Elephant Curiosity

The Morning of the Elephant focus began slightly different from the majority of our monitoring drives on Karongwe Game Reserve. The reason for the focus was to identify all the individuals in the group and compile an I.D kit for each elephant. Normally we would be following an ever increasingly confusing ‘beep’ from our telemetry aerial leading us to a collared animal, however as none of Karongwe’s Elephants (Loxodonta africana) have an active collar we had to do it the old fashioned way and look for them. Finding a herd of elephants is considerably more difficult than you may think!

After around 90 minutes of driving around following tell tale signs of elephants (a trail of destroyed trees and fresh dung) we came across a 4 year old male and a 2 year old male. The tiny two year old had already won everyone on the trip over by simply being a baby elephant but when he decided it was his duty to defend his family and charged our truck he cemented his place as one of the favourite animals we had seen so far on Karongwe. When he flared his ears, pointed his trunk and ran towards the truck trumpeting at us, barely able to see over the trucks bonnet, we wondered for a second why he was feeling so brave, then Duma his mother appeared from the bush as if she had never been there. It was easy to see why the young male had felt so brave when his enormous mother had been watching us all along. One more quick high pitched trumpet and he ran off to stand bravely by his mothers side.
After a few minutes Duma and her two calves wandered off, disappearing back into the bush so we decided to drive around to see if we could find a better view. After waiting a few minutes something spectacular happened. The entire breeding herd and 2 adult bulls walked from the bush and surrounded our truck as they fed, at least 12 elephants meandered past us, largely ignoring our presence as they went about their daily business. It gave us a good photo oppurtunity. This lasted for a few minutes before they continued their journey through the african bush. Despite the short duration of the event, it is something which will last in the memory of everyone present for a long time.

John Pemberton, Volunteer, UK

Elephant Curiosity

Day off at bird hide makes for spectacular viewing!!

What to do on a day off.........Friday 21st August 2009

Relaxing would be the first thought when offered a day off here at GVI Base: Venetia, breaking from the research drives that take place every day. However, it could mean spending a day at the Manoutswa bird hide in the Mapungubwe National Park, taking in the sights, sounds and sometimes smells of the huge variety of wildlife that collect daily around this mini oasis.

So it was.........under the expert guidance of Jon (GVI staff member), five Venetia volunteers, Anna, Matt, Glyn, Luca and myself decided that they hadn’t seen enough wildlife. They chose not to do the weekly “town trip” at Musina or mull around camp. Instead, they packed the usual tuna and cheese sandwiches and set out to “relax”.

To say you are within touching distance of zebra (Equus burchelli), impala (Aepyceros melampus), kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), baboon (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) and the ever comical warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) being ridden, jockey style by red billed oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorhyncyus), would be an understatement, but what these keen conservationists really wanted to see close-up were elephants (Loxodonta africana)...........and eventually, they turned up in amazing style!

Between viewings Jon took us on a mini safari around the surrounding area, where we saw banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), bush-buck (Tragelaphus scriptus), some beautiful trees and even more elephants
So the next time you get offered a day off, grab the opportunity to explore, whether it be at home or in distance lands.....time is precious!!

Donald Bird, Volunteer, UK

Day off at bird hide makes for spectacular viewing!!

Hyena Side Rescue

Throughout my volunteering, I’ve never before had the opportunity to consider the smell of a Hyena (Crocuta crocuta), but after experiencing it first-hand I can confirm that it is far from pleasant. The reward for enduring this olfactory assault reminiscent of long-rotting meat was that following a lone female hyena was worth it. We were continuing our conservation research by following one of our focus animals, known here as Tiya. After a brief nap in the sandy road (taking a few minutes respite from her mothering duties), Tiya led us to a den she shares with two other females and four pups. At dusk the curious pups emerged from the mouth of the den one by one as our vehicle stopped nearby, then made their way to investigate us by smell, sight and touch as they carefully paced around the vehicle, alternating between sniffing, staring into our faces and biting the tires. We watched their behavior as they wrestled and played for over an hour, chewing on one another’s ears, tugging at opposite ends of a piece of dried animal hide, and engaging in general puppy-like silliness. We were so wrapped up in their antics that we managed to totally drain the truck battery with our spotlight, leaving us in need of a bush rescue. This only added to the fun of the evening, giving us an extra half hour to watch the pups at play and the amazing stars of the moonless southern sky while we waited for our fresh battery to arrive. By that time, we were so enjoying our time with the hyena clan that we forgot to even notice the smell.


