Sherini gets a visitor - Graham Bowles
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 22 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Its 2pm on a Saturday afternoon when I hear the splashing. It’s too regular to be one of the juveniles playing in the water and too fast to be one of the adults drinking. I climb down from my perch on the termite mound and walk out into the flood plain to see if I can get a better look.
I have been joining the mahouts during the day for about 4 weeks now. Every Friday and Saturday afternoons I catch up with the herd in the bush so that I can start recording their daytime behaviour. This involves collaring them in the boma just before they head out for the day and walking with them recording various behavioural events and degrees of visual contact between the herd members. By the end of the morning we have normally reached a suitable spot close to the edge of the floodplain. There are good shade trees, plenty to eat and water- and mud-holes to wallow and play in. By 2pm in the Delta in September temperatures are topping out at the mid 30’s Celcius and the whole place has that lazy, hazy feel to it; like its too hot to move.
But something is moving, and it sounds big. I skirt the edge of the island using the bushes for cover, trying to get a better look at whatever is making the splashes. But by now the splashing has stopped. Cathy, the matriarch is on our island and she is looking , well, not relaxed. She is looking across to the neighbouring island where Sherini and her 3 year old Abu is located. I peer into the island and make out the form of Abu and then of another elephant, much bigger than Sherini. It’s a wild male elephant, he’s about 20-25 years old, taller than Sherini at the shoulder, maybe over 2 meters but his tusks are thin making him a little on the immature side. The wind is in my favour and despite being only 20m away he hasn’t spotted me.
Interactions like these are exactly what I am after. Collecting vocal exchanges between herd members has been fairly straight forward but where things start to get really interesting is when the herd comes into contact with other wild elephants. Despite technically being a captive herd, my study subjects, the Abu herd, are ideal as they have this exposure and have had this exposure for the past 15 years. Therefore if they are communicating with other wild elephants I will be able to see exactly how their calling behaviour varies when these events happen.
At the moment this exchange seems amicable enough but I need a second opinion. Using the cover of the island again, I head back to the shady termite mound to inform the rest of the mahouts and they come to have a look. Most of the time these exchanges are allowed to play out but with Cathy carrying an injury the mahouts are unhappy about leaving him so close by. They bring the car and start to move him off the island and back to the main land. From splashes to waving goodbye takes less than 20 mins but having had the collars on Cathy and Sherini at the right place and the right time, the second by second exchange has all been documented.
Tags: elephants, infrasound, PhD, research
The flooding Okavango Delta. By Mphoeng
Category: Uncategorized | Date: May 05 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
This year the flood water is so high that it has restricted researchers in their quest to find elephants. Most of the crossings have very deep water which is difficult for vehicles to cross. Although elephants are terrestrial animals the researchers now are using a boat to do the surveys. Vehicles can only cover small areas.
Boat used as a mode of transport to look for elephants
The flood water is one of the highest that has been experienced in years. Every now and then after a span of time highest floods are experienced. Globally we are in the era of climate change industrialised countries producing some harmful gases into the environment this having affected the developing countries like Botswana. Drought that has adverse impact on communities floods in some countries that impact negatively in the livelihoods of communities.
However the flood water in Botswana which is a semi-desert brings life sustain the communities residing in close proximity to the Delta. Botswana and Batswana as a whole have derived benefits being in the form of revenues from the Delta that had seen Batswana being able to go to schools, universities.
The Flood waters
The Delta means a lot to us as a country. Botswana now has a logo that we identify our country with; it reads as follows, Opportunity and tranquillity beckons.
Calmness could be felt in Okavango Delta the sounds of wilderness, birds, frogs etc.
The slogan is mainly based on opportunities that Delta provides for tourism, the calmness that Okavango Delta provides, and the business opportunities that Botswana provides.
As Batswana we believe that we have to set goals for our selves and the country support every aspect being environmental sustainability and we believe that education is an empowerment.
We have seven visions that we embrace
1. A Prosperous, Productive and Innovative Nation
2. A Compassionate, Just and Caring Nation
3. A Safe and Secure Nation
4. An Open, Democratic and Accountable Nation
5. A Moral and Tolerant Nation
6. An educated and informed nation
7. A united and proud nation
Okavango Delta, organisms from smallest to biggest organisms like elephant needs consorted efforts as it is clear education is key. People who clearly comprehend how wild species benefit them directly and indirectly revenues from photographic tourism providing free education t o Batswana kids. Non Governmental Organisation like Elephants For Africa which provides education for communities which is an outreach programme. Education has an ability to change perspectives of communities and is in line with the vision of the country. Organisations as Elephants for Africa will play a pivotal role in achieving these goals. Reaching the goals needs to be concerted efforts of private, government, communities and organisation that are owned by government and private sector working together.
Tags: botswana, elephants, flood. delta
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
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…….
Sometimes we see elephant…..sometimes we don’t….. By Mphoeng
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Mar 10 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
On the 22nd February I headed to Seba West. Seba West is an area that is not drivable during the flood season as it is mainly composed of flood plains and so in some areas the substrate is clay soils which make the terrain very difficult to get around. With floods not having arrived yet, it is a good area to look for the big male elephants. Although no elephants were sighted on this trip I saw a baboon which caught my attention. Baboons are highly social animals which live in troops. The male in the photos was tasked with the chore of being the eye for the troop, looking out for danger. Baboons are preyed upon by leopards and so the role of look out is an important one to save other troop members. Even when he was having a good scratch he kept an open eye for predators.
