We are both avid readers of National Geographic, we linger over the photographs and read nearly every word of each issue; we even follow some of our favorite photographers on Instagram. We have long admired the scientists whose research in the field leads to fascinating discoveries, and we envy them their exciting profession and unconventional lifestyle.
Working alongside the Earthwatch scientists, however, it quickly became clear that field science is often quite tedious. All those fascinating discoveries are the result of painstaking hours spent collecting data; sometimes, hours spent with nothing to show for your efforts simply becomes the animals you are studying didn’t show up. It requires patience, a sense of humor, resourcefulness and a willingness to improvise: there were several times we put duct tape to good use, whether repositioning a camera trap on a tree limb, or an on-the-spot repair for a piece of equipment. It requires a tolerance for heat and dust: by the second day, we had accepted that dirt under our fingernails would be a constant, no matter how often we washed our hands. It requires a certain acceptance for spiders and other critters, and poo: there’s a lot of dung involved in ecology research. We gaped at the casualness with which they all (rangers, wardens, trackers, scientists) pick up dung, break it apart to inspect its contents, sniff it, in some cases even taste it – let alone collect samples of it. Above all, there is an all-consuming commitment to the data: collection, quantities, input, quality, analysis. And this requires time and dedication.
But all of the mundane had purpose in the context of the big picture mission. The next morning, we woke up ready to get to work.
The scientific aims defined for the project are to determine:
- The impact of dehorning on rhino behaviour and ecology
- How rhinos support biodiversity and ecosystems focusing on bird and invertebrate communities
- Which techniques aid in removing and deterring rhinos from poaching hotspots
As such, there were several core tasks that the Earthwatch team contributed to:
Vigilance Behavior Studies
The majority of our time was spent monitoring “vigilance behavior” of the Mankwe rhinos (all dehorned, except for the babies), and horned rhinos in Pilansburg National Park as a control group. Vigilance behavior is defined by the animal’s current state: activity, head position and movement, ear position, and if a calf is present, its position relative to the mother. Essentially, we would drive around the game reserve or park until we came upon a rhino, and then begin recording data. We would ID each animal in the group (identified by a unique notching pattern in their ears – a system that came so easily to the scientists, but remains mysterious to both of us still), and note spatial data on their location, including GPS coordinates, distance from observers, angle, weather, wind, habitat. Each volunteer would pick a rhino to monitor, and every 2 minutes we’d call out the animal’s behavior for the designated scribe to record: “Adult Female #1 is foraging, head low, head still, ears relaxed.” Etc., etc., etc. We would carry on until the animals moved out of visibility, and then drive until we found the next grouping. This data will be combined with that collected by other teams and analyzed to determined if dehorned animals are noticeably more vigilant, and compensating in any way for their lack of horns.
The video below is of rhinos we observed in Pilansberg. The voice speaking is Chad calling out data for the calf he was monitoring.
Transect Walks
A favorite activity amongst all the volunteers, this involved bush walks in the Mankwe reserve. We would line up evenly spaced and walk in tandem through a particular section of the reserve looking for and recording signs of rhinos – primarily middens, and more rarely, rubbing posts. A midden is essentially a repeat-use communal dung pile – dominant males will mark their territory by kicking and scraping the pile, and then tracking his scent. Our record midden was a whopping 47 dung piles big! A rubbing post is a rock, tree, stump, etc. that rhinos use repeatedly to rub and shape their horns, or just for a good belly scratch. Old rubbing posts can develop a beautiful polish and patina over time – they make good places to set-up camera traps. On our last transect walk, Chad discovered a rubbing rock previously unknown to Mankwe! Data collected from these walks will contribute to knowledge about rhino preferences for habitat features, as well as research about how they impact the environment. Rhinos are known as “engineers of ecosystems”; understanding how the loss of the species would impact ecosystems will help quantify their functional role and provide evidence of their inherent value in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
Deterrent Studies
Conservationists and game reserve managers are highly motivated to understand what techniques may deter rhinos from dangerous territory, and in as natural a way possible, redirect them towards safer habitat. For example at Mankwe, the so-called “Naughty Six”, a group of adolescent and young adult rhinos, earned their name because of their propensity for hanging out along the fence line, an area that exposes them to potential poachers.
We experimented with two deterrent techniques: chili powder and bees. Both have had successful results in effectively preventing elephants from wandering (and thus trampling) community farmers’ fields, but haven’t been applied to rhinos. For the chili powder, we laid a chili-soaked rope along the path of areas where the rhinos are known to frequent, such as rubbing posts or pans (i.e. watering holes), and then set-up video camera traps. A control test of ropes soaked in a mild vegetable oil were also laid. A few days later, we reviewed all the captured video. For the bees, we incorporated sound clips into the vigilance behavior data collection, playing recordings of bees and documenting the animals response, with a control recording of Cape turtle dove calls (a constant sound in the bush). While we did see some interesting behavior in both studies, these trials are early and more data needs to be collected to make any sort of statement on effectiveness.
A Forever of Nows 