March 1, 2011 – Church on Wheels

Traveling in Zambia is difficult and very different from travel in the Unitedd States. Each trip is different and you always come out ob the other end with a few stories. There are only a few main paved roads in Zambia going east, west, north and south with big stretches of land in between. To travel from Kasanka to Lusaka can take as little as 6 hours and as much as 20 hours and yo never know what it will be. I traveled to Lusaka for a few days this week to pick up supplies. I got a ride to the closest town, Serenje and then waited there for the PostBus that was coming form the north. Going this route you never know if there will be a seat and you never know what time the bus wil arrive. This Saturday it was 2 hours late and seemed ridiculously full. They promised me a seat and I got one. Well….half of one. I was crammed into a row of three seats with two women and three children. Fine, par for the course. Just sit back and ride it out. But it gets better. I failed to notice but half of the bus was filled with one church group. 4 ½ hours before arriving in Lusaka they broke out in gospel music that continued until the bus backed up into the station and the doors were opened. It was really quite beautiful for the first hour, at least an experience to remember fondly, then I started to think that I was riding in a church on wheels and they were out to save my soul.  

February 24, 2011 – ZAWA – The Zambian Wildlife Authority

My last post was about poaching and several near and dear to me were worried about my safety. I promise I am safe. I want to stress that The Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and Kasanka National Park are fighting poaching to their upmost ability and over the past several weeks several poachers have been apprehended. The Zambian Wildlife Authority is constantly working to improve the national parks in Zambia and protect the animals while also keeping the needs of the Zambian people in mind. In no way do my articles and posts intend to say otherwise. I do think it is important however, for all of us who are not directly involved in the day to day business of fighting poaching, to know the immense suffering that animals must bear to end up on the tables of those who find this meat a delicacy and help to fuel the trade.

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.