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
Update from Kate Evans
Category: Botswana Elephants, Donors, Fund Raising, Travel | Date: Sep 01 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 it. 2009 has been a busy year for me and one of BIG decisions, mainly as to whether I was able to continue with the reseach.
Thankfully the answer to that is a big loud YES. It has been a year of ups and downs and heart breaking decisions.
I am currently in Cape Town waiting for the arrival of our Land Cruiser - a 17 year old beauty! We shall then drive up through Namibia to Botswana.
On the way we shall be trying to keep fit…… as Sim (my fiancee and I) got places in the NYC marathon to run as a fundraisier - please check out our funding page. http://www.justgiving.com/KateandSimsMarathonChallenge. This carries on from our successful summit of Kilimanjaro in December last year.
Cheers for now
Kate
Paseka - by Graham Bowles
Category: Botswana Elephants | Date: Apr 21 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Its 12:30 in the afternoon when the radio call comes in. There is a baby elephant just outside of Seba camp towards the airstrip. It is being attacked by two hyenas. Given normal circumstances a baby elephant is so well protected by the adults of the herd, any predator would never get anywhere near it. However, for this little one there is no protective herd or even elephant in sight, only the safari car.
For a two month old, she puts up a valiant fight against its two aggressors, sending them flying with its ears out and trumpeting loudly but as soon as she tries to put some ground between herself and the hyena, they soon catch up nipping and biting the rear end and legs of the elephant, pulling her down. Upon seeing the car and possibly even attracted by the low rumble of the engine, the elephant seeks refuge in its shade leaving the hyena to circle at a distance.
This now leaves a bit of a dilemma as out here nature must take its course. The car moves away and the baby elephant starts to follow. The hyena are following she tries chase them away. In the confusion and the thick bush she looses the car close to the outskirts of Seba camp. The next thing we hear in camp is a radio call: an elephant has found its way into the generator room of Seba Camp.
Now we must intervene. The cuts to her legs and rear are deep, the baby is obviously traumatized. She is shaking but can walk which leads us to believe that she can’t have been separated from her own herd for more than a couple of days and is not too weak. By keeping the gathering crowd calm and quiet the baby begins to relax and explore her surroundings. We bring in water to begin cooling her but being too young to know how to use her trunk, she is unable to drink. When a mahout arrives in another safari car she runs over to it, seemingly to have associated the car with safety and security she begins to follow it.
Using the car as the surrogate mother we lead her to the far side of camp where the flood waters have created a shallow pan. As soon as she is there she is face first into the water and drinking deep, gurgling mouthfuls. Ten minutes later, once she has had her fill, she is looking a lot calmer but still unsure about this new ‘herd’ that she has joined. More mahouts arrive to assess her age and wounds, administering antiseptic spray where they can. A report is given to Maun office and the Vet, Rob Jackson is called in.
The baby is young, somewhere between 6-12 weeks old. If she doesn’t get some milk soon, together with the trauma she has suffered, she is unlikely to survive. The Abu herd is close by and have two lactating mothers in their midst. We decide to try and introduce her to the herd in the hope that one of them may be able to feed her.
Using the safari car ‘matriarch’, we lead her down to the Abu herd. It’s a tense time now as the baby’s survival rests on her acceptance into the Abu herd. The first mother, Kitumetse, is brought out. Kiti herself could relate to this as she was found in very similar circumstances, alone, injured from a crocodile attack she had been separated from her herd and had been found down in the south of the concession by a neighboring camp. With permission from the DWNP (Department of Wildlife and National Parks) we adopted her and she has been doing very well. So well, in fact she has given birth to her first calf, Lorato, last year.
However, this introduction did not go too well, the prospect of taking on another calf so soon after her first seemed to prove too much for her and she backed away from it trumpeting loudly. The baby elephant is now frantic to join this herd, the herd at least being recognizable compared to its safari car/human herd from an hour previously. We corral the baby to protect it from running into the middle of the Abu herd. An unwelcome introduction could turn tragic.
The second lactating female, Sherini, is brought out. Sherini is a more experienced mother with her latest addition to the herd, Abu, being nearly 3 years old. On seeing the baby there is huge excitement, ears out, trumpeting and rumbling loudly with temporal secretions flowing profusely. She seems to be more tolerant of the baby that is now harassing her for milk but she still seems somewhat reluctant.
