Dear All, It has been a LONG hot day here int here in the delta, and I have only just got back (2030 local time) - I logged on and was greeted by messages hoping the elephant with the collar down was OK. It is really lovely to know that people out there care about the elephants and what we are up to. Thanks so much for keeping our spirtis up. Best wishes Kate
Bad news I am afraid. No one is up in camp to tell them the news so I thought I would tell you. We have had a satellite radio collar stop working three months early. The collar was due for renewal in July. We have had problems getting downloads recently with computer programs going down and not reloading and we have only just got things up and running only to discover that we have not had a download from the collar since April 12th. So now we have to hope that the VHF part (the part that emits a sound) is still working and we can track him. As he is 45km away through the flood waters this will involve getting a plane up here to track from the air. Not the best news to end the day. I am going to go to bed and hope tomorrow is a better day. Best wishes, Kate
What a wonderful surprise I got today. I was about to cross over the mopane bridge when I spotted something brown in the middle - it was an otter. Unfortunately it was too far away and too quick for photos. This is a very rare sighting indeed and I am really chuffed. I am new to this blogging and have only just discovered that we get comments from people. Thanks to all those that have written in, it is good to know that we are being read. A few have requested some photos of Maun and so I will include some which I think depict Maun’s character. Until later. Kate
Nandipa is a 19 year old female elephant that was released from the captive herd at the neighboring camp in September 2003. She was released as she was never fully accepted by the matriarch in the herd and when two of the other young females had had babies she became very jealous. I have to say that I was a little nervous about releasing an adult female as it had not been done before, I need not have worried as she has done very well. In May 2005 she had a baby male calf and proved the release and rehabilitation a huge success. Her calf was named Ntongeni, which means ‘he who knows everything‘ by the mahouts that used to look after Nandipa. It is always great to see her, and I feel that a worried mother (at least I imagine that is how it feels!!!) and when I see any of the released elephants out there doing their thing I feel incredibly proud. Both Nandipa and Ntongeni are looking very well and very happy, and I am happy for seeing them.
After two productive weeks in Maun, I was really happy to get back to camp on Sunday and eager to be an elephant researcher. Graham was busy getting all his equipment ready for the start of his project and Peter was busy sorting data. Unfortunately field work has been put on hold as our car is not very well. The water pump has broken, which has been replaced but now the pisterns are not rotating - YIKES a ceased engine!!!! Not good news. We all looked with heavy hearts as the mechanics removed the cars innards and hoped that they would sort the problem out quickly. We REALLY cannot do our work with out the car. We manged to borrow a car from Seba Camp (Zena, my old car in fact) and did route 1 up to the picnic site. We only saw 2 elephants, both males. The first one took one look at us and ran for the hills but B175 (Varasha - the Watcher) was less bothered about us and we got a full half hour focal on him before he disappeared into thick terminalia forest. “We are participating in WildlifeDirect’s business strategy. Please help us by taking this user survey, thank you”
Report from the bush - the bull elephant B12 is back in the area and hanging out with the ‘A’ herd. The ‘A’herd is the first herd I got to know and are really comfortable with our presence. They usually come into the area once a year and this year the female, Amarava, has introduced us to her new calf. I am not sure the sex of it at the moment, but needless to say it is very cute.
Last Thursday was Labour Day here in Botswana and Ascension day on Friday and so there was a party atmosphere Thursday, Friday and spilling into the Weekend. The bird and insect calls in the garden were interrupted by a weekend long Karaoke fest on the opposite side of the river. Unfortunately we could not find a boat to cross the river to go and join in the festivities but it seemed to be one hell of a party.
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Hi, I am Kate Evans, or more communally known as Elephant Kate. I am a zoologist whose great love is elephants. Since 2002 I have been living my dream by researching elephants in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I decided I was going to be an elephant researcher when I was seven. I was living in Asia at the time and visited the elephant orphanage in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It was there that I made up my mind I was going to work for these majestic and intelligent animals. I made a promise to an elephant and we all know an elephant never forgets!!!! It took me 20 years to finally realise my dream and start my life as an elephant researcher. It was 20 years well spent and now I have to pinch myself most days to make sure it is true and I am living my dream.
I now head up a team who are researching the elephants and trying to work out the social and ecological needs of the largest remaining population of the African elephant. From time to time, other team members will add their thoughts and experiences.
I love sharing my experiences - so I hope that this blog is a medium through which you will be able to join the elephants and I on our adventures in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
