Progress reports (this page): March 2007 field trip, August 2007 September 2007 October/November 2007 field trip December 2007 field trip
Newer progress reports (other page): January 2008 9th April 2008 13th April 2008 20th April 2008
During a meeting with Pierre Du Preez from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) in late February to discuss future large carnivore research and conservation work in the Kavango/Caprivi region I was advised to undertake a field trip before submitting my application for a research permit. The purpose of the field trip would be to consult with all the stakeholders in the relevant area about their feelings and future co-operation towards a large carnivore project. Doing the ground work myself would hasten my permit application process as it would save MET the time of doing it themselves.
The Predator Conservation Trust in the UK kindly offered to fund the field trip and a donation was swiftly dispatched from the UK to Namibia. A number of things had to be put in place in Windhoek before I could leave for the wild blue yonder including having my bakkie (pickup) serviced. I also had to purchase a few vital pieces of equipment that were essential to making a trip in the middle of the wet season a success. I put together a list of people that I had to make contact with and tried to contact most of them before I left, but much was left to relying on the bush telegraph for communication once I got into the far north-east of the country. Due to not having confirmed meetings with many of the individuals, I had no idea where the trip would take me or where I would sleep so I had to be prepared for all eventualities.
Armed with my list I picked up a very small tent that could be erected by a single person, some jerry cans, food and equipment trunks and the smallest kettle and pot one has ever laid eyes on. I spent almost an entire day hunting down a roll of red cellophane which turned out to be quite a feat as valentines day seemed to have cleaned Windhoek out of its entire stock. This was an essential item to cover the front of my spotlight should the opportunity of viewing carnivores at night happen to come along. The food supply was pretty straight forward as long as I had enough for up to 3 weeks. This ended up consisting of instant processed food and tins, which I supplemented with hardy fruit like pineapples, oranges and apples. I learnt long ago that bananas, peaches and avocados are just not suited to the rigours of the African bush and can result in a interesting concoction in the bottom of the cooler box. A crate load of Peaceful Sleep mosquito spray, a large helping of fire lighters and matches were also added to the mix. After a day or so of packing and loading I was ready to hit the road. The bakkie was loaded to the hilt with food, camping and field equipment and jerry cans with water and petrol. The last bit of space was taken up by a thick mattress and duvet as I was determined not to wake up with aching bones as one does when sleeping on a bedroll.
Bliksem and I set off on the appointed day. Destination – north! I would find out where I was sleeping when the time came. The first person it was imperative to see was an individual by the name of Simon Mayes. He had lived and worked in the Caprivi for years and was now newly appointed as the SPAN co-ordinator for the north east and was based in Rundu. Despite repeated attempts to contact him by phone, I had had no luck, but was relying on the bush telegraph to sort that out once I arrived in Rundu.
My first stop was the petrol station in Otjiwarongo to eat breakfast and give Bliksem a run and a bowl of water. I had just parked when I saw a familiar face pulling into the garage in a landcruiser. Anton Esterhuizen used to be employed by MET and had been based up in Rundu and then Otjiwarongo in the 1990’s and has been working for an NGO called IRDNC (Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation) in the Kunene Region for many years. He had recently completed a consultancy on human wildlife conflict in Kunene and promised to send me the report when I got back. This seemed like an exceptionally positive beginning to the trip as human wildlife conflict would be a major focus in my future plans.
I was unable to get in touch with Simon by the time I reached Rundu and it was near the end of the working day so I decided to drive the 100 km east to stay with Mark and Charlie Paxton at Shamvura camp on the banks of the Kavango River where I could come up with a game plan. Once again fate was smiling on me as the following morning I was introduced to an MET ranger based at Buffalo which is the western core conservation area in the Bwabwata park when he popped in to say hello on his way to Rundu. I got a few more names of people that I had to see while in the area and promised to get in touch with him when travelling east towards Caprivi.
I wore out my camera battery on getting shots of Otty, the Paxton’s pet Cape Clawless Otter so I had another reason to return to Rundu, which I did the following day. On the way into town I managed to Simon on the cell phone and he was on his way up from Windhoek, but would only be in town in the evening as he was towing a boat and was travelling at a snail’s pace. We decided that it would be best for me to spend the night in town so that we could have a chat. After picking up various supplies I got trapped in my car when the rain pelted down in solid sheets for about two hours. I then got an early start on hunting for a campsite, which was just as well as the two camping facilities closest to town refused to accept dogs and all the rest were inaccessible as their roads had been cut off by the rapidly rising river. I ended up sleeping under the stars on Simon’s front lawn.
Simon turned out to be a wealth of information and offered to look into the event book database where all community/wildlife conflict is recorded to see if there were any large carnivore hotspots. Armed with a fresh list of people and places to see, I set off for the Kavango parks with the intention of knuckling down Helmut, the warden at Mahango Game Reserve, and Friedrich Alpers, who works with the west Caprivi communities and is based at Buffalo. I could not get Friedrich on the phone during the drive so decided to camp for a night or two at Ngepi campsite on the Kavango River which is about 20 km south of Divundu and only 5 km from Mahango gate further along the river.
The two track road to Ngepi was in good condition and totally dry and the water above the course way that had been built through a marshy area close to the camp was only a few centimetres high. I crossed this with ease. My campsite was a grassy square under some huge trees right on the banks of the river which was flowing strongly. The thought of grazing hippos at night did cross my mind, but I don’t remember hearing of any tourists being killed by wildlife at Ngepi so brushed any doubts away. By the time I had set up the tent it was a bit late to seek out Helmut and Friedrich so I explored my surroundings thinking that I would get hold of them first thing in the morning. Ngepi has the most outstanding loos and the one closest to me, called “The Throne” was definitely a highlight. One can sit perched high up above the river watching the bird life on the other side.
