By Gabriel Feinman-Riordan (College of the Atlantic)

To put it mildly my time here in Botswana has been a thrilling adventure. The few relaxing moments I’ve had here have been interrupted by either a herd of elephants, a bizarre new bird, a torrential downpour, a lion calling in the distance, or any other crazy experience the Delta decides to throw at me. It’s come to the point that I cannot let myself fully relax for the fear of being caught off guard in a land that teems with surprise and adventure. All of these experiences have cumulated into what is hands down the most exciting month of my life. Here are just a few of the experiences I’ve had over the past couple of weeks in the Okavango Delta.

About a week ago on one of our transect drives I was able to see two male giraffes fighting in an open field. This was my first real taste of the glorious drama that unfolds between individuals in this competitive land. They swung their heads low and hit each other’s necks and stomachs in a daring show of strength. After seeing several giraffes with scarred faces and broken horns I was terrified of the destructive force behind these massive creatures and quite worried for their well-being. Luckily I was driving with Sixteen who had plenty of experience watching fighting animals. He explained that they were sparring with each other which is simply a method of practicing for duels and that both giraffes were perfectly safe from harm. Another incredible sighting I had on the same transect drive was of a solitary male hyena, scouring the landscape for morsels of food. We saw him sneak behind an acacia scrub where he found a feast of bloody bones. The sound of bones crushed beneath the force of a hyena’s jaw is likely to stay with me for the rest of my life.

I was able to see these amazing displays of wildlife on our transect drives, which are always full of adventure and awe but, as I mentioned earlier, exciting experiences can happen at a moment’s notice. For example, the other day we in the process of packing up our campsite to move to another location when Innocent (one of the guides from Sankuyo) got a call saying that a Southern white rhinoceros had just crossed the road half a kilometer away from us. Immediately we dropped everything we were doing and shuffled into one of our three vehicles and darted down the road to catch a glimpse of this extremely rare creature. Unfortunately we were unable to see the rhinoceros that time but we were able to see its massive footprints and who knows what will happen in the future; with over two months left in the semester the possibility of seeing a rhino is still very much alive.

 

 

While there have been incredible experiences on this trip, there have been difficult encounters which may not have been fun, but certainly were exciting. One such instance happened a little over a week ago: we had all left camp for a couple of hours, allowing enough time for a troop of baboons to come into camp and wreak havoc. Upon our arrival we found one of our tents collapsed, our dish station knocked over, our sugar and creamer devoured, and our coffee scattered all over the ground. While this was a frustrating experience it also emphasized the charm that makes this place so alluring; the unpredictability and spontaneous nature of the wild Delta will always be something I adore and cherish.

At the current moment there are a lot of very exciting things to look forward to. One of those things is exploring the northern end of concession NG34. This area is dominated by mopane trees and offers a new range of animals and scenery. We have also just begun working on our research projects, which will keep us nice and busy for the next few months. The two projects we’re working on are looking at demographics in elephants, kudu, zebra, and buffalo populations and assessing the sightability bias in various habitats within the Delta. These projects are an exciting way to add our mark onto the amazing work that Round River has done here in Botswana and help to develop our skills as wildlife researchers here in Africa. I very much look forward to the next two and a half months with this group of amazing individuals in this incredible, wild place where truly anything can happen.

 

Photos by Ben Szydlowski.