Collecting samples in the dark

Last week, Jennifer and I went out to find a few herds of buff and collect some samples. We found Lasanya fairly quickly and got a decent count, although it was definitely more difficult than usual to find sufficient faecal samples. We went down to where Chanel has been for the last few weeks, which is between our main access road and the main South Gate road. Unfortunately there are not many roads in that area and, as I found out, the bush there is fairly thick. We got a recent fix for the herd from Keren, but by the time we got there we could not get a signal, meaning that the herd had moved at least 2 km further. We did a few points in the area and headed back to the road. We spotted some buff along the fence, but they ran away into fairly dense bush and we lost them.

We went back up to sample points from Lasanya and bumped into the herd again, several km further south from where we had left them. We had had a storm already and the sky was looking ominous at that point and it was getting towards evening time, so I decided that we would head back to camp to avoid trying to cook food in the pouring rain. We headed back out early the next morning to do some more samples and found Lasanya again. For some unknown reason she has always been the easiest buffalo to find, and I am starting to think that she follows me as much as I follow her!

We continued up to collect samples from points used by Bambi Whilst sampling one of these, we heard buffalo fairly close by, so we finished quickly and headed across to find them. They were fairly skittish and we were only able to get a small population dynamics count, but it is all useful. They disappeared off into thick mopane at a rapid pace and we left them to it. We got an updated fix for Bambi from Keren and headed in that direction and picked up a fairly strong signal. Right next to us we saw a small group of bulls and cows, but they did not seem to associated with Bambi's herd. We followed the signal, which was an active one, indicating that she was moving. We were slowly catching up to her, but it was obvious by the signal and the tracks that the herd was on a mission. We followed their tracks through dense mopane and only managed to catch a glimpse of a couple of animals. By that time it was around 17:30 and a rather large thunder storm hit us, forcing us to abandon the tracking idea. I am not a big fan of holding up a large metal antenna when lightning is hitting fairly close by!

When the storm passed, it was past 18:00 and the herd had moved further still. I decided to leave them and head back to do some more points. As we were doing the last point of the evening, we again hear buffalo calling not too far away. We finished quickly and headed towards them. They were very relaxed and I was able to get a good count of the herd, since they were grazing and checking us out from about 15m away. After I had gotten a decent count, I wanted to collect faecal samples, but they seemed to enjoy my company so much that they were reluctant to move off and I didn't want to disturb them after we spent that time getting to know each other. Eventually the main herd moved off and I got out my torch to look for fresh faeces. Obviously I was aware that the buff were close by, so drove around looking for samples and did not venture far from the car, but all went well and I managed to find all the samples that I needed. We camped close by, since the herd had moved off by the time I found all my samples, and spent a lovely night under the stars. We headed back to camp the next day, sampling points on the way. By this time, my vehicle was stuck in low range and the steering rod was not quite as straight as it had been, so the rest of that day was spent fixing her up!

While we were out sampling, the wild dogs came through camp and killed an impala, so we were sad to have missed that, but it can't be helped - the buffalo are the priority for me!

Crossing the Gomoti

Last week I went out on Wednesday to find Bianca. She has been moving around in the area between the Gomoti and the Santantadibe. When we crossed, the water came up to the windscreen and came close to pouring in the windows. I managed to keep the vehicle moving, but there were several seconds where I thought we would get stuck. Needless to say, this was not an experience that I wanted to repeat, so we returned via the Morutshe gate, which is a longer way round, but much less river infested.

Before leaving camp, I had obtained the latest fix from the collar, taken earlier that morning. We drove down the road but failed to pick her up. I radio-ed Keren for a more recent fix, which turned out to be close to the road at the same time as we were driving it and tracking. I am concerned that the VHF has stopped working on that collar, as the point was less than a km from where I was tracking. We drove to the most recent fix and found fresh tracks and faeces. We started to follow the tracks as an alternative to using telemetry, but I drove over a small stick and then smelt a rather strong petrol scent. Upon investigation, I found that the pipe running out of my reserve tank and into my main tank had been damaged, so that petrol was coming out fairly rapidly. I managed to make a plan with a clamp so that the leaking stopped. However, I did not want to risk it happening again, particularly as most of the area is covered in mopane. I therefore headed for home with only 4 samples and no buffalo sightings. Louis and Duncan helped me all the next day to fix the problem, which has been sorted.

The next day I had to go to town to extend my waiver, which was done without incident. I spotted two chameleons mating in a tree at a friend's house in Maun, proving that there is wildlife in Maun as well!