I finally got to see Africa Wild dogs, which I've wanted to see for a long time. They are no relation (or very distant, anyway) to Toby, and though they are vicious pack killers they are harmless to people, and very handsome and rare animals. They even barked at me! Other new animals in the south were cheetah and leopard (both seen on game drives), many more lion, and bushpig, normally nocturnal!
A group of us had a very amusing encounter with lion, from the vehicle this time: we were driving to drop people off for walks when a ranger with us spotted lion on the top of a roadcut just beside us. All we could see from our angle was a pair of ears and eyes of a female. While we were all jockeying for position to try to get pictures, suddenly there was a roar and a previously unseen male rushed up to the edge of the bluff in full charge mode- he stopped short and looked down, saw us, looked shocked and abashed and bolted. "Boo!!" We all laughed, which I'd like to think embarrassed him even more.
We also got to see a lioness chase a herd of buffalo into an ambush. There were other lions all set up, and her job was to herd the buffalo into the trap, which she did very effectively. Unluckily (or not!), we could only hear the anguished cry of the victim, but couldn't see through the bush.
One of the last nights we had a "braai" (a barbeque) with all of our field rangers. They were all Zulu, and most spoke little to no English. They are a very superstitious people, and somehow manage to combine Christianity (thanks to the missionaries), ancestor worship, witchcraft and worship of a prophet named Ushembe, who one ranger told me is the god of the black people.
I was also told by a ranger that they are very good at killing people, and that they can direct thunder and lightning to harm anyone they choose. They practice polygamy, and a ranger named Blessing explained it by telling me that "you can't expect a car to run without a spare tire!".
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
South Africa 2010
Pictures will have to wait, as I'm having some computer issues, but while I have time I thought I'd write a bit about my adventures in South Africa. As many of you know, I've been to Africa many times and had a variety of experiences, but when I got a chance to volunteer to do an animal census ON FOOT, I jumped at it. Most African parks and game reserves require that you stay in the vehicle, and for good reason! Lions and tigers and bears...oh my!
The trip was under the auspices of Earthwatch.com, with whom I've done a few trips before, and I recommend their trips- usually quite well-organized, if anyone is inclined to do such a thing!
In this case, there were 11 volunteers to help census the herbivores in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi National Park. We were divided into 2 teams, and each day every volunteer was assigned to walk a "transect" with an armed Zulu ranger, and to count and map each animal seen. The transects were straight lines, 6 to 10 kms in length, and there were about 30 of them. They were rough-cut with a machete, but sometimes hard to follow, and not graded like a normal trail. It was very hilly, and the transects just would go right up and over without niceties like switchbacks, or erosion control... Anyway, our job was to follow behind the ranger, whose job was solely to protect us, and whenever we saw an animal we were to count, take a GPS reading, measure the distance from the trail with a device called a rangefinder, measure the angle from the trail with a compass, and take note of the vegetation type. Of course the rangers frequently spotted the animals first, and I have to wonder how many they saw without telling us- they generally wanted to finish quickly, since when they got done with us they had the rest of the day off! We would start our day at 4:30 AM, and generally were done by 11 or so. Then lunch, data entry, a late afternoon game drive, dinner and bed!
I have to say that I had underestimated how strenuous the transects would be, especially day after day. My legs are like iron now!
The info packet we had gotten mentioned that we should be prepared to climb trees, but I figured they were exaggerating for effect, and I didn't really think that would be needed. Ha!!! The very first day we walked right into a White Rhino, who was in the middle of the transect. He was none too happy, and was pawing the ground and stamping his foot, huffing angrily, and my ranger promptly ordered me up a nearby tree. I'd been very nervous about whether I could do it or not, but quickly learned that indeed I could, and up I went! Luckily the rhinos are afraid of the sound of rifles being armed, and just a few clicks sent him lumbering off.
I was initially assigned to the north camp, where we each had our own tent. Showers were overturned buckets, but there were actually flush toilets. It was a beautiful site, and the north camp manager, Garreth Champion, was brilliant. He's a young South African ecologist, and his breadth of knowledge about the animals, plants and birds was so impressive that we immediately dubbed him "the Oracle". We had a great group up there- all women! 2 wonderful women from Australia in their 60s ( Pam and Chris), a midwife fom Switzerland who was the strongest walker of us all, Sabrina, and another American woman from Chicago, Katie. There was also a kitchen staff of 2, Nana and Zandile, whose job was to cook for us, and they did an impressive job.
The one animal that the Zulu rangers were almost unanimously afraid of was the elephant. At least one of the rangers was a real drama queen " We almost died!" every time we saw one, no matter how distant. It was true that they were ubiquitous, but personally I loved it! One of my walks did get postponed though because of elephants all over the transect! It was a source of frustration to some of the scientists though that the rangers freaked out whenever one was spotted- there was definitely some measure of over-reaction!
