Once a year, Liwonde National Park organizes a game count to determine how
many animals are in the park. Each year,
Peace Corps Volunteers spend a weekend or two helping with this task. They are teamed up with a ranger who can
identify the animals much better than we can (Okay, I know what an elephant
is...but some of those deer-like animals look very similar)
The Water Hole count is conducted for 72 straight hours at the three major
water holes in the Rhino Reserve. Each
team hides beside the water in three hours shifts and waits for the animals to
come to the hole to drink. Since the
animals must drink at least once in 72 hours, all animals should be accounted
for. It was an exhausting weekend, but amazing to see so many animals up-close! One afternoon we watched 20+ elephants bathe all afternoon. We also saw buckbuck, impala, eland, zebras, hippos and lots of warthogs (my favorite!)
Bathing...all day long!
Elephants fighting...or loving each other...
Elephant up-close and personal
Checkin' out those impala with the binocs...
Christian, our ranger Hardwork and me riding back from our last water hole count
The Transect Walk/Hide is completed during the early morning hours and involves walking or hiding a few kilometers across the park and counting the animals you see. This is tricky, as we have a scent and we’re pretty loud when we walk, so most times you only watch the animals run off. You have to be a fast counter. And if you walk with your best friends, Ellie and Mary, then you'll probably be extremely chatty and the rangers will have to tell you several times to pipe down 'cause you're scaring all the wildlife (including a porcupine which will hop away in the most hilarious manner). And if you're really lucky, like Christian and Rob, you'll stumble upon a baby buschbuck that will jump into your arms. Yes, this happened.
I didn't shoot any animals, just posing with the M-16 - first time I've ever held a gun, by the way.
I was nervous I'd shoot my eye out.
Walking with some lovely ladies...
Christian with a baby bushbuck - 2 days old!
Check out more photos in my facebook photo album!
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