Bring The Elephant Home. Elephant Research Project
If you have followed my previous blogs, you'd know of my passion for all things elephant. So, when we had the opportunity to apply to join a foremost Elephant Research Project run by Bring the Elephant Home, we jumped at the chance, and were so happy to be accepted. We set off for Cape Town early, mainly to get away from the UK winter and get some early sun, and after a few days we flew to Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha, for one night before being collected by the bus to be taken the 90 minutes to Kariega.
Our group numbered 8, being kept in order by Brooke, Research Co-ordinator and Antoinette, the founder of Bring The Elephant Home. (https://bring-the-elephant-home.org/) We settled in and our first treat was to have a short afternoon game drive through the park, where we quickly came across giraffe, zebra, numerous warthogs looking comical with their unusual gait running away when threatened, and of course a few elephants.
We spent our first full day in the classroom, finding out what the project involves. Then we got down to basics, like elephant identification, ageing and sexing, which is harder than you might think. It was explained to us what our roles would be in the team, and how we would all work together in an effort to collect as much elephant behaviour information as possible. Was good getting the brain cells working again, to think of something other than late flights or missed transfers. Late afternoon, we made our way to Kenton-On-Sea, was as far removed to Kenton, Newcastle as you could imagine. Wide open estuary with waves crashing over the breakers at the entrance. Was nice to kick back with a beer and some snacks.
On the first full day on the project, we loaded up with tablets, water, snacks, recording sheets, and off we went on the truck, three teams of three, all with our assigned roles and tasks. Of course, the first challenge is to find elephants, the tracker led us to one on a hill and we drove off in search. Being as elusive as they are, we kept on getting sight, then losing it, only for one large adult male to make his way down the hill towards us, and then one by one other members of the herd appeared and before long we were surrounded, and Brooke assigned each team an elephant to observe and monitor behaviour. Each viewing window is 14 minutes, and everything is recorded, even if the elephant is grazing, though every now and then you hear a whispered "trunk curl", "smell" or "trunk to mouth". This session made even more special with the knowledge that it is the first observation and study carried out since the fences between Kariega and Harvestvale, and Brooke was able to confirm this was a first-time witness of joining of the two herds. This may not be permanent, but it shows that herds are able to integrate with each other after being separated by fences. I also managed to collect the first of many samples of dung to be sent off and tested for Elephant stress levels, with the name of elephant delivering the dung recorded, date time and place of collection, all interesting scientific stuff. We had lunch atop one of the hills overlooking the park, was a stunning vista, gazing down at the wildlife just going about their day.
The afternoon was more of the same, finding, tracking and recording the elephants, though on the way back to the lodge we came across a lone sub-adult male, who looked like he was making mischief, not quite old enough to be in musth, but enough going on for him to annoy a dazzle of zebra and a tower of giraffe, none of whom looked very impressed with his antics, and after scattering them in all directions, off he trumped back into the plains. His sighting brought an end to our first day of my first day taking part in an official scientific research project.
We are spending the following day inputting and uploading information that the team will verify and digest over the next few days, and we have the knowledge we have several more sessions to collect this vital information to hopefully prolong elephants being part of our world, as if current trends continue, they show that by 2040 the African Elephant in the wild could be extinct, and that’s a frightening thought.
tonight a night game drive.....watch this space.