During the night it bucketed down and I had to do some quick emergency adjustments to the tent as I had not put the flysheet on properly and the bottom half of my mattress was soaked through with even more water running inside. I spent the rest of the night in a wet, but warm bed trying to curl up under the dry section of the duvet. The following morning I was contemplating leaving the tent open to dry out the inside while I had breakfast when just then a large spitting cobra came slithering out from the undergrowth next to the tent. The decision was made and I quickly zipped the tent closed. I couldn’t find the gas bottle key so was forced to make a fire with damp wood and was just sitting down to enjoy a morning cup of coffee when the camp manager came hurrying over to tell me to get my bakkie out onto dry land as the river had broken through the course way and I would be stranded there until it had subsided. Bliksem and I jumped into the car and found that the puddles in the road leading to my campsite were now so deep that they washed over the bonnet of the bakkie. It was a bit nerve wracking but I cast my mind back to river driving at Okonjima and off I went.
On reaching the course way I had to take off my shoes and wade into the river praying that crocodiles would not favour this particular section as the water was moving to fast. The entire camp staff were standing thigh deep trying to slow down the flow with sandbags so that sedan cars would be able to get out. I waded back to the car, put the wheel hubs in the lock position, jammed it into four low and took the rushing water in second gear. My dear bakkie never failed me and soon the water was pouring off the sides as I got onto higher dryer ground. I parked the bakkie on the other side of the river then tried to get cell phone signal which eventually happened when I balanced myself on top of a termite mound.
I took the opportunity to drive to Mahangu only to find out that Helmut had left for Rundu. I then drove up to Divundu and crossed the bridge over the river and then headed down to Buffalo. The staff at the gate said that they had not seen Friedrich that day but I was welcome to drive to his house to go and find him. I drove past his turn off which had a “No entry” sign and carried on into the thick of the park. It was the eeriest feeling driving through the rubble and ruin of the old 32 battalion base and I couldn’t believe how big it was. I wander if the 32 soldiers realized that they were situated in paradise even though the circumstances were unfortunate. Soon I found myself a thick “two track” with no hope of turning around and I had heard the previous night that there was still the odd landmine here and there and shuddered at the thought of going off-road. Just then the visions of bumping into a herd of elephants made me decide to brave the possibility of landmines so I put my car in four low and quickly did a sixteen point turn in the thick sand.
On the way out of Buffalo I stopped at the MET office at the entrance gate to leave a message for Friedrich and then proceeded to Ngepi to deal with the wet bedding and tent. I left my car on the dry high ground and walked to the waters edge not really in the mood for getting soaked by wading across the broken causeway, only to find a few staff members stationed there to give guests a ride over in their mokoros. Bliksem didn’t want to get in so I hoped that he would just swim after us as we paddled across. He didn’t seem to be happy with this decision either so eventually with some coaxing, I got him to climb aboard. In the beginning it seemed rather unstable and I was concerned that Bliksem might panic and topple us and my camera into the water, but he soon relaxed and took an interest in the sights and sounds around him. When we reached the other side he jumped off as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.
After gutting the tent of its dripping contents and hanging towels and duvets in trees around my campsite it wasn’t long before it looked like a squatter camp. It would easily take the rest of the day and possibly some of next day to dry out so there was nothing for it but to wait it out. I spent the time reading through all the conservation literature that I had brought along with me and learned a great deal.
There was still no sign of Friedrich and Helmut the following day so I decided to head for a community campsite called Nambwa near the MET office of Susuwe on the Kwando River. I thought I could set up camp, get the rest of the drying done and then put together a plan of action to make contact with all the relevant folks in the east Caprivi.
My possessions were piled high in a Mokoro and I decided that Bliksem and I would swim and wade across as there was little room to spare. Once again my nice dry clothes were soaked to the waist and my trainers were filled with river water and I wondered if there would be a time on this trip when I would ever be dry again. Bliksem had no problem leaping into the white water cataract that was pouring over the break in the causeway and laboriously making his way to the opposite bank as the river carried him downstream. The semi dried bedding was well soaked by the water sloshing around in the bottom of the mokoro so I not being able to face another moment of wet fabric, I just shoved and squashed everything into the back of the bakkie.
Back on the tar road heading east I thought I would try Friedrich on the cell phone one last time. The gods must have been smiling on me at that moment as after a few rings I heard a crackled broken up response. Friedrich was heading west from Katima Mulilo towards the IRDNC A-frame house at Susuwe at the same time that I was departing from Divundu so the plan was to rendezvous at the A-frame two hours later.
I stopped a few times en route to let Bliksem stretch his legs by digging enormous holes in the soft sand. The rain clouds were building up at a phenomenal rate and looked so threatening that I could not resist taking a few snaps of them. Unfortunately magnitude and atmosphere is never quite captured in a photo. Raindrops the size of golf balls splashed on my windscreen during the onward journey and I was already wincing at the thought of erecting the damp tent in the pouring rain. My spirits lifted when I saw a large chameleon crossing the road at a snail’s pace and soon I was dodging chameleons and tortoises as they hurried as fast as their legs would carry them across the tarmac.
After almost 200 km I turned left at the Susuwe sign and driving down the thick sandy track I entered a green world of massive trees though which I caught the occasional glimpse of the Kwando floodplain as I made my way down the thick sandy track.
All the junctions leading off the main track had the most unusual signposts of red painted lettering on buffalo skulls mounted on stakes. I took the IRDNC off ramp which lead to the A-frame. The IRDNC base at Susuwe is beautifully rustic. The showers are located underneath a lookout platform that is built high in the branches of a massive tree. The toilet surrounded by reeds is a few metres away with an old dented kettle hanging by a frayed nylon rope from a tree stump serving as the occupied sign.
