Proposals

So while Tanzania has been full of crazy adventures and cultural experiences I thought I might write just a bit about what school has been like over here, after all it is the reason I am here. There are three core classes that we take: wildlife management, wildlife ecology, and environmental policy. We are also taking a Kiswahili language and culture class, which has been a lot of fun. While everyday is different from the one before there is a schedule that, for the most part, we stick to. A typical week here at the field station is six days of academics and field exercises and then one off day. This past week for example we started off with a field exercise in Lake Manyara National Park (LMNP) (only about twenty minutes away). For the exercise we drove 2km transects and had to identified all species larger than a mongoose, and record their behavior, their distance to the land cruiser, their response to the land cruiser, flight distance, GPS coordinates and the habitat. We’ve now done this same exercise in three study areas (and SFS has done this for four years now) so we have been able to compare data and look at trends of certain species. The next day we had an environmental policy lecture on campus with a guest lecture and then spent the rest of the day doing community service, I went back down to the local primary school to continue working on the bathroom we have been building. The next day was spent working on assignments and I used that time to work on our assessment of village councils here in Rhotia (we had a focal group discussion with the council the week before).  The next day we had another field exercise in Mtu wa Mbu where we assessed the habitat of the wildlife corridor and we are now working on habitat management plans which will hopefully be taken to the local government. For the past three days now we have begun our directed research. Yesterday we found out which professor we would be joining and working with for the next month and a half. I got my first choice which was human-elephant conflicts with our wildlife management professor. I was really hoping to do some sort of predator-prey relation project or something to do with lions with our center director but it turns out that wasn’t even an option for a project. I am very happy either way to have gotten the project I did. Most of yesterday and today was spent reading articles and drafting my research proposal. We now have exactly two weeks left of classes. Well, really just three days because on Friday we leave for Serengeti and once we come back we have finals and then the next month is spent doing our directed research. Tomorrow is our only day off for the next two weeks so I plan on sleeping in.

xx

Last of the First

They grow no food, they raise no livestock, and basically live without rules or taxes. They live a life that hasn't really changed much in the past 10,000 years. I wonder, what they know that we have forgotten?

Hadzabe men hunting

Tuber

Last nights hunt

The Hadzabe people are Africa's last hunter-gatherers and on Monday I shook their hands and was welcomed into their culture and shown a place I never dreamed still existed. Less than 1,000 Hadzabe remain in Africa and 300-400 of them currently live around Lake Eyasi near the Ngorongoro conservation area. Before that day the only exposure I had to the Hadzabe people was through a piece in National Geographic on the evolution of diet in which they were featured. I wasn't sure what to expect, especially after our professor told us that this group of Hadzabe in fact has a lot of visitors who come to see how they live. Part of me was reserved and felt like I might be gypped out of a true cultural experience. The other part of me was just excited to see a group of people who, for tourist sake or not, relied on their hunting and gathering skills to survive. When we first arrived our translator tried to teach us how to say hello in the Hadza language, which was pretty hard considering they have a click language, but it was fun to try anyways. We then started the day by going out on a hunt with the young men of the group. They hunt with bows and arrows and are the only people in Tanzania allowed to hunt without a permit. I believe they’re also the only people in Tanzania who are legally allowed to smoke marijuana, which they did before we went out on the hunt. We ate baobab fruit and dug up tubers, which were these giant potato looking things that when cracked open had watery/slimy fibers inside. On our way back one of the men shot a bat with his bow and arrow, which was pretty impressive (but I also couldn't help thinking, isn't that how you get ebola? too soon to joke?). When we got back to their main camp we practiced shooting a couple arrows ourselves and then they showed us one of their traditional dances.

Hadzabe boy and his bat

Cave paintings

Passing the pipe before the hunt

I'm not sure where the future of the Hadzabe people is heading. Traditionally they don't stay in one spot, but now since the land around them has changed into agriculture, national parks and conservation areas, they seem to be trapped. At the end of the day I was very glad that I had the opportunity to see and experience the Hadzabe people; the last of the first.

Ngorongoro

Once again I had another amazing day out in the field here in Tanzania. This time we went to Ngorongoro crater which, lucky for us is only one hour away. After a guest lecture from the development and tourism manager, we headed into the crater for a game drive. I saw hyenas, lions, wildebeest, cape buffalo, elephants and zebra all before lunch time. For lunch we stopped at the hippo pools where we had to eat our packed lunch inside because of the black kites that will steal your food. Just ten minutes after getting back out in the field we finally saw a black rhino. It was far away and the heat wave made it hard to take a good picture, but it made my day. We also got to see so many lions up close. It was weird not having to take any field notes that day and just taking lots of pictures and watching the animals. It has now been eight days straight of classes and field exercises so tomorrow we get a day off and I plan on heading into Karatu to check out a coffee farm and to do some relaxing.

Inside the crater

Tarangire Expedition

Male elephant in musth

Do you see it? It's hiding under the tree. (It's a cheetah)

Lions napping

Lilac-breasted roller

Brothers

After five days on expedition its nice to be back in my little banda at Moyo Hill. Our first day on expedition we went into Tarangire National Park and collected data on all things elephant. This has been one of my favorite field exercises so far. We learned how to identify males and females based on physical features and even behavior, and also recorded age, tusk condition and health. The second half of the day was a game drive, giving us a chance to see all sorts of wildlife, including my first wild lion and cheetah sighting! That night we set up camp just outside the park, with little light pollution it was perfect for star gazing (not that I know any southern hemisphere constellations). The second day we went back to Tarangire and spent the morning doing transects and counting all animals larger than a mongoose. We recorded all the males, females, juveniles, behavior, and response to the land rover along with habitat. It was a long morning but I think its safe to say I have become increasingly better at identifying species in the field. For lunch we stopped at the Tarangire Safari Lodge to take a break from the heat and some of us jumped in the pool. After relaxing for a bit we headed back out into the park for another game drive. I saw more lions, wildebeest, zebra, lots of elephants, ostriches, giraffes and the list goes on. The next morning we got up and headed to Manyara Ranch to do the same field exercise. To compare what kinds of animals are in the park versus how many are in the ranch. In the afternoon we went back to Tarangire for a guest lecture from the head warden about conservation and poaching issues. Tuesday was spent interviewing locals in the villages surrounding the park about which types of firewood and fuel sources they gathered from the forests. The afternoon was spent on a bush walk in the wildlife corridor between Tarangire and Manyara Ranch. It was hot, dusty, and for a bush walk there was very little bush, but I still enjoyed it. On our last day we went to the Lake Burnge Wildlife Management Office for another guest lecture on wildlife management areas. We had an expedition debrief before heading back to campus. We stopped at Lake Burunge and climbed up on a rock where we could see Lake Manyara on one side and Lake Burunge on the other. We went to a women's basket weaving shop (cleared them out of their baskets I think), stopped briefly in Mto Wa Mbu for some snacks before heading back up the escarpment to our little hill in the clouds. Crawling into bed last night after finally feeling clean I realized how much this place finally feels like home. Today we have the day off to rest, do some laundry, and then I'm going to venture back down to Mto Wa Mbu to check out the Maasai market.