After 2 days of training and 4 walks I was transferred to the South Camp. South Camp was not nearly as rustic or scenic. We were 3 to a concrete block hut, with a communal bathroom and a mess tent, and a permeating smell of sewage. The up side though was that the terrain was a bit easier and the animals more numerous.
On one of my walks we were ascending a slope when we heard really loud roaring and snarling from just behind some rocks. I was terrified! The ranger turned to me and said "lion". How close? "Very close"! He thought that perhaps they were killing something, but just then we spotted a male in his prime chasing another male down onto the flat plain below, and it became clear that we were witnessing a rare event: 2 males fighting viciously over 3 females, who themselves were snarling as well. We went out to a rock promontory to watch, and noticed another female just below us, not 20 feet away. She turned and saw us, and ran, and we stayed about 15 minutes watching the whole drama. The vanquished male disappeared, but the winner had a huge gash in his leg, and his face was bleeding.
More later!
The trip was under the auspices of Earthwatch.com, with whom I've done a few trips before, and I recommend their trips- usually quite well-organized, if anyone is inclined to do such a thing!
In this case, there were 11 volunteers to help census the herbivores in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi National Park. We were divided into 2 teams, and each day every volunteer was assigned to walk a "transect" with an armed Zulu ranger, and to count and map each animal seen. The transects were straight lines, 6 to 10 kms in length, and there were about 30 of them. They were rough-cut with a machete, but sometimes hard to follow, and not graded like a normal trail. It was very hilly, and the transects just would go right up and over without niceties like switchbacks, or erosion control... Anyway, our job was to follow behind the ranger, whose job was solely to protect us, and whenever we saw an animal we were to count, take a GPS reading, measure the distance from the trail with a device called a rangefinder, measure the angle from the trail with a compass, and take note of the vegetation type. Of course the rangers frequently spotted the animals first, and I have to wonder how many they saw without telling us- they generally wanted to finish quickly, since when they got done with us they had the rest of the day off! We would start our day at 4:30 AM, and generally were done by 11 or so. Then lunch, data entry, a late afternoon game drive, dinner and bed!
I have to say that I had underestimated how strenuous the transects would be, especially day after day. My legs are like iron now!
The info packet we had gotten mentioned that we should be prepared to climb trees, but I figured they were exaggerating for effect, and I didn't really think that would be needed. Ha!!! The very first day we walked right into a White Rhino, who was in the middle of the transect. He was none too happy, and was pawing the ground and stamping his foot, huffing angrily, and my ranger promptly ordered me up a nearby tree. I'd been very nervous about whether I could do it or not, but quickly learned that indeed I could, and up I went! Luckily the rhinos are afraid of the sound of rifles being armed, and just a few clicks sent him lumbering off.
I was initially assigned to the north camp, where we each had our own tent. Showers were overturned buckets, but there were actually flush toilets. It was a beautiful site, and the north camp manager, Garreth Champion, was brilliant. He's a young South African ecologist, and his breadth of knowledge about the animals, plants and birds was so impressive that we immediately dubbed him "the Oracle". We had a great group up there- all women! 2 wonderful women from Australia in their 60s ( Pam and Chris), a midwife fom Switzerland who was the strongest walker of us all, Sabrina, and another American woman from Chicago, Katie. There was also a kitchen staff of 2, Nana and Zandile, whose job was to cook for us, and they did an impressive job.
The one animal that the Zulu rangers were almost unanimously afraid of was the elephant. At least one of the rangers was a real drama queen " We almost died!" every time we saw one, no matter how distant. It was true that they were ubiquitous, but personally I loved it! One of my walks did get postponed though because of elephants all over the transect! It was a source of frustration to some of the scientists though that the rangers freaked out whenever one was spotted- there was definitely some measure of over-reaction!
After 2 days of training and 4 walks I was transferred to the South Camp. South Camp was not nearly as rustic or scenic. We were 3 to a concrete block hut, with a communal bathroom and a mess tent, and a permeating smell of sewage. The up side though was that the terrain was a bit easier and the animals more numerous.
On one of my walks we were ascending a slope when we heard really loud roaring and snarling from just behind some rocks. I was terrified! The ranger turned to me and said "lion". How close? "Very close"! He thought that perhaps they were killing something, but just then we spotted a male in his prime chasing another male down onto the flat plain below, and it became clear that we were witnessing a rare event: 2 males fighting viciously over 3 females, who themselves were snarling as well. We went out to a rock promontory to watch, and noticed another female just below us, not 20 feet away. She turned and saw us, and ran, and we stayed about 15 minutes watching the whole drama. The vanquished male disappeared, but the winner had a huge gash in his leg, and his face was bleeding.
More later!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)