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GVI SANParks Program March Visit
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As SANParks Coordinator for GVI I get to
travel to various South African National parks, where we have interns (for 6
months or 12 months) on the GVI SANParks Internship Program. Interns get to
work along side the People and Conservation (P&C)supervisors at the various
parks. The P&C department is involved in educationg the local communities
surrounding the park about the history of the park, the local fauna and flora,
and why it is important to have national parks in South Africa. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On this trip I visited 3 of my countries
national parks: Mokala National Park, Augrabies Falls National Park and
Tsitsikamma National Park, which forms part of the greater Garden Route
National Park. Each one of these parks differ greatly in their special beauty and
history.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Mokala National Park is situated in the
Northern Cape, close to Kimberley (the capital city of the Northern Cape
province). I have never been to Mokala NP and I was absolutely blown away by
the amount of antelope species they have there. The first 15 min in the park
was full of gasps, and me exclaiming “OSTRICH”, “GEMSBOK”, “RED HARTEBEEST”.
All of these species, and more, could be seen on an open plain on the way to
reception. Mokala NP was awarded with “The Best National Park of 2013”, and I
was there to see the proud employees receive their special new shirts and caps.
I also saw the most beautiful and spectacular sunset EVER at Mokala NP (see
below).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpM7xVEv2J8fzjkUnoB2f5UEBHrIauwEiLO1S-KRy9aNtXwmq_SE78pMeOO592bjGk3X-zG9acNjdNCWjGeX3m527krOJiQ0c4ObFY9FkoM9z3pSLJ1TJz2G35bjzeolDrJi0mq_JGb5Q/s1600/IMG_1743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpM7xVEv2J8fzjkUnoB2f5UEBHrIauwEiLO1S-KRy9aNtXwmq_SE78pMeOO592bjGk3X-zG9acNjdNCWjGeX3m527krOJiQ0c4ObFY9FkoM9z3pSLJ1TJz2G35bjzeolDrJi0mq_JGb5Q/s1600/IMG_1743.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mokala National Park: Best Sunset EVER!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">Augrabies Falls National Park is also
situated in the Nothern Cape, close to the Namibian Border. Augrabies is known
for its spectacular 53m waterfall. The reason for it being so special is the
fact that it is in a semi-desert area. It is absolutely breath taking to walk
in the semi-desert park and then to see the waterfall in all its glory. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkd9gPSvvDeXualMiVP8_2eZ6ckc8tnvGt25ZzM50gsZZtmr_iYXFN5RZqtbhcCxqbuFqV-n06c3ap_pTPTV7_MkATPdlldCQQ11xCzoSip96X7aGflLJxeS3jyVdOCbXgHJYqbhNhTLs/s1600/IMG_1792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkd9gPSvvDeXualMiVP8_2eZ6ckc8tnvGt25ZzM50gsZZtmr_iYXFN5RZqtbhcCxqbuFqV-n06c3ap_pTPTV7_MkATPdlldCQQ11xCzoSip96X7aGflLJxeS3jyVdOCbXgHJYqbhNhTLs/s1600/IMG_1792.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Augrabies Falls National Park: The Falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">While I
was at Augrabies Falls NP, they were also running their yearly Kids In Parks
program. Kids In Parks is a great program where local schools go into the
national parks and stay over for 2 nights. During this time they learn about
the different National Parks, the fauna and flora of the parks, and they play
various educational games. It was very fun to be a part of this amazing
program, even if just for two nights.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Augrabies Falls National Park: A Group of Kids Getting Ready to go Home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tsitsikamma National Park forms part of the
three Garden Route National parks. Tsitsikamma is situated near and in the
small town of Stormsriver. What makes this park really special is the contrast
between indigenous forest on the mountain slope, and the sheer drop to the
ocean. You get the best of both worlds. If you are lucky you might even get to
see the Knysna Turaco in the forest, or the dolphins playing in the waves.
Tsitsikamma is also where the well-known “Otter trail” begins. The forests and
areas that are in the Garden Route NP have a lot of history linked to it. Tales
of elephants once roaming amongst the tall trees, people living in the depth of
the forests, and gold being discovered in the heart of it all. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tsistikamma National Park: Suspension Bridge over Stromsriver Mouth</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">My trip was truly amazing, and it made me
realize what a privilege it is to live in a country with such vast differences
in natural beauty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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Cheetah Habituation Has Begun
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Since the arrival of the new cheetah boys six weeks ago the GVI
Karongwe staff have been working with them on a regular basis to habituate
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2V08RIEDAVsDKN8_zYQGkanIsXY0l0jilvmjIRI8yr02I_39FhcF40NqoncTfPsjHB8J5JZUI9hklqheMjG91O-i2KKrDZeBuzgqNVjUe7XhgxJ2K2efG340Y5wLLYWn9FTgj2S7UwE/s1600/DSC_9185.JPG+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2V08RIEDAVsDKN8_zYQGkanIsXY0l0jilvmjIRI8yr02I_39FhcF40NqoncTfPsjHB8J5JZUI9hklqheMjG91O-i2KKrDZeBuzgqNVjUe7XhgxJ2K2efG340Y5wLLYWn9FTgj2S7UwE/s1600/DSC_9185.JPG+copy.jpg" height="290" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiX7qWRqetDoYdW_V9X1lTndBZTu8pgc8rQRKlqaq_gbQoNYNcoDFw6t-D5d2Rxhx18jWtRzRvQHRtiw_vDGZhb9i0X67_JvT-6BARcaXeUvweNc0gGNDjQ_N8iwhFbLCf4F-CjjsNviM/s1600/DSC_9187.JPG+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiX7qWRqetDoYdW_V9X1lTndBZTu8pgc8rQRKlqaq_gbQoNYNcoDFw6t-D5d2Rxhx18jWtRzRvQHRtiw_vDGZhb9i0X67_JvT-6BARcaXeUvweNc0gGNDjQ_N8iwhFbLCf4F-CjjsNviM/s1600/DSC_9187.JPG+copy.jpg" height="308" width="320" /></a></div>
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The ‘Tswalu Boys’ are quite used to vehicles, however have
had very little experience of humans in close proximity on foot. In order for
us to continue collecting valuable data on cheetah, as we have done for years
with Jabu and Djuma, we need these boys to become habituated to our presence
and in particular with us walking in on them. </div>
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Whilst they are still in their holding boma ‘acclimatising’
to their new surroundings, it gives us a good opportunity to start to the
habituation training. The training consists of a number of stages, each time
trying to decrease the distance that the animal feels comfortable in our
presence. Habituation training is not an exact science, not only is every
animal different but each individual will react differently every day depending
on a large variety of factors, most of which you won’t know anything about.
However the principle is always the same, we want to ensure that the animals
have only neutral interactions with us and therefore are not imprinted with any
negative associations in our presence but also, and just as importantly, they
do not associate us with positive interactions. This is important because we
need the animals to behave naturally and not in a way that is affected because
of our presence. These are wild animals and we certainly don’t want them
running up to us when they see us, like pet dogs, just as much as we don’t want
them running away from us prohibiting us from collecting data. We want to be
able to record natural behaviour. </div>
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In the beginning, while the boys were still settling in, we
just approached them in the vehicles from outside the fence. The cheetah,
having spent time in a holding boma on Tswalu before coming here, are used to
being fed from a vehicle. We wanted to make sure that they do not associate our
vehicle with being fed. Initially when we drove up they were hiding from view
in the long grass, obviously still nervous about being moved to a new home, so
we spent a lot of time just sitting in the vehicles close by them, talking in
normal voices and having the radios on. It is important for them to get used
all the different sounds they will hear during game drive times and in
particular to our voices so we can alert them to us approaching them when
walking through thick bush, so as not to startle them. As funny as it might
sound, I personally spent hours reading books to them, just so they learn the
sound of my voice. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaktvxnXKaHgZ3gkzC6IqeG8R0_Gah9CqjUZds8JdXKb2zIk4HkYt5GKqLQujBEOm3UEMxRVJPSZgeTjSynkOs77Z0MSEmKS1JNgqDEHtS9vBhcQ-S0i6NYstaWCRlEWHVH0MAciKCDfs/s1600/DSC_9185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaktvxnXKaHgZ3gkzC6IqeG8R0_Gah9CqjUZds8JdXKb2zIk4HkYt5GKqLQujBEOm3UEMxRVJPSZgeTjSynkOs77Z0MSEmKS1JNgqDEHtS9vBhcQ-S0i6NYstaWCRlEWHVH0MAciKCDfs/s1600/DSC_9185.JPG" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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After a while the boys stopped hiding in the long grass and
we would find them sitting close to the fence, once they were used to the vehicles
we started walking up to them talking gently the whole time, but still on the
other side of the fence. For the most part they did not react at all, just sat
watching us intently. On a couple of occasions when they have been particularly
hungry they have snarled and mock charged us. At times like this we just walk
away again and return after they have been fed. We don’t want to push them and
for them to have a negative imprint of a time when we harassed them when they
were feeling hungry and stressed. </div>
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Once we were satisfied that they were comfortable with us on
the outside of the fence we started going into the boma with them on foot. We were pleasantly surprised to find they were
fairly relaxed and after a few encounters we have now got to the stage where we
can walk within 10 metres of the boys with them just sitting looking relaxed,
even starting to fall asleep with us standing nearby. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNT-2HTwFXXjL4V3R-ZR0pHIUotrW0JUxfoRJcbazJnbKCjLc3Vyd69WaPYgsFxEKGBqMHmAfBSIm3ll-ebzPGzIjwZC0pKz_hK7gpXevRoJOxNY8sLYuilriqA9jAix7WZydFzTm9Sio/s1600/DSC_0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNT-2HTwFXXjL4V3R-ZR0pHIUotrW0JUxfoRJcbazJnbKCjLc3Vyd69WaPYgsFxEKGBqMHmAfBSIm3ll-ebzPGzIjwZC0pKz_hK7gpXevRoJOxNY8sLYuilriqA9jAix7WZydFzTm9Sio/s1600/DSC_0248.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw8T1mtGfN-4VxQ5ror2l8e2qukT1dVNcE_wgUIFDFuEH_aeI-ecXHz_h_1zQl8TVRV0jlpUnppogU06f8xbQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Over the next few weeks we are hoping to start taking the
