on my own part 2

1 October

Martin arrived after dark with his kids and I helped him unload their luggage. He had found an injured rabbit on the road and taken it with him. There was blood but we couldn’t see from where. We put it on the ground and it seemed unable to walk, its legs flopping on the floor. It could serve a purpose as vulture food, and putting it out of its misery also seemed humane. But it was unwilling to let us kill him, and speculating about rabies caused us to leave it out for the night.

This morning I woke up at sunrise and went out. Unsurprisingly it was gone. There were drag marks showing it had been carried along the floor before being lifted up and into the grasses. The accompanying tracks were that of a Brown Hyena. Distinguishable from those of a spotted hyena by the smaller size of the hind paws relative to the front.

We fed the vultures that needed feeding, recording the precise weights of meat, and dumped the rest at the ‘restaurant’. We were expecting guests at 10, and they arrived one minute early. A young Belgian couple who were in a car almost identical to the one I had travelled in with the same tent. I watched Martin explain and give the tour, learning a lot myself, but surprisingly found I was able to supplement with a lot of general ecological knowledge of my own – including some stuff I had learn during the past month. For example, did you know that the decline of hyenas has affected vulture populations? When a hyena eats a carcass it will also eat the bones, leaving behind tiny splints. These are important sources of calcium for the vultures, who’s eggs are too soft otherwise.

We then went to the hide at the restaurant. Birds were circling, and we watched as they gradually over the course of the morning descended, resting on trees, before swarming the carcass and squabbling. There white-backed vultures, impressive lappet-faced vulture and even tawny eagles, but unfortunately none of the critically endangered cape griffon vulture showed up. I recorded the entire scene on the forms provided. At one point there were 76 white back vultures alone.

They left a big donation, and Martin seemed happy.

In the afternoon I had a short siesta, before setting off to climb the hill on the property.  I thought I prepared well: cameras, binoculars, first aid kit, hat, apple, water, pen knife. Unfortunately after ascending 100m, and before reaching the final cliff I was met by an impenetrable wall of acacias. I should have worn long trousers as my legs were cut all over, and brought my cutters. After spending a few moments enjoying my apple in defeat and gazing down at my temporary home, I returned down.

After making tea I made dinner. Too much. But very nicely even though I do say so myself. Though to cook here is a bitch, especially for a beginner like myself. The pans are super sticky, there is a very limited assortment of cooking cutlery (no spatulas!), no sieves, no weighing stuff. I think I did a good job making this rice with minced meat and sauce.

A few times I had to go to Martin to borrow some stuff, and once because my lights stopped working (he simply touched the outside of the box and they came on). He also popped in once to see how I was doing and to discuss tomorrow. Because it is Sunday I can do things at a more relaxed pace – Nonsense! There is nothing busy nor stressful about the current pace, nor do I place a religious significance on the day. Still he is very nice and laughs at all my jokes.

Monday I wont be going into town because one person has to stay here in case guests arrive. Ive made a shopping list and Martin agreed to let me charge my laptop on his generator. That avoids another day in the urban sphere.