After about half an hour a voice followed by a person emerged out of the vegetation asking if I was Lise. When I replied in the affirmative he introduced himself as John who lived in a house along a footpath. Apparently Friedrich had called and was running late but had asked me to wait as he would be along shortly. The bush telegraph was in fine working order.
Everything steamed dry in the piercing sun and I nodded off under a tree while we waited. I woke up to the sounds of hippos grunting in the water nearby. Soon the engine of a landrover could be heard making its way toward me. I first met Friedrich in 1991 and hadn’t seen him for about 8 to 10 years so it was lovely to see his smiling energetic enthusiastic self again. We had a quick catch up chat during which I explained what I was here to do. He was a mine of information and seemed to know everyone and everything about who was who and doing what in the Caprivi.
One of my tasks was to talk to the trophy hunting concession holders of which Alan Cillier is one. I have known Alan for years and knew that he was operating somewhere in this area. It just so happened that Alan’s camp was about two km’s down the track and that Friedrich was on his way to see him. I locked Bliksem in the A-frame to protect him from potential prowling leopards that have already dispatched with three pet dogs over the last few years at Susuwe and jumped into the landrover.
It is difficult to describe how beautiful Susuwe is and how different from the rest of Namibia. One feels as though one is in deepest darkest Africa and I nervously peered around for elephants. It wasn’t very heartening to hear later about how wonderful it is to see the elephants milling practically on the doorstep of the A-frame during the dry season. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to deal with that when the time came.
It was fantastic to see Alan again and a community feeling descended upon me as I here was in such a foreign environment with two old mates that I hadn’t had contact with in quite some time. Alan’s camp was outstanding and he was very helpful with information. It was interesting to hear from him as well as a number of other sources in the days ahead that there seemed to be no resident lions in the area. The general feeling is that they come in from Angola and Botswana, hang around for a few days or weeks then hotfoot back over international borders. This helped in me getting ideas on how to tackle the framework of the project. I was particularly interested to hear that Alan heard spotted hyaenas every night and saw fresh spoor every morning. I was very encouraged. He had no problem with me marking lions and didn’t think his hunters would either. This was a huge hurdle crossed in terms of getting permission from the authorities for the study as they are understandably concerned about clashing of the various parties.
It was dark by the time we left Alan’s camp and drove back to the A-frame. Friedrich still had to drive back to Buffalo that night and promised to return in time for a community meeting at Kongola and Chetto. He suggested I attend the Chetto meeting and state my case with the community so that I could possibly walk away with a letter of support on the day. He also suggested that I make the Bwabwata National Park the defined study site focusing on lions and spotted hyaenas but also develop some form of monitoring for the other large carnivore species and dealing with human wildlife conflict. It made perfect sense as I discovered that a research project on human wildlife conflict focusing on leopard was already underway within the communities in the Mudumu north complex in the east Caprivi. I could always extend my community work into this area, but do the intensive carnivore field work within a protected area. I was overjoyed to see that the various thoughts, ideas and plans were getting clarity and direction which was a weight off my shoulders.
With a wave Friedrich was off leaving me in the lap of luxury with the offer of making use of the A-frame and all its facilities for as long as I required. With a spring in my step I dragged the now bone dry bedding under the thatch roof, washed in a bucket of kettle heated water, and cooked dinner on the gas plates in the rudimentary, but very functional kitchen. Under the cover of darkness the mosquito snuck in and took advantage of me until I drowned myself in peaceful sleep. I read the Hyaena Action Plan by the light of a single candle until 20h00. Bliksem and I then fell into an exhausted sleep.
I was up long before the sun and packed a few things in the car and headed towards Kongola in order to get cellphone reception. Kongola is just a police checkpoint on the Kwando River and I saw that there were a number of people who had similar plans as there were Angolans and Namibians waving cell phones in the air when I got there. I turned out that I had to drive a further 10 km east before I had success. I phoned Sean Braine who was the manager at Susuwe Island Lodge and was told to come after ten that morning. I stopped at the petrol station at Kongola and filled up again….just in case. There after I returned to Susuwe to sort through the jumble of my camping gear.
At the appointed time I set off and drove right across the tar road to the Nambwa turnoff. The road split and I took the wrong turnoff ending up at a army base where there was some training going on. I asked the biggest guy in uniform how to get to Nambwa, the community campsite, as he was far more likely to know this than the lodge, especially as it wasn’t sign posted. He told me to take the other fork which I did and drove for about 45 minutes until I got to the parking area of the lodge.
As the lodge is on an island in the river and there were no boats in sight I tried to get hold of Sean again, but had no joy. Very soon I heard the throb of a boat engine and a flat bottomed tourist boat pulled into the little quay area. A friendly Kavango chap jumped off and told me he was there to ferry me across. How they saw my car is anyone’s guess. Bliksem had to stay in the car and I jumped on board. Sean had still been in high school the last time I saw him so I didn’t recognize him with his pony tail hanging almost to his waist. It was bizarre being back in lodge surroundings which can be quite similar, where ever the lodge may be situated.
As we drank coffee he talked about lions and spotted hyaenas mentioning that he didn’t think there were any resident lions and that any that did appear were probably from Botswana. It is difficult getting ones head around the fact that animals can be in any of four or even five countries in one day as all the countries meet in that small corner of the world. Hearing this convinced me that for lions, GPS collars would be the only way to go as one could not aerial track over international airspace on a regular occasion and that tracking on the ground would be virtually impossible. I was overjoyed to hear that he had seen spotted hyaenas at a den site and knew where there were three dens which he could show me some time when I came back to the area. The chances were good that the hyaenas might return and use those dens again so this might be a good starting point. He also told me about a guides training camp across the river and that I should definitely stop in and chat with the owner as he was interested in getting involved in some sort of conservation project. He gave me directions and I said that I would go there immediately.
