The other day we had a bit of a change of pace from wildlife monitoring. Our mission was to retrieve the five cattle collars that have been giving STE data for the last year and a half.The objective of this project was to better understand pastoralist land use and its overlap and interaction with wildlife. We went north, past the Kalama conservation area, where the landscape differs from that of the reserves. In our search we drove up a small mountain and were able to take in the hazy early morning view, which was striking with its blue mountain outlines and distinctive acacia.
Because we were in thick bush, we ended up spending the rest of our search on foot. Though we came across a few groups of cattle, they were not the collared cows we were hoping to find. The walk felt great though, and it gave me a chance to look much closer at the vegetation of the area. At one point a honeyguide was busily chirping at us, which was the first time I had experienced one of these interesting birds.
After a long trek, we reached a pool where a few men were watching their cows as they drank. We found one of our targets, a cow who had been wearing this collar since 2009. It was a successful day. Not only did we collect one of the collars, but we had the chance to enjoy a hike in the bush!