NorthwestNamibia–FieldReportOctober2016

ToddMaki(ColumbusZoo&Aquarium)

InOctober2016weembarkedonafieldtriptonorthwesternNamibiainsupportoftheGiraffeConservationFoundation (GCF). The team consisted of GCF PhD researcher Emma Hart, myself, ecologist DominiqueRhoades (UK), Justine Godin (Paris Zoo, France), Michelle Wagener (Naples Zoo, FL USA), Brooke Rose(WildwoodWildlifePark,WIUSA),PaigeMilligan(ColumbusZoo,OHUSA),andKatieLind(DakotaZoo,NDUSA).

After packingupboth field vehicleswith everythingwewouldneedtosustainourselvesforthenexttendays,webeganourtwo-daytreknorthwestintooneoftheoldestdesertsintheworld,theNamib.Itdidn’ttakeuslongtostartseeingwildlifealongtheroadwithsightings of warthog, baboon and kudu, but whatmadeusstopandpulloverwasthe“spotting”ofourfirstwild herd of giraffe just north ofOutjo. A veryexcitingmomentfortheteam.

Thelandscapeiseverchangingthroughoutthedrive,andthegeologyofthenorthwestexhibitsspectacularviews of unique bolder kopjes, plateaus, mountainridges,andvalleys.Onthetripupwealsosawourfirst

ofmanyherdsofHartman’sMountainzebra–frommypreviousvisitstoNamibia,thenumberofsightingshasdefinitelyincreasedwhichwasencouragingtosee!

WemadeitasfarasPalmwaginDamaralandonthefirstday,wherethelandscapeisdominatedbyredrocksofvaryingshapes,mostlybetweenappleandpumpkinsize.Youcan’thelpbutlookacrossthesevastfieldsofrockwithverylittlevegetation,andnosignofwater,andwonderhowanythingmanagestosurviveoutthere.Howamazingtowatchaherdofspringbokorkudurunoverthisminefieldofdebriswiththegraceofballetdancers.PalmwagisthehomeofSavetheRhinoTrust,andthispartofthecountryboaststhehealthiestwildpopulationsofblackrhinointheworld.Anotherwow-factortothinkabout.

Thenextmorningwewoketothesunrisingoverthecrestofthemountainridge,thecallofthepiedcrow,thecluckofthered-billedfrancolin,andabullelephantwalkingbetweenourrowoftents!Afterhesaunteredbywithghostlysilence,Iquietlyaskedfromtherefugeofmy6ftx6fttent,“Tellmesomeoneelsejustsawthat?”Excitinglyvoicesfromtheothertentsstartedtorespond,“Wecan’tbelievethatjusthappened!!”Afterassessingthattheareawasclear,weallemergedfromourtentstoseethatthismagnificentbullelephanthad

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literallywalkedrightthroughthemiddleofourcamp,anddownintoasmallspring-fedravinetobegineatinghisbreakfast.Needlesstosay, Ibelieveoverthenexthalfhoureverywrinkleofhisbodywasphotographedbyalleightofourcameras.J

After our exciting first wild elephant experience, webrokecampandheadednorthintotheKaokoveld.Wewere now on a single dirt track driving around hills,throughvalleysandovervastsandydesertplainswithsparse grass and mopane tree shrub. Just beforecoming to a very small village called Tomakas, wespottedourfirstgiraffeintheresearchareaanditwastime to get to work. One of ourmain objectives forGCF’slong-termmonitoringprogrammeissurveyingthecurrentpopulationdynamicsofgiraffe(andelephant)inthelowerHoanib,HoarusibandKhumibRivercatchments.Wepulledoutthedatacollectionequipmentandbeganaroutineofwhatwewouldcontinuetodoforthenexteightdays:recordGPSposition,timeofday,herdsize,sexandagedynamics,bodyconditionscores,andattempttophotographrightandleftsideprofilesofeachgiraffetoassistuswithidentifyingtheindividualgiraffe.Eachgiraffehasauniquespotpattern,whichallowsresearcherstoidentifygiraffebymatchingthepatternwithpreviousIDsheets/photos.Thisalsoallowsustoresearchwheres/hehasmoved,or toaddhim/hertothedatabase if it isanewgiraffe.Thisparticularherdwasmadeupofonemaleandtwofemales–aperfectsizetointroduceeveryonetothetasksahead.

