Journey to the End of the Setata Fence Line

By Tilly Ingall, University of Vermont

Written February 24, 2017

Our second stint out in the bush has seen our full immersion into field research. While Hank and Ben continue their project, interviewing people within the Herero community, the rest of camp conducted our first spoor (animal track) survey around two main waterholes past the nearby village. Led by our expert trackers Joe and Nature, along with two community members from the village, Dami and China, we recorded GPS coordinates for various points of animal tracks and scat.

Sunset in Xai Xai

I continue to be amazed by the knowledge of the trackers and the information they can grasp from mere footprints; as I listen to their analyses I can see the movements of the animals splayed before me, the kudu meandering their way through the purple-pod terminalia and the elephant wading into the pan for a drink.

Baobab tree.

Our trip to the waterhole also brought us to witness the magnificence of the baobob, which tower over us as we drive by, their massive trunks greyed and wrinkled like elephant skin. Not nearly as awe-inspiring as the baobob, but much more fun to say, we stopped at a mogongo tree driving back to camp. Without much warning, Coop, Xaashe, and Joe bound out of the car to scour the ground in search of the Mogongo nuts, which can be cooked on a fire and consumed. The Bushmen continue to enlighten us on the resources that surround us; returning to camp with water tuber, gemsbok cucumber, and francolin eggs for us to try.

Preparing food by the fire

We ended our stay at our first Xai-Xai campsite, waking up early to drive to the Gchiwhaba caves. Never in my life have I seen so many bats—raising my flashlight up the cave walls I uncovered millions upon millions of bats, their bodies hanging along the upper interiors of the cave, and pouring out from the smaller caverns. The caves housed three different species of bats, the common horseshoe, slit-faced, and leaf-nosed, which together filled the immense darkness with a cacophony of pips and screeches as the bats navigate their way through the maze of dolomite and quartz. We traversed the cave, our breath stifled by the air, thick with humidity, and our feet sinking into the light and loamy sand, which also served as a highway for commuting beetles and termites.

The conclusion of our cave tour saw the beginning of our long trek to our campsite out on the Setata fence line. This veterinary fence was originally designed to separate domestic cattle from wild buffalo to combat fears of foot-and-mouth disease spreading into Botswana’s cattle industry. However, the fence has also inhibited the migratory patterns of many wildlife populations (notably zebra and giraffe) and is thus a hotly debated topic.

Thunder heads

Desperately trying to race against the looming thunderclouds, we made our way through the mud and water-ridden roads, holding our breath as we entered a large patch of murky water. We were fortunate enough to only get stuck in the mud once on our way, and we were gratefully rescued by a large truck to pull us out. We were also fortunate in managing to make it all the way to the fence when our beloved 1988 Toyota Land Cruiser, “Francolin,” finally through in the towel. Shattered by the day’s journey, we were allowed a bit of a lie-in the following morning before diving back in to our studies.

Getting stuck in the mud

Today we learned about camera traps, and a few of the students, advised by the trackers, set up a few along the road in hopes of capturing some footage of the brown hyena, African wild cat, hippo, or elephant, whose tracks we observed this morning. This afternoon we also received a lesson on the giant jewel beetle, which can serve as a great snack when prepared right. A few of us went on a mad hunt, swinging sticks at the branches of the lead wood and acacia trees, trying to knock the beetles off. After cooking under the coals of the fire pit, the wings, head, and entrails are removed and the beetle is ready to be consumed. There were some faces pulled in the process, but prepared with some salt and thrown in a bowl they were quickly enjoyed like popcorn.