(Finally) Back on the trail

As those of you who come here via facebook may have heard, Tim and Paul discovered a very strong signal from Okolunu's tag last night as I was writing the blog.
My mother witnessed via skype me receiving the text with the good news! and I tried to contact them via the radio but they appeared out of range. I waited up until they arrived at about 11.30, in order to hear about it and make sure they were back alright. Basically - they had climbed to the top of the Beesting hill, which is the highest point on the reserve and hugs the western border, waited until dark, and then received a signal to the north. The wide angle in which they could hear the signal meant it was strong, and it sometimes wavered as the pangolin moved behind rocks.

I feel like I should make a map of Mundulea so you can get an idea of what Im talking about.

In any case, Okolunu must be somewhere between the hill and the road to the north where we last found it. In the middle of that area is another rocky ridge which could be blocking the signal, so today we drove up and walked to the top but couldnt get a signal.

The tag sends a constant stream of blips which are picked up by a big receiver antennae amidst the white noise. We know Okolunu is alive at least and that his tag is working as we'd spotted him earlier in the month - the other Pangolins we cant be sure about. The tag has a stated range of 2km, but being underground we estimate it to be a few hundred meters, and Bruno thinks from a high altitude that it can be picked up at about 6km.

So from the data we've gathered:
- We think Okolunu is between the bee-sting hill and the road, probably in the area north of the rocky ridge.
- (s)he is definitely further than 500m from the road, and from the ridge.

The plan is to go back to the ridge and the road tonight when (s)he should be above ground and triangulate on her position. We'll climb over the fence into Shilunga's territory if shes there, as the farms are so vast he wont notice and we wont pay his extortionate fees. The best news is that she is still alive, and Shilunga didnt catch her/him after we tipped him off.

A map is coming.