If you are on Facebook, it is no secret that the last two months I have been globetrotting in Africa and Japan. Unexpected opportunities arose that I took advantage of while there is a lull in my trapping permits. My ongoing camera trapping was covered by assistants while I was away and resulted in only one dhole photo. I immensely enjoyed bush camping in game reserves and national parks in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe (Photos Here). It offered a break from all of the hurdles thrown at me during fieldwork and a chance to reconnect with the energy of actually seeing wildlife (including lions and a serval!). In Japan, I was invited (and fully sponsored) by Dr. Hayashi Yoshihiro, a professor at the University of Tokyo (and the mammal curator of their museum) to give a presentation about my dhole research. This took place at the Hyogo Wildlife Management Research Center. I talked with graduate students involved in carnivore work and also learned about bear traps.
In September, I sent in a pre-proposal to the Asia Seed Grant program of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. My proposal was chosen to advance to the next round, so I am currently working on a full proposal. My Fulbright grant also ended this month and I was required to write a final report on the year.
We are working on a new proposal for the Smithsonian IACUC committee and on research permit extensions from Thailand (which translates to never ending forms). What does this mean? No trapping (probably not until February of next year). I am now focusing on the potential disease spillover from domestic dogs’ angle. I have one GPS collar and 3 other collars in transit. In November I will focus on getting these out on roaming dogs. We also plan to start the blood disease analysis at the University lab and revisit villages for a census of the domestic animal populations.
Waiting for Permits (Again)
August was a slow month as we wait for permission from the Animal Care and Use Committee at the Smithsonian to give the green light for further trapping. We did have a couple of lone dhole sightings around the Research Station, but no dholes photographed. Instead, we took a big hit on equipment: Two of my brand new camera traps were stolen! We finally got ourselves elephant proof cases, but they aren't bullet proof! The thief actually shot off the locks, took the cameras, and left behind the steel protective cases still bolted to the trees. We talked to the villagers and explained the purpose of the cameras, but they confirmed the cameras were destroyed. Additionally, one more cage trap was crushed by a family of elephants.
We nearly finished the construction of two long box traps for set up directly on trails and ordered 4 GPS collars for domestic dog tracking. My team conducted 100 interview surveys in Buriram province to the east. I am now busy with data entry for a total of 500 surveys.
I also wrote up a short note for "Small Carnivore Conservation" to document the Large-Spotted Civet photographs we have gotten at Khao Yai National Park and in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary.
We nearly finished the construction of two long box traps for set up directly on trails and ordered 4 GPS collars for domestic dog tracking. My team conducted 100 interview surveys in Buriram province to the east. I am now busy with data entry for a total of 500 surveys.
I also wrote up a short note for "Small Carnivore Conservation" to document the Large-Spotted Civet photographs we have gotten at Khao Yai National Park and in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary.
Interviews
After last month’s excitement, we toned down a bit and focused on interview surveys in July. Next week I will collect the memory cards from camera traps that have been out in the forest for a month, but right now I do not have any new dhole news. We did work with a team from Kasetsart University to interview villagers living near the border of Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary. Spread over three villages, we have now interviewed 84 households regarding domestic dogs and collected 113 blood samples for disease analysis.
I sent another team to provinces in the East to finally complete long-overdue carnivore interview surveys (focusing on dholes, tigers, and clouded leopards). They conducted 300 surveys despite problems such as a blind man wanting to answer a survey, Cambodian language barriers, and a group demanding a whiskey payment for answers!
In August I will organize what we need to analyze the blood samples and possibly open traps if we have a veterinarian living on site. I am slightly ahead of schedule with the blood draws and may even be able to analyze all of the samples by the end of the year (earlier than my original target of next summer).
We are now ready to choose village dogs to monitor their ranging movements. This has been delayed because of lack of funding for GPS collars. I am working with Peter on a budget and hope to have 4 collars ordered by mid-August.
I also need to prepare forms and reports to extend our research permit (which expires in November 2009).
I sent another team to provinces in the East to finally complete long-overdue carnivore interview surveys (focusing on dholes, tigers, and clouded leopards). They conducted 300 surveys despite problems such as a blind man wanting to answer a survey, Cambodian language barriers, and a group demanding a whiskey payment for answers!
In August I will organize what we need to analyze the blood samples and possibly open traps if we have a veterinarian living on site. I am slightly ahead of schedule with the blood draws and may even be able to analyze all of the samples by the end of the year (earlier than my original target of next summer).
We are now ready to choose village dogs to monitor their ranging movements. This has been delayed because of lack of funding for GPS collars. I am working with Peter on a budget and hope to have 4 collars ordered by mid-August.
I also need to prepare forms and reports to extend our research permit (which expires in November 2009).