On all my driving back and forth I picked up a number of individuals in order to give them lifts to their villages and it was interesting to learn that there were schools in the most unlikely places. It was also the ideal opportunity to pick their brains about carnivores messing with their livestock. On my way to the campsite I gave a young man a lift to Lisauli village. He was very pleasant and at the the trip ended like all the others with him asking me for ten dollars. I located the campsite turnoff and drove along the two track road. The puddles on the road got deeper and deeper until I decided to put my hubs in lock and attempt the rest of the road in four high.
When I arrived at the campsite I got greeted by name as Sean had phoned ahead and told them I was coming. There were a number of trainees there, but one that I couldn’t miss had a badly infected toe and was waiting for the doctor from Rundu. From where I saw it, half his foot would have to come off and I couldn’t resist taking photos. Turned out that this camp was hired directly from the community and foreign individuals would come in for courses ranging up to a few weeks where they learned tracking skills, general bush skills and also got involved in community projects. I thought it strange that they were located in the middle of a communal conservancy and yet no one had ever heard of them. They were keen to help raise funds for my future project in exchange for teaching their guides telemetry skills. This sounded like a good deal, but on the way back to the main track, after a good deal of thought, I realized that any training should be given to the community first.
On returning to Kongola I thought I would head towards Katima Mulilo as I had to draw money as there were no ATMs between Katima and Divundu and I had to to and fro to community meetings and might need more fuel. When I got into town I stopped to say hello at the tourism centre which is run by Katy Sharpe, an old friend of Charlie Paxton. She happened to mention that Patrick and Renee who run the crocodile monitoring project out of Susuwe were staying with her and her husband at the fish farm on the Zambezi river. I had tried to find them at Susuwe and they were definitely on my list of people to see so I asked for directions.
I drew money and then made my way down a rutted dirt track until I found the gate. The fish farm is very unique especially as it is no longer a fish farm. The Sharps have horses, dogs and even a goat running around the property which is also dotted with rondavels which are hired out as accommodation to various NGO’s. The fish farm is like the centre of the NGO universe up in the north east and one can easily access the bush telegraph from there. Inside the kitchen were a whole bunch of people making lunch and I was taken aback to find a girl by the name of Amanda who used to work for the CCF busily setting the table. She was now working for a lodge in Zambia and was in Namibia for the weekend. Patrick was out on the river, but I met Renee who said they would be back at Susuwe the following evening and I should come around and say hello.
I left Katima and drove “home”and was there in the late afternoon. I then popped in to Alan’s camp to get more information about the area and the animals. He again confirmed that hyaenas were a common sight and I should have no problem with them. We discussed getting around the park and he warned me to stay away from the cut line which is the border with Angola as there are still landmines. The park roads seemed to be fine as he had driven all of them. We agreed that when I got back he would drive all the roads with me and I could GPS them to make my own road map.
The following evening after visiting with communities I popped in at Patrick and Renee’s spot which is made up of a couple of tents under roofing. They even have a porta pool to dunk in on hot days. Patrick is busy with his PhD and Renee has been employed by IRDNC to help with the communities accounts. Renee was due to go to the same community meeting at Chetto that Friedrich had asked me to attend.
Friedrich and a botanist consultant arrived at the A-frame late the following afternoon. Friedrich had to speak catch up on some work so I took the consultant for a drive around the park. We visited Alan again and then drove almost to the Angolan border before turning around to go back to camp. Friedrich filled me in on how to approach the community at the meeting and advised me that if I got their blessing for the project then I should write the letter myself and get the chairman to sign it as soon as possible. The guys cooked dinner and we sat in the lookout high up in the branches of a tree listening to the hippos. They spread out their mosquito nets and I drenched myself in mossie spray and we settled in for the night.
A wasp had got tangled in my bedding so in the dark I got stung on the arm. Being allergic to wasp stings left me with a huge throbbing arm in the morning. We all set off for the first meeting at Kongola where my plan was just to say hello to a few people that I knew and to let them know that I was planning to work on carnivores in the area. I saw Bevan who is employed by IRDNC as their Natural Resource Management Co-ordinator for the east Caprivi and we made arrangements to meeting up in Katima later that day. I then bumped into Richard Diggle who is based at the fish farm and made similar arrangements.
Friedrich, Renee and I then set off for Chetto and the meeting was well under way by the time we got there. The local police were also invited and Alan was in the process of explaining about his hunting concession. Friedrich had been kind enough to get in touch with the community a few days previously to squeeze me into the agenda to present my project. I was rather nervous as I haven’t stood up to do a presentation in public for quite some time. This occasion was different in that we were under a large tree and their were no electric sockets for power point presentations.
I had to deliver my piece one sentence at a time as it was translated into the local language. There was many questions as the west Caprivi is a bit of a unique situation. The entire area will be declared a national park, but people are living in it so they are not in the position to deal with problem animals in the usual way. I got put on a spot when asked about how I could deal with all the other carnivores besides lions and hyaenas. I said that I would enquire whether I would be able to expand my research to include those species as well and also committed myself to employing members directly from the community should I require assistance with covering larger areas or with radio telemetry.
I was horrified when the chairman asked if I could attend the following months meeting so that the committee members would have time to get more questions organized and consult with the people living in the area. Thank goodness Friedrich butted in and said that it would be for the best if they could decide now whether they would welcome this project and I could attend all future meetings when working in the area. They seemed pleased with this and I almost whooped for joy when I got the nod of approval. I was in such a state of euphoria that I reversed into a tree on my way out leaving a huge dent as a reminder of my nerve wracking morning. I had made arrangements to get the letter of support written and then return to Chetto before ten the following morning where Johannes Bokko, the chairman could sign it.
