Boot Camp Begins (June 29th, 2011)

Today I decided to become my own personal trainer. As it turns out I have adjusted too well to the laid back environment I have been thrown into; long daily drives, very little movement. I have managed to go from being in adequate shape to absolutely no shape at all. Therefore, this morning, I decided to take matters into my own hands and start a morning exercise regime. In the past I have avoided running for exercise as much as humanly possible, I prefer to ride a bicycle or use an elliptical. Anything that doesn’t resemble a treadmill or pavement. But out here there are very few options, especially since we are bound to a specific area around camp. So this morning, up at 7:30am, I took my running shows out for the first time and decided to run laps around the edge of camp.
At 7:45am I canned the running scheme. Not because I wanted to, but because I physically couldn’t run any further. Being in what I believe to be the worst shape of my life is an understatement. Relatively zero movement in that past two weeks has hit me hard... and hopefully I can change that. So, after a measly 15 minutes of running I decided to switch it up with some sit-ups, a few push-ups, lunges... the works. Afterwards, I ended up spending the same amount of time trying to recuperate from exercising as I actually spent exercising. This new master plan of mine should be fun....

For the past week or so we have been forced to stick to the south end of the lake to monitor the main herd there. This has been due to the hunting that has been taking place in Mpalane, the area where the Orphans reside. Today was meant to be the day we could finally head north, unfortunately though, Heike had received a call letting her know that the hunting had yet to cease. Moments before we set out to find the main herd though, Heike received another call letting her know that elephant spoor had been seen in Leuowspoor, the property adjacent to Mpalane. As it turns out, the Orphan herd had migrated further south to avoid the hunters. It took us only 26 minutes to find the herd.

The Orphan herd is very different from the main herd in terms of behaviour. A decade ago the Kruger National Park performed a mass cull on all the adult elephants in certain parts of the reserve. The remaining adolescent elephants were then translocated to reserves that would take them. The Orphan herd that now resides in the PGR were originally translocated to the property further north, another reserve. But after a hole appeared in the fence line they migrated into the PGR with the guidance of Ngani, the oldest PGR bull. Now, due to the fact that these orphan elephants grew up with no influence from older females, or a matriarch for that matter, they display very undisciplined behaviour.  While monitoring the herd today we noticed that the average Orphan thought process is much shorter than that of the main herd. When threatened these animals are quick to make rash decisions versus assessing the situation. In terms of the heirarchy they have established amongst themselves, two of the oldest females are often "bickering" over who is matriarch. Curve, one of these females, has been known to be very aggressive and is often very destructive. Another thing I have noticed, the Orphan herd is anything but suttle within the thicket. Unlike the main herd, which moves silently and cautiously through the brush, the Orphans blaze their trail, bulldozing their way through the thicket. The natural instincts of elephants aid in their child rearing skills and basic social skills, but everything else is usually passed down from mother to daughter/son. The lack of social skills within the Orphan herd may have been one of the main reasons the original five were not accepted in the main herd when they first appeared.

We trailed the Orphan herd for an hour and a half before they moved onto Mpalane and out of our sight. With still a long day ahead of us we turned the vehicle around and headed south to see if the main herd was in sight. At 12:30pm (ish) we managed to spot the herd in Manzini, their regular territory. We also spotted Khumbula and Shayisa across the lake as well. Since these two bulls are rarely in our sights we abandoned the main herd and drove to the shoreline to collect data on the two bulls. Afterward, we returned to the area where we had spotted the main herd and, surprisingly enough, every individual had made his or her way onto the floodplain. With them was the newest addition to the herd, just over a week old. The baby elephant still stands out from the herd, given that the grass is short, because it still has its light baby skin and is quite hairy. Its white coat makes it appear as if it is wearing a onesy as it follows closely behind its mother. The herd made its way to the waters edge to drink and afterward, following Antares, the matriarch, made their way 25m or so from the lake to have a communal mud bath. This would have been the first mud bath for the baby calf, and as we watched it tumble in the mud we couldn't help but smile. With the help of its mother, the calf was completely covered in mud, head to tail. After the very refreshing mud bath, the dust bathing festivities began and soon the air was thick with dust from the elephants throwing it across their backs.

After a long day the herd made its way back into the thicket, heading west towards the densest part to keep warm for the night. We too decided to call it a day and started to make our way back towards the Loose Mongoose. Oddly, we hadn't seen Ngani or Kohlewe with the main herd, so we decided to take signal for them as we neared the research camp. As it turns out, those two old boys are apparently headed north, to the Orphans. Hopefully, with permission to enter Mpalane this week, we will have the chance to see Ngani and Kohlewe stir things up, especially since the dominant bull for the Orphans is Asiphephe.

Back at the Loose Mongoose I decided to get started on my portion of our data entry early, we managed to collect nine 30-minute scan samples today, and eight 15-minute focals. K made an amazing dinner of ratatoullie and baked potatoes, and Lionel even stopped by to join us for dinner. As usual, Abbie and I will be fast asleep by 9:30pm at the latest, and I can only imagine what tomorrow morning will be like when I attempt to run laps around the camp.

Cattle Egrets Never Lie (June 27th and 28th, 2011)

The last 48 hours have had their share of ups and down, but I am finding it easier and easier to stay optimistic even at the more boring of times.  I have been keeping a daily log outlining the events of each day which includes who we focal sampled, when it occurred, where it occurred, etc etc, as well as other information pertaining to the herd’s antics. Using this log I have also been able to calculate the amount of time we have spent waiting in the last two days... 13 hours to be exact. Yup. 19 hours if you count the day before. If this had happened a week ago I would have been furious, but patience has become a huge asset and mine improves everyday. 

