Finally Some Good Tiger News- Part 2

So, last week it was finally released that Chester Zoo have some new arrivals in the form of 3 rare sumatran tiger cubs which were born the weekend before I started my placement at the Zoo on the 2nd Jan!

Now the cubs are already 3 weeks old and although they are not out and about yet, I expect they will want to be exploring a little more in the next month or so! So until I am able to capture some pictures of them once they are out of their den, here is the video of the cubs just after they were born released by the zoo.

Enjoy!

Love

Finally Some Good Tiger News- Part 1

So, in the past week there appears to have been some great tiger news starting with the fact that in the recent tiger census completed in India, it is believed that the populations of tigers has increased by nearly 30% in the past 4 years which is an amazing.

Whaling Ban!

Finally Japans 'experimental' whale hunting has  been banned!! After nearly 4 years since the case was first brought to light, the International Court of Justice ruled that the Japanese government must halt the whaling programme that they claim is for research in the Antarctic.

The ruling is binding and the Japanese are apparently feeling like Australia are trying to impose their cultural normality on the country and still argue that they have done nothing wrong.
In 1986 Japan signed up to the moratorium on whaling but continued  to whale in both the north and south Pacific claiming that they were undergoing scientific research. The whales being hunted are found in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, a 50 million square km area round the Antarctic which is against commercial whaling but does allow scientific research. The scientific output from the whaling in Japan has been minimal though, and many people feel like the government has been using the idea of research for illegal hunting. This became even clearer to some, as the slaughtered whales meat has been found to be commercially sold in Japan.

This ban is great news for whale conservation and will mean that species such as the Minke whales will be able to continue to grow in numbers and thrive in the ocean, but it doesn't ban whaling in North Pacific, so the Japanese can still sadly use the same loophole. If they are also able to find a better research proposal they maybe allowed back into the Southern Oceans eventually, but for now, and the near future, at least ocean giants are safer than they have been in a long time.

To read more ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26818863
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/31/does-japans-research-whaling-help-conserve-whales

The Galapagos Islands- Day Seven & Eight

Santa Cruz and back to Ecuador
Heading back to Ecuador meant that we had to be up at 6 am but first we went looking for pacific green sea turtles at Black Turtle Cove. It was such a magical place and so unbelievably tranquil. The turtles sleep in the red mangroves at night and leave in the morning so we got to see lots of turtles. They are so beautiful. We also got to see some Rays and blue Boobies! After returning to the boat we had to finish packing. The flight left at 10.45 back to Ecuador. The flight took 3 and a half hour as had to stop on the way before returning the Hilton. Even though I was no longer on a boat I was still rocking for another 2 days which was very bizarre. Our last night was quite relaxed, after a drink at the bar we went for a buffet dinner.

The Last Day
Banks in Equador seem to be difficult to extract money out. Instead of going to the 0'0'' point on the equator we wandered all around the markets and down little streets to the banking district where we had coffee at a lovely cafe in the sun before returning to the hotel and then leaving for the airport.

The trip truly was magical and I would love to go back some time in the future preferably when I have a diving certificate, as although the birds are beautiful, the marine life is so diverse that not getting to see it all again would be a shame!

Namibia - Day Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen

Solitaire
It took an hour and a half to get to Solitaire from Neuras and it was a beautiful resort with the sweetest dogs around especially the two puppies called Socks and Bear and then a really fat terrier called Jackie who's belly practically drags along the floor! Then there was the huge ridgeback called Butch and a really ugly bull dog called Spike. All of them were crazy too.
For enrichment we had made an elephant and a dinosaur and after placing meat in them we went into the massive enclosure. The two boys called Teddy and Illa met us and they were given the dinosaur. Teddy managed to get his head stuck in a box due to not being the brightest of cats but it did give an incredible comedy moment when he stuck his head up with the box on it. After feeding them we went and found Laura the mother and Rusty her daughter and they were given the elephant. They seemed to struggle to find all the meat but at least they didn't seam to get their heads stuck in the box.
Next we tracked Sparticus then Pepper using the Radio Tracker which was good fun listening to the beeps and learning how they work. After finding and feeding them huge chunks on meat we headed back to Solitaire where we had lunch before heading to the actual town of Solitaire homed to an amazing bakery called Moose McGregors Desert Bakery which apple pie has become famous due to Ewan McGregor talking about how its the best he ever had in his program which he biked through Africa. I do have to say the apple pie is amazing but then so are their chocolate chip muffins as well! Solitaire is such a quaint little town with really just a petrol service station and the bakery but all makes a very quaint and quirky stop when travelling.
After travelling back to Neuras we went for a lovely sun downer and watched the lion king. At 8pm we went on a short night drive where were got to see a very elusive African Wild Cat, Kudu, Jackels, Hares, Zebra and Steembok so was quite successful even if I was falling asleep due to being so tired!