volunteers into the boma with the cheetah, as they now need to get used to having
groups of people walking with them, not just one or two people at a time. </div>
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Once they are released from the boma we will carry on with
the habituation process, tracking them every day and walking in with them. Once
we are satisfied they are well used to the presence of groups of people on
foot, the game drives from the lodges will also be able to walk guests in like
they used to with Jabu and Djuma, such a special and unique experience.</div>
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Rosie Miles</div>
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Base Manager GVI Karongwe</div>
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Mmakadi Creche Community Outreach
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the local village, The Oaks, close to
GVI Karongwe hub, there is a little crèche with the name of Mmakadi. The
founder and owner of the crèche, Gloria, is a very warm and friendly lady
always welcoming people with open arms. Gloria’s goal is to give children, from
the ages of 0-5, a safe place to stay during the day while their parents are at
work. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It is at this crèche that a batch of GVI
volunteers got to help out, for the first Wednesday of many, and make bricks
for a new building that Gloria is in dire need of. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crèche houses about 70 children on a daily basis, with
very little infrastructure. The ladies working at the crèche are cooks,
teachers, nurses and ‘day mothers’ to these kids, so there is very little time
to pay attention to painting of walls or making of bricks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Our volunteers are all to happy to help
out, especially if it means they get some play time with the adorable local
village children. We are in the process of making the playground more fun and
educational. One of our current staff Interns, Kathryn Anderson showed a lot of
initiative when she asked her friends and family at home in Australia to donate
any children’s books they could spare. Now we have a very well stocked pile, or
library if you must, of educational children’s books.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxdBvE-braY5OZ2TQSfGMVBXaEx-bZoDVbjun3IuIzQ0DqpX1CM6nnDimRWfvDc5yK1p0qou-9PuN3Enh4sOg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Thanks to all of the volunteers for your
amazing work and willingness to help. </span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Marulas, eles and me
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mid-summer in the Lowveld is marked by the sudden flush of
ripe Marula fruits falling from trees all over the reserve. For those that don’t
know, the marula fruit is a small golf ball-like fruit, green when unripe and
on the tree, turning pale yellow and falling to the ground when ripe. I say
golf ball-like not just because of the size and shape of the fruit, but because
the noise they make as they hit the tin roof above my head every two minutes is
very similar to the sound a golf ball would make! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiil3RfGEsMCmWu71GhC5vhXWJphwZbp-XLxjkJCO0EBrsxIZtWNBeBtl8ITgplCk4hIcedkqcSJpGcNvmlErrdW5WYyEpuPo6Qpye0MTrhMK_7HUSxglnthLl_tSK3LLMVDj41Q9xj59A/s1600/IMG_2512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiil3RfGEsMCmWu71GhC5vhXWJphwZbp-XLxjkJCO0EBrsxIZtWNBeBtl8ITgplCk4hIcedkqcSJpGcNvmlErrdW5WYyEpuPo6Qpye0MTrhMK_7HUSxglnthLl_tSK3LLMVDj41Q9xj59A/s1600/IMG_2512.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXsGJ1oIV4iFcjsC3uewOiW4akDsTY3zctrnCkv3sz4FmkkSjtfgQi2Njw7RArRH3kkLDFN2DHpZYj9H-0nEtMQ9HTUZpFJpXc4b6OoP8Z4D2aunjY9DaKmGysAUugvdjvRvPxkMLmYU/s1600/IMG_2511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXsGJ1oIV4iFcjsC3uewOiW4akDsTY3zctrnCkv3sz4FmkkSjtfgQi2Njw7RArRH3kkLDFN2DHpZYj9H-0nEtMQ9HTUZpFJpXc4b6OoP8Z4D2aunjY9DaKmGysAUugvdjvRvPxkMLmYU/s1600/IMG_2511.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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The vast majority of the
fruit is made up of a large, hard and virtually impenetrable stone, within
which are seed kernels. The stone is the wrapped in a sour but juicy pulp and
covered in a tough skin. Once the skin is removed you can suck on the pulp like
a gobstopper until you get down to the stone. It might not sound that appealing
to you but they really are delicious and good for you, with around 4 times the
Vitamin C content of an orange! The pulp is used to make all sorts of things like jam and jellies, beer and even the famous South African liquor "Amarula".</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi865smUf4er5JhvwHdmPJpweAtJxpk5hv_ByjsiZnIF6oiUMI2BCv0xWxlZhqDQ-_-PascpL3N35w3VUSC7YiGpvNE-tz6vURK22TZIh4kqYa5XAZegzAjuZCzAXxSuPIRAsJr5SM0fxE/s1600/IMG_2513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi865smUf4er5JhvwHdmPJpweAtJxpk5hv_ByjsiZnIF6oiUMI2BCv0xWxlZhqDQ-_-PascpL3N35w3VUSC7YiGpvNE-tz6vURK22TZIh4kqYa5XAZegzAjuZCzAXxSuPIRAsJr5SM0fxE/s1600/IMG_2513.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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And it’s not just us humans that enjoy them, virtually
every fruit-eating animal on the reserve goes nuts for them…especially the
elephants!</div>
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<br /></div>
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At the GVI Karongwe base we are blessed with a number of
large and fruitful marula trees in our garden. It is not an uncommon occurrence
in mid-summer to be woken up to a strange slurping sound outside my bedroom
window, the sound of elephants sucking up the fruits from the ground using
their trunks and squelching them in their mouths. This is what I woke up to at
midnight last night and I instantly felt a giggle burst from my mouth. I jumped
out of bed and peeked out my window to see in the bright moonlight a gaggle of six
female elephants and their calves peacefully enjoying the marulas less than five
metres from my window. Now awake, I then became aware of a less peaceful flurry
of activity going on at the front of the house. One of the bull elephants was
squeezing himself between two of our parked research vehicles in the driveway
to get himself to the best marula tree in garden. But much to his consternation
there weren’t any fruits waiting for him on the floor (because I had already
gathered the fallen ones up that morning to make jam) so he took it upon
himself to shake the tree hard enough to cause all the ones still attached to
fall to the floor. The chaos that followed involved branches cracking and
snapping and falling with a crash on the cars, marula fruits flying and banging
on the car and the elephant trumpeting and huffing and wheezing in the effort
and joy of his success. Needless to say he managed to detach far more fruits
than he intended to eat and we woke up this morning to find the cars and
surrounding areas littered with debris from the tree, making walking to the
vehicle a treacherous and ankle-twisting activity!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXniBeAcHqfPGNoyb-Kdrj8eCrRaW3-qH4f7uX_IzjnHSkeK2zyZ2NDBdswBVTFcxwbThMB9ikhY-AwEA0k91ByJzl_uUNRkHvjPDAt1L20IE5YESWE_zgwmTNg7Op18OSf_m8Ua57d-0/s1600/IMG_2509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXniBeAcHqfPGNoyb-Kdrj8eCrRaW3-qH4f7uX_IzjnHSkeK2zyZ2NDBdswBVTFcxwbThMB9ikhY-AwEA0k91ByJzl_uUNRkHvjPDAt1L20IE5YESWE_zgwmTNg7Op18OSf_m8Ua57d-0/s1600/IMG_2509.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_TVvbp4bq9cuOKN7qp6W9-Dd7ZRxEKWfdmw-jREyWvTTx0W7LcAEkVnOShQ_UXY7K1yNpDya54X6xk6KqOB-4MeTBo1NyUBinWuzmmHrBp-oeDxq8AiUUlQskGzilPKls55UY3jvt5c/s1600/IMG_2510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_TVvbp4bq9cuOKN7qp6W9-Dd7ZRxEKWfdmw-jREyWvTTx0W7LcAEkVnOShQ_UXY7K1yNpDya54X6xk6KqOB-4MeTBo1NyUBinWuzmmHrBp-oeDxq8AiUUlQskGzilPKls55UY3jvt5c/s1600/IMG_2510.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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Just one of the perils of living in the African bush I suppose!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rosie Miles</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Karongwe Base Manager</div>
New Year, new website and blog platform
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>New Year, new website
and blog platform<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are already well under way with the new year and champing
at the bit of 2014. We bet our khaki-clad bottoms that it’ll throw at us more
than our fair share of adventure, discovery, drama and challenge! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Please also take note that GVI’s new website will be going
live very soon and together with it a new blog platform to replace this
Blogspot one. So please keep an eye on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GVISouthAfricaLimpopoKZN?ref=br_tf">Facebook</a>
and <a href="https://twitter.com/GVILimpopoKZN">Twitter</a> accounts as well as
the website and we will provide details on all of these when the new pages go
live. </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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We wish all of our GVI vols and other GVI peeps a truly
great year, and we look forward to welcoming our new volunteers to base over
the coming months. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JXgZr18OtjA20poL4XZeTUWDkPhkcHeuUNTt00qmkjzq1nEtHgOITKHYWFjktmPzuqBLLnhLmkSskZou210cDplsS-LJWGUZyWbZxqfBGBBXgODjkoWjz2EiE-EzF-LepVfRvZ_BYGg/s1600/hippo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JXgZr18OtjA20poL4XZeTUWDkPhkcHeuUNTt00qmkjzq1nEtHgOITKHYWFjktmPzuqBLLnhLmkSskZou210cDplsS-LJWGUZyWbZxqfBGBBXgODjkoWjz2EiE-EzF-LepVfRvZ_BYGg/s1600/hippo.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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The GVI Limpopo & KZN Team</div>
Meet Flat Eleanor
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meet Flat Eleanor! Flat Eleanor is one of
the most recent, and favorite additions to the GVI Karongwe family. She hails
from Powhatan, Virginia and was created by the nine year-old cousin of
long-term intern, Jessie C. Flat Eleanor is the creation of a long-standing
tradition amongst many children all over the world to recreate the timeless