Backon track towards the remotevillageofPuroswespotted threemoregiraffeherds.Allof themwererecordedandID’d–notbadforourfirstdayinthefield.WefinallyarrivedatthePuroscommunitycampsitejust in time for a spectacular sundownerwith lots of talk about our first exciting full day as giraffe fieldresearchers.

Wespent thenext fourdaysexploringthe Hoarusib River around Puros,drivingupanddownthedrysandyriverbed, and up along the scrub coveredrockybanks.Besidesgiraffe,welocatedour first elephant herd, which to ourexcitement includedacowwithaveryyoungcalf.Thislittlegemcreatedalot

of‘Oohs’and‘Ahs’inthevehicleandprovidedaverypopulartopicofconversationattheeveningcampfire.We continued to find large herds of giraffe, alongwith locating two of the three females that had beenpreviouslyGPScollaredinthisarea.ThelastcollaredgiraffehadventuredsouthtowardstheHoanibRiver,andwemadeaplantotryandfindherlaterintheweek.

WealsoventuredfurthernorthtotheKhumibRiver,whichwaspartoftheinitialstudystartedintheearly2000s.Oneofthemostexcitingmomentsformeonthistripwaswhenweidentifiedanadultfemalegiraffefromthe‘olddays’,whohadbeenasub-adultthen.Evenmoreinteresting,andimportantforthehistoryofgirafferesearch,wasfindinganadultmalethatIhadfirstseenandidentifiedasanadultmalegiraffein2002.

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Fourteenyearsonmeansthatthisguyisapproximatelyinhisearly20s.Currentlythereisverylimiteddataavailableonhowoldgiraffegetinthewild,soourworkiscontributingtoabetterunderstandingofthisandtheirconservation.

AfterfournightsinPuroswebrokecampandheadedsouthtowardstheHoanibRiver.Alongtheway,anotheramazingsurpriseawaitedus:wehadaveryraresightingofablackrhino.WhileImentionedearlierthatthisregionhasoneofthelargestpopulationsofblackrhinooutsidenationalparks,itisveryraretoactuallyseeone.Itwasremarkabletowatchthisprehistoricgiantmoseyalongoverthisdesolateland.Heclimbeduptothetopofarockyhilltopand,silhouettedbytheclearbluesky,gazeduponusfromhisdesertthrone.

Thisparticulardayendedupbecomingadayofexploration.DuringmyprevioustravelsthroughtheKuneneregion,lhadseenmanylittlenaturaltreasures.Oneofthesewasthelocationofoneofthelargest Welwitschia plants that I had ever seen.Welwitschia isa monotypic gymnosperm genus, comprising solely of thedistinctiveWelwitschiamirabilis.Thishighlyadapteddesertplantiscomprisedofonlytwoleavesthatcontinuetogrowandcurloveritslifetimewitharootsystemthatgoesjustasdeepasitsleavesarelong.Welwitschiaplantsareestimatedtoliveforupto5,000yearsandarecommonlyreferredtoas“livingfossils”.Irecognisedthelittlecanyonwhereitusedtobe,sowedecidedtoseeifitwasstillthere.Andlowandbehold,alittlewaydownthecanyonwefound itupon the rock cliff.Aftera fewphotos,wedecided toexplorethecanyonfurtherasneitherEmmanorIhadcontinuedonthetrackbefore.ItbroughtusbacktotheHoarusibRiverandwe trekked on to see whether we might spot any giraffe orelephant.Thescenerygotevenmorespectacularaswegotcloserto the Skeleton Coast, with high cliffs, sand dunes nearly fourstoriestall,andoneofthemostbeautifulmountainpassesthatIhaveeverseen.Weallnameditthe“HeavenlyPassage!”