These 13 hours, in my mind, have changed from the most brutal hours of never ending agony, to very calm periods of time. I always sit on the right side of the Ele-truck, which has allowed me to bask in the sun for, well basically, the entire day. Although it is still very cold in the mornings I have begun to strategically layer my clothes so that when the temperature hits 23 degrees around 1:00pm I am prepared. I peel off my layers and wear shorts and a tank top. Ideal for when I hang my legs over the edge of the vehicle and tan my pasty arms and legs. My hiking boot tan will be magnificent when coupled with the two, or maybe three, different t-shirt tans I will have. Aside from tanning, I have also started bringing a few books along to read between data samples. I have managed to read 364 pages these last two days, the last 97 pages being from the book I swapped Abbie for. I am only now realizing that I should have brought more books with me. 

So, if you haven’t already guessed, the last two days have been fairly slow. At times we would sit on a dirt road for hours, surrounded by thicket, wondering why on earth we didn’t turn around and just head home. But as the last two weeks have taught me, cattle egrets never lie. Ever. These small white birds have become the tell tale sign for when elephants are lurking in the thickets. Every sighting we have made involves these birds, whether they are perching in surrounding trees, flying over head, or hopping along behind the elephants. As we sit in the truck, reading our books, these birds continuously fly overhead reminding us that even though we can’t see the elephants they are still there... and so, we must wait, and wait we shall.

Bundled Up and Still Freezing (June 25th, 2011)

Since arriving in Intibane our first week we have heard rumours about a potential cold front moving towards Western Africa... obviously I disregarded this as I am over qualified in dealing with cold weather. But as it turns out the cold front actually exists and it hit the area... last night. I found this out around 2:00am when I woke up and was absolutely freezing. The air temperature had dropped significantly since I had gone to bed. Not being prepared with extra blankets or anything I managed to keep myself warm by sleeping in the fetal position for the rest of the night. 

As usual I was up at 7:00am and, unfortunately, I was in desperate need of a shower due to the strong smell of garlic and onion drifting off me from dinner the night before. While taking a shower in the freezing cold I was reminded of the good old days when the boiler in the house we rented in Saskatoon would stop working during the night. Not only would we wake up to a chilly temperature of eight degrees in the morning, four of us also occupied the basement which was even colder. Thus, I am well trained in the art of showering as quickly as possible and getting into warm clothes. 

Breakfast consisted of the usual peanut butter on toast accompanied by a steaming cup of instant coffee with Amarula. Interestingly enough, Amarula is produced in South Africa using the fruit from the Marula tree... this makes a one litre bottle incredibly affordable at around 78 Rand, so approximately about $12 Canadian. You really can’t afford not to drink it.

By 8:00am I had assembled my lunch (peanut butter sandwich and some fruit), and was ready to head out. Due to the cold front though it was highly unlikely that the elephants would be emerging from the thicket so Heike told us to meet at the museum (also thirty seconds away) to hone our elephant identification skills. The first half hour or so was entertaining but by the 50^th elephant picture I was quite drowsy again. We finished up at 10:30am and headed out to find the main herd of elephants to the south. The six of us were bundled in our jackets and blankets to stay warm during the hour drive.

At 10:56am we were driving along the railway tracks when we spotted two elephant up ahead. As it turns out the herd had travelled over the tracks to the west side of the reserve during the night. We had caught them as they were moving back towards the lake. No one managed to spot the newborn calf but we did see the 5 week old leading the way across the road. We conducted a focal on Kohlewe and Ngani before the herd had completely migrated into the thicket. It was 12:15pm when we decided the plan of action was to wait at the opposite side of the thicket for when the herd emerged to drink from the lake... four hours later the herd still hadn’t shown up. Since the sun sets between 5:30pm and 6:00pm we had no choice but to head for home.

Tonight we attempted to make a chicken stew... key word being attempted. After three hours of “simmering” the stew on the stove we decided to try it in the oven, to no avail. We decided to cool the stew and put it in the fridge to try and cook it at Heike’s tomorrow. The back up plan consisted of bbq-ing a tonne of hotdogs for everyone to eat on sliced bread with tomato, cheese, mustard, ketchup (which only exists in South Africa as “Tomato Sauce” in a similar bottle) and mayonnaise. I enjoyed my hotdog with mustard and ketchup, but not feeling completely satisfied I popped a piece of bread in the toaster and for the third time today enjoyed peanut butter and bread.  

Without any data to enter into our log today, and little more to write about, it has given me the time to officially introduce everyone that is involved in the research we are conducting here in Pongola. This may also help clear a few things up and make everything more sensible. I will start with Heike.

Heike is the main coordinator of the elephant herds found here in Pongola. She is originally from Germany but has been living in South Africa for the past 30 years or so. Heike works for the Space for Elephants Foundation which, in association with Disney, has been funding the current project. Heike has been actively involved with the elephants here for the past two years.  Then there is K. K is the senior researcher on our project who works for OpWall. She is here to offer the students support, help with data collection, as well as monitor the progress of our research.  Lastly, the students. I have mentioned Louise, Eva, and Abbie quite a few times, and always very briefly. Louise and Abbie are both from England and are studying zoology. Eva is German born but has lived in Glasgow, Scotland nearly her entire life. The four of us have been getting along incredibly well and are having a great time working on our research projects together. Within the next two weeks there will be three more students joining us and hopefully they too will find themselves at home here at the Loose Mongoose. 

I should also mention Lionel before heading to bed. Lionel works as a mechanic at the Homestead and spends a lot of time at the Loose Mongoose. Tonight he stopped by to see how things were shaping up since we moved in and ended up staying to roast hotdogs with us. He also has two 5 month old Jack Russell Terriers that go everywhere with him. Butch and Tiny are siblings and spend most of their time chasing each other and playing, eating, or sleeping. 

With the help of my sleeping bag and extra blankets tonight will hopefully be more peaceful than last night. The day starts at 7:00am tomorrow and hopefully with a little luck the elephants won’t be hard to find.

