So an attempt to update you on my situation: Yes...I am still in Botswana, living at Dibatana in the Okavango Delta. There never seems to be a dull moment out here. Starting at the beginning, Sven and I embarked on a trip to Gabarone to submit my lion research proposal to the DWNP (Department of Wildlife and National Parks) and despite our incredibly hard work and support of the University of Botswana the permit was rejected. I shall not go into detail about the reasons to avoid incrimination and bashing of particulars involved. I do however have one statement...it is incredibly sad and disappointing that people who claim to be "conservationists" allow their prides and need to control, get in the way of further work and funding going into an area.
As C.S Lewis says, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you".
At some point a person needs to stop and ask themselves...why am I doing this? I am doing this for my own personal gain or am I here to protect the environment that I have come to love? I suspect that some people will discover they are doing it for their own personal gain. As is human nature at the end of the day. The focal point of why we find the world in the state that it is.
HOWEVER, despite the bitterly disappointing rejection of my project, the Impala project which we applied for at the same time was approved (which was quite lucky in fact as we had the vets (Anne-Lise and Louise) arriving that same week). There was a big rush for darts, the collars and drugs that we needed to collar the impala. Sven did a fantastic job and organised everything within a matter of days. The following 2 weeks were stressful and incredibly frustrating but the kind of period of your life you can look back on and laugh. Alot. Anne-Lise and Louse were fantastic and did a superb job, as did the rest of our team.
Now you have to understand, impala are one of the hardest animals to dart and collar successfully. The following logistics are involved:
1. Moving a large and rather noisy vehicle within 10m of a prey animal, naturally skitish and not suprisingly move faster and more nimbly than a ten ton 4x4 vehicle equipped to bash and smash its way through even the thickest of bush.
2. Once within 10m, the animal has to be of correct gender, weight and age. Somehow, it always seems to be the weedy teenagers who strayed within darting distance. Murphys Law.
3. The surrounding bush had to be of low-medium density so that once darted the animal would not be lost. Once darted the animal would normally start showing signs within 2 or 3 minutes.
4. The dart gun had to work....properly.
5. The dart had to penetrate and inject ALL of the drug.
6. Runners allocated to both vehicles had to be equipped with radio, knife and possibly survival kit after being lost by drivers whilst running through animal infested bush for possible km...or 2...or 3 after a half drugged animal thanks to point 4 & 5 stated above.
I could continue but as you can see...it was a rather a difficult process. Point 1...actually finding a herd that you could approach in the right areas was the hardest. There were several times we spent up to an hour driving around trying to get closer to a particular herd.
On one particular darting (my most exciting of the 10 collaring experiences) we darted a large adult male. However, as on other occassions he did not recieve enough of the drug to bring him to lying down state. I was driving the two vets and having lost the other vehicle in the bush whilst trying to follow the impala, we were down to one runner, as Anne-Lise was not allowed to run being pregnant and all. After handing over driver designation at a rather speedy pase...I joined Louise in running after and stalking the large male. After several unsuccessful attempts, Louise managed to confuse the impala using a tree to hide behind. Having grabbed the large male by the horns Louise had that look on his face..."Now what?". Seeing my opportunity I sped my way to the two wrestling individuals and launched myself onto the male impalas back. A short rodeo followed, with me as the winner. Having grabbed his two front legs so that he could not extend them again I was in firm control of the beast. As the usual team to dart consists of around 5-6 individuals, Louise, Anne-Lise and I were quite chuffed we had succeeded especially with such a large and stronge male. Unfortunately, the video of the whole escapade was videoed over. However, this does leave opportunity for the story to be expanded on and much exaggerating (which of course was not included in my story)!
Other news I made a trip to South Africa to collect a rather sexy and awesome short wheel base Land Rover. I managed to get through the border and the long and tedious process of importing and re-registering the vehicle in Botswana. At the moment the little red engines parts are being fixed or replaced. Future work being planned includes snorkel, protective side bars, roof rack, protective under plate, radio and new bush tyres.
My parents were here recently. They both had a fantastic time and got to see lots of animals both in and out of camp. They were both thrown in the deep end with various jobs around camp and helped me tremendously. Next week we will be hosting the Smithsonian and 16 students (Total of 20 people) for a two week conservation course. A rather busy time to say the least.
On the research side I am investigating various avenues but basically waiting to see what happens with the concession as the lease goes up for tender in the next few months. I continue to look into conservation that will be important in terms of knowledge but more importantly aspects that will be applicable to management and future conservation of this beautiful area. While I am fairly frustrated at the delay I am concentrating on coming up with new ideas and prospects.
In the mean time, my war with the squirrels continues with the latest development being that they have invaded my tent eating and chewing anything they can get their grubby little paws on. I suspect my mother was an undercover agent of theirs, used as a ploy to get into my tent and "make friends". They seem to have a secret tunnel now and despite my best efforts are still reeking havoc with my things while I am in the office. The battle continues...