Driving back to Susuwe I almost swerved off the road when I saw an enormous elephant standing next to the tarmac using his trunk to pour truck loads of dirt onto his head. I dropped Renee off at their camp and then drove through to Katima straight away. By now my arm was really causing problems. The joint was aching and the skin was stretched tight as a drum from the swelling. First stop was the chemist to get voltaren gel and a mosquito net. I was covered in bites and convinced that malaria was a sure thing after this visit. I bumped into the guy with the toe in the chemist and his foot had been saved by the Rundu doctor. Apparently it would really have had to come off if he had left it too much longer.
I then went into the cell phone shop and asked if they could print something for me. They couldn’t but the owner phoned a friend, George, who owned one of those bric-a-brac shops across the way. I bought a memory stick and then made my way over to Georges who was extremely accommodating. He allowed me to sit on a bench in his shop and type the letter and also allowed Bliksem inside who thought that George was a superstar. It took me hours to word the letter correctly and then George printed off a number of copies. I folded these carefully and was hopping with triumph when I left the shop. The cell phone network was down so I could not get hold of Bevan or Richard so I stopped by the IRDNC office and left messages for both of them.
With the mosquito net hanging from the roof I slept snugly without waking once. I was up before light and didn’t waste a moment of time packing the car. Luckily I packed everything as I ended up not returning to Susuwe as planned. I drove the hundred odd kilometres to Chetto and saw a number of people sitting around on plastic chairs outside the office. There wasn’t a sign of Johannes. I eventually located someone who could speak Afrikaans and he explained where to drive through the bush to get to Johannes’s house. I came across a settlement and three young guys walked towards me. I was devastated when I learned that Johannes as well as Boster, the committee manager had departed early that morning for Divundu and no one knew when they would return.
I reasoned to myself that Divundu was not that big and I could possibly track them down even if I went door to door. The young guys were very interested in the project and I told them that I would look them up when I returned to start work. I then drove like a bat out of hell to Divundu. The barrier blocked the road at the police check point so I stopped and got out, thinking it wouldn’t hurt to ask the cops if they knew the individuals that I was looking for. I then spotted someone coming towards me and it was none other than Johannes. He was waiting in the shade for Friedrich to arrive from Buffalo as all of them had to go to Rundu. He hopped in my car and I drove to the petrol station where a whole bunch of people that I had met at the meeting were waiting. It was like a reunion. The bush telegraph somehow always operates.
Johannes and Friedrich had been trying to get hold of me on my cell phone the previous afternoon to explain the change in plans, but the network had been down. I then phoned Friedrich who was relieved that somehow I had connected with the whole crew and we all now awaited him at the petrol station. Not wasting a moment more I pulled out the letter and went through it with Johannes who promptly signed it. I then gave a copy to them for their records. Friedrich then arrived and I explained that my plans were to go to Mahangu as I still had not been in touch with Helmut and I had to see him as he and his project were an important part of my plans. It turned out that Helmut would also be at the Rundu meeting. And so there was a mass exodus to Rundu with Johannes playing CD’s at top volume in my bakkie.
I was the last car to arrive at the MET building. I made my way to Simon’s office where an intense discussion was under way. It was most disconcerting to have everyone stop in mid sentence and look in my direction when I opened the door. I introduced myself to Helmut and we had a brief chat while the MET boss looked on in an annoyed manner. I couldn’t get out of their fast enough.
Most of what I had set out to accomplish had been done so I turned my bakkie south and slowly made my way back to the city of Windhoek to consult with the necessary individuals and start work on my proposal.
Lise Hanssen
Lise has today (29th August 2007) been granted her research permit by MET (Ministry of Environment and Tourism).
In late September 2007, the Trustees of the Predator Conservation Trust received a request for funding from Lise Hanssen for the Caprivi Carnivore Project. After evaluating the proposal, the Trustees approved funding for the project. The funding will cover a number of items essential for the project to get fully up and running. The main item is a dart gun (plus darts) for use in tranquilising animals to allow collars to be fitted and blood samples taken. Also covered by the grant are a number of items of medical and veterinary supplies including the animal tranquiliser Zoletil which will be used when darting the Spotted Hyenas being studied, visual identification collars, fuel and various other items.
A field trip is being planned by Lise for the very near future to start work in the field. Initial work on the project will include making contact with the communities living in spotted hyaena range in the Caprivi Region of Namibia. They will assist in locating a number of active spotted hyaena den sites. Individual hyaenas will be observed in order to identify key clan members for future marking through visual, radio and GPS collars. The process of developing individual identikits through sketch and photographic records will be undertaken with intensive observation of clan members as well as darting and marking with visual collars.
Post mortems on carcasses obtained through trophy hunting, road kills and clashes with the community will be conducted as well as the collection of spotted hyaena scat samples throughout the study site.
Mapping the study area using a GPS (Geographical Positioning System) will be ongoing throughout the field trip employing members of the Kyaramacan Association for guidance. Work on monitoring traffic routes for hyaena spoor will get started in order to ascertain whether spoor frequency as a density index is feasible.
The questionnaire to monitor human-wildlife conflict as well as the effectiveness of livestock husbandry techniques will be developed in collaboration with the communities and relevant NGO’s already active in the area and areas where future intensive field work to be conducted will be identified.
All activities will be reported to the communities through their regular monthly meetings and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and collaborators through field reports.
On the 24th October 2007 Anthony May and I set off in the Toyota Hilux for the Caprivi Region in the north east of Namibia. This was officially the start of the Caprivi Carnivore Project. Our plan was to spend approximately two weeks in the field. Financial support for the necessary research equipment like a dart gun, visual collars and medical equipment to take post mortem samples as well as running costs like fuel, camping fees and food were provided by the Predator Conservation Trust in the UK of which Anthony is a trustee.
Unfortunately the dart gun had not yet arrived at the supplier in South Africa which meant that the trip had to be planned around this. In the end this was not a setback as too much logistical work had to be put in place in the study area before the field work can begin.