The Loose Mongoose (June 24th, 2011)

I didn’t write a blog for yesterday because nothing out of the ordinary happened. We waited for the elephants for four hours in the afternoon and only managed to spot them for an hour. For the last few days the main herd has been staying deep within the thickets in an area on the floodplain. This had made it difficult to view them for an extended period of time, if at all. According to Heike this behaviour has happened in the past and is an indication of one thing... that the elephants are calving. All we have been able to do is watch and wait.

 

Last night we hung out with the bush craft guys next door for the last time; today they headed for Joburg for a few days before the next leg of their training. This meant that we would finally be able to move into the Loose Mongoose Research Center, which we were all very excited to do. This morning we were up at 7:00am to finish packing our things... or in my case basically stuffing all my clothes into my bag and anything that didn’t fit into a large black garbage bag. We cleared out the cottage fridge and hauled our things next door around 8:30am. We couldn’t officially move in until later in the afternoon because the rooms were being cleaned out so we dropped our things off at the museum. Today was also grocery day! We were pumped about finally having fresh vegetables and fruit again. This is excellent for me as peanut butter and bread have each become a staple in my diet... And it gets better!! It was also Heike’s day to go into town so we compiled a list of snacks and other things that wouldn’t be included in our grocery budget from OpWall. This was fantastic since I was in dire need of something made out of chocolate. Before Heike made her trip into town we had a few hours to spare so we hopped onto the Ele-Truck and headed south to see if we could find the main herd.

Around 10:00am we tracked our radio signal to the same thickets that we have been watching for the past few days. Just on the edge was Ntini; he was foraging on the acacia trees so we decided to conduct a focal sample. Within the hour OJVM #2 had appeared, then a youngster, and then another. The herd was finally emerging from the thicket! We managed to do focal samples on five individuals before a large group of cows made their way onto the floodplain. As usual the four of us automatically started looking for the 5 week old calf. We spotted the calf following closely behind her mother as they made their way across the road in front of us. Following them was a large group of cows. I watched these cows closely as they meandered onto the road and managed to spot a tiny trunk from within the cluster of large legs. Heike had been right; the cows had been waiting in the thickets for the birth of the newest member of the herd. Moments later Ngani and Kohlewe broke out of the thickets as well. It seemed that all the bulls (aside from Lucky and Asiphephe) had sensed the birth of this new individual and made their way into the same area. It seemed like every member of the herd wanted to greet the new calf as they swarmed like bees around it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay as Heike wanted to make it into town around 2:30pm to do her shopping... not even a newborn calf made us object to the idea of leaving due to the promise of junk food she would be returning with. 

We were all extremely happy about how our day had turned out. Not only were we finally in our permanent living quarters and getting groceries, we had managed to take seven focal samples and a scan sample this afternoon. The brand new elephant calf is a very remarkable addition to the herd because of the population control methods in effect and it will be interesting to see what is going to happen if calves continue to be born.

The Loose Mongoose Research Center is fairly basic with a motel kind of style. The main building contains the kitchen at the north end with four rooms running along the north wall. Each room is the size of an average door room with two single beds, two night stands, and one small wardrobe. The bathroom at the south end contains two toilets and two showers.

Along the length of the building is a sitting area and camp fire with two large umbrella thorn trees growing overhead. About 25 meters north of the main building is another small motel like structure that has four more rooms, a bathroom, and a small cement pad. All-in-all it is quite simple but very liveable by my new standards. 

For dinner we made a butternut squash soup and discovered that the stove in the kitchen doesn’t work. The elements won’t even heat up enough to bring water to a boil... luckily, Heike lives thirty seconds away so we carried our pot over to her place to use her stove. 

We were all pretty exhausted from all the excitement so after dinner we were all tucked inside our rooms and asleep by 9:30pm.

Pongola Day Six

I mentioned in the last blog the four of us had decided to head over to the camp next door to hang out with the guys for a few hours. Heike picked us up at 7:00pm and we made our way over to the research camp. The atmosphere was completely different from the other night with all the guys being sober and very mellowed out. We had the chance to check out a few of the rooms that we will inhabit come Saturday, and although they aren’t comparable to the cottage they were still a step up from Intibane. We also found out a little more information about our new friends... and interestingly enough only three of the guys we have gotten to know would be able to legally drink in Canada. This was quite funny because the oldest looking of the bunch were the youngest and vice versa. We also found out that South African Idol exists and one of the guys (Lionel) had tried out just for the fun of it. He even got two minutes of air time. At 9:45pm we called it a night and headed home.

... ... ...

It was a very unusual day today in terms of the animals we sighted and the events that occurred. 

We set out at 8:30am and headed south toward the lake because we were receiving strong signals for the main herd and a few of the older bulls. During the first fifteen minutes of the drive we came across a bachelor group of giraffe along the railway tracks. The giraffe has turned out to be a very awkward animal in my mind. When we stopped the vehicle to take a few pictures three of the giraffes lined up beside each other. The giraffe in the middle stared directly at us, not even blinking an eye, while the other two cocked their heads to the side and just stood there. It makes you wonder who is really watching who, and what could a giraffe possibly be thinking about as it stares directly at you?

Continuing on our way Heike made a few more stops to take signal and turned off the main road into a thicket where the herd was potentially hiding out. We wove our way through the bushes and onto the floodplain before we managed to spot any elephant. We re-entered another part of the thicket and around 10:04am spotted our first bull. This individual turned out to be Ntini and just to his left were Ngani and Kohlewe. We automatically began our 30-minute scan sample of the group and picked out the individuals we would be conducting focal samples on. Abbey and I recorded Kohlewe’s behaviour while the other two focused on Ngani. Ntini was the last to be sampled and then we headed off to find the other herd. 