story, <i>Flat Stanley</i>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4_gsC7LaWYNuI3W2tvxeCrR342-xcufDJJ10Nz3gwz2iEaMyqfB5RK1-03oK4gr5dpDgL2RB4d0oUoi6mFm9V-u6rhrt-dJn0GoRE52QXvSCAPzMNlESVxbe9CgT5dMWEfvNOV8si8g/s1600/DSC04043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4_gsC7LaWYNuI3W2tvxeCrR342-xcufDJJ10Nz3gwz2iEaMyqfB5RK1-03oK4gr5dpDgL2RB4d0oUoi6mFm9V-u6rhrt-dJn0GoRE52QXvSCAPzMNlESVxbe9CgT5dMWEfvNOV8si8g/s1600/DSC04043.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApxaO70_g1uH5qB-0l9TG2jX1ftUWNbis4JAZ1qqvJeUbRXihXe0JgnuBFRMToQLcDVO4HdThyphenhyphenZFJm3YDD9g9HM1mxghgkOyMgF4nUOP7BQfbgIqB72m3l_8zwr3h6SbgCWD8xBh7bMU/s1600/DSC03516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApxaO70_g1uH5qB-0l9TG2jX1ftUWNbis4JAZ1qqvJeUbRXihXe0JgnuBFRMToQLcDVO4HdThyphenhyphenZFJm3YDD9g9HM1mxghgkOyMgF4nUOP7BQfbgIqB72m3l_8zwr3h6SbgCWD8xBh7bMU/s1600/DSC03516.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVQVxM2XjYHR4wV2sXOH6NZ0t2M63Q_vL-6tkRxhOjHVIY0nMVZl-_9AdSNs-e1etIJ-JEMwjDiWswuKAA2AvgDoKrEzGHKCksRqxMB_tVVSgmT_VOhhU8FZmKXLLL0q6PO1apew6gl0/s1600/DSC03132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVQVxM2XjYHR4wV2sXOH6NZ0t2M63Q_vL-6tkRxhOjHVIY0nMVZl-_9AdSNs-e1etIJ-JEMwjDiWswuKAA2AvgDoKrEzGHKCksRqxMB_tVVSgmT_VOhhU8FZmKXLLL0q6PO1apew6gl0/s1600/DSC03132.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Flat Stanley, </i>written by Jeff Brown,
tells the tale of Stanley Lampchops who was flattened by a large bulletin
board. He uses his flatness to visit friends all around the world in an
envelope, learning about the different cultures and traditions while going on
crazy adventures. Children read this book now and create flat versions of
themselves to be sent around the world to friends and family where the
recipient takes photos and write a letter back to the child, helping to spread
knowledge and culture to a younger generation.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GlwkHWZzrKinauAto28umhBK04Yfu4zismdmG7jHwHX7qIqFhT_F5THxxFEGIoALSRQ1PpCxJP5Xb8EZNc9uuBxgwThqCocqfy5Q3l8PbDae1479unX4X8X0prNe0_bynTWIw6MiRhE/s1600/DSC03036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GlwkHWZzrKinauAto28umhBK04Yfu4zismdmG7jHwHX7qIqFhT_F5THxxFEGIoALSRQ1PpCxJP5Xb8EZNc9uuBxgwThqCocqfy5Q3l8PbDae1479unX4X8X0prNe0_bynTWIw6MiRhE/s1600/DSC03036.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> When
Flat Eleanor arrived, there was a huge fuss as everyone argued over who got to
take Flat Eleanor out on research drive or reserve work first. During her first
drive, Flat Eleanor got to hold a Leopard Tortoise, see many giraffes, use the
game radio, identify leopard tracks, and many more! It was during this drive
that we realized Eleanor would not make it in her paper form and was quickly
taken to town where she was laminated. It was good that we did because soon the
rains came, and she has been able to endure so much more. Eleanor has now been
on many drives, and has seen Elephants ring barking (the removal of strips of
bark from a tree), walked with cheetahs, identified hyenas, learned how to track
animals using telemetry, and assisted in bush clearing.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipX7p7aoD5ehbUdk2l-6lQ_Aq4aLlEDANxvphRRpWJ2JUX6CGprdikrhLsK6vSB7Od0byu7UOcGekxq9HtLIIYVFOJo9alwfWf04l4g2xltHnls-HKXX4FyZ4hKgW7zmO2ae-FC-zO7t8/s1600/DSC03096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipX7p7aoD5ehbUdk2l-6lQ_Aq4aLlEDANxvphRRpWJ2JUX6CGprdikrhLsK6vSB7Od0byu7UOcGekxq9HtLIIYVFOJo9alwfWf04l4g2xltHnls-HKXX4FyZ4hKgW7zmO2ae-FC-zO7t8/s1600/DSC03096.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Flat
Eleanor has taught many lessons to everyone here on base. She exemplified the
perfect housemate, quiet, does not eat much, clean, and never complains, as
well as excelled in each task set before her. Flat Eleanor brought another
method of motivation forth to find the perfect angle of an animal for her to be
photographed with, as well as how to get them both in focus (a challenge still
not completed). She is a fun, spirit lifting presence here on base. She always
has a smile on her face. Now that we are in the first quarter of 2014, Eleanor
is classified as staff and loving helping the new volunteers learn their
animals. Though the true purpose of Flat Eleanor is to travel the world to
share more knowledge and culture, so soon she may be mailed off to another GVI
location somewhere else in the world! Keep your eyes open, she may </span></div>
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just visit
you next!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZUyMatbqWzonr4ZvPF8_LKqcooDshnlkmZISJZ8UO6N5R8CU5PeD0jDhFNPNr1mL9rzSTVsKxCJzDu2j9rTuLbCDeJDHCAJvHDx6MW8f4v3uFPQKwpXGZQFtCXejrCAa2dYHJNjavXI/s1600/DSC03521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZUyMatbqWzonr4ZvPF8_LKqcooDshnlkmZISJZ8UO6N5R8CU5PeD0jDhFNPNr1mL9rzSTVsKxCJzDu2j9rTuLbCDeJDHCAJvHDx6MW8f4v3uFPQKwpXGZQFtCXejrCAa2dYHJNjavXI/s1600/DSC03521.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkZA-bU2dgkDPvnTSf7Yn7nJ9zdHO6v2A7T-IecUnjsEASQ3thsVyJUuPkdxNy681D_kBH-lPAKGbgQqnBZ0D3dAB3PDvjmup2xZDAl0rkzXUR5T7_X-0dVQbgjnx19mIs5PzhuSDZPs/s1600/DSC03111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkZA-bU2dgkDPvnTSf7Yn7nJ9zdHO6v2A7T-IecUnjsEASQ3thsVyJUuPkdxNy681D_kBH-lPAKGbgQqnBZ0D3dAB3PDvjmup2xZDAl0rkzXUR5T7_X-0dVQbgjnx19mIs5PzhuSDZPs/s1600/DSC03111.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
Rescuing a Cheetah Cub
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">Just
before Christmas Shutdown we had a bit of a stressful time with our favourite
cheetah family. Research Assistant, Nico, found the foursome on the Northern Fenceline but when the
family got up and got on the move it became immediately apparent that the male
cheetah cub was unable to put any weight on his front left leg and struggling
to keep up with the rest of the family. Fearing a broken leg, the Reserve
Manager, Simon, called our local Wildlife Vet, asking him to come take a look.
Whilst we waited for the vet to arrive GVI staff and volunteers took turns to
follow the cheetah to keep track of them. It was quite distressing to watch as
Ketswiri (the mother) was continuously on the move, looking for something to
eat, and the little injured cub was lagging further and further behind.
Whenever the family did stop he would just collapse to the ground and not move
again until his mother was nearly out of sight again when he would drag himself
to his three good legs and bunny hop after her. His sisters were torn between
staying with him and following their mother.
Over the few hours that we followed them they covered close to two
kilometres and crossed the flowing Makutsi River, and the little cub was
deteriorating with every step. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">After a
few hours, in the intense afternoon heat, the little cub collapsed under a
raisin bush and did not look like he was going to get up again. His mother was
now out of sight and the sisters halfway between the two. But just then we
heard the telltale sound of Ketswiri on the hunt, her thundering footsteps and
alarm-calling from impala. Moments later we heard Ketswiri making her “come
here” call to the cubs, which sounds more like a Velociraptor than something
that would be made by a cheetah. The sisters immediately ran in the direction
of the call and we waited with baited breath to see whether the little boy
would get up. It was a great relief when we watched him stir and slowly make
his way over to his family, and it was an even greater relief for us to see
that Ketswiri had been successful in bringing down an impala. It was only a
tiny baby impala and would not fill the family up, but it would at least mean
that they would stay still for a few hours, the timing had been critical for
the now exhausted cub that was literally on his last legs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">We
watched for another hour while the two sisters tucked greedily in, even
slapping their own mother when she tried to grab a morsel. Sadly though the
little male cub did not have the energy to eat and just lay in a heap next to
his mother. Fortunately the vet arrived while they were still eating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">The
cheetah family is so habituated to our presence with them on foot that it was
surprisingly easy and stress-free darting the cub and removing him from his
family, Ketswiri barely battered an eyelid. Whilst it is impossible for us to
know what was going through her head, no one can deny how much this completely
wild cheetah trusts us, even with her cubs, something that I still find truly
remarkable. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBK3nsXc0ZxyxH80mtXP4u2yLu0TxjH1njYXRMA1Ylm2zbDd5WlVjSpPGdpor_d92FxSWexCk0WP0cA1TRZGyfwL44PtbPUYRYH4wllCxd3zWa5rBna5IjlYF9Yqw2Mo3rYN-opmG-Yx4/s1600/darted+cub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBK3nsXc0ZxyxH80mtXP4u2yLu0TxjH1njYXRMA1Ylm2zbDd5WlVjSpPGdpor_d92FxSWexCk0WP0cA1TRZGyfwL44PtbPUYRYH4wllCxd3zWa5rBna5IjlYF9Yqw2Mo3rYN-opmG-Yx4/s1600/darted+cub.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">We
gently lay the now asleep cub on the tailgate of the bakkie for the vet to
examine, Ketswiri and the two sisters just sitting calmly watching five metres
away. The vet advised that he couldn’t
feel a break but could see the elbow joint was very swollen so made the
difficult decision to take him back to his clinic for xrays and a proper
examination. At this point we had no way of knowing what the result would be
and therefore what the future would hold for this little cub.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIirX_uQ9pFwOoQPNAP_WrL5TrEqGra_d-J-QxNg-RVTbfpztr1J53Z6YBP0Sprb6LRek1-qskz7HBbrixg-EWPh5ON3d8SqS95BgZDI6dxCXwnHHP8HfDjeTSGSYchpQTSeEx754cHrA/s1600/vet+examining.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIirX_uQ9pFwOoQPNAP_WrL5TrEqGra_d-J-QxNg-RVTbfpztr1J53Z6YBP0Sprb6LRek1-qskz7HBbrixg-EWPh5ON3d8SqS95BgZDI6dxCXwnHHP8HfDjeTSGSYchpQTSeEx754cHrA/s1600/vet+examining.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">In the
morning the vet contacted us to advise that the leg was not broken and it was
just an abscess, possibly from a bite wound or scratch. The wound had been
cleaned out and he had been given slow-release antibiotics as well as
anti-inflammatories, pain killers and some injections to help boost his immune
system. He said the cub was ready to come home and the decision was made to try
to reintroduce him back to the family. Reintroducing the cub to the family was
potentially risky because Ketswiri might reject him, but we felt the risk was
small because he had been gone for only just over 12 hours and the family were
well bonded now the cubs are over 6 months old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">Simon