We arrived at Shamvura Camp in Kavango well after dark having driven 850 km with Anthony expertly driving the last 100 km from Rundu along the livestock riddled tar road. Shamvura is the home of Mark and Charlie Paxton and is also shared by a number of unusual family members including a cape clawless otter, a goat that watches television and their two dogs. We spent two nights in tented accommodation overlooking the Okavango River and the floodplains in Angola. Mark and Charlie were extremely helpful in providing names and numbers of useful and important contacts, many of which I was able to set up future meetings during the period of the field trip.
Permit conditions require that I make contact with the relevant officials within the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) before any work within the area takes place. So the following step was to drive back to Rundu on the 26th and introduce myself and discuss the project objectives. We met with Apollo Kanyinge, the Chief Control Warden, and Philip Steyn who extended every courtesy to us and also helped with invaluable suggestions on who to make contact with and areas of particular interest. After filling up the double fuel tanks of the hilux as well as the three jerry cans we set off for our next stop at Ngepi Camp on the banks of the Okavango River, which is the natural boundary of Bwabwata National Park, where the field work will be taking place.
We awoke to the sunrise with the river lapping just a few metres away from the tent. We broke camp and then set off towards Mahango to meet with the Warden, Helmut Tjikurunda to let him know that we were in the area and that we were doing groundwork for the project. After a brief chat we then drove over the bridge across the Okavango and down the other side of the river into the Buffalo area of the park. We were looking for Liep, an individual who works for the NGO, IRDNC (Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation) which has been active in community based conservation in the Caprivi and Kunene Regions for many years. Guidance from and collaboration with local residents and established NGO’s is essential for effective conservation and a successful outcome to the project.
The MET officer on duty at Buffalo told us that Liep is based at the Popa Falls community campsite. Unfortunately he was attending a meeting and was unavailable so we decided to make contact with him on our way back to Windhoek and headed east in the direction of Susuwe with a plan to stop and renew contact with the Kyaramacan Trust people at Chetto. We drove past the turnoff to Omega, an old army base and on to Chetto. After asking a number of people we heard that the individuals we were looking for were at Omega. I decided that it was best to turn back to Omega before proceeding to Susuwe as I was not sure on which day we would be returning.
Never having been to Omega before, we were in awe at it’s size. Rather than a base, it is more like a large town with wooden prefab houses spread over sprawling streets where people were playing soccer and gathering at each other’s houses. We soon learned that the Kyaramacan Trust had a new Chairperson and were invited to a meeting two days later, which unfortunately we were unable to attend as we were in Katima Mulilo.
After leaving Omega, we headed for Susuwe on the Kwando River, which is the eastern boundary of the Bwabwata National Park. As instructed we stopped at the Susuwe MET office to introduce ourselves. We met with Loida, who was provided us with a permit for the time we would be in the core area. From there we drove to the community campsite of Bum Hill, which was to become home for the next five nights.
The following morning it was time to start driving around looking for any indication of spotted hyaena activity. We left Bum Hill and drove across the tar road towards the Horse Shoe, which is a large body of water within the Kwando system. After a few kilometres along the main track we stopped for a large leopard tortoise that was crossing. At the same time we noticed a spotted hyaena latrine site on the side of the road. There was no fresh scat, but we marked the position on the GPS for further investigation. Not much further along were fresh hyaena spoor, probably from the previous evening or early that morning, walking along the sandy track for many kilometres.
We drove at a snail’s pace and eventually came to Horse Shoe, where there was a very large troop of baboons. After stopping for a light snack in the shade of a tree, we continued until we were on a sandy track leading away from the water. Without any warning, the Hilux sank into very thick sand which had been created by a vehicle whose wheel width was larger than the original track causing the side to cave in. After attempting to drive out in four wheel drive using the diff-lock, I eventually gave up. Anthony and I tried to dig sand away from the submerged wheels, but the diff was buried and there was no movement.
Luckily we were in cell phone range and also had a telephone directory in the car and were able to relay a message to Susuwe Island Lodge to drive to our location and get us out. We heard elephant noises some distance away, but there was nothing that could be done until help arrived. Sean Braine, the lodge manager, was a welcome sight when he and another staff member appeared in a four wheel drive vehicle. In no time at all, using a hi-lift jack, a spade and a number of dead tree branches, had jacked my vehicle out. Four hours after getting stuck we were free again, but decided to call it a day as we were sunburnt, filthy and exhausted.
That evening, after the most divine showers at Bum Hill, we decided to pay a visit to Alan Cillier, the concession holder on the Susuwe side of Bwabwata. We were welcomed by him and his son, Wayne with cold wine and frosty beers. He shared very interesting observations of hyaenas mobbing a male lion and a sighting of 20 to 30 individual hyaenas circling old bait that had been hanging in a tree for a number of days. It is the general consensus from enterprises operating within Bwabwata (excluding Mahango) that there are no resident lions in west Caprivi. Any sightings have been followed up by tracking spoor which has all led over the borders to either Botswana or Angola. A number of sources speculate that the lack of lions is probably due to the high numbers of spotted hyaenas. When asked where I could find hyaena/dens in west Caprivi, a number of community members replied “they are everywhere”. When the field work starts in earnest, this will most certainly be investigated further.
Before further exploration and marking of hotspots could take place it was imperative to get hold of a hi-lift jack. We did not want to risk getting bogged down in more isolated areas without any hope of assistance so the following morning, we drove through to Katima. Unfortunately there was not one hi-lift jack available in the whole town or in Rundu where many of Katima’s supplies come from. A phone call to Windhoek revealed that there was no stock there either , but a shipment from South Africa was due within the next few days. We put in an order at one of the hardware stores and then drove to the Fish Farm on the Zambezi where a number of NGO’s are accommodated to visit Patrick and Renee Aust who are studying crocodiles in the Caprivi Region. Thereafter we paid a visit to Shadreck Shiloko at the Katima MET office where I briefly introduced the hyaena project. We topped up on food and fuel supplies and headed back to camp at Bum Hill.