As we made our way toward the floodplain I managed to spot two bull elephants across the lake. These two are known as Shayisa and Khumbula. The opposite side of the lake isn’t actually a part of the PGR; it is used as a nature reserve and has no large game in it. Unfortunately, the elephants don’t know this and managed to swim around the large fence that divides the nature reserve and the PGR. Heike made a quick phone call to the manager of the property and we received permission to make our way around the lake in hopes of collecting data on the bulls. At 1:00pm we had made our way to the opposite bank of the lake and parked the vehicle in view of the thicket along the lake. The two bulls didn’t emerge from the thicket while we were there, but we did manage to see a very robust hippo checking us out from in the lake. We also saw a brahma bull hanging out along the water’s edge. According to Heike the presence of this bull is illegal and he must have been with a herd of cattle being illegally grazed on the property. The entire three hours that we waited for Shayisa or Khumbula the bull didn’t move an inch.

Around 3:00pm we decided to try and find the main herd so we made our way back to the opposite side of the lake. We were driving along a road that borders the thicket when a younger elephant made her way onto the floodplain. She was followed by Astro, one of the adult cows, as well as three or four other juveniles, including OJVM #3. Astro remained out of our view making it impossible to do any focal sampling so instead we just viewed the antics of the younger animals. Eventually Boudica, another adult female, made her way out of the thicket with her 7 month old calf. Elephant calves are hysterical to watch because it is completely apparent that they are still infants and are always learning. Boudica’s calf was distracted when it first came out of the bush; therefore, Boudica was approximately 20 meters away from her calf when it first realized it was lagging behind. When this happens the calves flatten their ears against their heads, raise their trunks, and run as fast as they are possibly able to catch up. As you watch them you can see the determination on their faces as they move their stumpy legs faster and faster. This particular calf was also at the age when learning basically means mimicking the behaviour of the elephants around you. As Boudica meandered her way around the floodplain she would stop to rip up grasses and shrubs along the way. Instinctively, she would swat the forage into her chest and shoulders to knock away any soil before putting it in her mouth. Her calf, following closely by her side, would copy her behaviour by attempting to pull up little pieces of grass here and there. Watching this is quite amusing as elephant calves sometimes have trouble operating their trunks successfully. After pulling up a few strands of grass, the calf made an effort to swat the dirt off and after managing to only fling dirt into his face the little guy gave up and shoved the grass into his mouth, soil and all.

All the elephants had disappeared back into the thicket by 4:30pm. Instead of heading home right away we stayed to watch an off-duty patrol man bring in the horses that were grazing the surrounding area. The horses are owned by a company that is responsible for the security of the PGR and are used for daily patrols along the fence lines. Knowing the routine, the horses quickly started walking back towards the stable where they were housed... and along with them came two zebras. The two zebras had somehow managed to join the herd of horses sometime in the last few months and due to their gentle nature the owners of the horses didn’t seem to mind. As the horses walked single file toward their paddock the two zebras brought up the rear. Although the zebras are locked out of the paddock the two of them stay in close vicinity to the other horses and rejoin them the next day when they are turned out once again. 

The trip home is usually a quick one, only taking an hour or so. Thirty-five minutes from our cottage we were driving along at a steady pace when there was a loud bang. As it turns out we had managed to blow a rear tire on the ele-truck. The five of us got the jack out and the necessary tools and prepared to change the tire. After some struggle we managed to get the tire off but to our dismay our jack couldn’t lift the vehicle high enough to put the spare tire on. Luckily, a friend of Heike’s was driving past and used his jack to lift the truck higher. We were all relieved when the spare tire slid easily onto the hub but any elation we felt quickly dissolved when we realized that the spare tire didn’t fit on the hub properly. Without any other options Heike made a quick phone call to have someone bring another tire. 

At 7:00pm (ish), Andre and Lionel showed up... without another spare tire. As usual, men will be men, and the two of them decided that the spare tire we had couldn’t possibly not fit on the vehicle. After ten minutes of attempting to fit the tire on they finally agreed with us and grabbed the spare off the vehicle they had arrived in. This tire did the trick and by 7:30pm we were finally on the road again heading home. The sun had set at 6:09pm so we were all very glad to be back in the ele-truck and safe from any hyenas or wild dogs. 

Four Down, One to Go (June 21st, 2011)

Today we set out at 7:30am to find the orphan herd for the second time since being here. After honing our data collection skills as well as practicing our elephant identification, we were all confident that we could collect and record data effectively and efficiently. We once again made our way through Mpalane to the jetty where the elephants were thought to be. Our signal for Lucky and the orphan herd was very strong as we approached the river. Unfortunately, we had arrived too late and as we waited and took signal it faded a little more each time. After a few quick visits to the “bush loo” we turned the vehicle around and decided to head to the opposite end of the lake/dam to try and track down the main herd. Along the way we passed a small lake full of hippos. They had all congregated in the middle of the shallow lake as it was still quite cold outside. The calves could be seen lying on their mothers backs above the water to rest from having to stay afloat.

At 11:30am we took another signal for the main herd as well as a few bulls that were thought to be in the area. We headed east towards the lake and at first we couldn’t spot any elephant. We followed the main road that made its way around a large thicket that bordered the floodplain. Just around the corner was Kohlewe and OJVM #1 (OJVM stands for “Older Juvenile Male, there are three of them). This adolescent bull was accompanying Kohlewe as OJVM #1 was starting to become more independent of the main herd as he grew older and larger. We did a 30-minute scan sample for the group and started a 15-minute focal sample for Kohlewe. Soon enough the two bulls meandered out of our view towards the shore to drink water. Before we decided to follow them, Mgangane emerged from the thicket further west. We positioned the vehicle in view of him and conducted another focal sample. When our focal sample was almost completed Mgangane was basically asleep, apparent by the slow swaying of his body to the left and right.

