Nairobi, Necropsy and Malaria

A lot has happened since I last blogged! Basically, I went to Nairobi, came back and ran camp by myself for a week while Lily was gone, performed a necropsy on one of our hyenas and got malaria!

I got back from Nairobi a few weeks ago. Nairobi is nice because you get a hot shower, you get cold drinks and you get frozen yogurt. The first few days I was ecstatic with food I hadn't had in a few months and cold things! I totally binged on dark chocolate, pretzels (the only brand I have found is a German brand called “Saltlettes”) and chilled white wine. We take Nairobi trips every few months to re-stock camp. We go grocery shopping, we get more liquid nitrogen and we fix our bush vehicles, among other camp errands. Driving in Nairobi was pretty wild, not only did we have to remember to stay on the left side of the road but many Nairobi drivers don't really follow driving laws like they would in the states. You have to be aggressive to get anywhere, if you don't just start pulling onto a road, nobody will ever let you in. The Nairobi town car that we were driving is an old Land Rover that is pretty clunky and doesn't have any power steering. The lack of power steering certainly made parking interesting. It was like a little arm workout every time you needed to go to the store. Nairobi was nice but I was ready to get back to the bush. I missed the quiet and all my animal friends. I have quite a story about how our drive back from Nairobi went but I think that will have to be its own blog post.

The only pretzels I can find in Kenya! 

When I returned from Nairobi I was the only hyena researcher in camp. The Mara River researchers from Yale were around and Phillomon and Jorgi were here to keep camp running smoothly. It is double the work to be in camp alone though, instead of splitting up camp chores you do them all yourself and instead of just transcribing (taking notes on the hyenas) once a day, you have to drive and transcribe twice a day. I think the hardest part was not having four arms. At night it was very difficult to speak into my DVR, hold up a light and use my binoculars/camera all at the same time. My first few sessions out alone I fumbled a little with how to do everything with only two hands but overall I think it went pretty well. I was identifying the hyenas better and I think doing a good job catching all their behaviors.

I was worried one morning when I couldn't ID this hyena, turns out this is TREX a hyena we haven't seen since April!

On the second day I was in camp alone I got a call from Chris (one of the river researchers) that they had found a hyena dead in the road. I raced to the area they found him with Phillomon, got a location and took pictures then returned to camp with the hyena. When a hyena dies, we try to do a full necropsy on the hyena, find cause of death, take tissue samples and prepare their skull for a museum. This is the first hyena that has died since I have been here so I had never helped out with a necropsy before. After many phone calls to other researchers making sure I was doing everything correctly and reading the manual a few times, we got to work. It was a little gruesome to dissect a hyena and really sad that this was a hyena that I knew and that I had seen hanging out a few nights before. His name was Malotrus (I think it is french) and was going to be two years old in december. It appeared that he was hit by a car that was probably driving way to fast.

This is Malo a few weeks before he died during a target trial. We use this fake hyena to test social intelligence among a few other things. Malo was adorable and quickly figured out it wasn't a real hyena so he started trying to eat it. 

The day that Lily got back is that day I started feeling sick. Luckily, she was back and convinced me to not over do it and took care of most of the camp chores. I am feeling much, much better now. There is a doctor at Serena Lodge which is about a 5min drive for us so it was very convenient to just pop up there and get tested for malaria and get the meds I needed. Malaria is certainly not something to take lightly but it is an all too common reality for people living in sub-saharan Africa. It has been very interesting, all of the Kenyans that I have told that I have malaria are sympathetic that I am sick but not really that concerned. Most Kenyans have had malaria many times, almost like the flu in the US. All the white people I have told I have malaria are much more concerned. Anyway, I got the medicine I need and am feeling better now. The worst part is that I have been stuck in camp for the last few days and haven't been able to go see my hyenas! I miss those little guys!  

Paintball: Mara style!

