After finishing our transect we are now fully occupied by our focal study on the diet of elephants. This means following around a family each morning and each afternoon for about three hours and recording what they are eating. This way we are really getting close to the families and are beginning to recognize the individuals, which is a great experience. To be able to drive around in the reserve and saying hello to them by using their name, fantastic! We are still amazed by how close elephants will come to you if you just keep quiet and let them be, those are experiences we won’t soon forget.
Besides the elephants, we recently came across two leopards as well, just near the STE camp. There were two males crossing the area just along the road. A great oppertunity to take some nice pictures and we have now seen practically every mammal that is supposed to be around here! At the STE camp there is also always something to be done or seen. Just the other day, a big bull called Kenyata, who was in musth, was right at the research camp so we had to be carefull and there are also the occasional Black Mamba’s or deadly spiders, which are all part of the great adventure. We can’t imagine that we have already been here for about 2 months and that we only have a couple of days left, next week we will be off to Nairobi again and off home to the Netherlands. But before we go we are throwing a nice fare-well party for all the guys here who have helped us a great deal and made this experience even better than it would have been. Thanks a lot guys!