A night drive to the latrine revealed nothing new except one pair of spotted hyaena eyes lit up in our headlights on our way back to camp. Although we searched for another sighting of the hyaena, it has disappeared.
It had been suggested that we visit with Matambo, the warden at Mudumu Park in the east Caprivi so the following morning we crossed over the Kwando and headed south. We photographed a number of livestock kraals along the way as human wildlife conflict (HWC) is a major part of this study. Matambo was away on leave. On the return trip we popped into to Kubunyana camp which is a community camp site leased by Bazil Roth who holds courses in field skills and guide training. We have tentatively agreed that I could base myself there and also assist him with some field training.
Thereafter a trip across the Kwando by boat took us to Susuwe Island Lodge where Sean Braine showed us a very detailed map of the Kwando area and gave us exact directions along obscure sand tracks to three active spotted hyaena dens. Without the jack visiting these dens would have to be postponed.
A phone call to the hardware store revealed that the hi-lift jack had arrived so after leaving Francois we headed east. It was a relief to finally get this hulking piece of metal on board. Later in the afternoon I had a meeting with Richard Diggle from IRDNC Caprivi Office. He had some very constructive advice on how to conduct a community questionnaire on problem animals, livestock losses and perceptions of carnivores. A meeting will be held with the community game guards to get their input as well as their involvement to carry out the survey.
In order to get a thorough knowledge and systematically search the area for hyaena activity I need to be able to operate off the beaten track, but have been unable to find a map showing the smaller tracks and cut lines. Richard suggested that we drive west using the old dirt track known as the Golden Highway. It zigzags right the way across the Caprivi strip. I have been warned on many occasions to avoid driving the cut line which serves as the border between Namibia and Angola due to possible landmines.
Anthony and I broke camp the following morning intending to make our way west towards Ngepi in order to see Liep and to catch up on paperwork and emails. We started on the golden highway in the morning with Anthony’s GPS marking the track for future reference. As it was a bush track and we were taking it slowly we would most probably end up sleeping en-route in the bush.
Along the road we found two additional hyaena latrines. We also discovered two possible den sites from investigating all raised areas, like old termite mounds along the sides of the road. All areas of interest were marked with the GPS. We ended up on a track where the vegetation was very thick and was dotted with the odd bullet riddled rusted car wreck from days of old. Eventually the path ahead became impenetrable. Anthony’s GPS, which has no base map of the area, showed that we were driving in a westerly direction. To check where we were in relation to the border I switched on my GPS and to our horror we realized that we were on the cut line. We beat a hasty retreat to the tar road where it was decided that we would ask the community for assistance in showing me the way around in future.
The trip to Ngepi went quickly as we had abandoned the golden highway. My laptop 12 volt charger gave up the ghost so emails and paperwork were out of the question. That night there was light rain and we awoke to a breathtaking sight of the sun rising through thick mist which cloaked the Okavango.
We made another attempt to visit with Helmut at Mahango, but he was on study leave. Luckily we managed to get Liep on the cell phone and drove over to Popa Falls to visit with him. I have asked him for an introduction to some of the local people which will be arranged on my next field trip.
After a last night in the north, we couldn’t start the car as it seemed that the lock was jammed. Although we had many helping hands and offers of pushing and dismantling, nothing would budge. Luckily someone staying in the camp was able to jimmy the key after an hour of fiddling and the engine started. It turned that the entire ignition barrel needed to be replaced and that we couldn’t switch off the ignition until we had got to our destination or we would never get it started again. So we ended up back in Windhoek much sooner than expected having tackled the road in one go and filling up with fuel from jerry cans with the engine running as we were unable to switch off the car.
Over the next couple of weeks I will be acquiring the rest of the necessary equipment and will return to the Caprivi Region for another month of field work. Anthony left Windhoek for the UK on the 6th November, but left behind a donation of a digital camera with a number of lenses, a pair of binoculars, as well as an array of other expensive equipment for the project . I cannot thank him enough for these and for sourcing books and other literature in the UK which he brought along with him. This field trip would not have been possible without financial support from Anthony and the Predator Conservation Trust in the UK.
Lise Hanssen
On 29 November 2007 I departed from Windhoek for a field trip to the Caprivi and Kavango Regions. I stopped in at the Rundu office of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) to meet with Apollo Kannyinga to discuss a questionnaire survey that I am planning to conduct on the conflict between the people living in the Caprivi and the large carnivores that kill their livestock.
Thereafter I travelled to Shamvura Camp belonging to Mark and Charlie Paxton, where Illi and Kyle Booysen manufactured all of the visual collars for which I had collected the materials a few months before.
The collars consist of a band of machine belting which can be bolted together onto which a numbered brass plate has been riveted. I plan to use these on marking hyaenas within the Bwabwata Park that live close to the eastern boundary to see if any of them emigrate across the river systems into the conservancies in the East Caprivi and to identify individual problem animals.
During the drive east towards Bum Hill Campsite on the Kwando River, I marked all tracks on the GPS leading from the tar road into the park for future access.
I have given serious consideration to using GSM (cell phone) technology on the hyaena collars, due the positive feedback from MET on this system, which has been used to collar buffalo in the park. Before departing from Windhoek I visited Cell One and MTC networks to look at the present and future tower location plans and was a bit concerned that a large portion of the West Caprivi does not appear to fall within cell phone range. On suggestion by Pierre Du Preez from MET, I set my cell phone to display the tower identification while driving the length of the Park. After driving east from Divundu I was able to pick up the Divundu and Omega towers, thereafter I was without coverage to within approximately 10 km of the Kongola tower on the opposite end of the park. As I have no idea where the hyaenas move and it is unlikely that they will stick to the river systems where there is network coverage, I cannot risk using GSM technology. I have decided that GPS collars would be more successful, at least in the beginning of the project until more information is available.
