A Bull Immobilization

In the past two weeks there have been some exciting events. The first was the immobilization and collaring of the bull with the biggest tusks in the reserve. The bull’s name is Matt and he was collared many years ago. After his collar expired, he disappeared for 4 years and was assumed to be dead. So when he was spotted again we decided to collar him to see where he goes. Shifra (the PhD student here) and I went out first on the day of the collaring to try to find him. We were lucky and he was with the first group of elephants we spotted. Since he has been in the reserve Matt has been in the sexually active state of musth where males are more aggressive and a greenish fungus appears on their penis. Urine constantly drips from them and their musty smell is pungent.  Sounds pretty sexy right? The males can be in this state for up to 3 months where they are constantly searching for females in estrous. This is probably why Matt came back to the reserve now. Shifra and I had the challenge of following this musth bull, whose goal was to travel from one group of females to another checking out the ladies he came across. We lost and found him again a couple times as he traveled back and forth across the river that divides Samburu National Reserve and Buffalo Springs Reserve. We had to wait until he travelled far enough away from the river to dart him because he could run to the river while the drug was taking effect. If the drug hit him while he was in the river, it could create a very difficult and dangerous situation for Matt and all of us. We followed him all day and even had lunch brought to us in the car. I was expecting a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich brought to us in the car, but instead a hot lunch complete with plates, silverware, and condiments was delivered. Sandwiches are really not the norm in Kenya.

Matt with his great looking tusks. Notice the stream behind his eye from his temporal gland, this is one way to tell that he is in musth.

As the afternoon progressed we lost Matt for a long period of time, he just disappeared down into the river where we couldn’t see him from the road. We tried to get to another point where we would see him if he continued walking east as he had been but he did not appear. He must have changed directions or crossed the river again. It was a hectic hour where we all searched for the bull by the river. Who would think that you could easily lose a huge elephant? He was eventually spotted on the Buffalo Springs side of the river by David (the head researcher here who was in another car) and we prepared for the possibility of having to dart him on that side. This was a process because the bridge that used to provide easy accessibility across the river had been washed away during flooding last year. Now Save the Elephants has to have another car parked across the river and you reach it by climbing down a sketchy ladder on the edge of the bridge or by crossing the crocodile filled river. Either way it would take time for all of us to get over there if Matt stayed on that side. While we waited for Matt to make a decision, Ian Craig, the director of Lewa Conservancy, arrived to act as the veterinarian and do the darting of the bull.

Finally at around 4:00 Matt crossed to the Samburu Reserve side and started to move north away from the river. Shifra and I followed from a distance and Ian prepared to dart from the other car. As soon as he was far enough into the open plains the dart was shot. Matt ran for a few steps and then turned to charge the car that David and Ian were in, stopping a few feet from the car with his ears and head raised. Shifra and I started backing as far away as we could get watching nervously. A musth bull as big as Matt is not something you want to mess around with, but David knew what he was doing and drove quickly away. He has done over 100 immobilizations of elephants and can read their behavior expertly. Luckily Matt lost interest in the car and turned to continue walking north. We followed from afar and after a few minutes we saw him start to wobble. Luckily he fell perfectly on his side and we drove up to him quickly.

Ian preparing the gun to dart Matt

Ian took care of monitoring the bull and Shifra and I watched as the collar was placed in preparation. It was a cool, stormy afternoon so we didn’t need to pour water on the ears to keep the bull cool as is usually done. It was amazing to be right next to that huge animal! His big breaths huffed out of his trunk, warming your leg if you stood close. We measured his tusks while everything was prepared. His longest tusk measured 62 inches long and his other was 50 inches, pretty impressive! It took a while to get the collar strap under his neck because he was so big and heavy. We had to use a car jack to lift his head up and pull the strap under using the force of the car. Finally the strap came through and it was quickly secured. We gathered everything up and got in the cars to drive away as the antidote was administered. We drove far away and watched as he got up after about 2 minutes. He continued walking north calmly, feeling his new collar with his trunk. After our successful collaring we drove back to camp and ran into a bunch of tourists watching lionesses on the way. It was a great day!

Atuko positioning the collar and making sure the ear is covering Matt's eye

Posing with Matt as efforts to get the collar under his neck continue

Jacking up Matt's head so the strap of the collar can be pulled underneath

Ian Craig watches while the collar is secured with a counterweight

Matt walking away with his new collar

The second event was the Safaricom Marathon last Saturday in Lewa Conservancy (Safaricom is the biggest cell network in Kenya). People come from all over to run this marathon and half marathon which are supposed to be some of the toughest in the world. The route is actually through the conservancy so all the wildlife has to be scared away before the run begins. I went with some of the STE staff, Gilbert, Chris, Daud, and Resson. We woke up super early to drive to Lewa and catch the beginning of the race. We were there on time but unbeknownst to us, we had to register to get to the area the runners were starting from. It was frustrating because we had walked 20 minutes to get to the starting line area without being told that we needed to register. So we walked to the finish line where people were already gathering. It was impossible to see over the banners on either side of the finish without standing on tip-toes. Two major flaws of the marathon. Luckily Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the founder of STE, then arrived and traveling in the car with him we were able to easily cross the boundaries. We drove along the running route and stopped at a spot to cheer on runners. His daughter Dudu and her adorable son were also with us. The coolest sight of the day was a group of impala jumping across the road right in front of marathon runners. Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo.

Cheering on runners. The impala leapt across the road in front of the runners in this photo

One of the front runners in the marathon (in red) passes us as we walk along the road

We also were able to watch from a relief station where people were passing out water and orange slices to runners. As we walked to the station we saw the frontrunner of the race which was lucky. The station was 1 km from the finish line so it was a great spot to cheer. We stayed there until the end of the race and walked to the finish line where the festivities were taking place. It was pretty cool to be walking around inside the conservancy where you normally are not allowed to leave your car. The finish line was like a festival with booths, food, and music. We watched a dance competition put on by Safaricom where a DJ played songs and volunteers from the crowd competed to win t-shirts. It was pretty funny, especially the little kids who went up to dance. We then started the drive back to camp, stopping in Isiolo for chai, chapatti, and nyama choma (tea, flatbread, and roasted meat). It was a nice break from the daily routine at camp and fun to get out of the bush for a while.

Cheering at the aid station



Hanging out with Gilbert, Daud, and Chris (from left to right) at the finish line

Other than those events the daily routine of watching elephants and data work has continued. I can now identify many families without checking the ID book and have gotten a little better at ageing and sexing them. I had fun watching the Euro Cup soccer games with the guys here in the nearby lodge staff quarters. Every team I rooted for lost, but the atmosphere was fun with people yelling in Swahili at the TV. I’m still enjoying life here but I'm very excited to see my family in two weeks when my internship ends!