What amazes me, is how they decided who should guard on a daily basis? Do they have a timetable or some sort of a shift? Nature is amazing; the quest to comprehend animal behaviour is challenging as everyday present new challenges and this is what keeps me interested.
Tags: animal bahaviour, baboons, botswana, elephants, okavango delta
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!!!!!!
Conflict resolution
Category: Travel | Date: Jan 11 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
On the 3rd January it was time for me to get back to work, having had a wonderful time getting some R&R in Tanzania following our charity trek up Mount Kilimanjaro. We (my partner Sim was with me) got the shuttle up from Moshi early in the morning. The journey should take 7-8 hours, but it was not until 10 hours later that we were dropped off in the middle of Nairobi. The road from Arusha to Nairobi is pretty much non-tarmac all the way and they are in a hell of a state. I managed to sleep most of the way, as I am prone to do on long car/bus journeys, but poor Sim got to witness the risks that our shuttle driver and every other driver took on the roads. Thankfully we made it in one piece and then had to get a taxi to my friends house - which is another story for another time.
We arrived in time for sundowners with Lucy and it was a huge relief to be out of a vehicle and on solid ground. Lucy is doing her PhD on the elephants up at Save The Elephants base camp up in Samburu Game Reserve in the north of Kenya, and so on the Monday, after Sim left on the Sunday we travelled up to Samburu.
Lucy is working on conflict issues with crop raiding elephants and I have been able to go out with her to the communities she works with and see her work. She works with the Tukana Tribe and after we had checked her experiment, looking at an bees as a means of keeping elephants out, we were invited to see an Orphanage School that they had set up and we were welcomed with singing and dancing - it was quite incredible. My work focuses on a wild population, so seeing this aspect of elephant research was very interesting, it was also great to see the community work which is something we, through the charity Elephants For Africa, will be doing in the future.
I came up to Save The Elephants to learn from Iain Douglas-Hamilton and his work, and I am certainly doing that. We scientist should meet up more often to exchange ideas and learn from each other and I hope that this is the start of many exchanges in the future.
Tags: Conflict, crop raiding, elephants, Save the Elephants, Tukana
Mount Kilimanjaro on Charities 1st Birthday
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jan 07 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
On the Charities’ 1st birthday, 28th December 2008, Simon Buckingham, Rebecca Smith and I stood on top of the highest mountain in Africa and the world’s largest free standing mountain in the world and breathed deeply. We had made it and it was an incredible feeling, none of us had expected it to be so emotional but we all got a little chocked up taking in the view from the roof of Africa. It was a spectacular view, taking in Mt Meru in the distance, the peak Mwenzi and the remains of the glacier that once covered this mountain. Special thanks must go to the Guides and Porters of Marangu Hotel (www.maranguhotel.com ) who where professional throughout and ensured that we made it safely and made it an enjoyable experience. We saw many people that were having less fun and some turned back before summiting, we also someone being evacuated from the summit, not a quick helicopter trip but being run down in a wheelbarrow/stretcher. We do not know if they made it! The mountain treated us well with good weather but we knew all too well that she can be cruel to those that do not respect her. We had lots of respect and listening to our guides went Pole Pole (slowly slowly) giving our bodies time to acclimatise and listening to what it was telling us. For me the hardest part was the final summit day, we went to bed at 7pm and were up at 10pm for an 11pm start. It was not until 1115pm that we started after final adjustments, and then it was a slow plod onwards and upwards. Most of the groups started after us and over took us, this did not bother us, we knew that to go slowly was the way, and indeed many of those who over took us came down before summiting, being run down by guides to make it down asap and stop the advances of Pulmonary Oedema or Cerebral Oedema.
We were joined by a group of Americans, complete strangers at first but after 6 days on a mountain telling tales and sharing the wonderful experience we left firm friends. We would like to thank them for their support and encouragement on the mountain.
My personal thanks go to my friend and fellow zoologist, Rebecca Smith, who agreed to join us and raised so much money for us. She overcame altitude sickness to make it all the way to the top. Congratulations Becs and many thanks.
Thanks to all those who have already dug deep into their pockets, particularly during these hard economic times. You can still support us, simply visit www.justgiving.com/elephantkate. For other donations methods get in touch on elephantresearch@yahoo.co.uk. We all paid our own way for this venture so ALL PROFITS go to the charity.
Best wishes
Dr Kate Evans
Tags: chairty fundraiser, elephants, Kilimanjaro
I am off…. to Climb a Mountain…
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Dec 05 2008 | By: elephantsofbotswana
To celebrate the 1st birthday of the Charity, ELEPHANTS FOR AFRICA, my partner, my friend, Becs Smith, and I are going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. This is the highest mountain in Africa, so we shall literally be standing on Africa’s roof, and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. I flew over it on my way to Botswana and it is HUGE!!!
Whilst it is not a technical climb, it can be a killer with 9-12 people dying per year. So this is not a done deal and not a challenge we are taking lightly – this will challenge us all both mentally and physically.
If we succeed we shall reach the summit on the Charities 1st Birthday. What a way to celebrate!!!!!
PLEASE lend us your support and help us get up the mountain by sponsoring us, either through Wildlife Direct or though www.justgiving.com/elephantkate or email me on elephantresearch@yahoo.co.uk to discuss other ways of donating.
We really need your help on this one. We are all paying our own way and so ALL proceeds go to the charity nothing is taken for costs.
Thanks to all those who have already dug hands into pockets.
Best wishes
Dr Kate Evans
Tags: chairty fundraiser, elephants, Kilimanjaro
-
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. -
100% of your donation, minus a small bank fee, will go to your intended purpose.
Donations made here are safe.