I drove along the track that leads off the Susuwe airstrip in order to examine the latrines that Anthony May and I had found on the previous trip. Unfortunately the rains had washed all signs of latrines or any other evidence of hyaena marking away. At around 18:30 pm I parked my bakkie behind a bush about 30 metres off the track near the old latrine site.
I waited for about two hours until I could no longer use the binoculars in the dark. I switched on the torch and picked up the eyes of a hyaena running in my direction, but it immediately turned its head and then disappeared into the bush. I heard a hyaena calling from some distance away on my return to camp.
It rained during the night so there was little chance of picking up any spoor from the previous evening, but I drove to the place where I had parked my vehicle and inspected the ground for spoor. I found half a smudged hyaena track at the place where I estimated the hyaena in the torch light had been.
I made contact with Benety at the IRDNC (Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation) office at Kongola on my way to the East Caprivi. They run the Human Animal Conflict Compensation Scheme (HACCS) for a large number of the conservancies. Thereafter I proceeded to Kubunyana camp site in the East Caprivi where I planned to base myself.
When the time comes for darting and collaring I plan to use hyaena vocalizations to attract them to bait. I was keen to see how they responded to sound. The Mayuni Conservancy, where I was situated seems to be an area of intense hyaena activity. There is quite a bit of vocalization at night so it would be an ideal area to attempt testing this method.
A number of sound files of hyaena vocalization have been placed on the
website of the Predator Conservation Trust (www.predatorconservation.com).
Anthony May, who runs the website, emailed the original sound files to me which
I then burned on a CD. I would then be able to play the sounds in my vehicle CD
player. Although I did drive out that evening to test this method, I had to turn
back due to a severe rain storm
I spent an entire day driving west from Kongola taking notes of any tracks
leading off the tar road from which I could play the hyaena sounds. I drove each
one for up to a distance of 2 km while track logging them on the GPS at the same
time. Although I had planned to attempt calling hyaenas that evening, I had the
chance to meet with Robin Beatty who does controlled burning of the Caprivi and
its protected areas for IRDNC and MET. He kindly offered to upload the tracklogs
of all the tracks of the west Caprivi onto my GPS from his computer.
The interior of the Bwabwata Park away from the core areas along the Kwando and Okavango Rivers, is where I am interested in doing intensive observations of hyaena clans as there is minimal disturbance. Robin has had numerous sightings of hyaenas in these areas, but mainly in the vicinity of livestock near villages situated inside the park. He also confirmed that cell phone coverage is poor in many areas so GPS collars would be preferable. He suggested that I look into the area north of Buffalo on the western side of the park for any hyaena activity if I was planning to work around the Okavango River. A phone call to Friedrich Alpers revealed that not much wildlife work had been done in this area and was excluded from the game surveys undertaken by the game guards due to the possibility of land mines in the veldt. It might however, be possible to work directly from the Golden highway which does cut through this area.
Derek Duane who is helping out at Kubunyana kindly spent many days showing me bush tracks and open areas around the Mayuni conservancy which could be used to access hyaenas. In order to test the sound files, I drove through Choi village towards the hunters camp situated on the Kwando. These areas seem ideal for hyaenas as the grass is short and the trees are widely spaced and there is plenty of game in the form of Wildebeest that were reintroduced about a year ago by MET.
Just before dark I parked my car in a thick clump of bush and opened the doors so that the speakers were facing outwards and played the hyaena sounds at full volume. After an hour, after which time it got very dark, I picked up two sets of hyaena eyes in the torch light. The hyaenas were lying down about 150 metres from my car with their heads resting on their front paws. I also picked up a number of jackal eyes moving about in the far distance of the torch light. I waited for another hour during which time the hyaenas never moved off and no more appeared.
Although the sound was reasonably loud, the car speakers are not powerful enough for long distance calling. It was suggested that I borrow a speaker from one of the shebeens as they certainly seem powerful enough to throw sound for quite some distance. During this particular trip I only planned to test the sound once or twice as hyaenas, like lions, get used to it very quickly and I don’t want to risk them not responding at all in the future.
The morning follow up revealed a number of sets of hyaena spoor, which I was able to follow while they were on the sandy tracks. I also found a number of holes in the ground which could be potential den sites which I marked on my GPS.
From the last two trips it is apparent that the spotted hyaenas are very skittish and finding den sites is going to be incredibly difficult. This was confirmed by a visit to Raymond and Dave Ward at WWF who assist with the game counts as well as managing the data. There are no records of hyaena dens collected in the field and most records of individual hyaenas are from spoor counts. Darting arbitrary hyaenas on sight will be virtually impossible. Baiting seems to be the only effective way, as confirmed by a number of observers on the response of hyaenas to large carcasses in the veldt where up to 30 individuals have been seen at one time.
Response to sound playbacks is a method used by Gus Mills in the Kruger National Park to assess the abundance of hyaenas. I would like to test this method along with using bait in the Caprivi. Pierre Du Preez from MET suggested that I consult the literature to see if this method had ever been carried out in Miombo woodland type habitat, which is similar to Caprivi vegetation. This make it easier to use so as to not have to test the response distance of the hyaenas to sound. It seems as though it has not been tested in this habitat type and Gus Mills suggested that I initially work on the same distances that were used in Kruger. This method would have to wait until I have collared and habituated a number of hyaenas as their shyness makes it difficult to monitor response.
At present, field work is impossible due to a very good wet season and daily rainfall and local flooding in many areas of the Caprivi making tracks impassable.
Lise Hanssen
© Predator Conservation Trust.
