Poaching in Kasanka National Park – Now I know what a “close” gunshot actually sounds like

I wrote my last article for the Lusaka Times about poaching. But since submission, I have had several more direct experiences with poaching in the park.
Last night as my scout and I were looking for the baboons at close but different sleeping sites I heard a gunshot just near to camp. When George and I met up he informed me that he called it in over the radio, that there were two scout patrols camping within a few kilometers, and he pointed the direction of the gunshot. I clearly thought it came from a direction closer to camp. Ten minutes ago (9am) I heard a gunshot. This was different from any shot I have heard before. So close that I could hear the full reverberation after the shot was fired. Within seconds I heard running. My scout George and the camp attendant David were coming straight to my camp. They confirmed the shot with me and passed by. George was armed. This gunshot was so close that it made more sense for my scout to directly try and track the poacher. Meaning he believed he could possibly intercept and apprehend the poacher. The past few weeks poaching has been very heavy in this part of the park. We hear multiple gunshots a day. Las week we saw an injured puku. It had been shot and was quivering but when we approached it took off. George explained that often after shooting an animal, poachers fail to locate it and it dies a slow death. That was the fate of this animal. Later in the same afternoon we saw vultures fly up out of the woodland. We approached. I thought it would be the puku we had seen earlier. It was a different animal. George estimated that it had been dead three days, it also was killed by a poacher.
Another distressing indirect sign of poachers was seeing a bare human footprint on the road right next to a baboon footprint. Both were fresh. Most of the poachers don’t wear shoes. This enables them to run faster and go undetected in the forest. This sight hit me hard and the events of the last several days made me realize how vulnerable the animals in Kasanka National Park are.
So the above was going to be my blog post for the day but then something much more horrendous happened in the afternoon. George and I were out the same afternoon looking for the baboons. We heard a strange sound. At first I thought it might be baboons but then as we stopped to listen it sounded more like a whinnying. George asked if we should follow the noise, I agreed. We came to where the woodland meets the grassland and saw lots of puku (a type of antelope) standing around, staring in one direction and alarm calling. George thought that the puku must have been fighting. We decided to move on when something shot up out of the bushes. It was a puku leaping and struggling. It was caught in a wire snare. Immediately we radioed the main office to tell them about the animal and as if we could shoot it. By the time the warden came to the radio the puku was dead. It’s neck had snapped. So it was lucky, as often when an animal gets caught in a snare it can be a very slow and painful death. We were instructed to go back to camp so George could fetch David the camp attendant. By now it was dark. They were to go back to the animal cut the snare and bring the carcass back to camp, therefore ensuring that the poachers would not get their bounty.

February 22, 2011 – Kingston and Eston

On Thursday Kingston has to travel to the local town, Serenje to attend court. When a scout apprehends a poacher and they are charged than the scout must testify. This takes several months so they don’t know when they will be summoned. The area warden of the Zambian Wildlife Authority has sent a new scout to replace him for a few days. His name is Eston. He came early so Kingston can show him what to do.
The three of us went out this afternoon. It was fantastic to watch Kingston talk to Eston about the baboons. He explained that baboons are NEVER boring. Even when you are out aloe there is always something to watch. I hung back at just let Kingston do his thing. He showed Eston the sleeping groves, the main road crossing points (which he has named and I didn’t even know), how to use the GPS, and all about grooming. Kingston really takes pride in his job and he  is great at it. It is fabulous to get to see how much he has learned.

February 21, 2011 - Nsofu (Elephant in Bemba)

Kingston and I were walking down the road this afternoon looking for tracks of baboons. We saw some tracks from this morning so kept following the road, and then we saw elephant prints. A lot of elephant prints. I haven’t seen the elephants since I returned in January. Apparently they have been in the villages raiding fields. Well they are back. These are the times when my scout takes full control. I asked what we should do. He suggested we follow behind the elephants in the woodland so we know where they are and at the same time intercept the baboons on their way to their sleeping grove. So…. Kingston cocked his gun and we entered the woodland.
Before I go on let me explain that the gun isn’t to shoot the elephants but to scare them away. We use it as a last resort. Shooting a bullet into the air makes them run. Kingtson explained to me when we began working together that both the sound of the shot and the sell of the gun powder cause this. So we entered the forest…. I was nervous but also excited. Kingston and I have run into the elephants in the woodland a number of times and he has always remained calm, given clear instructions and we escaped their notice without having to fire any shots. After about 00 meters Kingston changed his mind. He said we should not risk our lives but instead go back to camp and wait for the elephants to pass. We got back onto the road and headed back to camp. During the time we were in the woodland more elephants had been on the road closer to camp. So basically when we were first on the road we were between a group of elephants. Mind you I was plugging Kingston with questions about school fees etc…  to figure out how many scholarships the project can give this year, jus jabbering away. I don’t doubt that we would have been fine but could have gotten a little scare.