Amber Herzog Lyman, Volunteer, UK

Hyena Side Rescue

Unusual cheetah behaviour leads to two collarings!

Extract from 092 GVI Expedition Science Report: Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve

"For the past year, researchers on the reserve have been trying to catch a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) [using conventional trapping methods] in order to fit one with a radio collar. In the 092 expedition, two unusual events led to the collaring of two cheetahs - one a male, part of a two male coalition, and the other a young female.

The male was collared on 23 May 2009 having responded to a call up at night. [This was unexpected in that cheetahs do not normally respond to call ups due to their vulnerability and low ranking within the carnivore hierarchy.]

The female was collared following a bizarre turn of events in which she was contained in the boma while a wild dog (Lycaon pictus) was being released. She was then fitted with a collar on 23 June 2009 and released from the boma."

Since their collaring, the volunteers have been tracking the males and habituating them to GVI vehicles. Our hard work has paid off as we are getting more and better visuals of them every time we track them down. Unfortunately, the female cheetah's collar appears to have stopped transmitting only weeks after it was fitted and thus we have had less success with her.

Chris Joubert, Base Manager, Venetia

Unusual cheetah behaviour leads to two collarings!

Marmite collared, watch out Blade!!

Marmite has taken on a new meaning for researchers on Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve following the darting and collaring of the male lion (Panthera leo) cub from Thika and Pikanin’s pride. Following his darting, he was found by volunteers with the rest of the pride on a zebra (Equus burchelli) kill and has developed the nickname Marmite as the lions always seem to be doing something interesting when Marmite is discussed by the researchers (Marmite and crackers being a favourite drive snack of the science officer!).

He is only one and a half, but is developing a mane that is already hiding his collar. Soon he will be proclaiming his own territory within the reserve and volunteers will hopefully be hearing his roars in the African night. He promises to be an impressive male, stealing the hearts of GVI volunteers from around the world.

Susan Miller, Science Officer, Venetia

Marmite collared, watch out Blade!!

Cheetah Boys Released

After three months in the quarantine boma on Karongwe Private Game Reserve, the day had arrived for Jabu and Djuma our two newest cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) additions, to be released. The Reserve Manager, a land owner and Sandra, one of our staff field researchers, met at the boma for the grand event. The coalition were hiding in the long grass but watching intently. The Reserve Manager enticed them out by dragging half of a male Impala behind his truck. Thankfully this worked first time and the boys were out in only a few seconds. They spent the rest of the day right next to the boma, feeding and sleeping. They probably still thought they were inside the boma as they recognized the fence, but this time, were on the outside.

Sandra sat with the boys for the rest of the afternoon to monitor their behaviour. As we had been doing for months in decreasing distances, she walked up to within 15 metres to acclimate them to people on foot. They remained curious but very relaxed.

Over the next few weeks the boys explored the reserve, meeting Savannah, a female cheetah, and her two 15 month old male cubs. There have been no altercations between the two pairs of males, which the research staff were initially concerned about. The volunteers from following expeditions have been intently adding the research data for the new males our comprehensive database, where it can but used in future wildlife conservation projects where cheetah coalition relocations will be used.

They didn’t make their first kills until about day 10 after the release, but have since settled in nicely and established a more regular hunting pattern.

Djuma has already befriended Ketswiri, a 3 year old female, who was in oestrus. They spent three days together, but were not seen mating. It is now a waiting game to see if she has cubs in November.

Sandra Jacob, Research Staff Member

Cheetah Boys Released

What a First Week!!

The majority of the week involved learning the field and how to use the telemetry system for taking data on the African wildlife, and of course finding out exactly which animals were being focused on! Other skills, such as basic tracking and bird identification, were also acquired from morning walks into the African bush.

Some of the highlights from our induction include; having a heart-stopping close encounter with Zero, the male lion (Panthera leo)! Finding out about venomous snakes and arachnids at Khamai Reptile Park and then seeing an uncolored female Leopard (Panthera pardus) right behind us outside the boma at Karongwe. This is where Shiloweni, a male Leopard, is at the moment and we believe the visitor came to check him out, is love in the air?