brought the cub back to Karongwe and GVI staff and vols assisted with locating
and following Ketswiri, keeping track of the proximity of the lions who were in
the neighbouring block and the biggest threat to the cheetah, collecting a meal
of impala for the family and transporting the cub back to the family. It was a
huge operation that required teamwork and every member of the GVI and Karongwe
Team put in 100% to ensure it went smoothly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmI_PCTx4ZLsAZrdiIYgkURECoUIGvEY19_O3zAoOeXEYdLrxu8rLO5qKMfwRtXpR_v-40dKOLJzG_h9zvMq3o0LpJ2PuBS1qRT4V39Wnb97wAA7PSy2ldMpgqmNJ3MbddW-TZRyntIA/s1600/cub+in+crate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmI_PCTx4ZLsAZrdiIYgkURECoUIGvEY19_O3zAoOeXEYdLrxu8rLO5qKMfwRtXpR_v-40dKOLJzG_h9zvMq3o0LpJ2PuBS1qRT4V39Wnb97wAA7PSy2ldMpgqmNJ3MbddW-TZRyntIA/s1600/cub+in+crate.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">Once we
had located the cheetah family, we gave them the impala in the hope that they
would appreciate the free meal and would then stay still for long enough for us
to reintroduce the cub. They took the bait gratefully having only had the very
small impala the day before and whilst they were distracted feeding we brought
the cub to them in a crate. Ketswiri and the sisters did not react in any way
to our close proximity to them with the strange crate, they just continued
eating. Simon opened the door to the crate and after a few seconds the cub ran
out. One of his sisters spotted him first and ran over, jumping on him and
licking him. Then Ketswiri made a call to him and he wobbled over to her where
she immediately started licking him. What a huge relief! There were then a few
minutes of him standing looking bemused whilst his family sniffed and licked
him all over, before everyone went back to tucking into their dinner, including
the little boy who still had not had anything to eat for a number of days. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmm_QDeUKlvDh-XH_B6qgu95qjY8yyFdKPOWo0m5AdYj-WPzep1yj-hSghKL_dL-JM5CQCgUPqNRS0iagZCE1wKDOQcY1oUuIVhNDzWua8J1McpXbSwQHXdVsR0iTTlyBxjQx2DzuEGU/s1600/watching+over+them.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmm_QDeUKlvDh-XH_B6qgu95qjY8yyFdKPOWo0m5AdYj-WPzep1yj-hSghKL_dL-JM5CQCgUPqNRS0iagZCE1wKDOQcY1oUuIVhNDzWua8J1McpXbSwQHXdVsR0iTTlyBxjQx2DzuEGU/s1600/watching+over+them.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"> Myself and a couple of the other GVI staff
then stayed with the family until dark to keep observing the reunion, in case
Ketswiri decided later to reject him, and also to protect them as the little
cub was still very wobbly on his feet. Over the course of the next 4 hours the
family did a lot of licking and bonding as well as eating. His sisters visibly
pleased to see him and playing with him a lot. He, as usual, choosing to cuddle
up with mum the majority of the time, he has always been a little mummies boy. He
continued to give out loud contact calls for the rest of the day despite being
curled up with his mum, it’s hard to say why, whether he was still confused
from the drugs or he was just excited to be back with his family and letting
the whole world know it. He was also very wobbly on his legs due to effect of
the drugs wearing off and also from weakness and from being sat in a box for
hours whilst at the vets. But his strength and stability improved over the
course of the 4 hours we watched over him. He ate well until his belly was as
round as a balloon and he was putting full weight on the injured leg by the
time we left them at dark.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULmK8fhOGSU6tXXPsHxaUEXwqgOPxxsJ4f207LwiZp1RsBFFVP0nsyh2EiHuV2LvFKatkMolVr_g0mM3PJk1MfoA21GPJam5y5b8TW9emLWaW7zSMWNszTJ4n6mtiW4osGgpk1oqKRx4/s1600/tucking+in+after+release.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULmK8fhOGSU6tXXPsHxaUEXwqgOPxxsJ4f207LwiZp1RsBFFVP0nsyh2EiHuV2LvFKatkMolVr_g0mM3PJk1MfoA21GPJam5y5b8TW9emLWaW7zSMWNszTJ4n6mtiW4osGgpk1oqKRx4/s1600/tucking+in+after+release.JPG" height="211" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">We went
straight back to find that at first light. The little cub was looking stiff but
not in pain and otherwise quite mobile. Over the course of the following week
his leg improved each day and now he is back to his usual tree-climbing, rough
and tumbling self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">The
whole process was quite an emotional one for everyone involved and raised a lot
of questions as to the ethics of us intervening rather than letting nature take
its course. There is no question that if we had not taken the injured cub that
afternoon he would not have survived the night. Cheetah are the bottom of the
hierarchy when it comes to predators, particularly at night, and are
permanently on the run from the larger carnivores. The family has already lost
one female cub last month to the lions, and in the state he was in he would
have been unable to run away from anything, even a jackal would have taken him.
When working with wildlife we usually say we only intervene when the situation
has been brought about as a result of human impact. However, everyone agrees
that we should also not let an animal suffer, the cub was clearly suffering and
I doubt anyone could have sat by and watched him deteriorate as we did without
wanting to help. In addition, as we discussed in our previous blog about the
Cheetah Metapopulation Project, the conservation status of cheetah is in a dire
position, and this is largely due to human impact. We strongly believe this
justifies our decision to intervene and give our cheetah cubs every chance
possible to remain in the wild and contribute positively to the cheetah
population of Southern Africa. This is why we made the potentially risky
decision to try to reintroduce the cub to his family, his only chance to remain
a wild cheetah rather than to condemn him to a life in captivity as so many
cheetah in South Africa have. Thankfully the reintroduction was successful. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBq52cHn5x8W8Gau3CxvE8zelaAUpTFE2J3wkG-VRIwfXV7Wn6RWuxTLNSV2M4I2RbdKqV1LhnI-JCGbCcoNeb-_7c_7c_ekVjVh6iSsLiVZ41n7ZPpZmzSJA5KOE476LyGkVDMAfwao/s1600/happy&healthy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBq52cHn5x8W8Gau3CxvE8zelaAUpTFE2J3wkG-VRIwfXV7Wn6RWuxTLNSV2M4I2RbdKqV1LhnI-JCGbCcoNeb-_7c_7c_ekVjVh6iSsLiVZ41n7ZPpZmzSJA5KOE476LyGkVDMAfwao/s1600/happy&healthy.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">The
fact is cheetah need all the help they can get. The population of wild cheetah
in the Lowveld Region is in decline. In the past few years there has been only
one cub survive and go on to breed in our area, this is one of Ketswiri’s cubs
from a couple of years ago, and she was the sole survivor of a litter of 5.
Another one of our female cheetah, that is now deceased, raised two male cubs
to adulthood but they were later killed in poacher’s snares. Ketswiri lost an
entire litter earlier this year, probably to leopard. The father of these cubs
was killed by lions in July. This litter started with four but one female was
killed by lions. The two remaining sisters were separated from their mother and
brother during the lion attack and had it not been for our intervention in that
instance they would also not have survived. So the sad reality is without our
help cheetah would not be able to sustain their population again this year. On
Karongwe, we would have gone from 7 cheetah to 2, thankfully due to everyone’s
efforts we currently still have 5 left; Ketswiri, the three remaining cubs and
their uncle Djuma. These cheetah cubs are so precious to the Metapopulation
Project that we will happily help them in the struggle to survive whenever we
are able and we feel it is appropriate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">Rosie
Miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">Base
Manager GVI Karongwe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Counting Spots
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Most nights, here at GVI Karongwe, we fall asleep to the sound of
hyena calling but we don’t often get the opportunity to spend time observing
them for extended periods, as a result we sometimes lose track of the hyena
activity. Recently hyena have been sighted in the northern part of the reserve
more frequently than ever before, therefore we thought it was about time we did
a bit of a hyena census just to see who is still around and maybe work out
which hyena are utilising the northern part of the reserve. When a sick giraffe
died we thought this might be the perfect opportunity for us to observe our
reserves notorious scavengers making use of the carcass.</div>
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We set up 3 camera traps at the carcass, two taking
photographs and one with video and we also parked up by the dead giraffe
(preferably upwind!) for a couple of hours a day at dawn and dusk, and waited. It wasn’t long before we got what we were wishing for. </div>
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Over the course of a few days using our own visual sightings
and the photos and videos caught on the camera traps we managed to identify 9
different individual hyena. These included the most recent pup who has already grown
exponentially since we first sighted her at the den earlier this year, and the
two males Makalali and Darkey who, more often than not, are seen away from the
rest of the clan. Using their unique spot patterns the volunteers matched the
hyenas we saw with hyena we already have ID kits for, a skill that takes a bit
of practice but is greatly satisfying when you make a positive identification. </div>
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We are still collecting photographic data of the hyena being
seen in the northern parts of the reserve before we can make any conclusions on
the current hyena population and movements, but so far everyone is really
enjoying spending time with our favourite nocturnal neighbours that are so
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Rosie Miles</div>
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Base Manager Karongwe</div>
GVI Karongwe hosts important meeting on cheetahs in the Lowveld
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This week was the annual meeting of the members of the
Lowveld Cheetah Metapopulation Group organised by the Endangered Wildlife
Trust (EWT), and we were lucky enough to be the ones to host it this time.</div>
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Cheetah had been largely removed from the majority of South
Africa until recently when they were re-introduced to over 40 game reserves.
