31
Dec 2009. Last effort of the
year. After loosing the signal of Charlotte (Xpl-53)
and their tracks, the search for the Floodplain lions continued.
Most of the major drainage lines south of the Hoanib River,
including the Karugaiseb and Hunkap rivers, were surveyed.
At dusk, Xpl-22 and four sub-adult lions (Obab Pride) were
spotted in the Hunkap area. They were observed for short
while and then the search for the Floodplain lions continued.
30
Dec 2009. Searching.
The gravel plains and sand dunes to the south of the Floodplain
were scanned for spoor and radio signals. A faint signal
from the GPS collar of Charlotte (Xpl-53) was heard and
the spoor of several lionesses and large cubs were found,
including the remains of a porcupine that they had killed
a few days ago. The difficult terrain restricted the search
effort and the lions disappeared.
An
immature Pale Chanting Goshawk
Remains
of a porcupine killed by lions
In
flight...
29
Dec 2008. Hoanib Floodplain.
An effort to locate Xpl-10 and the rest of the Floodplain
Pride was extended up to the dunes west of the Floodplain,
but there were no signs of the lions. There are also very
few oryx and other suitable prey animals in the area.
The camera trap, positioned on the floodplain, was found
lying on the ground and had been turned off. When the
images and video clips were downloaded, it reveal how
a person (photo below) removed the camera from its mounting
and tampered with it.
A
secretary bird on the Hoanib Floodplain
A
giraffe captured by the camera trap
The
person approaching the camera
28
Dec 2008. Observe Hoanib
lions. Three adult lionesses and four sub-adults
were observed for 20 hours. They killed two sub-adult
oryx between midnight and 04h00, and by 08h00 they had
consumed both carcasses.
27
Dec 2008. Hoanib Pride.
The spoor of an adult male lion was found in the Hoanib
River. The male might have moved in after the death of
"Adolf" (Xpl-3). Whilst attempting to find this
male, seven lions of the Hoanib Pride, including "Bianca"
(Xpl-47), were located. They approach the Cruiser and
one of the sub-adult females touched the vehicle lightly
with her nose.
26
Dec 2009. New Mac for Project.
For more than six years the data management, data analyses,
writing of reports and publications, video editing, graphic
design and website management for the Desert Lion Conservation
Project were done using a Mac PowerBook G4 (1.5 GHz).
Since it was purchased in May 2003, this computer worked
tirelessly and was never turned off for approximately
80% of the time. This amounts to over 45,000 hours of
faultless operation, which is remarkable considering the
atrocious desert conditions. The only problem occurred
when the SuperDrive (DVD writer) failed towards the end
of 2008. With the development of new graphic and website
design programmes, however, the need for a new and more
powerful computer became necessary. During 2008, Nathalie
Cadot and Felix Vallat initiated a fundraising campaign
in France, entitled "Apple 4 Lions". Within
a few months they had raised sufficient funds for a new
Mac. The funds were transferred to a mutual friend, Rob
Roy Ramey, in the USA. Rob shopped around and finally
purchases a good second-hand MacBook Pro (2.4 GHz Intel
Core 2 Duo) with the available funds. See Sponsors
for more detail.
25
Dec 2009. Water problems
in the Hoanib. Elephants have destroyed the artificial
water installation at the Mudorib junction
(photos by Eva Ramey). The water tanks were demolished
and the solar pump has been damaged, but can be repaired.
A small group of sub-adult lions (from the Hoanib Pride)
were located a few kilometres south of damaged waterhole.
24
Dec 2009. Obab lions.
"Nina" (Xpl-49) and here group were located
in the lower Uniab River, approximately 20 kms from the
coast.
23
Dec 2009. Search for Hunkap
lions. The western sections of the Samanab and
Hunkap rivers were covered in search of the Hunkap lions.
Two adult male cheetahs were spotted, but there were no
signs of the lions.
21
Dec 2009. Logistical problems.
Vehicle problems and the failure of a prior arrangement
to have petrol delivered in the field have restricted
fieldwork. Problems connecting to the Internet have prevented
the regular updates of the website.
14
Dec 2009.