Ten minutes into this focal sample Ntini had also decided to show up, but instead of taking it easy like Mgangane, Ntini made a bee-line for the vehicle. I was responsible for taking the current focal sample so I scrambled off the roof of the truck and hopped back under cover. While I completed the focal sample of sleeping Mgangane, Heike had to quickly reverse the vehicle out of the way of Ntini who was headed for the water on the opposite side of us. This gave me the perfect opportunity to take some side photos for my body conditioning assessments. We decided to conduct our third and final focal sample on Ntini so we made our way towards the lake. Towards the end of the focal Ntini crosses the road directly behind where we had parked the vehicle. Once he made his way half way across he turned his body around to stare directly at as. He was less than 10m away. This would have been a great opportunity to take a picture, but to be completely honest, I was afraid that the shutter noise of my camera would alert him and he would fake charge us (as he is known to do). So we all waited silently for him to pass and then decided it was safe to breathe again.

 

After a very successful succession of data collection our day was made even better with a sighting of buffalo. So far during this trip I have seen four of the “Big Five” species found on some of the reserves in South Africa. I have managed to see elephant (oddly enough), rhino, lion, and now buffalo. The last animal a part of the Big Five is the leopard. Although they have a known presence in this reserve the chances of seeing one is very slim as they are very elusive. I would still say four for five is still incredible as I have only been here for two weeks. 

The four of us girls have started to become closer as the days pass and today we spent most of our time chatting away the time between observations. Heike is also a great mentor to have around and has an incredible amount of knowledge on the elephant herds. Tonight we are once again headed next door to have drinks with the guys and enjoy a campfire.

Elephants: Largest Mammals on Land... Hardest Ones to find

The last two days have been incredibly busy, especially when trying to juggle elephant watching during the day and social functions during the night. I will start at the beginning... obviously.

Yesterday morning started bright and early at 7:15am. Heike picked us up and we decided to head north to Mpalane for the day to try and find the orphan elephant herd. The northern area of the reserve is usually restricted to Heike but because of our research projects we were allowed to enter the property. After stopping at the Homestead to take a radio signal we made our way into Mpalane and were driving for approximately twenty minutes when we made our first black rhino sighting. There are fifteen black rhino in the PGR, 10 of which are mature adults. The black rhino is a critically endangered species in Africa due to severe poaching. Black rhino horn is especially valuable in Asian countries because it is believed to have medicinal uses (Not sure why though as rhino horn is made of hair). Currently, a kg of black rhino horn is worth 34,000 pounds. The PGR has implemented a program to maintain its black rhino population, hunting them on the game reserve does not occur. The female rhino we saw also had a newborn calf with her as well as her adolescent son. It was less than an hour before we sighted our next black rhino in the thicket. 

We continued on our way and stopped to take a signal for Lucky, a bull elephant that is usually trailing the orphan herd. It was 9:50am at the time... it took an hour and a mechanic to fix the truck before we got the truck started again. That hour of my life may have been the longest. Not only were we parked in a thicket with very little visibility, it was also boiling. I managed to burn my shoulders while sitting in the back of the truck. In instances like these I would have usually snacked to distract myself from boredom, but due to having taken my malaria pills at 9:00am I still had an hour to wait before I could eat again. Malaria pills have turned out to have interesting side effects... but I will get into that another day when I have nothing to write about.

We drove deeper into Mpalane and made our way into a valley where the Pongola River flows. This river is the main water source for the orphan herd so it was just a matter of time before they showed up... or so we though. After two hours of cruising the truck along the riverside and through the surrounding thicket and approximately an hour of repeating one line from Katy Perry’s song “E.T” in my head the orphan herd finally emerged on the opposite side of the river (12:02pm). The reeds along the river were tall enough to completely disguise the herd. The orphan herd is made up of 14 individuals with 5 adult cows. The youngest calf, Luke, was born in December of last year. His mother, Curve, is the oldest cow in the herd at 28 years. We spent the next hour identifying the members of the herd and learning how to recognize them using their ID kits.

Around 1:00pm we spotted Lucky down river from them. Lucky is an interesting character as he has been rejected by both herds. He was also the only calf present when the original herd was translocated from Kruger National Park. His mother, Antares, is the matriarch of the main herd. When he became a mature bull he was forced out of the herd and has basically been a loner ever since, rarely being allowed to socialize within either herd. Having watched the orphan herd for an hour we decided to head upstream to get a better view of Lucky. As we made our way closer we realized that another bull, Asiphephe, was with Lucky. Unfortunately for Lucky, Asiphephe is the dominant bull. Asiphephe nonchalantly made his way to where the herd was and after greeting a number of the cows started to mock fight with one of the adolescent male calves. Mature bulls only usually associate with the herds when they are in musth and are seeking out oestrus females. When they do enter the herds they also play an active role in mentoring the younger bulls. It took 45 minutes for Lucky to make his way toward the herd, but before he could even get close to them Asiphephe was on the defensive and chased him off. At 2:21pm the two bulls where gone and the herd was making their way back through the reeds and into the thicket. At this point we called it a day and prepared for the hour or so drive back to our cottage. 

Two more black rhino were spotted on our way back, Nesibindi and Dondo. Nesibindi gave us quite a scare when he started to charge the vehicle, but luckily he stopped approximately 50m from us. Dondo, which means “chief”, is the oldest (23 years) and largest rhino on the reserve. 

