Last week I reported on the death of a hippo at Kasindi Port on the Lake Edward. However there are some hippos that fare better there, like the one known by local fisherman as “Jackson.”
Jackson Jackson is a solitary male who for the 8 last years has made his home in and around Kasindi. From time to time he gets out of the water and walks through the village to go forage for short grasses. He doesn’t attack the people, and thankfully the villagers ignore him too.
Jackson uses the same beach that fisherman use to get their boats in and out of the water. It is really so amazing to see a wild animal live peacefully side by side with humans. If only it was always the case… You can see the lake behind me and Jackson
Even the chickens aren’t afraid of him!
A female hippo was found dead at Kasindi, on the edge of Lake Edward, East from Ishango right on the border with Uganda. We had been told by locals and the local army that it had died of natural causes.
However, when we went to investigate, we discovered that the hippo had clearly been shot- you can see the one of the bullet injuries in the picture below.
We think that someone shot the hippo and reported it, hoping that we would say that it would be OK to carve up the hippo for meat. However, the inspector stood firm and did not allow anyone to eat the hippo. It may seem like a waste of food in a country where many people are malnourished, but we felt that it would send the wrong message if we allowed the hippo to be eaten.
While on patrol, we have seen many signs that elephants are more and more active in the Ishango area. They strip off leaves and bark from trees, break off branches, and uproot shrubs and small trees. This damage may seem severe, but it is all part of the natural system in which the elephants have a role.
We also come across herds of elephants when we are on our boat on the Semliki River. The herd in these photos was crossing the river, clearly enjoying the bath and drinking the cool water. As you can see, the hippos and elephants do not seem to bother each other!
Hippos live a double life: during the daytime they live in the water, but at night they go on land to graze. So in fact when we see them during the day, their main preoccupation (besides squabbling) is digestion! I have been pleased to notice that most of the female hippos near the Ishango Station have calved recently. There are many baby hippos, including a pair of twins, which is very rare. Lake Edward used to have the highest concentration of hippos in the world, and hopefully this is a good sign that the population is recovering. Lets hope for the best… Here is a video of them in action:
I received a report from an inspector that soldiers stationed at Kasindi, on the western shore of Lake Edward, were involved in illegal activities. Allegedly they were burning charcoal from trees cut from within the park. I contacted the local administration representative and the regional captain of the army, and together we went to Kasindi to see for ourselves. Immediately we discovered several soldiers with charcoal ovens burning near their barracks. Thanks to the presence of the captain and the local representative, we were able to force the soldiers to destroy the ovens. I will be keeping a close eye to make sure they don’t start doing it again…
The other evening we heard lions roaring not far from our station. Ishango has become suitable to carnivores now that animals such as antelope and buffalos have come back to the area.
The day after we heard the lions, we went on patrol and found the remains of a Ugandan Kob, which is the antelope species found here. It was clear that it had become the dinner of the lions we had heard the night before…
This is Godefroid. I have been pleased to notice that buffalos are back in large numbers in Ishango. There is a herd of 35-40 that hangs around the Ishango airstrip, and last week while I was on my motorbike I encountered a herd of more than 100!
Buffalos are what I call a cosmopolitan species because they are not restricted to one habitat, alternating between woodland, grassland, etc. Ishango has an immense potential for these grazers, with water from both Lake Edward and the Semliki River, as well as the availability of evergreen pasture.
Thankfully, buffalos are aggressive and well-known for attacking and killing hunters, so I expect poachers will stay clear from them! We will of course continue to patrol.
On Patrol
This is Godefroid. As you may have heard, I am now in charge of the Ishango Station, where I hope to continue Atamato’s great work at this important site. I will of course keep you updated.
The View On the evening of my second day in Ishango, a group of 5 elephants came within 100 meters of the station. It felt like they had come to welcome me to this beautiful place. It was great to see them walking majestically and assured of themselves.
I wondered if these elephants had survived the war, or if they had come over from across the border in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Perhaps they had fled there and have come back now that peace has returned to the north of Virunga National Park? In any case, I was very happy to meet with my new neighbors! My New Home
Hello every one,I have a great pleasure to introduce the O.A.N monitoring team to you so that you know them. These people must make a long walk in the thick mountainous equatorial forest of Ruwenzori, climbing up steep slopes through thick greenish forest ever vigilant, hoping for a glimpse,at a very least of the the chimps. The hike is strenuous, so frequent stops are needed to catch one’s breath . But I do appreciate the great job these people are doing and go through every day.
One of the aspects of the environment on which the monitoring team carry out their daily activities The first one to introduce will be Mr Philemon,he is within the bush tracking chimps in the mountainous area tracking the chimps ,as we were not likely to meet them , as usually as far as they still wild. He is showing me one of the fruits on which the great apes were foraging on. Mr Philemon and his team are used to meet these great apes during his daily routine activities, the problem is he does not have any camera, otherwise he could be providing all of you with a lot of pictures of the great apes.
Such good initiatives of having local people involved in conservation will ultimately lead to the effective conservation of one of the world’s most incredible habitat.
Me with all the monitoring team tracking chimps,they are used to the mountainous zone and have got high speed,they do fascinate me by their speed at which they climb the sloping area but unfortunately we saw another more indirect evidence testifying the presence of the great ape in the area, the fresh chimp’s dung as shown below on the picture:
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