Over the last few days I have been working hard helping Gilbert (one of the office staff members) enter the LTM (Long-Term Monitoring) data in to the database. While I enjoy the time I get to spend in the field the most, I have accompanied Shifra and Jerenimo many times to collect the LTM data. So it is nice to be able to see how it is displayed and assessed on the computer. Additionally, as an intern it makes you happy to know that the work you are doing is genuinely helping the team in some way, which I always feel like at STE. Countless hours are spent doing this, so I can really appreciate the hard work the office staff put in to ensure all field data is entered swiftly and correctly.
This week I have also been able to help in collecting data for the mammal censuses, which I thoroughly enjoy. It get’s so hot here in the peak hours of the day, but spotting all the wildlife is definitely worth it! A few days ago we were watching a group of elephants having a mud bath when two juvenile crocodiles approached. Crocodiles can easily kill young calves as they cross the river, so the matriarch must always be alert and tactful when choosing the safest point of crossing for her family. Needless to say, even these two juvenile crocodiles caused the mud bath to end fairly abruptly!
During one of the mammal censuses crossed over to the Buffalo Springs National Reserve side, which is always an adventure because the bridge over the river was badly damaged during the recent floods and hasn’t yet been repaired. Therefore, a large ladder is permanently left at the base of the bridge so that once you have walked most of the way across the bridge you can subsequently climb down the other side. Every time I do this it makes me think of the devastation the 2010 and 2011 floods must have caused.
Another great week at Save the Elephants!