After another couple of weeks in the field, we have now managed to complete a third of our transects and move our cameras and sound recorders to new locations. One of the most exciting events of the past week came courtesy of the rain. After leaving camp at sunrise and heading into the forest, the weather took an unexpected turn. About 500 metres from the forests boundary line everything turned dark and all of the insects (that are normally active at night) came back out again. It was at this point we decided to turn back immediately, just as the rain began. Following the trail back to the boundary was almost impossible in the near pitch black, especially on the one day we had both forgotten our torches! Unfortunately, we didn’t get back to camp before getting completely drenched, but it did mean a very early finish that day. When the rain eventually stopped, we managed to dry off and prepare to try again the following day. A parcel that arrived with us from University containing waterproofing spray was much appreciated… now our tents might actually keep some water out! We also received some extra camera traps with our delivery… so the problems we encountered with our camera trapping in the first instance should now all be solved.
Moving camera traps went much smoother than anticipated, and over the course of four (very long) days we managed to collect and reposition all of them in the Northern most section of the Reserve. Our tree climber, Joe, managed to get them placed nice and high so we are hoping for the best for these new locations. Though we have seen only limited signs of primate presence in the South of the park, as we now start to head North we are hopeful that sightings and signs will increase. Over the coming days we are continuing with our transects, before everyone takes a well-deserved break this coming weekend. We will be heading to an Eco lodge to the South of Cape Three Points Reserve, for a few days of sun, sea and a little catch up on data entry (ooops!).
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Authors:Ryan Nolan Archives
May 2018
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