Some of my fellow volunteers have also seen monster-sized Crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) in the reserve this week, as well as Hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) and large numbers of Elephants (Loxodonta africana). However, for me the ultimate event of the past seven days was seeing an uncolored leopard (possibly the unknown female) in the camp garden in broad daylight! It was gone in a flash but was a truly memorable moment. I think we would be privileged to see this at any time, but especially in our first week.

Lucy Robillard, Volunteer, U.K.

What a First Week!!

Shiluweni, the 'toothless' wonder survives again!

Morning drive was running smoothly and Rene and I located Shiluweni, the collared male leopard (Panthera pardus), easily. He was lying relaxed in the bush and everything seemed normal with him…he was his usual sleepy self! However, as we continued with our drive we heard a game drive vehicle calling Kobus, the reserve manager, to inform him that Shiluweni was limping and had injured his right leg. Kobus immediately drove to where Shiluweni was to evaluate his condition and decide on the next steps to take. His conclusion was that his injuries were severe enough to require veterinary treatment and so Dr. Peter Rogers, the local wildlife vet, was called out. Kobus also called Rene to ask that GVI be there in order to track Shiluweni and help with his darting and aftercare.

So at 4 pm Rene, Sandra and I met Kobus, Dr. Rogers and his assistants and we started teleming to track him down. We found him not far from where we left him in the morning and drove into position to give Dr. Rogers a clear shot with which to dart him. Seeing a darting was an unforgettable experience! Dr. Rogers was a perfect shot and Shiluweni jumped up and tried to run when the dart entered his shoulder, but soon the drugs started to take effect and he was rendered immobile. We rushed in, hauled him onto a stretcher and then onto the back of the vehicle to relocate him to a quarantine boma for treatment and recuperation. It was amazing to be so close to such an incredible creature. He is a beautiful animal and the fact that leopards are inherently elusive made the experience all the more special. We watched on as Dr. Rogers and his assistants treated his injuries. His right shoulder was badly wounded, with a number of puncture wounds that had separated the skin from the tissue. There was a lot of swelling and his right hip was also wounded, requiring stitches. It was concluded from the pattern of his injuries that he had been in a fight with another male leopard, and due to the fact that Shiluweni has no canines (they were removed after becoming severely infected last year), he came off the worst. Being so close to him really brought home is size and strength. His paws are huge – easily as big as a female lion(Panthera leo) and his fur is surprisingly soft!

After being cleaned up and dosed with a concoction of antibiotics and painkillers, he was moved into the boma and left to begin his recovery. We wanted to monitor him closely throughout the evening to ensure he woke up from the anaesthetic and so we returned to base to pick up a spotlight and some warm blankets for our stay. On the way back to the boma we came across two honey badger(Mellivora capensis) running in the road which was another fantastic sighting! We sat with Shiluweni for the rest of the evening, periodically checking his movements with the spotlight. During the night we were paid a visit by Giggles and Tiya, two of the female hyena (Crocuta crocuta), who were obviously attracted to the boma by the smell of an unfamiliar leopard! It was another great sighting that rounded off an extraordinary day that I was privileged to have been a part of and that I will never forget.

Faye Thompson, Intern, UK

Shiluweni, the 'toothless' wonder survives again!

Final Party Night!!

Final Week came around all too quickly and Thursday night was set aside for Final Party Night of this expedition. A chance to celebrate an amazing five weeks together, the fantastic experiences shared by all and the new friends made along the way. Everyone, staff and volunteers, jumped at the chance to go in fancy dress and, after much deliberating, the chosen theme for the night was “Initials”. This meant you had to dress up as something beginning with the first letter of your name. The creative juices were soon flowing and, even with the limited resources available, some fantastic costumes were produced. It’s amazing what you can do with sheets, some old clothes and a bit of imagination! There was a cowgirl, Donatello the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle, a lion, a Flintstone, an Afrikaner, an armadillo, khaki fever, a tree, a jockey, a snail and a robot to name just a few! We had a delicious game potjie and sat around the braai talking, laughing and having a few drinks! It was a great chance to share one last night of fun in the company of fantastic people in the most beautiful of surroundings…definitely a fitting way to say goodbye!

Faye Thompson, Intern, UK

Final Party Night!!