We are running the NYC Marathon
Category: Fund Raising | Date: Sep 18 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
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Sim and I are running the NYC marathon on the 1st of November and trying to train in the bush which involves us running up and down the airstrip- it is the safest place for us to run. Unfortunately it is not great for our carbon footprint as someone has to drive up and down with us. As we have yet to find a willing volunteer this means that Sim and I have to take it in turns to drive and run making the training session twice as long. All rather boring really.
Oh well, hopefully it will all be worth while and we shall raise en0ugh money for the 4×4 we desperately need.
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 17 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Hello! This is my first ever blog and only my sixth day of having the Okavango Delta as my home, so bear with me!
So what brings me here? Well, I’ve been supporting Elephants for Africa since my fiancée, Dr Kate Evans, started it as a PhD research project back in 2002 and now I’ve just taken the next big step to join the Charity full time. My role is as Operations Manager, assuming responsibility for the day-to-day running and leadership in all business related or strategic issues. The idea being that this will enable to the researchers to be able to concentrate on doing the research (it plays to my strengths too).
Where did I come from? Well, I’m a Materials Engineer and I spent almost eleven years working in Product Development for Jaguar Land Rover. I joined as a graduate and worked my way up to the position of Technical Specialist, responsible for Material Characterisation. Hang in there, there is a link! As part of my role, I managed people and projects, controlled budgets, defined material strategy, established processes, created and ran training courses, gave presentations etc etc. All of these things are transferable to my new role.
I don’t plan to be chained to the office and have every intention of getting out in the field with the researchers and learning as much as I can about the Ele’s and the other flora and fauna in the area.
Until next time,
Sim
Sim joins the team
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 17 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Hello! This is my first ever blog and only my sixth day of having the Okavango Delta as my home, so bear with me!
So what brings me here? Well, I’ve been supporting Elephants for Africa since my fiancée, Dr Kate Evans, started it as a PhD research project back in 2002 and now I’ve just taken the next big step to join the Charity full time. My role is as Operations Manager, assuming responsibility for the day-to-day running and leadership in all business related or strategic issues. The idea being that this will enable to the researchers to be able to concentrate on doing the research (it plays to my strengths too).
Where did I come from? Well, I’m a Materials Engineer and I spent almost eleven years working in Product Development for Jaguar Land Rover. I joined as a graduate and worked my way up to the position of Technical Specialist, responsible for Material Characterisation. Hang in there, there is a link! As part of my role, I managed people and projects, controlled budgets, defined material strategy, established processes, created and ran training courses, gave presentations etc etc. All of these things are transferable to my new role.
I don’t plan to be chained to the office and have every intention of getting out in the field with the researchers and learning as much as I can about the Ele’s and the other flora and fauna in the area.
Until next time,
Sim
I am an elephant researcher again
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 13 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
This morning, after finalising the 2010 Calendars, Sim and I headed out to find elephants.
The bush is looking quite incredible at the moment, as the knobthorn trees are in flower and the leadwood trees are in seed, bringing wonderful shades of yellow and orange to the field. The birdlife is magnificent at the moment too, we saw crimson breasted shrike, a yellow billed kite, lilac breasted rollers, cattle egret and little egret, spurwinged goose and all sorts.
At first crossing (a deep crossing where the water comes over the bonnet) we found some elephants, unfortunately they were mostley hidden in the thick bush but I think it was the ‘B’ herd (all the female’s names start with a B) and they were all looking terribly skinny and feeding off what looked to be a dead tree. It is a hard time of year as we wait for the rains, which is quite as we are surrounded by water from the floods. However, the trees are in winter mode and the wildlife that has been contrained to small amount of land have eaten most which is available.
We spent some time with them and moved on and continued with our route. There is still plenty of water around, making the driving a little tense, but we managed to survive without getting stuck. Tomorrow we are going to do the road survey so I hope we manage the same then!!!!
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
Stuck
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 08 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Sim and I are currently stuck in Cape Town - awaiting for our personal belongings but the ship has only just left Antwerp. Our container was short-shipped and no one though to tell us. So now we have to make another plan to get to Botswana. Very frustrated, disappointed and down
Kate Evans is fundraising for Elephants For Africa - JustGiving
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 01 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Kate Evans is fundraising for Elephants For Africa - JustGiving
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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
Mafunyane out from hiding by Mphoeng
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 17 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Mafunyane is being elusive. The problem is that is collar stopped giving GPS downloads and so we have not been able to find him. Also the plane we use to track the elephants has been out of action, after it was badly damaged in a hail storm so we have not been able to track from him from the air. We have been tracking him from the ground but to no avail. On the 18th of May 2009 it was a good day as he was spotted again and looked healthy and well, but the bad news is that we could not pick him up on his VHF which means that this has now stopped working too.
Tricky thing is that now we have to rely on visual sightings to re-collar him which is a daunting task. I have been on a mission to locate him, telling everyone to inform the research team if they find Mafunyane. It is a challenge as we are not certain whether he is still in the area or not however ethologically elephants will spend sometime in an area before they transverse to another area therefore my hope is that he is still around camp. Maybe Mafunyane will prove this theory wrong as animal behaviour is a complicated field and its difficult to predict the behaviour of an animal.
The re-collaring of Mafunyane will be a mission accomplished I will keep our readers informed about this mission.
A night for researcher and Guides in the bush
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 24 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
With flood Water is at its highest level and delta being a difficult terrain to drive on getting stuck is one of things that one can expect in the area. Firstly driving through deep waters and deep sand and muddy patches in this case the researcher and two guides got stuck in muddy water. The worst thing was that it was in the evening and it got darker and had to jack vehicle up putting some logs and the mosquitoes were biting us all over.
When it got darker that is when most of the predators are active lions, leopards etc. While were still there we heard something splashing water all of us, the guide, Thapelo, a new trainee guide and I went into the vehicle and we realised that it was a hyena having come to investigate what was happening. We never had expected to get stuck on that mud and what I have realised about getting stuck is that it happens when one least expected it.
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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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