The first group leave Neuras :(
Whilst everyone else was waiting to head back to the animal sancuary Kathryn, Alice and I went with Matt to do some Leopard footprinting. The idea of footprinting started with trying to identify Rhino by their footprints as the collars that they wore seemed to have an effect on their mating success. Since then the company are trying to come up with algarithms for cheetahs and leopards so that each individual cat can be identified by their paw print and for unidentified animals it will let you know  things like whether the animal is male/ female, the weight and the age of the animal as well. When we got near the sight which was where the footprints were we discovered that the leopard that had been in the area was right where we were trying to go and so we had to come back instead. We did get to use the radio signal tracker though which was cool and to here the beep out in the wild does give you a bigger surge of adrenaline than you are expecting! On the way back we spotted a Crested Eagle, I never knew that they were that big until I saw one in the sky. They are enormous!! 
he rest of the morning was spent relaxing and going through Camera trap pictures until the new group arrived.

At lunch we heard some loud grunting noise which was very close. We thought it was just cattle until Kate came over and told us that she thought it was the male leopard that stays close to the farm that they have been trying to collar and it was probably only 50-100m away!!
After lunch we all headed out in search of the leopard that we had been close to in the morning. We tracked her to the top of a hill but by the time we reached the top she had already disappeared into a river bed so we didn't see her which was a shame especially as we were so close in the morning. 
We had a braie again for dinner but I concluded that I prefer Springbok meat to Kudu as its not as tough.

Camera Traps

So on Sunday we did more camera trap work visiting 5 sites. The first 2 we could drive to, one was a water site and another dry. The 3rd was a natural water site which we watched 1.5km to get to. There were signs of leopards there and a tree which Matt things the leopard may use as a hide out. He also explained about Ostrich's getting stuck in the fence and dying from the heat or being killed. The 4th site was a digging site where animals find their own water. On the way we saw really fresh hyena track but they unfortunately didnt go past the camera.
After lunch we went on a game drive but we didnt really see anything var Kudu and Springbok but we did see some ground squirrels which are cute.

The Apple pie

leopard tracking

Hyena Track

Leopard Footprinting

Namibia - Day Ten, Eleven & Twelve

Sossusvlei- The Dunes
We awoke at 4.30 to head to the famous red sand dunes of Namibia. After an hour of travelling we had entered the national park which the dunes are in and we saw a wide variety of animals including oryx and jackels! We had to drive another 45 minutes to reach the Sossasvlei where only 4x4s could drive to and we then decided to walk one of the biggest climbable dunes in the world called Big Daddy that stands at just under 300m tall. The walk destroyed my calves due to having to push your legs into the sand and trying to walk on your toes not balls of the feet and some bits were so steep that you had to scramble on all fours. It took just under an hour to reach the top but only 5 minutes or so to reach the bottom due to the fact that you run down at a very fast speed. The views from the top were just truely breathtaking. You could see for so miles and the fact that there was no houses, cars or roads in the view just made me realise how special our landscape really is and that without all the things we have filled it with its more beautiful than you could imagine!

After running down the dunes we entered Namibia's dead trees which was very eary. The trees are set in natural clay which has dried out and so the trees have died but still remain perfectly in tact in the ground. The trees are a national treasure of Namibia and are definitely beautiful. You are not aloud to climb on the trees but no one said you couldn't handstand against them. After the dunes we went and ate at an all you can eat buffet which I definitely ate to much of as on the way home I didn't feel to good. The dunes are a truly remarkable experience that i will remember forever, even if the sand was giving my face an exfoliation when we were at the top it was a once in a life time experience. Not many people can say that they have climbed one of the biggest sand dunes in the world now can they?

Eco Challange
The eco challange is a 12 km walk through the Honey Canyon where you have to find and identify different feaces, footprints, trees and animals. My group didnt have any luck when it came to spotting animals as we only saw 4 female kudu, a lizard and 2 birds which was horrifically poor but we did get to see lots of poo and prints from animals such as spotted hyena, cheetahs, leopards, springbok, zebra, jackel, kudu, steembok and clipspringer. We practically followed an entire route of a hyena which had HUGE front legs. By the end my legs were certainly achy and we had been out for over 5 hours! Before we left we visited the grave of a bushman who had fallen to his death from the wall of the canyon as many bushmen risk their lives to collect honey from the crevices in the walls. We each placed a rock to show respect.
I managed to finish my second book of the trip called 'Hush Hush' which is the sequel to Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick and then we started on the cheetah enrichment that we took to Solitaire for the cheetahs to play with and find the meat in them.