After a few minutes of coaxing them together one of the mahouts suggests to bring Cathy, the matriarch of the herd across. Cathy who had been looking on excitedly is brought over. There is another tense moment as the exchange of trumpets and rumbles between Sherini and Cathy becomes intense, the baby between them constantly begging for milk. Then, as if she had got the go ahead from the herd leader to accept her, Sherini lets her feed. She feeds for a full 20 minutes before we lead them back in to the shade of the trees for the remainder of this hot Easter Sunday afternoon. And for her name, Paseka (pronounced pah-SEH-ka) means Easter in Setswana.
It’s the following morning. Rob, the Vet, and Randall Moore arrived the previous evening when the herd had returned to the boma. Paseka had followed Sherini all the way home through the deep river channel under the careful watch of the mahouts and guides. On inspecting the wounds, Rob cleaned them and with a shot of antibiotics and painkillers, allowed them to heal naturally.
Mother and adopted baby had spent the night in the nursing pen to keep Paseka from running into any more trouble, but now she was looking a lot happier. The swelling around her rear had gone down and the wounds were looking a lot better. Sherini was doing an excellent job as mother even though Abu was still a little unsure about being ousted from his centre-of-attention spot by this unexpected arrival!!!!
Runner takes on the LONDON MARATHON to raise money for the elephants
Category: Botswana Elephants, Donors, Fund Raising | Date: Apr 17 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
An old School Friend, Felix Jaffe, is running the London Marathon on the 26th April and has decided to support the charity and is looking for sponsorship to help him around the gruelling course. Visit http://www.justgiving.com/felixjaffe to donate, support Felix and the elephants.
Tags: Felix Jaffe, fundraising, London Marathon
How much is Okavango Delta worth? By Mphoeng
Category: Botswana Elephants, Donors, Fund Raising | Date: Mar 20 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
The arrival of floods in our camp and seeing how much distance the water covers of the dry desert has left me wondering how much the Delta is worth.
It has brought life to a desert, some would say a miracle in itself and can we put a price on that?.
The arrival of so much fresh, water giving water into the Okavango Delta led me to question how much the Okavango Delta is worth. Economists may well have an answer to that, if they took on board the revenue it brings in from tourism, the jobs that it creates, and calculates how many people it supports and what it would cost the government to support if it was not there. But is worth really just down to money?
Let’s look at the role of the Okavango Delta.
Its support a lot of species including the elephants, purification of the water biologically as the water seeps through the deep Kalahari sands and the reeds that clean the water at no cost. Here, no man-made machinery is needed to purify the water it is a natural endowment. So the question that I pose to our lovely blog readers is in monetary terms how much is the Okavango Delta?
The role that the Okavango Delta plays is priceless when I look at the abundant species it supports. Botswana as a country benefiting immensely from the Okavango Delta, it has supported people adjacent to it for many years. Elephants have benefited from the vast land of delta and it supports a high biodiversity. Medicinal plants that Delta provides help local communities, palatable fruits of delta, oh the list is endless. How much is this Delta worth?
For me it is priceless, and that is why I have dedicated my life it to. But is it safe? No. Conservation is not a business, it does not give a return in monetary terms but it does give - it gives the knowledge that wilderness, such as the Okavango Delta, which are the lungs of the world are safe….. how much is that worth to you?
Tags: conservation, delta, donation, risk
Our Quest to see elephants lead us into a muddy channel
Category: Botswana Elephants | Date: Mar 16 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
On the 5th of March we headed out to the Northern side up on the quest to sight some elephants. We were wondering where the elephants were at so we decided to look for them out in the bush where there are no roads. Guess what we got stuck right in the middle of the bush. However our mission was accomplished as we managed to see three male elephants. This was an adventure as is now rare to spot elephants. Female breeding herds are not around as so we are mainly spotting males at the moment. We are waiting for the arrival of floods which will bring more life to the Delta.
Tags: 4x4, botswana, elephants, okavango delta, stuck
The floods have arrived at camp and the sky is grey – By Mphoeng
Category: Botswana Elephants | Date: Mar 13 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
The annual floods have reached our camp a little earlier than last year. This year it is feasible that they will be more flood water, making it even harder for us to get around. It has been raining since the beginning of March and we had grey sky since then. In Botswana water is an important resource. When there is a good rain in a certain year in Botswana the year is referred to as a female year. Batswana are farmers mainly and good rains mean good harvest water for the livestock. The farming that they do is not commercial but it’s for subsistent purposes. Even though the country is a semi-desert they rely mainly on rain water for watering of their crops and livestock. In some years when rains are not enough the Tswana people loose a lot of their livestock.