February 21, 2011 - Desmond

Today we had some sad news. While in the field we received a radio call informing us that Desmond’s uncle had passed away. Unfortunately, Kingston and I had to be the bearer of bad news. Within 20 minutes Desmond was headed home to tell his family and then travel to where the village where the funeral would be. After 90 minutes of cycling home, Desmond said it would be another 4 to 5 hour bicycle ride. Apparently in the rainy season there is a sharp increase in death in rural areas of Zambia. Let’s keep Desmond and his family in our thoughts and hope that everyone at Kasanka stays healthy.

February 18, 2011 – At Least…

“At least” is a common phrase used by Zambians and it is one of my favorites. It is the opposite of “just okay” which I mentioned in another post means: I am great. When you ask a Zambian how he is doing and he says “at least” it is similar to how we use “I am okay” in the United States. But literally what I think it really means is “I am not great, but at least I am alive”. When I hear “at least” it always brings me back to earth and true reality. I think this will be a phrase I adopt for life.

February 12, 2011 – Fantastic Fundraising - Cosgriff Catholic Memorial School

The fundraising project that "http://www.cosgriff.org/"Cosgriff Catholic Memorial School undertook in January was a great success. Studetns, families, faculty and staff all donated money for both Chalilo and Kafinda basic schools here in Zambia. They raised a total of $1719!! This money will go towards school supplies. In March I will travel to Lusaka to buy 2000 exercise books, 1400 pencils, 1400 pens, boxes of crayons, markers, slate boards, scrabble games, and soccer balls and net balls. I can’t wait to deliver them to the schools.
We are also starting a correspondence exchange between the American and Zambia students. Student in grade 1-8 have written letters to the school children at Cosgriff elementary. We have also taken dozens and dozens of photographs of students, teachers and village life. Thank you Cosgriff!!!!!

February 5, 2011 – Sarah Darlene Hogle Girls Scholarship Fund

As Sarah Hogle’s birthday approaches, I think of ways in which to honor her memory. She was one of my closest and dearest friends. If she were still here she would be turning 32 and I bet she would be having a big bash. Maybe with a theme J.  Unfortunately for those she loved and who loved her we will celebrate and mourn without her. Here at Kinda Camp, I will be raising a glass, of homemade tea wine, to her. 

As I have been working on the community side of the Kasanka Baboon Project and trying to decide how I can make the biggest effect in peoples’ lives, the idea of helping to send girls to grade 9-12, who otherwise would not have the chance, is in the forefront of my mind. As there are no secondary schools in the communities I am working with a student has to travel elsewhere for higher education. In Zambia, school is free up to grade 7-8, after that a family must pay to send their child to high school. Often times the males in the family get the opportunity to further their education while the females are married young and/or stay to help in the village. When girls marry their families receive a bride price and therefore some parents value this more than furthering their daughters education. However I do expect most of the time, that a family would happily send all of their children to secondary school if they had the money.

Many ideas about how to help young girls continue their education have been circling in my head. I would gladly take suggestions from anyone with experience.  I have figured that it would cost 1 million Zambian kwacha/term to send a young girl to a boarding school (this fee includes tuition, boarding, and food). One million kwacha equates to roughly $200 US dollars. Assuming a young woman completes grade 9 through 12 she would need a total of $1600. 

I hope by the end of the year, which will be the beginning of a Zambian school year, I will have set up “The Sarah Darlene Hogle Girls Scholarship Fund”. Through an application process, one girl will be chosen to attend secondary school with her fees paid by the Kasanka Baboon Project.

The best news is... now you can donate to the project online, through paypal. Just visit our website

February 1, 2011 – My Green Huntington Wellies

Huntington rubber boots may be a fashion statement to the undergraduate population at Wash U, but out here n the bush they serve several vital purposes. I love my wellies. During this rainy season I think they may be my most valuable piece of equipment I own. I wear them all day in the field. They keep my feet dry, I can stomp through puddles, and I feel safe walking through the grass knowing that there are snakes around. As I tuck my pants into my socks and then slip my boots on, they are unfortunately not a fashion statement at Kinda Camp.

January 30, 2011 – The word “failed"

Slowly, I am learning Zambian English. For example when you are walking away from someone, say for example to bring something back, you say “I am coming”. If you want something immediately, the word “now “ is not sufficient you must say “non now”! One of the most interesting and different forms of the same word we us I the U.S. and is used in Zambia is “failed”. Failed has severe negative connotations in American English. For example, if one “failed” a class, they likely did not put any effort into it or didn’t realize early that it may have been to advanced of a course to take. 

In Zambia the word “fail” is used much more loosely, or the repercussions of failing are not so bad. For example, if you ask someone to bring you tomatoes from the market, and they come back with none they may say “I failed”. So…perhaps next time they will succeed. Or if they were supposed to arrive for work on a scheduled data, but came two days later their explanation may be “I failed”. And the matter is considered resolved. 

Another phrase that took me time to get used to and David had to explain to me was “Just Okay”. When you ask someone how they are doing in Zambia and they say “Just okay”. That means they are great! What? This still doesn’t make sense to me. In the U.S. if someone told me they were “just okay” I would immediately ask what was wrong. For a while I did this in Zambia, for example when my assistant Desmond returned from his days off and said his family was “just okay” or he was “just okay”, I would be concerned.