Sampling on the Gomoti

Last week Shavaughn and I went back up the Gomoti on a day trip to collect some data from sites used by Nokya. There were several sites that we could not get to because of water, but I was really trying to continue the trip we started before having to hurry back for the fires. I somehow managed to delete some of the habitat photos that I had taken previously, so I wanted to take those again before it changed too much. I was actually amazed by how much the habitats had changed in two weeks. The grasses were quite similar, but the leaves have really started to come out in the trees. I managed to scare several giraffes by walking around without them being able to see me!

We came across a lovely little herd of buff, around 75 of them. They were very relaxed and content to watch us work and pose for photographs. Usually when we get close, they move off, but this time they stuck around. I needed to collect some faecal samples, so got the car as close to fresh poo as I could and collected it, keeping a wary eye on the buff of course. As I was counting them I saw a female with a young calf running about 50 m behind them, but she showed no signs of having seen the herd and just kept running, which was quite odd.

We saw the 4 resident reedbuck that don't seem to move from a patch of floodplain, quite a few lechwe (an indicator that we will probably not reach a site) and a lot of elephant. I darted through a gap in a herd only to find myself in between those elephants and the rest of the herd that were crossing the river. Shavaughn was enchanted by a couple of them submerging themselves completely, but I was keen to get out of the herd before stopping to have a look.

We went to town on Saturday morning to collect the collars that have been refurbished and returned to me. DHL had promised me they would arrive on Saturday, but this failed to happen, so I thought it would be easier to wait until Monday rather than come in and out of camp. The collars did arrive on Monday, and I did not have to pay any fees, despite what DHL in Gabs told me. I had realised by then that the older style collars needed a few more bits and pieces to be programmed. I decided to take a few more days rather than rush on with the darting that was due to happen yesterday, so it has been delayed until next week. I have been switching all the collars on this morning and decorating the area outside the office with them. So far they are behaving very well.