The flood has brought a lot of life into the Delta with fish eagles being heard often with their typical vocalisation. We are seeing more of the lions as the floods have pushed them from flood pains into the islands. Kingfishers are seen hovering waiting to catch a meal for the day. It really is buzzing here in camp.
Okavango Delta is an oasis it brings live in the middle of Kalahari and is a delta of life.
Where are the elephants in March? By Mphoeng
Category: Botswana Elephants | Date: Mar 12 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
I am perplexed as to how a big animal as an elephant cannot be seen for days. I have called on Joseph, an experienced guide, to help me with looking for elephants. However they have been no sightings, we keep on driving long distances with hope of seeing elephants; visiting their favourite areas with hope of seeing them but to no avail. It has been raining and so I am thinking that the rain must have something to do with the sudden disappearance of elephants. Or it the increase in bushmeat poaching that is keeping the elephants away, wondering if they will be next!! On the 4th March we decided to look for them in islands and we almost got stuck. Animal behaviour science is a broad field now we have to comprehend why the elephants are not around. At other times there are a lot of them but at other times none. Where are the elephants? Tomorrow we will continue our quest to see our most favourable animal, the elephant. Come back to see if our luck changed…….
Category: Botswana Elephants | Date: Feb 19 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Our Research is centered on male elephants, but that does not mean we ignore the females, far from it and it is always a joy to spend time with the females and their young. We try and sex and identify all the elephants that we see - which is fairly challenging when you have 30 or more elephants splashing about in the mud, which is what we had yesterday. I always say that the most important piece of equipment for a field biologist is the binoculars and I still standby that. Digital cameras are a god send but the bino’s help you pick up the small details, such as holes and tears which the camera might miss and will enable you to tell elephant A from elephant B.
Once the elephants have moved on and you are left in their wake, your work is not done as you then have to get back to camp and sort out which photos are of which elephants and who those elephants are. We have over 600 elephants identified that utilise the study area and we are always adding to them, so it is all a time consumable but valuable task.
We are waiting for identification software to come on market to make our lives a little quicker!!!!
Bye for now
Kate
Tags: binoculars, camera, elephants, ID
Research Saves The Day……
Category: Botswana Elephants | Date: Feb 17 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Well it might be an over statement on the title front, but we did manage to pull a ranger out of a ditch.
This morning we decided to head out West, which is an area we are unable to access during the flood and so we make the most of going out there whilst we can. On our way we tracked for the released elephants Pula and Nandipa, and caught up with them and Nandipa’s calf Ntongeni very close to camp. They were busy feeding in the terminalia and kept us on our toes as we tried to keep up. They are all looking very healthy, particularly Nandipa who is looking decidedly FAT. This is very unusual as she has also been a rather skinny elephant and so I am putting 2 and 2 together and getting 10 - but I am rather hoping that she is pregnant. Ntongeni is 2.5 years now and so she could well be about to have another one.
Whilst we were with them all we spotted two jackal running through the grass. Not so unusual you may be thinking, but on the contrary these are the 1st jackal I have ever seen in this area and I have often wondered why they are not found here. I have put it down to the low predator numbers, but maybe they had a population crash and are only just recovering - only time will tell.
After we got our focal data on Pula and Nandipa we headed out West and it was pretty empty. A ranger had spotted 4 cheetah there yesterday, a mother and her three cubs and so we were on the look out for them.
Whilst we were out there we had a call from Thapelo, a ranger, he had driven into a ditch and unable to get out. He was not far from our lock and so were with him soon, and he certainly was very stuck, his front end was very low, having been consumed by a well hidden hole. No problem we could easily pull him out. We drove over and hopped out to get the chain from behind the seat……. but it was not there. Someone had removed it as the spade so we could not even try to dig him out. I was not happy. I was annoyed at myself for not having checked but really annoyed at the person who borrowed the equipment and did not return it - the same for the chap who removed Thapelo’s stuff.
We collected some wood but the gradient of the hole was too much and so we only had one choice, I had to go back to camp and source some chain. This took a good 1.5 hours and then a minute to pull him out on my return.
In repayment, Thapelo tracked down two male cheetah’s on a male impala kill. A good way to end a rather long and hot day in the bush.
The lesson learnt is BE PREPARED and ALWAYS CHECK as someone may have borrowed your stuff!!!!!!
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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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