Bushmans Grave

Hyena Footprint

Camera Traps
First thing we went through lots of photos from 7th June and recorded all the different animal sightings that had taken place in the 4 days that the camera had been up for. After we had finished that we headed out with Matt to change all the memory cards in the cameras. We visited 5 sites, 3 were dry sites that we had to walk about 1km to each. The first sight was really interesting as it had a leopard marking site on a strangling Fig Tree. After the 6km walk (I never knew I would do so much of this walking lark) we visited the 2 watering holes where the other 2 camera sites were. On the way back we stopped at the site where they had put a cage in the hope of capturing and collaring a leopard. We then finished of creating our elephant for the cheetah enrichment which was great fun!

Here is a video of me running down Big Daddy the Sand dune. IT WAS SO FUN!!!!!!

Namibia - Day Seven, Eight & Nine

Neuras
So we all got on the bus at  7.30, Harriet and Mowenna left to go on Safari. The bus drive to get there was about 4.5 hours with a break on the way.

We finally arrived at about 13.00 and it was so beautiful! The courtyard is pretty with green grass, flower beds and a place where they cook the braai. After lunch we got to relax which felt very surreal as we hadn't ever had free time in the day at N/a'an ku se! At 16.30 we went on a sundown drive where we went to the top of a hill and all sat with a cider in hand watching the sun set. It was really beautful. We then returned to a platter of cheese and biscuits whilst we waited for our Braai to cook. Everyone sat chatting and getting to know each other. At dinner I got to experience different types of of food such as springbok steaks. The food in Africa may be very different but its so tasty that you really cant complain at all. Not having phone signal is also slightly liberating in many ways as you really dont have to think about anything bar the moment you are in.

Neuras - Day Two
After having a full nights sleep without feeling cold or waking up due to the sounds of peacocks i felt amazing. After breakfast we were split into two groups. My group did a trail which meant that we learnt how to work the GPS as well. This walk was about 3km. After that we got shown how to work a camera trap for the first time and then sent out to go and change the memory card in a camera by a watering hole. We biked to the watering hole though which was highly entertaining due to it being so hilly and so my legs were dead by the end of the 6 km ride.
After returning we went through all the pictures that the memory card we had collected had on which was mainly Kudu, springbok and then there were a few Zebra and some baboons.
Once the other group returned we went on a game drive where we saw lots of Ostriches and Kudu, Matt managed to get lost and so the route took another hour. The day was enjoyable to say the least and ending it with a hot shower made it all so much better!

Neuras -Day Three

On the Monday we were with Matt who is completing his masters out in Namibia monitoring the wildlife present in Neuras along with trying to use 2 camera traps positioned opposite each other to be able to photograph both sides of cheetahs, leopards and hyenas as this will enable identification of the animals even if only one side of the animal is photographed again. He had divided the park up into two halves so had 5 sites with 2 cameras at each time and so we were out looking for possible new sites that were in the half where the study had yet to be conducted. We walked about 10km through the canons in search of sites. The first sight we went to was a real possibility but after we reached the second site it was decided that the pathway was to narrow to be able to place two cameras along with the other problem that there was far to much vegetation so that you would never be able to gain a clear image of the animal even if it did walk past one camera clearly and so it was no use. During the walk we learnt how to identify leopard prints and the difference between leopard, hyena and cheetahs due to how big the pad is, the distribution of their toes around the pad and whether they have large/little indents into the pad.

After lunch we went on another game drive, this time we saw 60 springbok, kudu, wandering baboons, zebra and ostriches.
I finally managed to finish my first book of the holiday, in which i  will write a review for another time called 'The Thread' by Victoria Hislop which was very beautifully written.

The monday was a very odd day as although everyone seems to love their jobs I cant help but notice the negativity of all the Zoology researchers I had met since going on the trip as they all seems to say just how hard it really is for anyone that wants to go into animal conservation work.
Its such a sad state of affairs that you now have to pay someone else to give you a job and its so old fashioned. No one should have to pay £3000 just to go and work, there needs to be many more places that have people pay their board by working, to me the system is so floored and means that any one who wants to work with animals will constantly have an uphill battle with getting to do what they want to not even be paid but not have to be paid for. Its such an angry situation to be in to know that you may never be paid to do what you want but in my mind someone is gonna have to try very hard to stop me from getting to do what I want.