We finally made it back to our cottage and were informed that the guys from the neighbouring camp invited us to their Braai to celebrate their completion of their program as well as Andre's fourth year at the PGR. The theme for the Braai was to wear “something funny”. This was difficult as the only clothes I have with me consist of very boring neutral clothing. So, having nothing to wear, I decided to wear nothing. Sporting a towel wrapped around me (with strategically placed safety pins), flip flops, and a shower cap, the five of us made our way next door with Heike when she picked us up. K, our research coordinator, arrived an hour before we left, thus, bringing our number up to 5. We arrived at the camp to the smell of Impala roasting on a spit and Kudu sausage being cooked on a bbq. Everyone was wearing ridiculous outfits mostly consisting of underwear over pants, mosquito nets, and animal skin capes. The Braii was a blast and the food was amazing. I met people from all over the world and had some great laughs.

This morning I was up at 6:00am to shower the smoky smell out of my hair and to take my malaria pill an hour before breakfast. I also had a chance to finally wash some laundry. The cottage has two large sinks in the backyard for washing clothes and a large rack to hang clothes on. Luckily the Vervet monkeys here don’t have a preference for stealing clothes like the ones in Intibane. 

We were off by 7:30am and headed to the Homestead to take signal from a high point. We couldn’t get a signal for the orphan herd so the plan was to head south again and find the main herd. Along the way we received a very strong signal for the bull Kohlewe and decided to wait along the road in case he emerged from the thicket. At 11:30am we finally gave up and continued on our way south. When we turned off the gravel road onto one that would take us to the floodplain it only took fifteen minutes for us to spot our first elephant. With the arrival of K we were finally able to start our data collections consisting of 15-minute focal sampling as well as 30-minute scan sampling. Watching elephants all day becomes boring fairly quickly especially since they spend most of their time walking to and from water or resting in one place. I was surprised to discover that focal sampling alleviates some of the boredom because you can focus your attention on one animal and at times are recording changes in behaviour every few seconds. About half an hour before we were finished our sampling we finally had the chance to see Ngani, the largest bull elephant in PGR. Ngani is 42 years old, 3.4 metres tall at the shoulder, and weighs over 7000kgs. The other elephants are dwarves in comparison to him; the next largest male is Shayisa at 3.0 metres. 

Other then watching elephants all day, I also acquired my first injury (aside from the 7 spider bites I woke up with after my first day). Unfortunately I didn’t suffer some cool ailment like getting buffalo thorns in the face while zipping past a tree in the truck, or from being attacked by a rogue warthog or porcupine. Nope, instead this morning after breakfast I managed to mangle my little toe on the corner of the doorway going into my bedroom. Aside from having to limp around a little I paid it no attention since it was so lame. It wasn’t until around noon when I took my boot off to uncrinkle my sock that Abbey noticed that my sock was covered in blood. After an assessment and thorough cleaning I have concluded that no bones were broken but that toe will never, ever, look the same again. This is just perfect since I will now probably rival Natalie for grossest toe in the world.

Eight hour “work” days consisting of sitting in a safari truck staring at bushes and the odd elephant give a person a lot of time to think. In the past I have spent unnatural amounts of time contemplating life and such. I spent at least two hours today thinking about my plans for the future and came up with absolutely nothing. I did realize that I may be slightly anal... but only because it bothers me when people don’t use appropriately sized Tupperware for their food. A cup of noodles or “pasta” does not belong in a one litre container. You may laugh, but I know that some of you out there agree with me... Kaitlyn... One can also become entertained by the simplest things after having zero brain stimuli for hours. For example, when warthogs run their tails stick straight up, hilarious. When you come across guinea fowl in the truck every bird will run frantically in directly in from for kilometres before taking flight versus just strutting into the thicket along the road, even funnier.

The four of us, now five, usually spend our nights catching up on reading, journaling, or uploading the pictures we took throughout the day. The sun sets at 5:30pm here so by the time we have finished work for the day we are all dead tired and starving. It is just after 8:00pm here and I am in my pyjamas and ready for bed. At the rate the days are slowly passing the next 49 will last an eternity.

Pongola Day Two... (Cheese Hates Me)

It has been 11 hours and 22 minutes since I woke up this morning... it has also been 11 hours and 22 minutes since my stomach ache started. Yes, this is a new personal record for me but I can’t really say I didn’t anticipate it. Last night, after returning to the cottage, the four of decided to make dinner consisting of pasta and vegetables baked in the oven with cheese. I knew that there was a chance the cheese would put me off, especially since I haven’t touched any dairy products since I left home. Using my impeccable logic I decided that if I did end up with a stomach ache it would occur during my sleep and wouldn’t bother me one bit... clearly I was mistaken. I am still trying to decide if the cheese pasta casserole was worth it... if this stomach ache breaks the 12 hour point it probably wasn’t.

The British vs Canadian feud also officially started last night with me being knocked for calling a single piece of pasta a “noodle”.  Apparently the word noodle only refers to the types of pasta that are long and stringy. My “lingo” seemed to bother one of the girls quite a bit more than it should have... therefore I am going to continue calling them noodles just for a good laugh.

Anyways, onto things that might actually matter. Today was the official start of my thesis research and we were up at 6:30am to get ready for when Heike picked us up in the Land Rover. The purpose of today was to familiarize ourselves with the largest herd of elephants (families A and B) as well as any bulls we came across. Using the ID kits that Heike prepared for us we were able to slowly but surely identified the main females in the herd and two bulls.  The ID kits are specific for the main elephants in the larger herd, each bull, and each member of the orphan herd. They consist of a basic drawn elephant head with a left and right side as well. Over the last two years Heike has manipulated these drawings to contain tusk width and length, notches in the tusks, the absence of tusks, as well as rips and tears present in their ears.

The first sighting of the elephant herd occurred at 9:40am after approximately an hour of driving to the opposite end of the Jozini Dam. Heike is very familiar with the ranging patterns of each herd so she strategically parked the vehicle in a location that overlooked the area the herd would be emerging from the brush. While we waited we noticed a family of hippo bobbing in the water reeds, there were 8 of them in total including a calf.

