring joined the sounds of the dawn chorus and roused me out of deep sleep. My motivation to get up and go out was at a bit of a low as for the past 3 days I had not seen any elephants, but I managed to get out of bed, load the car, make a cup of tea and be on the at 0600. Today I drive route 3, which takes me south a camp. I say good morning to the herd of Impala and Zebra that are often outside of camp – congratulating the females on the safe arrive of their babies and wishing them well. A couple of the Zebra’s are about to pop and a few more of the impala’s too. They are just the cutest things, and after the harshness of the flood (I know it sounds ironic, but with all the water around the vegetation takes a hammering as everything is forced into smaller and smaller areas) and dry seasons, it is wonderful to see new life again. As I pass the truck road Baobab, and note that the elephants have been really nailing this one as well as the others in the area, I come across a small herd of elephant, I notice a young male at first – feeding out on the open floodplain, a females backside pocks out from the forest behind him, I slowly move forward and wait for them to come botssep09-049.jpg

through the forest, which they do. The 2 elephants I had seen morph into a herd of 9 – 2 large females and their young. I climb on top of the roof for a better look and to get some ID photos. They are relaxed and unperturbed by me taking photos and frantically taking notes, and drawing ID’s. One adult female comes right passed the car, with her new born tight by her side, her 2 older calf follow behind, a little more wary of me. I spend an hour with them, hoping the young male with defecate, so I can add his sample to our hormone and behavioural research database, but no luck. Eventually the two large females go their separate ways with their young and I lose them. I follow one out across the floodplain to the east and they join up with 5 males and an old female which I had not noticed in the distance. The males are busy feeding on the palm, Phoenix reclinata, and the female is stood by the largest male. I cannot tell who the male is as his head is in the island, his body on the floodplain.

I wonder why this female is alone, where is the rest of the herd? Is she is oestrous and he in musth?  

chungwe.jpg

I get on with identifying the other males, and soon the large male emerges from the island and tells me all I need to know – he is in full blown musth. He is secreting from his temporal glands, his penis sheath is green and he is dribbling urine (the female had been standing in front of him so I could not see what was going on down there). I am still perplexed by the female choosing to be with the males, rather than the males join the herd; which is the norm?

I soon get a possible answer, when the female moves, she is crippled – her front right leg badly swollen and wonky. I know this female, I have seen her before, and amazingly she is still going strong. Perhaps, she has slowed up a little and unable to keep up with the other females!!! I do not know, but she seemed happy to be with the males, with them all interested in her, I guess it must feel nice to be the centre of attention for a while!!!!!! After an hour and a half I can no longer follow them as they have crossed a river channel. Three of the males have defecated and I collected them or the hormone and parasite study.

I finish the route and get on with processing the samples – I will have to wait for the much anticipated result, but hopefully to provide more important data to answer the questions on male elephants and what they need for their future conservation.

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