The 12th and 13th of October I participated in an annual game and bird count in Lengwe National Park in the South of Malawi. With the game counts the National Parks are able to keep trends of the animal stock. There are two different kinds of game counts; the transect count and waterhole count. During a transect count the participant walk in groups transects through the park and count the animals they encounter. These type of game count is also very effective to catch poachers in the parks. During a waterhole count the participants stay in hides at the waterholes in a park and count all drinking animals. This type of count is more reliable to make an estimation of the stock. Most antelopes drink only once every 1 or 2 days. By counting only the drinking animals you make sure that every animal is only counted once and that you count most animals in the park.
The count in Lengwe NP was a waterhole count. The target animal to focus on was the almost endemic nyala. How many are there in the park, how many injured, adult males and females, calves, male young and female young. Aside the nyala the goal was to count all drinking warthogs, buffalo's, impala's, bushbucks and kudu's. The count was done in shifts of 3 hours. 3 hours in a hide, 3 hours to travel back, get some rest and travel to the next hide and then another 3 hour shift. In temperatures of 35 degrees and higher.
Aside from the game count I also made a start for a bird count. To update the parks birding list and check if some of the known residents were still there. This meant for me that when I was not needed in the hide I was wondering around in the surroundings; birding and checking nests. And in between the shifts I spend my time birding and making lists. Following a collection of pictures of the game and bird count.
The count in Lengwe NP was a waterhole count. The target animal to focus on was the almost endemic nyala. How many are there in the park, how many injured, adult males and females, calves, male young and female young. Aside the nyala the goal was to count all drinking warthogs, buffalo's, impala's, bushbucks and kudu's. The count was done in shifts of 3 hours. 3 hours in a hide, 3 hours to travel back, get some rest and travel to the next hide and then another 3 hour shift. In temperatures of 35 degrees and higher.
Aside from the game count I also made a start for a bird count. To update the parks birding list and check if some of the known residents were still there. This meant for me that when I was not needed in the hide I was wondering around in the surroundings; birding and checking nests. And in between the shifts I spend my time birding and making lists. Following a collection of pictures of the game and bird count.
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