There are now approximately 300 cheetah existing on these small reserves
throughout the country, however due to the small size of these reserves and the
presence of electrified fences, these animals form small subpopulations and are
fragmented and unable to move and interact freely.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-O2pIuqBpWeHAHByvNHgGDRq47fbD3GM1uQaamx74EXyM0gRnkEa8rAfyQN9SfIChsFwgYEC6kxrjdnWCbbLhUMrhIn6A9BeWPlCbM3XvIxQPp_Hs5T17UBxxRjuhAZJfpzxR_9BJVaA/s1600/DSC_0748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-O2pIuqBpWeHAHByvNHgGDRq47fbD3GM1uQaamx74EXyM0gRnkEa8rAfyQN9SfIChsFwgYEC6kxrjdnWCbbLhUMrhIn6A9BeWPlCbM3XvIxQPp_Hs5T17UBxxRjuhAZJfpzxR_9BJVaA/s320/DSC_0748.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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Therefore the aim of the Cheetah Metapopulation Project is
to develop and co-ordinate a National Metapopulation Management Plan for cheetahs
in smaller fenced reserves. In particular the Project coordinates and
facilitates the movement of cheetah between reserves to ensure genetic
integrity is maintained and collects and analyses genetic samples to assist
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On the agenda for the meeting this year was a discussion on
ways to address the current population decline in the Lowveld, identifying
potential cheetah movements within the Lowveld reserves, and a discussion on
whether cheetah should have a financial value. </div>
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We discovered that the main causes of the decline in cheetah
numbers in our area is the lack of breeding reserves (i.e. reserves that only
have single sex cheetah, females that are on contraception or infertile
cheetah) and a lack of female cheetah in general. The group discussed ways to
improve this situation by proposing movements of cheetah between the various
reserves. We also discussed the possibility of bringing some new females into
the metapopulation from outside sources. Everyone in the group is keenly
watching our 3 cheetah cubs on Karongwe, in particular the two females, hoping
that they are going to grow up and contribute to the cheetah numbers in our
area in the next couple of years. </div>
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It was really satisfying to see that all members of the
group present agreed that the cheetahs should not have a financial value, it
showed that everyone was in the group for the right reason...conservation of
the cheetah. Everyone agreed that by adding financial value to a cheetah would
result in cheetahs being sold to the highest bidder rather than to the best
reserve genetically-speaking. This results in some of the smaller reserves
being out-bidded despite being a more desirable location for the cheetah and in
some areas of South Africa it has resulted in the selling of wild cheetah into
captivity. No one in the Lowveld Group wants to see that happen. </div>
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Overall the meeting was really interesting, in particular,
for our new volunteers it was a great introduction for them to the issues of
cheetah conservation in South Africa. It was fantastic to meet and talk to
like-minded people from all over the Lowveld that are trying to help conserve
cheetah and to see that we are making progress in the right direction. </div>
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Big thanks to EWT for giving us the opportunity to host this
important meeting!</div>
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Rosie Miles</div>
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Base Manager Karongwe</div>
A volunteer's perspective - Claudia Lifton-Schwerner - In between earth and sky
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<span lang="EN-US">Trevor Garrod of Tea Leaf Green sings about
“living in between the earth and sky”.
While spending this past week in the pristine, 1,945 meter high
Mariepskop Mountains, I felt as though I was doing just that. The Mariepskop Mountains are an ecological
hotspot with several endemic species living in its stunning forests. It is an important area to protect; however,
many years ago the government allowed the natural forests to be cut down in
order to plant Pine and Eucalyptus trees for timber production. Since neither Pine nor Eucalyptus trees are
indigenous to the area, there has been a severe drop in the variation of
species present in the areas of the mountain which have been altered. </span></div>
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Since 2004, GVI has been doing research on
the population of rodents present in both the altered and non-altered forests. Rodents are an important part of the food
chain, and are therefore a good species to study in order to indicate the
health of an entire area. By setting up
an equal number of rodent traps in both altered and non-altered forests, GVI
has proven that there is an obvious loss of biodiversity in the unnatural
forests. Through this research we hope
to prove to the government that the unnatural forests are detrimental to the
health of the eco-system, and therefore should be replanted with trees indigenous
to the area. I have never spent very
much time learning about or working with rodents, so it was very interesting to
learn about such an important part of the health of our environment.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While the research was very interesting,
the thing that made this past week so special was the mountains
themselves. It was such a quiet, lovely
get away with only eight people from the GVI team staying in small, wooden cabins. We woke up to a dream-like view every
morning, and ended the day with a spectacular sunset over the mountains every
night. In between trappings, we visited
a river running through the forest and took advantage of the rope swing that
had been set up by previous volunteers.
We ate dinner by candle light, followed by star gazing under the
completely uninterrupted blackness of the sky.
It was an idyllic scene and an amazing experience. <a href="" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Claudia Lifton-Schwerner - GVI Volunteer Round the World Competition Winner</span></div>
Back to School....
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">Having spent hours in ‘Arts and Crafts’ sessions with intern Vicky
revamping the resources for our weekly community project, we were well prepared
and raring to go on Tuesday! Our team of 7 volunteers and staff member Jamie
arrived at The Oaks school and spent 30minutes with 9 children aged 8-9years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">Initially, the kids were very nervous and shy so we struggled to get
even their names out of them, but with our selection of fun activities they
soon gained in confidence. Firstly we used flashcards with pictures of various
animals, asking them to identify them; their gorgeous faces lighting up when
they got it right and were rewarded with stickers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">We then divided into 3 groups and moved round 3 stations. One group put
together 3-D puzzles of an elephant, a lion and a giraffe; another group
matched the name of an animal to a silhouette image. Thirdly, to teach them
about food chains, we’d drawn animals onto paper plates and asked the children
to match food such as impala, leaves or insects to the correct plate. For
instance, the impala would go on the lion plate. The kids loved this and
obviously enjoyed the interactive learning. We encouraged them to answer
individually and also helped them with their English. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZAbzvAo85qgTKFriKrDI6orKPxqFjQhGIWSk1l2GltUbw9wM4-y-ortw7W3Q904g-xpn46s-RprfZi7HioBdYcqD6c-4erQv2ictK2nxkUg-SIue1yYgMmAmg_ZsQ8ITctRF0OPCUOs/s1600/DSC_1132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZAbzvAo85qgTKFriKrDI6orKPxqFjQhGIWSk1l2GltUbw9wM4-y-ortw7W3Q904g-xpn46s-RprfZi7HioBdYcqD6c-4erQv2ictK2nxkUg-SIue1yYgMmAmg_ZsQ8ITctRF0OPCUOs/s320/DSC_1132.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">We used the rest of the session to get to know the children’s favourite
animals and ambitions and as we left there were high fives and thumbs up all
over the place! They are fantastic kids and they were amazed and excited by
having their photo taken – adorable! </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">After the success of our new puzzles and games, we can’t wait for our
next trip and are busy coming up with new activities to build on the children’s
knowledge and appreciation for the awesome wildlife on their doorstep!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">Emma Dawson</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">Volunteer
Intern</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Happy Halloween!
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<br />
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Happy
Halloween indeed!</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Being American, I have grown up
loving the holiday of Halloween, the costumes, the candy; it's all very
exciting. Today, it was the most exciting Halloween anyone could ask for.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It started off like a typical
morning drive, a bit cold from the rain the night before, the sun shining in
the sky, but not yet warming the skin. We were tracking the female lions down a
road when one of our fellow volunteers, Kutullo, aptly nicknamed
"Binos", saw an animal presumed to be a lion, about 80 meters into
the block in the thick of the bush. Well, this animal was as large as one of
our females, shaped a bit like our hefty ladies, but it had rosettes. We were
so excited to realize it was a leopard! After some further examination, due to
his size and stature, we figured it was none other than our beloved, Scar. </span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Scar is our oldest known male
leopard on the reserve. He is very sly and cunning, so seeing him is always
exciting. As Scar sat there, picking at his C-class, male impala kill, Emma in
the front of the bakkie saw something moving towards Scar, very quietly, very
slowly. As it turns out, one of the female lions decided to show up to the
party. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When she was really close to Scar
and his kill, she took off in a sprint, becoming very vocal, and chased him off
the kill. She then proceeded to chase him into a tree, out of our range of
vision. The lioness returned to her sister at the kill and they began to eat.
However, this is not the end of the story. Scar, being the sly, cunning leopard
that he is, jumped down from the tree thinking he could make a quick escape. The
lioness quickly ran after Scar and chased him into a large Marula tree, farther
from the kill.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We reversed quickly and drove a
little bit up the road, to a bend in the road where the Marula tree stood, with
Scar gracefully, yet angrily, perched on one of it's large branches. We sat
there, taking photographs, still a bit in shock at what we just witnessed, when
Scar elegantly leapt down from the tree and took off, causing us to lose visual
behind a termite mound. We travelled back around the bend to get a better
visual of the females, and left the girls gorging themselves on the stolen kill
with Scar no longer to be seen.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Needless to say, we spent the rest
of the drive in shock and excitement of what had happened. Hearing Rosie call
in what we just witnessed on the radio was like re-living the experience and
nearly as exciting as watching it unfold in the first place. It was by far the
most incredible sighting I have had since arriving on Karongwe in September,
and I am hoping for many more.</span></div>
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<div class="Body1" style="tab-stops: 99.75pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Jessie Cart<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="tab-stops: 99.75pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Volunteer Intern</span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="tab-stops: 99.75pt;">
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<div class="Body1" style="tab-stops: 99.75pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Photos courtesy of Jessie Cart and Emma Dawson</span></div>
A volunteer's perspective: Claudia Lifton-Schwerner, Round the World Volunteer
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<span lang="EN-US">In the jungle, the mighty jungle</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I couldn’t resist using another “Lion King”
reference with which to title my first blog from the South African Wildlife
Conservation Project. It seemed
appropriate, since during my first day out in the field I actually saw a lion
sleeping, at night, in the jungle.
