Now that was a marathon day of flying.
I was up early to see the misty dawn from on high. It was stunning out there as the mist lay low over the bushveld. But it didn’t last as the African sun soon toasted it.
I was up in search of Sable to be collared for a research project. The Sable antelope are managing to keep their own on Malilangwe but their numbers just aren’t increasing and there seems to be a relatively high mortality in calves. This is suspected to be caused by a high tick load. The research is aimed to find out what this is all about and to find ways to assist calf survival in those early months.
Heading south to the first area we would be working in, I picked up the wild dogs signal again near the confluence of the Chiredzi and Runde Rivers. Still west of the river!
Having located them I put the receiver on for the leopard’s transmitter just out of pure chance that he might still be around. Instantly I got a signal but was convinced it was still the dog signal. Careful examination of the receiver confirmed it was Tanga, the leopard. But it was a back signal. So all the way back north I went and just as I flew over him his transmitter packed in. Very weird.
Alan was sent in on the ground and found the dude. He also discovered the transmitter had shifted frequency. This sometimes happens when the battery is going flat. Anyway the good news is Tanga is still around and well.
I went on to find the herd of sable in the south. The helicopter was called in and a cow was darted and fitted with a radio collar.
One down, 3 to go. Another herd was located and a second cow fitted with a collar.
Then the long hall of another 3 hours flying and not a sign of the herd around Manyoka.
The sun was now setting and I was desperate to get my feet on the ground having been windswept and in the sky for 6hours today. But I still wanted to get a final bead on the dogs. There was no change there, still west of the river.
I landed long after sunset with just enough light to be safely on the ground.
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