I am back in the bush with the elephants…..hurrah
Category: Botswana Elephants, Donors, Fund Raising | Date: Sep 12 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Dear Friends,
It has been a while since I contributed to this blog and for that I must apologise - it is not that I have not wanted to do it - it is more that I felt there was nothing of interest to tell you as I have been in the UK for most of the year and thought you would want to read more about the adventures in the bush.
Things have changed a lot recently.
In November of last year I was seriously thinking about giving up on the research. Things had become very difficult as I was had to work in the UK to earn pounds to enable me to continue doing what I love. Finding work in the UK was very hard and the demands of the charity (Elephants For Africa), which I set up with Randall Moore in 2008, and the research, including supervision of two students meant that I needed to put time aside for this. In the end the maths did not add up and I was left wondering if I could continue. I have not been paid for the work that I do, and whilst that is not an issue in the past, when I hit 30 the realisation that this was not sustainable began to play on my mind. The questions of what happens when I am older, or if I want children, and should I be unable to work through ill health or sickness what would happen to be then? Then a donation to the charity was made to cover my wage, which meant I was able to stay out in Botswana and do the work which I love.
In January my partner of 10 years asked me to marry him and in February he decided to leave his successful engineering career behind so he could join me in Africa. He will be taking up the voluntary position of Operations Manager, responsible for the day-to-day management and using his business skills to take the charity forward. This also means that I can concentrate my efforts on the research. So, at the end of July he left his job, and we left the UK for a much needed holiday in South Africa before coming up to camp.
We arrived in camp yesterday and had such a warm welcome from our friends and are eager to start planning for the years ahead. There will be lots of stories as we follow the elephants and look forward to sharing them with you.
Best wishes
Kate
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Hi, I am Kate Evans, or more commonly known as Elephant Kate. I am a zoologist whose great love is elephants. Since 2002 I have been living my dream by researching elephants in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I decided I was going to be an elephant researcher when I was seven. I was living in Asia at the time and visited the elephant orphanage in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It was there that I made up my mind I was going to work for these majestic and intelligent animals. I made a promise to an elephant and we all know an elephant never forgets!!!! It took me 20 years to finally realise my dream and start my life as an elephant researcher. It was 20 years well spent and now I have to pinch myself most days to make sure it is true and I am living my dream.
I now head up a team who are researching the elephants and trying to work out the social and ecological needs of the largest remaining population of the African elephant. From time to time, other team members will add their thoughts and experiences. I love sharing my experiences - so I hope that this blog is a medium through which you will be able to join the elephants and I on our adventures in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. -
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One Response to “I am back in the bush with the elephants…..hurrah”
Rebecca, on 13 Sep 2009
Wow it is so great that you got the money to enable you to continue your research.
I can just imagine those thoughts running through your mind of the future - you are making a lot of sacrifices but I’m sure you’ll be able to fit kids etc in as well.
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