During my first week here I have woken up to see a giraffe casually
browsing on the trees directly outside of our room. I have been warned to avoid the kitchen until
a hungry hyena left the premises. I have
seen a herd of massive (and tiny) elephants trample through a thick forest,
leaving the entire area of vegetation completely flattened in their wake. I have seen a leopard being chased by a group
of jackals. I have watched baby hippos
following their mother into a nearby pond for a bath and walked within five
meters of a mother cheetah cautiously watching her four young cubs run and play
in the nearby trees. I’m sure anyone that
knows me, or anyone that has read my previous blogs, can already imagine my
pure animal bliss, but just to clarify..AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!</span></div>
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The aim of this project is to collect data
on the behavior, feeding habits, and population size of the wild animals on Karongwe
Reserve, particularly the threatened or endangered species living in the
reserve such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and elephants. This data is essential to have in order to
successfully manage the land usage, population control of prey animals, and to
keep the area protected. In order to
collect accurate data, there are five hour game drives, twice a day, every
day. The “newbies” have spent our first
week training – learning social structures, hunting techniques and identifying characteristics
of our target species, as well as individual animals present in the park. Being able to identify specific animals out
in the field is incredibly rewarding and knowing so much about their species
makes it so much more meaningful to see them in the wild. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As if seeing exotic African wildlife out in
the field every day wasn’t enough, we had the privilege of getting up close and
personal with some of Africa’s most feared, yet stunning and endangered animals
this week. We visited a reptile conservation
center on Wednesday to learn about snakes and other reptiles of South Africa
and were able to hold some of the incredible creatures. I adore snakes, so I was very excited to
learn more about them, and the efforts of HERP (Helping Endangered Reptiles
Project) to conserve and protect these misunderstood beauties. We were also visited by a very cheeky and
hungry group of squirrel monkeys. They
made it very difficult to feed the chameleon by snatching its meals from our
hands before we could even put it in the lizard’s cage. Animal encounters have reached an all-time
high this week, and I’m sure Karongwe will continue to excite!</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a><span lang="EN-US">Claudia</span></div>
Heritage Day Celebrations at Karongwe
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<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">One word to descried
today “INCREDIBLE” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">Today GVI was invited
to celebrate Heritage Day at a local village “The Oaks” where the local
children got together and read poems, danced and sang some songs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ee-hlSCUQ-CpaWYTiwOLjYybgk2PXH-8BXfnoHLJ9HAMUd1myTgsU4Dii2k_WXpj1fgs054cxcoXVEO3-LfrPRoBE0cI8ukhytqqrlif8iakltQxzhjMfCxHNs8u9Fz9xuFnjcazQR8/s1600/heritage+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ee-hlSCUQ-CpaWYTiwOLjYybgk2PXH-8BXfnoHLJ9HAMUd1myTgsU4Dii2k_WXpj1fgs054cxcoXVEO3-LfrPRoBE0cI8ukhytqqrlif8iakltQxzhjMfCxHNs8u9Fz9xuFnjcazQR8/s320/heritage+day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">The poems were about
themselves and how far they have come in life and how far South Africa has come,
which was really interesting to listen to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They also did a traditional South African dance call “Gum Boots Dance”
which was developed by men working in the mines. At this point I can honestly
say that I was smiling so much that my cheeks started to hurt. The dancing was
amazing but they also added humour to the dance and when they were singing I
had that moment where every hair on my arms stood up, I had goose bumps and a
shiver went down my spine. They were incredible, they were so amazing. I LOVED
every minute of it and didn’t want the show to end. I could have watched them
do their local dancing and singing all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hkk1dENMfC9fsNHaRrz099S7TGEyf2y0c8gc7nEy5bW1Ngzpa5xK3QX-YDHkGZowOLHOB6iZ8QALgooZbcsk5ya7GaRmAfBQV6wetTu9HdYDpgBv1zKmyi1z-n1w39Eny2Bk66aaHHY/s1600/Gumboot+Dancing.wmv" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hkk1dENMfC9fsNHaRrz099S7TGEyf2y0c8gc7nEy5bW1Ngzpa5xK3QX-YDHkGZowOLHOB6iZ8QALgooZbcsk5ya7GaRmAfBQV6wetTu9HdYDpgBv1zKmyi1z-n1w39Eny2Bk66aaHHY/s1600/Gumboot+Dancing.wmv" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganszDJaGo9w4peO9o8XvrcOVU-gmIFjXM4YQvPSbtsOzAbIquRr8vyZkqs2HeUTok-fkLQc1qezMkoB3u3Sq8m5qVe2BnpyOt_1uFSmdDfrxVm4GmsIkp3qJdzr6ksYwgdNxHo8Z3dfY/s1600/Shosholoza+Song.wmv" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganszDJaGo9w4peO9o8XvrcOVU-gmIFjXM4YQvPSbtsOzAbIquRr8vyZkqs2HeUTok-fkLQc1qezMkoB3u3Sq8m5qVe2BnpyOt_1uFSmdDfrxVm4GmsIkp3qJdzr6ksYwgdNxHo8Z3dfY/s1600/Shosholoza+Song.wmv" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">After the show I spent
time playing and running around with some of the local children and had a tour
of the village, again, this was amazing. Everyone was so friendly and smiling
all the time. I played a local game with the kids called “Train Train” it was so
much fun. I can just see their little faces now with big smiles and laughing
out loud. This moment was so priceless to see and I had not smiled that much
for a long time. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66hc3NtHiO3wV7mfv4gQ3WuYDxclY2WWn6RsDC5suXqLTiysSkbJvE0ifOlHfekDFchGiXnIbLQMzNuIXbHlOu5Bj6T6TooPBEhl0PD-596sOoD5B9LmhyphenhyphenkXJ3hG5cEEftkqv76__kD4/s1600/vicky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66hc3NtHiO3wV7mfv4gQ3WuYDxclY2WWn6RsDC5suXqLTiysSkbJvE0ifOlHfekDFchGiXnIbLQMzNuIXbHlOu5Bj6T6TooPBEhl0PD-596sOoD5B9LmhyphenhyphenkXJ3hG5cEEftkqv76__kD4/s320/vicky.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">The Oaks is an amazing
village thank you Oaks </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">Vicky Houston</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA;">GVI Karongwe Intern</span></div>
Vulture Census on Zimanga
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Our volunteers got the
opportunity to participate in the Annual Vulture count on Zimanga. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqF2xRfe7WqU4AOTV1gdKU-9mTugy9VCmWF_Pd-dKHNz-8_SMevQNbAnIy4jxMhfXtILXOFbtzCR4Bj5ngqpqT1YvjkT_8-X21Z75lJFfJtcOleAvSheDQLmErKMf20WQxnO6vRXZO7CQ/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqF2xRfe7WqU4AOTV1gdKU-9mTugy9VCmWF_Pd-dKHNz-8_SMevQNbAnIy4jxMhfXtILXOFbtzCR4Bj5ngqpqT1YvjkT_8-X21Z75lJFfJtcOleAvSheDQLmErKMf20WQxnO6vRXZO7CQ/s320/Untitled.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">In collaboration with the provincial KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife and Endangered Wildlife Trust, a wildebeest and impala carcass were laid out on successive days. It made for a
spectacular show of vulture strength and agility. Some of these birds have a wingspan
of up to 280cm. A third of the population of the endangered Lappet Faced Vultures in the entire KZN province were counted and others like Hooded, White headed, Cape and White Backed Vultures
where among the hundreds around the carcasses. In total we counted </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 14px;">123 white-backed, 10 Lapped Faced, 5 Cape, 1 white headed and 1 hooded.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">The GVI Zimanga Team</span></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Karongwe Rhino Hike!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Rhino Walk 2013! In what has got to be considered
the highlight of the winter thus far, all volunteers and staff on Karongwe
recently undertook a daunting 45km hike in the Drakensburg Mountain Range to
benefit anti-poaching efforts here on the reserve. The path followed the vast
majority of the Fanie Botha Trail, arguably the most famous trail in South
Africa and a challenge typically completed over five days. However, we at
Karongwe are anything but typical (see picture below), and decided that spacing
out the entire trail into short manageable portions just wasn’t quite our cup
of tea. Instead, all 23 of us hiked 45km in just two days! Furthermore, as if
the task wasn’t steep enough, four of us very manly men completed the challenge
in extravagant costumes ranging from tube tops with complimentary fairy wings
to super-sensual cowboy drag that would appear far more at home in Brokeback
Mountain than a Drakensburg Mountain. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuG2SpGsJbNtNprwtwVUxegZp-k1_3ohbnF5E0HHgIBDs8ijy5fkrOX_woPAnRBcv-rkwt2XgR3wmp6RuiGWdZtu9vIiuhiQ7oA08WEPrAwJYdniZvtf1GvAN3egxknLKecbD5oU04kY/s1600/DSCN6865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuG2SpGsJbNtNprwtwVUxegZp-k1_3ohbnF5E0HHgIBDs8ijy5fkrOX_woPAnRBcv-rkwt2XgR3wmp6RuiGWdZtu9vIiuhiQ7oA08WEPrAwJYdniZvtf1GvAN3egxknLKecbD5oU04kY/s320/DSCN6865.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Straight
from the get-go, it was obvious that we were in for an adventure. Through the
thick early morning fog, we huffed and puffed our way up into the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mountains surrounding our vantage point. The
neatly arranged pine forests, despite replacing the natural rainforests for
logging purposes, lent almost a mystical air about the place and gave off an
aroma that left many of us Europeans and East Coast Americans reminiscing about
the forests just behind our houses back home. After several kilometers of pine,
the fog burned off and the trail gave way to amazingly pristine virgin
rainforest. With the sun now sending shards of light through the dense canopy
above our heads, we crisscrossed our way through the tropical forest, over cool
mountain streams and massive Jurassic-esque fern beds. After a quick stopover
at a towering waterfall, we made our way upwards to begin our ascent of a
portion of the Trail known as the Cathedral. It was a tough climb, but the
scenery kept us occupied and the promise of an incredible view from the summit
powered our weary legs up the seemingly endless mountain switchbacks. Finally,
with burning muscles and nearly empty camelbacks, we reached the top. It was a
stunning view of the entire region and a perfect end to the first day on the
trail. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QBcXN3o-NPn3VESzmUOKnb_v4iZ0I3IGQvqA_h6V50eVNc8g0B5btR8Jmk4wEZpqT_HSQMLqeyGpxnBcsRiUCjVsYhRfCZ38ILWQk_mP6zRUbxBQYw7rGIdoW2QOKKPGD2Lvznvpkt8/s1600/DSC_0319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QBcXN3o-NPn3VESzmUOKnb_v4iZ0I3IGQvqA_h6V50eVNc8g0B5btR8Jmk4wEZpqT_HSQMLqeyGpxnBcsRiUCjVsYhRfCZ38ILWQk_mP6zRUbxBQYw7rGIdoW2QOKKPGD2Lvznvpkt8/s320/DSC_0319.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
second day took us through flowing plains of yellow grasslands, dotted with
rainforest valleys and rocky bluffs. We walked up, down, and around the rolling
hills of the Drakensburg plateau on a beautifully sunny day. Spirits were high