Twenty minutes later the herd broke out of the surrounding thicket and entered the floodplain and headed for the waters edge to drink. There were 52 individuals in all, two of them being mature bull elephants. Interestingly enough, aside from the current population control method in place (vasectomising the mature bulls) the newest and youngest member of the herd is just 4 weeks old. The sex of the newborn won’t be known until he/she is a few years older as identifying their sex is very difficult. There are even a few individuals aged between 3 and 5 that have yet to be properly sexed. We watched the herd until the last of them had disappeared back into the thicket.

Unfortunately there weren’t any independent bulls visible in the area so we drove around the dam to head off the main herd as they made their way through the bush. We viewed them along another road as well as once again on the floodplain. This third sighting was incredible as we witnessed two adolescent bulls interacting to establish the dominant individual. This behaviour went on for the majority of our viewing time. The elephants also took this time to mud and dust bathe. The younger calves could be seen kneeling in the mud and rubbing their trunks and faces into the muddy ground. Around 4:00pm we called it a day and after allowing the elephants to cross the road directly in front of us we headed back to camp.

Turning African... well actually British

The past few days were roughly the same as the ones preceding them so I won’t go into too much detail. I have participated in the discussion of various topics in our lectures and have been driven around in the Safari Ranger on a daily basis, and although everyone has been kept busy during the day it seems as if we are in a time warp. With nothing to do and nowhere to be time has been standing still. What seems like an hour or two of group chatter over dinner more often than not is really only 20 minutes. Our most boring lectures seem to drag on for eternity but in reality are only 45 minutes long. That said, I only arrived in Intibane one week ago today, I feel as if I have been here for months. The days are short and even though it is winter here the temperature reaches an average of 25 degrees each day... long story short, I’m dying from the hot, very dry, climate. 

Yesterday was the last day I was in Initibane with the other volunteers and leaving for Pongola was surprisingly hard. I have only known these Yankees, Brits, and Canadians for a short time but we have all become good friends through our adventures and experiences. Last night we celebrated our time together by drinking more than adequate amounts of local beer and wine. Staying up past 9:00pm has been a real struggle on most nights, but last night we drank long into the night, sharing stories and laughing. The conversations we have had usually involve discussing the differences between our countries and our languages. We have discovered that, contrary to popular belief, Canadian junk food is far superior to that of the United States. Common products such as Mars Bars, Dairy Milk, Pizza Pops, and Kinder Surprises (a.k.a Kinder Joy here is S.A) are unheard of in the States, or at least in New York. When we aren’t constantly discussing food we spend our time laughing about the differences in our accents, mainly Lauren’s (who has a strong Long Island accent), and the fantastic language used in Great Britain. We Canadians were only called out on our extensive habit of ending every statement as if it were a question. The words “eh?” and “right?” being the most common. 

This morning packing was a pain in the ass, big surprise there, but I managed to cram everything into my rucksack once again. Although I was in the dumps about having the leave everyone behind, I was not at all upset about leaving the building in which we have been residing. We took a group picture, loaded our bags into the back of the vehicle (there are four of us headed to Pongola), said our goodbyes, and never looked back. 

The drive to the Pongola Game Reserve took less than an hour, including a stop at a gas station to stock up on snacks. This seemed like a good idea when leaving Intibane, but once we were in the store it was clear the 4 of us had been starved of any real source of sugar for the past week. Luckily the exchange rate is on our side and junk food here is incredibly cheap. What would have cost around $50 in Canada ended up costing me just over $20. The Canadian dollar is worth around 6.5 Rand in South Africa at the moment. I am sure I made a lasting impression on the woman running the cashier when I heaped my purchases onto the counter in front of her.

Not one of us had any idea what to expect in Pongola. Upon arrival at the research camp where we would be staying we learned that the camp was also used for eco-training... we also quickly learned that the majority of those participants were male. Heike, our coordinator and head researcher, introduced us to everyone and informed us that we would be staying in the Umkaya Cottage off site until the training program was over. Our gear was loaded into a Land Rover used for guided tours and after a quick tour of the research camp we made our way to our cabin located 2 minutes away.

I can’t say I had very high expectations for the place we would be staying, especially after the last week, but when we pulled up to the cottage I was more excited than I have been in days.

The Umkaya Cottage we are staying in part of the main lodge and is rented to the hunters and vacationers who travel to Pongola. There is an immaculate kitchen, with stone flooring in the central area. A master bedroom is off to the left, with another bedroom with two single beds to the right. There are two bathrooms, the main one having a bath tub and a shower. I had believed that the first week would represent my vacation time but clearly I was wrong. Aside from the daily research that we are going to be conducting I could definitely get used to this... well at least for a week as we are headed back to the main research camp next Saturday or Sunday.

I was also very excited when Heike told us that we would be responsible for our own meals and such. Tom, who works for a company in a partnership with OpWall, met us in Pongola with a weeks worth of groceries for us. Among some of the things he bought was peanut butter (!!!!), breakfast sausage, pasta, heaps of fruit and vegetables, and some sort of African squash...? Apparently it was his first time grocery shopping and he was excited to know how one would cook it. OpWall has prepared a weekly budget for our groceries and twice a week we can compile a list of things that we would like to have. The amount of freedom we have been given not only comes as a relief, but it has made this experience feel more professional. Being told when and what to eat gets old really quickly. 

The four of us (Abbey, Eva, Louise, and I), are settling in and making use of the large amounts of space we have been given.  The three of them all attend university in the UK and have very distinct British accents... after meeting everyone in the camp it appears that I am the only North American and therefore am the one with the real accent. In this environment it seems that I will more likely be trampled by an elephant then retain my “eh’s”... it is inevitable I will bring home the British lingo and maybe a few phrases... but only time will tell the extent of the transition from the good side to the bad.