I couldn't help but giggle as I reflected on my surroundings. I was crouched down in a lugga (small stream bed) somewhere in the Mara North Conservancy wearing coveralls and a uncomfortable mask holding a paintball gun. Dave was crouched down about 20m from me and we both laughed. How did we get here, this is so crazy!? Soon Dave was shot at and I jumped up and shot a balloon pilot from the other team right in the back and then quickly dove back down into the lugga! This was so cool!!! Dave and I were guarding our team's flag and I think we were doing a pretty good job. A little bit later I saw Wes sprint up and head straight for the flag, he saw me and started unloading his paintballs in my direction. I was hit! “AHH! Ow! (and a few expletives were shouted in his general direction)”

Wes shouted “surrender!,” to which I replied, “NEVER!!!” and after a few more paintballs from him in the face and arms I was able to return fire and chase him away. Sadly though, he had acquired our flag.

We walked back to the main area where we started. I was covered in yellow paint and my arm was starting to bleed. This was wild. We all showed off our first welts and bruises and reloaded our guns. We were anxious to start the next game.

Julie, Lily and I after the first game

For the next few games we just put the flag in the middle of a set area and tried to get the flag back to our respective teams first. I, of course, thought the best plan of action was just to give my gun to one of the rangers who looked like he could handle two and sprint up immediately with him covering me and get the flag. This started out great! I got up to the flag way before the other team, but then there was Wes again and I got shot up... again. The next game I tried to hang back but we were playing until surrender this time so I just went for it! I grabbed the pole that the flag was attached too and ran! I was shot a few times but I thought I had made it... until I looked up and saw that the flag had fallen off, crap! After that it wasn't really about getting the flag it was just about shooting people.

If you are wondering why I was playing paintball in the Mara, a group of us had gathered to celebrate J.P.'s (balloon pilot at the Mara Safari Club) 40^th birthday. It was mostly balloon pilots from all around the Mara and then most of fisi camp and the majis (Yale researchers studying the mara river). Everyone was really nice and it was awesome to meet such a funny bunch of people. The pilots were Australian, British, Canadian etc. and a lot of fun to hang out with. Many of them had been living in the Mara for awhile and had a lot of interesting stories to tell. We stayed up late drinking Tuskers and talking. It was a very good day.

Me probably complaining to Wes about how many times he shot me. 

The Fisi crew!

Also, they had three little kittens!!! Notice the hair coated in yellow paint. 

***

On the way to the place we were playing paintball our bus got a flat tire. It was taking awhile to fix as one of the lug-nuts got stuck. We jumped into other vehicles and just carpooled the rest of the way. Before leaving though, we tried to apply some heat to the lug-nut to see if it would loosen. No one had a torch (duh.) so one the balloon pilots tied some toilet paper around the lug-nut, doused it with something flammable and then lit it. This didn't work but it was hilarious. Picture 20-some people standing around, most with tuskers or cigarettes in their hands, watching a flaming lug-nut on a tour bus in the middle of the Mara.

This is what that looks like. 

The morning after all the paintball fun we piled into the Cruiser to start our trip back to camp around 11am. It was only a two hour drive so we should have been home with plenty of time to shower/relax/get some work done before we had to head out on obs at 5pm. About 45min into our drive we got a flat tire. We had a spare and it was easy enough to change. No need to set anything on fire! I got my first lesson in the ways of changing a Cruiser tire in the bush, so that was very good. An hour later we had entered the Mara Conservancy (home) and were just about 15-20min from camp when our spare got a flat! Crap. We called the conservancy mechanic Langat to bring us a spare so we could get home. Langat didn't have the right tire for a Cruiser so he came and picked Lily and I up, we drove back to camp got our second spare and brought it back to Wes and Julie. We changed the tire for the second time and returned to camp. We had given Langat the original tire to patch and after I took a quick shower it was ready and we could replace our second spare with the original tire. Third tire change of the day, and forth of the trip. At this point it was 4:45 and time to go on obs. We were all really tired but luckily all the tires stayed inflated on our obs! A pretty crazy two days! 

I couldn't blog without showing you some cute animals... so here is a baby hippo and its mom! 

Cubs in camp

I haven't posted in awhile, pole (sorry in kiswahili)!

Things have been great here in the Mara! Very busy, but very good.

