Camp itself is absolutely stunning. When I first arrived, I was quite nervous to wander down to the river on the edge of camp where the wild animals like to hang out, but I’ve learnt how to act around them now (although often there are hippos in which case the answer is just don't go down there!) and it’s just beautiful down there. The first time I went down there alone, there was an elephant across the river from me, and a herd of zebra and wildebeest further up. Hippos were lounging in the water (there has since been a baby born here and it is SO cute!) and a croc was basking on the other bank. Above all that the fish eagles were soaring back and forth, filling the air with their weirdly seagull-like cries that always remind me of being near the beach at home. Just when I thought it couldn’t get more perfect, a pied kingfisher flew out from a nearby bush and hovered over the water before diving at a fish. It was honestly one of the most magical moments of my life, and I count myself incredibly lucky to have been able to experience that at all, let alone for it to be on my doorstep. The zebras are currently migrating, and they add so much to the area. We see literally thousands of them every time we go into the park, and their barks (though I object to calling their noises that as it doesn’t describe it properly at all!) are a near constant addition to the background noise of the camp.
So, time to get into a brief overview of what I’m doing out here. As a reminder to those of you who don’t know me, I’m a PhD student at the University of York in the UK, studying the social behaviour of male African savanna elephants. Specifically, I am investigating whether the genetic relatedness between two males can predict their association rate, and if the age of an individual affects their social position, who they interact with, and why this might be the case. As is always the case, the length of field time I have is not enough, but if I had longer, I would no doubt be more ambitious about my goals and sample size targets and declare it to still be not enough time. However, I think most behavioural ecologists will agree that three months is not long for collecting meaningful data, so I’ve just got to do my best!
Some are cooperative, others show me their butts and walk away....
There are two parts to my current research, on top of the desk studies and data analyses that I’ve been doing so far. The first, and much less glamorous (and currently also much less exciting part, though that should pick up when I get to the analysis section) part, is a genetic study to compare the relatedness of males to one another within the same group to that of males in different groups. Male groups are very fluid, so what constitutes a "group” is simply the combination of individuals currently associating with one another at the time we see them. To do this, we need DNA samples from at least two elephants in the same group, that we can sequence to see how similar they are to one another at certain points in the genome which are highly variable between individuals. We can use this to assess the probability that two males are half-brothers, father and son, cousins, some other more distant relation, or unrelated to one another. The delightful way to collect these DNA samples, is to scrape the outside of an elephant poop… The DNA content is highest on the surface, where the faecal matter was previously in contact with the lining of the elephant’s digestive system, so I peel away that layer of mucous and residue, leaving the inside of the poo to rot away in nature as normal. This is not QUITE as disgusting as you may be imagining, as elephants have very inefficient digestive systems (despite the massive length of their digestive tract!) and so only digest about 40% of what they eat. The poo is therefore mostly comprised of undigested grass and sticks, making it much cleaner and less smelly than if I was doing this on most other animals. Having said that, I do still wear gloves, and not just to avoid cross-contaminating the samples… Currently, this is as far as I’ve got, having collected only 30 samples so far. The exciting part will come when I get the samples back to the UK and can sequence them. For now, it’s all about the poop!
The more exciting part of my current research is our investigation into the role of old bulls in the population as a source of information for younger, more inexperienced males. For this I am attempting something which, so far as I can find, has never been previously tried: deliberately scaring groups of males to see how the males of various ages (both their true ages and relative to the other group members) respond to the stimulus, and more importantly if this response relies on other members of the group. It’s been so interesting to watch their reactions, and the extreme variation between them. It’s also quite exciting just sitting there filming and hoping they if they do flee from the speaker, it’s not straight at the car… so far none have, and the elephants have also very politely refrained from playing with my speaker which is definitely a welcome relief! Long may it last please boys!
Without analysing any of my data, I can’t yet give you an idea of what the results might be, so you’ll have to hang tight and wait and see what I find. For now, I can just describe my days in the National Park. Elephants for Africa are also doing their own research in the park at the same time, so I’m sharing a vehicle with their main researcher, whose knowledge of the elephants and their behaviour within this park is just fantastic. He can answer nigh on every question I ask him, no matter how random (and trust me, I’ve got some random ones!). Quite simply, we drive around the park looking for elephants, and when we find a group, I start to film them to see first their reaction to the vehicle’s approach, and then, if they stick around long enough for me to get set up, their response to the playback. If one of them poops while we’re nearby, I will then wait for up to an hour to see if another will, and if they do (and assuming they then move out of the way, which is quite a significant assumption!) I’ll collect both samples. Elephants for Africa are looking for all elephants, but I’m just focussed on the groups, so I get to spend some time just enjoying sitting and watching them when with individuals, as well as when waiting for them to defecate. It’s difficult work, as you have to be constantly on the lookout for elephants (though I’m not sure I have yet spotted more than one group in a day before our researcher has already spotted it – his eyes are incredible!) and then focus very hard when on a sighting. The temperature doesn’t help: midday temperatures have been 39-41 °C all week and there’s no respite from it when sat in the vehicle. At the same time though, it’s also incredibly relaxing and enjoyable. Elephants live their life at such a gentle pace (most of the time…) that you can’t help but feel calm around them when watching them just foraging and shading. At this time of year, they can just stand in the shade for hours, and just watch the world go by – something I’ve never been good at!
My favourite bird (and I do mean this particular individual, not just his species!) come to help me test my speakers for the experiments. This guy (we call him Jack.... or Corn Cob... or Flying Banana...) likes to follow us around camp sometimes, and is getting braver and braver about coming into our eating area for crumbs we've dropped. This day, he thought flying towards the scary noises to investigate was the smartest solution...!
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