Day Two and Three in Intibane

Before I start with the details of these days I will describe the people in group B. As it so happens our group is made up of 4 Canadians and 3 Americans. This makes for very interesting takes about the similarities and differences between each country. We also have Nathan and Connor, the only guys, in our group. The girls are Stephanie, Lauren, Chelsea, and I. 

Our second day in Thanda was the first day we were released out into the wild! With Villy, our tracker, who happens to carry a rifle at all times. Our bush training from yesterday has clearly prepared us for the great dangers of the South African environment we are in. As I predicted would happen the night before, my day technically started at 4:05am when I awoke with the worst sort of problem to have.  Physical pain caused by having to pee so badly is never good, especially when you can hear the hyenas and wildebeest outside, topped by having to wake someone else up to make the trip to the toilet. After contemplating my situation for a few minutes I decided it really wasn’t worth the trouble and rolled over to go back to sleep.
 

Group B (my group) was scheduled for a lecture session before lunch. Each day is broken into a lecture session and an outdoor session. Depending on the day determines if your group is in a lecture before or after lunch. Long story short our group had two 45 minute lectures on biodiversity. That afternoon we set out on our bush hike hoping to see the same things group A had. During their walk they had come across zebra, buffalo, giraffe bones, and kudu. Once again our group came up short by spotting the usual wildebeest and the comical warthogs. 

All in all the day was fairly short without too much action happening outside of camp. After dinner a group of us played an insane British card game that at first seems like Crazy Eights... but with further investigation is incredibly complicated with a rule for almost every card in the deck. Needless to say, I am catching on and plan to dominate hence forth. Afterward six of us stayed at the main lodge to bullshit until at least 9:00pm. The days here are so short that we have taken to going to bed around 8pm since we have been here. This of course has been causing problems with waking up incredibly early. We managed to talk until 10:00pm before heading back to get ready for bed. It is amazing how much you can have in common with almost complete strangers, and the stories you will share with them. I have known these girls for three days and it seems like we have been here together for weeks. 

Today (Day three) was easily the best day so far... not hard to beat, but I am still excited about it. Up until today, Group B had yet to encounter the very elusive elephants and buffalo. To make matters worse Group A had seen both these things and seen more of the animals we had seen. Not impressed that is for sure. As usual we awoke at 6:30am and I headed for the shower. I have decided to shower every other day to help conserve water... that, and I am lazy. Breakfast of toast as usual. 

Anyways, today our group had an outdoor session on bird identification so we loaded into the Safari Ranger at 8:30am and made our way to the Thanda Research Center with our guide Villy to pick up a map of the surrounding area. Our goal today was to find the watering hole to do some intense bird watching. The trip there was fairly uneventful. On the way back however, the most unexpected thing happened. As we were on the main road, surrounded by the Thanda fence line, Lauren spotted two cats basking in the sun on the opposite side of the fence line. Naturally, as soon as she started yelling stop, everyone pitched in and somehow managed to not scare off the two cheetahs. Villy slammed the vehicle into reverse and we pulled up beside the fence line. Rusty and Phil, two cheetah brothers, are apparently well known in this area. No one had expected for us to see cheetah during our stay in Intibane so we were all equally astonished by the sighting. After extensive picture taking we headed back onto the road and continued south. 

Bird watching itself was fairly dry but we became familiar with the most common species, we never did find the watering hole. Five hours later we were making our way back to camp when we spotted two giraffe grazing along side the road, maybe 15m away. To our surprise the two of them were also accompanied by a baby giraffe. Once again the truck pulled over and we all piled to the left side to take pictures. 

The fun wasn’t over yet, in 3 or 4 locations along the main road there are dried river beds in slight valleys. As we were headed into one, we spotted a small herd of Nyala occupying the road. They made their way into the brush but not completely out of view. The first three we spotted were all female, as they were smaller and without horns, followed by a mature bull with huge horns and an incredible beard. 

Stomachs growling we continued on our way until we were a minute or so from camp. As we were making our way along the road someone else yelled to stop once again. We all lifted our binoculars to the adjacent hillside to try and spot the animal that raised the alarm. The first thing I spotted was a warthog, tail projected straight into the air as he sprinted south. Just to the left of him though, moving silently through the grass, was a lion. Just like the cheetah, we had not expected to see a lion during our trip, neither did we expect to take the vehicle off roading to stalk this incredible animal. As Billy pulled the truck off the road and onto a very old track we all prepared our cameras and our excitement grew. We followed the trail for about five minutes, until just up ahead was the lion standing in the thicket. Although I did get a few decent shots, my camera decided not to cooperate by only zooming to a certain distance. The lion we saw turned out to be apart of a pride made up of numerous males and females. Nearby we also spotted a large herd of wildebeest and were hoping for an epic assault but to our dismay the two large males parked themselves under a tree to take a nap. After watching the lions nap for a while we finally headed back to the lodge.

It was turning out to be an amazing day, not only did we see incredible animals, we also had a fantastic lunch consisting of home-cut fries, hotdogs, salad, and eggs. The lecture after lunch was a brief 45 minutes so we enjoyed having the afternoon off. I had returned to our cabin when Lauren came bounding into the room yelling giraffe! The two of us quickly grabbed our cameras and booked it outside to where a female giraffe had meandered her way incredibly close to our camp. Not only did I not need zoom to get close up pictures of her, but she remained unthreatened by our presence as we followed her around the camp. 

This is where I find myself attempting to burn time by updating my non-updated blog and wait for dinner... which so happens to be an outdoor bbq that has a fancy name. My dongle, and source of internet, doesn’t work as well as I had originally thought. At the moment I have an almost-terrible connection and have been waiting 25 minutes for my page to load. This also means that I won’t be able to post any pictures as they will take forever to upload. It has taken me three days to find a spot in the main lodge where my dongle can pick up an almost viable signal... Vodacom will be receiving a call tomorrow for sure.