I spent a lot of time studying for my trails guide exam, which I didnt feel I went well in, and wasnt sure I would pass (there were 3 sections and you had to get a minimum of 60% in each section and an overall average of 75% to pass. One section, on rifles, only had 20 points so get one question wrong an you would fail, considering I made a lot of those answers up, my confidence wasnt high!!!) The result is I did actually pass!!! Miricles do happen :)
Almost as soon as we had finished our exam we all headed off on our placements. I am just down the road at Karongwe, with a volunteer organisation called GVI, doing research. This involves two drives a day (spread between all the staff, so I am not on two drives a day every day), trying to find all of our focus animals each drive. Our focus animals are a female cheetah called Ketswiri, two male Cheehtas called Jabu and Djuma, and 4 lions, Maggie, Lisa, Zera and a sub adult male. We also collect data on any sightings of leopard, elephant, hyena, or anything unusual such as pangolin, honeybadger etc.
I have had some really great sightings, we walk in on the cheetahs every day to check on them, this is an amazing feeling to be so close to a wild animals with no rifle etc. The other animals we only view from the car. For the first two weeks I was here I was just a passenger, learning the roads etc, but for the last week or so, I have been driving, and really learning the roads, the next step is actually trying to use the radio which I am slightly scared of.
I have had some amazing sightings while being here already. I have seen a leopard make a Jackal kill just next to the car, seen baby hyena who are so cute, a 2 day old buffalo calf, leopards trying to mate, lions on a kill, cheetahs on a kill. No matter how many times I see the animals, I always love it.
4 comments:
HI Rhiannon nice to see the blog back up and running
love the photos.
keep up the good work
Hi Petal,
Now these photos aren't labelled, so what is the 2nd from the botton? a hyena cub? and the one taken at night?
Love Mum
Hi mum, both the second bottom one and the one taken at night are both Hyenas, the second bottom one is about 6-7 months old, and the ones at night are about 3 or so months-they are so cute when they are young and the older cubs are so curious, they come right up to the car to sniff the tires etc
Loverly Photos. Got me interested enough that I'm counting animals on Snapshot Serengeti. But they all seem to be Hartbeasts [of which I'd never heard of previously] and hairy Gnues ;-)
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