and the ease of the terrain quickened our pace as we made it to the end of our
journey by only mid-afternoon. It was an incredible adventure overall, with
every bit of ecosystem variety you could hope for on a two-day hike. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1S6cHfrX4Npc86RdRg6ghQd5qof6KmMHKdTwsHe_li1a0P1DGTQJW7Pc2zAa4-Ek2UMlkoBQYljpHVjG3kK_0GzJwLTJ4Vjaa0uMZWBVQ_mC94bpnOX9u5R2zSInpGQCBEhkM0SK118/s1600/IMG_2854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1S6cHfrX4Npc86RdRg6ghQd5qof6KmMHKdTwsHe_li1a0P1DGTQJW7Pc2zAa4-Ek2UMlkoBQYljpHVjG3kK_0GzJwLTJ4Vjaa0uMZWBVQ_mC94bpnOX9u5R2zSInpGQCBEhkM0SK118/s320/IMG_2854.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicun-VAEUbWtylDE0uLxLh1tZlYu8e3jCgwVnVgg9_Iznjpr1FkBpA9Ws7gckYs613xO33Jf0tBazD7GZlEctqP9XtfzwYrYJoR6q-rUHpKsgTz-UZ9wkrLmc6kHeESOLV3WGOXAEIbp0/s1600/DSCN6885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicun-VAEUbWtylDE0uLxLh1tZlYu8e3jCgwVnVgg9_Iznjpr1FkBpA9Ws7gckYs613xO33Jf0tBazD7GZlEctqP9XtfzwYrYJoR6q-rUHpKsgTz-UZ9wkrLmc6kHeESOLV3WGOXAEIbp0/s320/DSCN6885.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2RrdQ5KCtH3w9ZnAvUkQNeIn7wGiYc_a8WMCf6M2fnn92_Cocu3iTUxFAuZHI9M-GNPNcOPpsFAHuPvjHESbLgsM_cOAyypfZH_bRY3xStkeKQiQ4cEyb0HPx9ekPdsYEUqZ_8KXaR0/s1600/DSCN7114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2RrdQ5KCtH3w9ZnAvUkQNeIn7wGiYc_a8WMCf6M2fnn92_Cocu3iTUxFAuZHI9M-GNPNcOPpsFAHuPvjHESbLgsM_cOAyypfZH_bRY3xStkeKQiQ4cEyb0HPx9ekPdsYEUqZ_8KXaR0/s320/DSCN7114.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">While the
experience would have been unforgettable on its own though, we owe genuine
thanks to all of you who donated to our cause. Amid the silly costumes,
complaints about sore feet, and jokes about relieving oneself in the outdoors,
the truth is that we raised over 40,000 Rand (over 4,000USD) for the brave
individuals who have dedicated their lives to protecting an animal they may
never even see. Over 560 rhinos have been poached this year alone in South
Africa, however with your donations, we may finally begin to see a noticeable
decline in the violence. From the bottom our hearts, we thank you, the
anti-poaching forces thank you, and if Rhinos could speak, I’m sure they’d
thank you as well. We look forward to more charity challenges in the future
here at Karongwe, because as long as there are wild animals at risk, we’ll keep
scaling mountains to support them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ari Whiteman</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Long Term Intern </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Karongwe Private Game Reserve</span></div>
Zimanga Volunteers Build a new Braai
<div class="MsoNormal">
Volunteers at Zimanga has been hard at work constructing a
new Braai area in camp, we only use old material from the reserve, removing unwanted rubble and then we recycling it. We found an old mural with clay bricks that
we used to construct the Braai (BBQ for those who does not know the South
African term) and some rocks from the reserve to make our Braai pit, for those
cold winter evenings and a truly African feel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We look forward to christening it with its first fire and meal in the coming weeks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
GVI Zimanga</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBx-NdQitqFT1KRHXT8RVBaWC3XyGTkz6Q6Ruz8XIr33vqllLwWvfGxP0cgBc0Raqf2bIM-FPA3LGwgZQJeZNmK3fHNk1paKF2D6On7xagEA6yRff_MbI7C9gfoLtlSH75aENHRenwoE/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBx-NdQitqFT1KRHXT8RVBaWC3XyGTkz6Q6Ruz8XIr33vqllLwWvfGxP0cgBc0Raqf2bIM-FPA3LGwgZQJeZNmK3fHNk1paKF2D6On7xagEA6yRff_MbI7C9gfoLtlSH75aENHRenwoE/s1600/Untitled.jpg" /></a></div>
Amazing Wild Dog Sighting on ZGR!
<div class="MsoNormal">
Experiencing their first kill, volunteer’s watched as the
pack of wild dogs on Zimanga flushed a young warthog piglet out of its burrow and ripped
it to pieces. We managed to follow them the whole morning and got to see
the dog’s crossing over the reserve looking for potential prey. After the feast
and still with the pig’s head and some legs in their mouths, they moved up the
road to a watering whole were volunteers got a spectacular show. </div>
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Running and chasing each other, some playing in the
water. One claimed the head as the prize
for the morning while four others remained only a few feet behind trying to
snatch it away. What an action packed
morning.</div>
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GVI Zimanga</div>
Local school children enjoy a day on Karongwe
It was an eventful afternoon here at Karongwe today as twelve local students from the Diputhi School came to experience a real-life safari! Most of the children, aged between 6-8, had never seen wild animals on a game reserve despite growing up so close nearby. For the six volunteers lucky enough to take the students around on a drive, it was an experience that was both exciting and quite humbling as well – one I will surely never forget. From a sighting perspective, the drive was without a doubt the most incredible I have experienced thus far in what can only be described as “spin around the block.” To date, I personally have never seen so many amazing things in such a short period here on the reserve and while the students may not have realized how lucky they were, the excitement on their faces was infectious. In roughly fifteen minutes the students were treated to hippos mock charging, giraffes sprinting, crocodiles, vervet monkeys, impala, and... drumroll please... the elephant herd! I've been here for a month and haven't had an elephant sighting that good. It was unbelievable luck, and while it was easy to fixate on the wildlife, the looks on the students faces were truly priceless. Like twelve year old girls at a Justin Bieber show, they screamed and giggled their way through the bush, scarcely sitting down but rather jumping and waving their hands in the air, and all the while eying the animals as superstar celebrities. <br />
After the drive the students returned to base to enjoy peanut butter sandwiches and a game of soccer. Coincidentally, the only thing more impressive than the drive ended up being their ball skills, as I can easily picture several kids in particular as starting strikers for Manchester United by their ninth birthdays. From a conservation perspective, the afternoon was extremely heartening. One of the great struggles of modern conservation is inspiring locals, especially in developing countries, to take the future of the environment into their own hands. Hopefully, as a result of their visit, these kids will grow up to play an integral role in the sustainable management of local biodiversity. From a human perspective though, the Diputhi children certainly reminded me how lucky I am to be here. It's admittedly easy sometimes to take aspects of our work for granted. However, every once in a while it's nice to be reminded what life would be like in other people's shoes. So when the exhaustion of 6:00am drives starts to get to me or the perpetual dust in my hair begins to make me itch, I will try to remember the looks on those student's faces and be grounded by the simple notion that when living on a game reserve, life could always be worse. <br />
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Ari Whiteman,</div>
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Long Term Intern,</div>
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GVI Karongwe</div>
<br />
A Volunteer's Perspective: Wild Dogs vs. Cheetah by Kath Danaher
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<span lang="EN-US">Who do you think would win a face-off between a cheetah and a wild
dog pack? Well, we got the chance to watch a confrontation between these
amazing predators, and find out. First on the scene at about 4 in the afternoon was Scarlet, a female collared cheetah. She was moseying along the fenceline,
looking very relaxed; perhaps ready for a bit of a lie-down. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Enter stage right, trotting along the fenceline from the opposite
direction, two yearlings from the wild dog pack, rambunctious, playful,
curious, and generally looking for mischief. As soon as they spotted Scarlet their
big bat ears pricked forward and they split up, ready to circle their prey.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Scarlet, cat-like, starts a low threatening whine, and slinks
towards some vegetation, head down. The dogs get really excited, and make
little darts towards her, not too close yet. And then...the other 11 members of
the wild dog pack arrive on the scene, keen to see what all the fuss is about,
jumping about, play-fighting: a bunch of kids out for a good time (all of them
but two are really still puppies). </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Scarlet takes a look, and snarls. This would be no fair fight.
Although she could outrun them over a short distance, they could chase her into
open country and easily surround her, and then she would have no chance - she'd
be one ex-cheetah. Wild dogs are incredibly efficient hunters, with a kill-rate
of well over 50%.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So Scarlet looks for the nearest thicket, and sneaks into it, trying
to protect her back. The dogs are willing to have a go, trotting around the
thicket, sneaking as close as they dare, until Scarlet screams and lunges and
the whole pack jumps backwards in unison. And always the cat-whine, rising and
falling. The dogs are willing to sit and wait, pulling at the wood in the
thicket, trotting away then back again, taunting. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Luckily for Scarlet, the pack, just kids, don't have the attention
span, and maybe don't even realise how dangerous they are. They also seem a bit
confused: other spotted cats they've encountered will just run up the nearest
tree, so what's with this one? So first one, then another, they lose interest,
start bothering a branch, or eating grass, sniffing the air. Then one of
them decides to look for easier prey, and they trot off in dribs and drabs,
looking back to see if they need to have another go at Scarlet. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So Scarlet lives to fight another day. A few minutes later she
crept out of the thicket, and slinked slowly and carefully in the opposite
direction, doing her best camouflage act against the grass and dirt. What would happen if this drama was reenacted in a year's time, when
the pups have reached maturity, it could have a much less
happy ending...</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span lang="EN-US">Kath Danaher</span></div>
<br />
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Volunteer, GVI Zimanga</div>
The King and Queen of Zimanga
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When out on normal game drive, you always hope for something
a little special and out of the ordinary to make it just that bit more
memorable. When getting signal for the Cheetahs, Scarlet and Kalahari, it came
to our attention that their signals were coming from the same direction. What
some people have been waiting well over six months to see finally came true
when we found the two of them together. In one of the furthest and quietest parts
of Zimanga we found the two of them sitting quietly on the top of a hill.