Wewereabletogetalmostwithin8-10km(5-6mi)oftheAtlanticOcean,butthenasthehoursofsunlightwerefastdisappearingweturnedback.Wedrovebackupriver,andbackoutontothedesertplain.Asthesunwassettingwefoundagreat littlekopje,engulfedbythedesertwithinaringofmountains,tosetupcamp.Weweretrulyin“noman’sland”withtheheatofthedayquicklycoolingasthesunsetbeyondthemountainhorizon,andthevastdesertbegantoshowoffherstarfilledsky.

ThefollowingdaywereachedtheHoanibRiverwherewespentthenextfourdays.WebeganoursurveyoftheriverbyclimbingtothetopofasmallhilltopridgenearAmspoort.Atthetopofthispeakthespectacularviewallowedagreatvantagepointtosurveyalargeportionoftheriverbedanditssurroundinghabitat.

Onourdriveupriver,weencounteredtwosolitaryelephantbullsandamaternalherdofdesertelephantsincludingtwoyoungcalves.Wealsospottedasmallherdofgiraffeandweagainrecognizedoneofthefemalesfromthe2002fieldwork.

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After setting up camp, we surveyed further upriver forgiraffeandmanagedtofindanothergorgeoussundownerspotatopahill lookingdownovertheriverbedandthesteep surrounding cliffs. Sundowners are a southernAfricantraditionafterall.

Overthenextfewdayswewerehappytoaddafewnewgiraffe to the ID files, see some familiar ones and alsocheckonfourmoreGPScollaredfemales.GPSdatagivesusabetterunderstandingofgiraffemovementsandhowthey use their habitat and all this can be done from acomputeranywhereintheworld,however,itisimportanttocheckonthecollarsregularlyandseethatthegiraffe

aredoingwell.

Duringdrytimesintheriver,wildlifereliesonthepodsofAnatreesforfood.WehadallheardhowelephantwouldshakethetreestogetpodstofalltothegroundandwewereluckyenoughtowitnesssuchanencounteraswewatchedabullelephantshakingahugeAnatreebypressinghistrunkandtusksintoit.Itliterallyrainedpodsalloverhim.Breakfastwasserved.

Itwasanamazingtendaysinthefield,with177individualgiraffesightings(ofwhich64giraffewerenewlyidentified).Thisputs the totalnumberof identifiedgiraffe in theNWata strong261 individuals.Wealsorecorded 23 elephants and saw numerous Hartman’smountain zebra, gemsbok, springbok, baboon, andwarthog. For the avian enthusiasts, we spotted pied crows, yellow-billed hornbills, korhaan’s, Ludwig’sbustard, bee-eaters, hammerkops, snake eagles, lappet-faced vultures, grey louries, red-billed francolins,weavers,LBJs,andflocksofostrich.Wewerealsoluckyenoughfindkudu,steenbok,black-facedimpala,black-backedjackals,andblackrhino.And,wecan’tforgetourarachnidfriendtheLong-SpinneredBarkSpider,thatkeptuscompanyinthePuroscommunitycampsitebushtoilet.WhilewefoundcheetahtracksclosetocampintheHoanibRiverandlotsofevidenceoflioninthearea,wedidn’tseeanyfelinesonthistrip.Morereasontocomeback!

AhugethankstoGCF,Dr.JulianandStephFennessy,forafantastictripandforhavingmebacktoNorthwestNamibia,my“HomeAwayfromHome!”.AbigthankyoutoototheColumbusZooandAquarium,andtheirCMCboard.TheirsupportallowedmetoreturntoNamibiaforthisfieldtripandprovidefinancialsupportforthis amazingprogramme.A special thank you to EmmaHart,theGCFandUniversityCollegeDublinPhDstudent,whocoordinatedthisfieldtripandwasagreathost,guideand friend. Thank you also to all GCF donors for yoursupport.

StaytunedforthenextupdateandpleasecontactGCFformoreinformation:info@giraffeconservation.org

Lastly, thank you to the Ministry of Environment &Tourism,localconservancies,privatedonorsaswellasthefollowing for supporting GCF’s giraffe conservationprogrammeinNWNamibia:

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