Bwindi Researchers

I am happy to write you another blog that I hope you will enjoy. Maybe you thought I had run away from blogging, but that is not so. I have been busy assisting another research student, David, with his work in the field. Let me tell you about it.

This study will examine the distribution and abundance of the tree Myrianthus holstii in Bwindi. Myrianthus has round yellow fruits that are sweet when ripe and very much liked by the local people, who even plant these trees around their homes. In the forest these trees are sought by elephants and gorillas who feed not only on the fruit but also on the bark and leaves. During my time in the field with the elephant study that I wr0te about before we saw Myrianthus had been recently eaten by elephants on several occassions.

Myrianthus holstii with fruit

Some of our experiences during the Myrianthus study were quite scary. In this study we had to cut and follow straight line transects 2 kilometres long through difficult terrain using a compass. These are areas where gorillas and elephants range. We would often come across fresh trails of unhabituated gorillas and elephants as we worked and were often wondering if we would come face-to-face with them. In the thick vegetation it would be possible to get very close to an animal and not see it.

One day that I will not forget, is when we were out making our survey near the park boundary. Elephants had raided people’s gardens that previous night. The transect by chance happened to fall on the point where elephants had come out of the park. There was fresh dung and disturbed and broken vegetation everywhere. Everyone was nervous, even shaking, but we agreed to continue working. When we reached a point where we did not see fresh signs anymore, we dared to sit down for lunch, eager to eat our mandazis (doughnuts) and roasted groundnuts. We jumped off the ground when we suddenly heard the sound of trumpeting elephants (even though they were at a distance)! All went well that day and we reached our camp safely.

Another encounter happened some time later: we came across fresh signs of elephants and wanted to move a little distance away from it. But there was an adult elephant behind us trying to join the elephants that had passed, and two of us had not seen it. David, the student, called out. With help from the UWA ranger who works with us we were able to remain hidden from the animals and later continued the day’s work.

We have kept up our spirits and  gained good experience which will help us in the future. I hope to share more with you soon dear readers. The elephants and the gorillas are greeting you and I hope to hear your responses.

Christopher