Hoaruseb lions behave. A few days were
spent at Hobatere Lodge, but the movements of the Hoaruseb
lions were monitored by the Purros Lion Officers and the
satellite GPS collar, fitted to the male (Xpl-44). During
the past week the Hoaruseb lions have not returned to
Puros. See movement animation for Xpl-44 during a six-day
period (below). Click on the PLAY button
to start the animation. The timeline is constant at 7.5
seconds per day (24 hrs). Black and yellow bars indicate
night and daytime, respectively, on the timeline. When
the red lion icon moves quickly across the screen, it
accurately represents the speed at which the lion moves.
8
Dec 2009.
End of an era.
The death of the Hoanib
Male (Xpl-3 or "Adolf") marks the
end of an era. Xpl-3 was born in September 1998
near the Aub Canyon. Along with four siblings, he
emigrated from the Aub/Barab area to the Hoanib
& Hoaruseb Rivers between 2001 & 2002 (see
animation on the right). Xpl-3 died from bullet
wounds on 21 Nov 2009. The investigation into his
death is ongoing.
Animation
of how the home range of Xpl-3 changed between 2000
and 2009 (right).
Images
of Xpl-3 (below).
November
1999
March
2000
August
2001 - Clay Castles
December
2004
August
2007
May
2008
Novwnbwe
2008 (Laura Brown)
February
2009
May
2009
July
2009
August
2009
September
2009
7
Dec 2009.
Hoaruseb lions explore. The two Hoaruseb
lionesses (Xpl-37 & 38) were observed hunting in the
dunes north of Ganias Spring this morning. This is the
first significant movement out of the Hoaruseb river since
the translocations during November 2009.
6
Dec 2009.
Dune walking. The Hoaruseb lions moved
into the dunes south of the Clay Castles. "Morado"
(Xpl-37 and "Tawny" (Xpl-38) pursued a herd
of oryx and several ostriches, and they were located 18
km south of the Hoaruseb River at 03h00 this morning.
The large cubs stayed behind and played the dunes near
the river.
5
Dec 2009. Tawny.
After 48 hours bogged-down in quicksand the Land Cruiser
was pulled out of the mud this morning by a tractor. Wilderness
Safaris are thanked for their help in getting the vehicle
out. The Hoaruseb lionesses (including "Tawny",
Xpl-38) and the three large cubs were located inside the
Skeleton Coast Park. The threat of Human Lion Conflict
at Purros have for the immediate future been resolved.
The
Purros Lion Officers in their new uniforms
Tawny
(Xpl-38) in the lower Hoaruseb River
Getting
the Land Cruiser out of the quicksand (photos: Emsie
Verwey & Eva Ramey)
4
Dec 2009.
Dart & fit satellite collar to Xpl-44.
After 107 hours, the Hoaruseb lion (Xpl-44) was finally
darted, and the satellite GPS colar fitted to him.
Xpl-44
shortly after being darted
Eva & Anika
Ramey with the darted lion (R Ramey)
Monitoring
Xpl-44 (R Ramey)
3
Dec 2009.
32 hours. The effort to dart Xpl-44 and
fit the satellite GPS collar continues. The Land Cruiser
got bogged-down in soft quicksand yesterday morning (32
hours ago), shortly after a bait, drugged with anaesthetics,
was set out for the lion. He took the bait during the
early morning hours, and has been prowling around the
vehicle. Hopes are that an opportunity will present itself
for the lion to be darted, that the collar can be fitted,
and that the Cruiser can then be freed from it's muddy
prison.
2
Dec 2009.
64 hours.
The disturbance to the Hoaruseb lions during the past
month has caused the adult male (Xpl-44) to become extremely
skittish. An enormous effort, currently tallying 64 hours
without any sleep, have been invested in an attempt to
dart Xpl-44 and to fit a satellite GPS collar.
1
Dec 2009.
Xpl-44. After the death of the Hoanib
Male (Xpl-3) it was decided to fit his satellite GPS collar
to the Hoaruseb male (Xpl-44). He was located 3 km west
of Purros and as soon as it was dark an attempt was made
to immobilise him. What would normally be a standard two-hour
exercise became a nightlong struggle. Two darts, from
a new batch, failed to inject the anaesthetics.