Last night the four of us (Julie, Wes, Lily and I) were sitting around the table after dinner and heard a pitter patter in the woods next to us. We grabbed a light in time to see a little hyena cub trotting past us! A cub in camp! It was wonderful, we tried to follow it and ID the cub. The cub was definitely from our North clan and one we would know if we got a good look. We couldn't see it well enough to confirm but we think it was Michelle or Jude (Beatles lineage). We saw at least one other cub sized hyena near the kitchen tent but also couldn't see it well enough to ID.  Later last night when I was going to bed I heard some scuffling around the lab tent. My guess is that the hyenas were rolling around playing. They luckily didn't get into too much mischief for us to clean up this morning! I guess it is a good thing we love our job because apparently work comes home with us here : )

A few nights ago Lily and I were driving around Happy Zebra Territory trying to find the clan's new den.  We were off-roading in an area we had recently seen some of the clan members. Around an old termite mound I saw a little black face with two big round ears. "HIGS!" The youngest cub Higgs, sub-atomic particle lineage, was hanging out by what appeared to be their new den! We found it! Because dens are the most active at sun rise and sun set we decided to come back in a few hours to check out the den scene. As we were driving towards the den later a herd of about 10 elephants got in our way. We were able to safely maneuver around them and make it to the den. That is when we realized that it was getting very dark, very quickly and there is now a herd of elephants between us and the track we need to take to get home. On the other side of the den is a rock field where we got stuck the day before trying to find the den, so driving that way wasn't an option. Crap! Elephants that you can't see are scary while you are driving a Maruti (our smallest car). I'm sure an elephant could easily roll and squash a Maruti without even noticing they ran into anything, basically, they're huge. I made Lily be on elephant patrol, we took pictures of all the hyenas at the den to ID later and got out of there. Lily said the elephants weren't really paying attention to us but I floored it past them just in case. We made it safely back to the track and headed for camp. It was very exciting! Because of getting stuck in a rock field and having to dodge elephants to get to Happy Zebra Clan's new den we decided to name it Oy Vey Den (this area has dens named after yiddish words)!

Birthday in the bush!

We had a storm last night and finally got some much needed rain! When it rains quite a bit we don't go out and look at hyenas because of the possibility of getting stuck in the mud and leaving big tracks behind us. So this morning we got to sleep in (I still woke up at 5:30, sadly) and I am using some of my extra time today to get some personal things done. My tent is getting cleaned, I am doing my first load of laundry and blogging!

Tuesday was my 22^nd birthday and we had a lot of fun! We woke up and went out to look at hyenas. We hung out at a den and got a lot of good bonding time with the cubs. There was a beautiful sunrise and then we headed back to camp for breakfast. After breakfast we played a game of Settlers of Catan and then decided to head up to Serena lodge for drinks and a swim in the pool. We spent all afternoon hanging out at the lodge, enjoying beers by the pool and soaking in the beautiful landscape around us.

This is not my picture but this is the Mara Serena Lodge that is about a half mile away from our camp.
Not too shabby.... 

After getting a little cold in the pool we explored and found a sauna. The power wasn't on but it was still nice, warm and dry. We met up with our friends the balloon pilots and had another drink with them. The balloon pilots are great. Barry is from Northern Ireland and Shelly is from Canada. They are both a lot of fun. I feel very lucky to have such an interesting group of new people to call my friends.

Dave, a grad student, had four friends coming to camp on the night of my birthday. They were all really nice and we just spent the rest of the night hanging around the lab tent enjoy some Tusker. They just left this morning and we will miss them. It is really nice having guests in camp, I can't wait for a few guests of my own. 

I had a really great birthday and am only more and more excited for the year ahead!

First Week

I've only been here a week and already I have seen so many amazing things!

3 male lions eating a zebra (which I think they stole from hyenas)

28 hyenas trying to get that kill back (they were unsuccessful)

Plenty of elephants

So many wonderful hyenas! I really can't understand why people don't like them. After spending only a few days with them I am only more impressed and fascinated by their behavior. I certainly don't know all of the hyenas in our clans yet but the ones that I do know I am already getting attached to.

A cub checking out our cruiser

This cub couldn't decide if it wanted to sleep or play more

Our days normally consist of waking up early to get to a den before sunrise. Then spending about three hours in the morning out looking and watching. We then return to camp and have breakfast and some time in the afternoon to work on transcribing our notes, playing Settlers of Catan and working out. This is also time to get some camp chores and anything else you need done. At 5:00 we head out again to go find and watch some hyenas and return after dark. We eat dinner and go to bed so we can wake up early and get to the dens for another day!

Sunrise at Schmutzy Den

Sunset in North Territory

I have loved my first week at fisi camp and I think that I will just keep liking it more and more. It is a lot of work learning all the behaviors and learning to ID all of our animals but it is really exciting and I can't wait until I get to know everyone better (people and hyenas).  

Home, sweet, home!

This is my tent at Serena fisi (hyena in swahili) camp. It is very nice and contains a comfy bed, bookshelf and soon a desk and chair.  

So far I have been out on two observation (obs) sessions and have seen a lot of really cool things already! Last night we saw a wildebeest crossing. This is when wildebeest stampede into the mara river. There were a lot of tourists there standing on top of their safari vehicles to see better. This is a really high season in the Maasai Mara and people come from all over the world to see the migration. I am so lucky that my job includes seeing such incredible things. The elephants in this picture got a little trapped by the wildebeest and safari vehicles and seemed a little perturbed. I guess they normally move out for awhile when the migration gets here, they like things a little quieter.

 I also saw a few of the many hyenas that I will soon need to know how to identify. We identify the hyenas based on their age and sex as well as their spot patterns and any damage to their ears. There are about 50 hyenas in each clan and we follow three different clans. This means that I have a lot of learning to do! The hyena below is Rachet a sub-adult male.

This morning at breakfast we had two visitors. During our breakfast of french toast, fresh delicious fruit, avocado and other veggies, two female warthogs stopped by looking like they would like to share. I guess this is the first time they had trotted over to us wanting food. They were very skittish (as they should be, they are wild animals) but got braver and braver with the more food we threw them. We would like some camp pets and I think these warthogs will do quite well. The adult female, shown below, was really into the french toast and only acknowledged and banana and avocado when the french toast was all gone. They have been wandering around camp all afternoon feeding, I hope they stay! 

A warthog a few meters from our table at the lab tent

Leaving Soon!

Jambo! (Swahili for hello)

In three short days I will be in Kenya! I feel pretty good about where I am with preparation but there is still a lot to be done! I still need to finalize packing for a year abroad, finish up veterinary school applications (as much as I can) and say goodbye to friends and family. As of right now I am only really, really, excited. Luckily, no nerves yet! 

Beautiful Maasai Mara here I come!

I thought that it would be fun to have a section of each blog post be animal fun facts. I'm thinking about highlighting a different East African animal every post. Most of you probably already know how much I love animal fun facts (sorry friends I've bored at parties!) so this will be a lot of fun - at least for me! 
Our first highlighted animal will be hyenas, obviously.  


Hyena Fun Facts 

Hyaenidae is an family of mammals that actually includes four different species. There are brown hyenas, striped hyenas, spotted hyenas (our study organism, hence the name of this blog) and aardwolves. What the heck is an aardwolf?! Well, they are wonderful little mammals that can be found in East Africa. Aardwolves are on my list of animals I really want to see while I'm in Kenya that I haven't had the chance to see before. Interestingly, aardwolves are insectivores unlike the other three bone-crushing hyena species. Brown, striped and spotted hyenas are all capable of breaking bone that is up to 7cm in diameter, the big cats can certainly not do this! Just one more reason not to get bit by a hyena and why hyenas are just as interesting as other large carnivores.

This is what an aardwolf looks like!

There are about a thousand other fun facts I would love to tell you about hyenas but I will save some to keep you coming back!  I will blog more about our specific research interests soon!

I'll try to blog once more before I go, I really don't know when my first opportunity will be once I arrive in Kenya.