Kalahari now quite an old man, still looked all that he is and more as he sat
like a King next to Scarlet. She sat beside him looking out over the view and
every so often glancing across to him looking quite the Queen and lady. When he
got up to move around she purred at him, plus a few chirps, but also a very
mild scuffle between the two of them. It is a very rare opportunity to see
cheetahs together when they are courting let alone showing signs that they are
going to actual mate. But as night time came over we thought it best so leave
them to it, as we couldn’t really see much anyway.</div>
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Let’s hope that in a
few months there will be some new additions to the reserve.</div>
Farewell to the Mountains
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1TBW1jnJDwsoFGOr6wiIX8FU6PuM0eSv89eapa5XV5x_IAG56CppfS2v25aTq9Ks-GtwNXJISpF9EKo7V7qzWAfqgSWD8aLmO6E2XVfEyt8r61V8bH8ybrwP2eavKdguZT4gFFrTBIg/s1600/view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1TBW1jnJDwsoFGOr6wiIX8FU6PuM0eSv89eapa5XV5x_IAG56CppfS2v25aTq9Ks-GtwNXJISpF9EKo7V7qzWAfqgSWD8aLmO6E2XVfEyt8r61V8bH8ybrwP2eavKdguZT4gFFrTBIg/s320/view.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">So this was my last week in the mountains
in the official capacity of Mountain Project Coordinator. I’m passing the baton
over to the very capable hands of Veronica while I take on the challenge of
Base Manager at Karongwe. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The 6 months has flown by but was
jam-packed full of laughter and adventure. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There were sunny days and rainy days, and
days where we were above the clouds. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyJeVEsLSzqU8zavBttJ3E1AsnY_J4sjhUGmGXGHaHH9P3AUMhbZuSY9mTV0Y8zdQbJWTIS-43yYmrilpzVsO8epGkgUa2v9UOQXx4zbjjNVP1GJ-kfHEXGf0cMABgpKJmBjGtfIXoGI/s1600/sunny+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyJeVEsLSzqU8zavBttJ3E1AsnY_J4sjhUGmGXGHaHH9P3AUMhbZuSY9mTV0Y8zdQbJWTIS-43yYmrilpzVsO8epGkgUa2v9UOQXx4zbjjNVP1GJ-kfHEXGf0cMABgpKJmBjGtfIXoGI/s320/sunny+day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIa7qXQtjayPS1gbxxIwgDMW9PrtI8B4KUkFwvKH_iDnl6WorOKueXOxpz9Uy-X9scmu_KW9gzI2zAt2-LuTQmfI8-XyZMUnrmNSUXhQiy2TJACS5xhGl5nJa1LJRIgDN4ySxFidWt0Y/s1600/clouds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIa7qXQtjayPS1gbxxIwgDMW9PrtI8B4KUkFwvKH_iDnl6WorOKueXOxpz9Uy-X9scmu_KW9gzI2zAt2-LuTQmfI8-XyZMUnrmNSUXhQiy2TJACS5xhGl5nJa1LJRIgDN4ySxFidWt0Y/s320/clouds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There were days when our trapping sites
were bursting with animals and days when we had none.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Days when we had cute captures like Gorgeous
George the tiniest Dormouse ever seen and days when there was nothing but
stinky shrews. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfefvE3PEX5ftT3HCe0XXBWe3DVZA9TB_J-oTDcFYPYHRCKg5lXgNkmSoUOdgG7w7w_nq7zgh0U3XbGjzg2JYscTsHf99HOOdza4_Oib8t9tZuTpfMNKxkNNq16vzWsqiXYbmW8GZlhrU/s1600/mice+in+traps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfefvE3PEX5ftT3HCe0XXBWe3DVZA9TB_J-oTDcFYPYHRCKg5lXgNkmSoUOdgG7w7w_nq7zgh0U3XbGjzg2JYscTsHf99HOOdza4_Oib8t9tZuTpfMNKxkNNq16vzWsqiXYbmW8GZlhrU/s320/mice+in+traps.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There were days that the sunsets brought
tears to our eyes and days when the swimming was so cold it took our breath
away. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfqBnUmJ5JFJeFQgF69IZKf563R-jqhMeT7VLdQ2SZX7-3-ZwGrnqmOHig8w9jKKIoGSptVbK69yyG6gs0SmIpYccEP5e37BiaDN83PsKvGQgnYsLxylYaG4t_LBfyY39FYyLVRV2KyU/s1600/sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfqBnUmJ5JFJeFQgF69IZKf563R-jqhMeT7VLdQ2SZX7-3-ZwGrnqmOHig8w9jKKIoGSptVbK69yyG6gs0SmIpYccEP5e37BiaDN83PsKvGQgnYsLxylYaG4t_LBfyY39FYyLVRV2KyU/s320/sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQjeEyWTrzBS5I3LFbh_KoK_y8zT9S3blM1R8f5EWFDeBnT8g_B8vBbO1X7DZu8DsWQWVw-XJbrL4yAA2bPGNk2zcAQigSWmtGCWvSaf5A_vJ3Mu0hX8x1_6XuL97HaMazS-LgYx5e5Q/s1600/swimming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQjeEyWTrzBS5I3LFbh_KoK_y8zT9S3blM1R8f5EWFDeBnT8g_B8vBbO1X7DZu8DsWQWVw-XJbrL4yAA2bPGNk2zcAQigSWmtGCWvSaf5A_vJ3Mu0hX8x1_6XuL97HaMazS-LgYx5e5Q/s1600/swimming.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">But there never was a day that wasn’t
filled with jokes and singing and the invention of new games and good dinner
conversation by candlelight.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89FE3L7jphK2lld7saguOC0NlxrDwZcbp7zkMyuRFEJ4sVuUsdujU5-fOnG7rLW52Sr4hT2W7M4OHAN2b9a7dxmRYcFVN6tSdp9UP5pT15qZFi-APML0bq9kcTtfZxKgPp96vhaFHqdE/s1600/view+from+hike.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89FE3L7jphK2lld7saguOC0NlxrDwZcbp7zkMyuRFEJ4sVuUsdujU5-fOnG7rLW52Sr4hT2W7M4OHAN2b9a7dxmRYcFVN6tSdp9UP5pT15qZFi-APML0bq9kcTtfZxKgPp96vhaFHqdE/s320/view+from+hike.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I’ll miss you beautiful mountain views, but
at least maybe now I’ll get achievement awards for something other than shrew
first aid!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8v-xvr_mce7ul1uqz4DfztPoGALyLEIsrEHmKLE07aroPtwY0P9VLFd025ZMzSQ0J9nTvzpioSVAEhoV19FWRETz5HbOirNzruAI461y-BghZPiU9R1OedeC8i-bI9-DsJUXNBAZeOM/s1600/cpr+shrew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8v-xvr_mce7ul1uqz4DfztPoGALyLEIsrEHmKLE07aroPtwY0P9VLFd025ZMzSQ0J9nTvzpioSVAEhoV19FWRETz5HbOirNzruAI461y-BghZPiU9R1OedeC8i-bI9-DsJUXNBAZeOM/s320/cpr+shrew.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Rosie Miles- Base Manager - GVI Karongwe</div>
A Volunteer's Perspective: Ari Whiteman's Blog on Mating Leopards
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Its been a busy and exciting few days here at Karongwe as a cold front has
moved in. Less heat in the middle of the day has meant lots of activity for
pretty much anything with fur or feathers and even more activity for the staff
and volunteers busily recording their behavior. Over the last week we've seen
everything from elephant bulls fighting in the road to lions roaring right next
to the vehicle. However yesterday produced one of the rarest and most exciting
sightings of the winter thus far, as we were fortunate enough to watch Tsavo,
one of our big male leopards, mate with Treacle, one of Karongwe's resident
females. Though the drive to Tsavo's signal required some serious off-roading,
the reward of seeing two leopards in the same frame was well worth the
scratches from overhead buffalo thorns and acacias. We sat, shutters snapping,
in amazement as we witnessed the rituals surrounding leopard mating. It was
surprising how violent the process was, and while serious injury can be a
common result of big cats mating, it was still a bit shocking to see in person.
The two leopards will continue to mate on and off for the next few days, likely
affording us the opportunity to gather even more data on such a scarcely seen
event. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatHeTfzGpVo8prBPsJyL6CnYb-2n3Re9iJr3HcnwP7idhQlzWeJGP5XeTE_QWddSgeVKeJqE6jO21P0bQUi3B4NnbOlpqYGQn4yNBNQFWl_nPMH2FhdPeyAGjac-Bs9eOL0K_VMh0Q3s/s1600/DSCN1023_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatHeTfzGpVo8prBPsJyL6CnYb-2n3Re9iJr3HcnwP7idhQlzWeJGP5XeTE_QWddSgeVKeJqE6jO21P0bQUi3B4NnbOlpqYGQn4yNBNQFWl_nPMH2FhdPeyAGjac-Bs9eOL0K_VMh0Q3s/s320/DSCN1023_2.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mating pair</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mokpB-KLvX_zgxwOFXfUUtnaQa5jV1yRqs3WZWxgt4X-S_kHremVtlDW9FTsJsNdEjILiwVSFYg69A_Nar0zqNNkeqecLmi3IlwMDu9mf-52LK6KOYn46zIlJzYn7AJjWY6LGUFpVV4/s1600/DSCN1008_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mokpB-KLvX_zgxwOFXfUUtnaQa5jV1yRqs3WZWxgt4X-S_kHremVtlDW9FTsJsNdEjILiwVSFYg69A_Nar0zqNNkeqecLmi3IlwMDu9mf-52LK6KOYn46zIlJzYn7AJjWY6LGUFpVV4/s320/DSCN1008_2.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Treacle with her distinctive injured right eye</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Overall though, it was an amazing sighting last night, one that many of us
have already added to our list of personal favorites. Unfortunately, we could
not stay with the two beautiful leopards forever, as there was still work to be
done (if you can call tracking wild lions “work”). Hopefully in a few months
we'll start to see fluffy little leopard cubs in Treacle's company! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33VHupdZdSz6qHV3nAiIGKbHk5HPtLXt9d8rPVOAuAAWpZtutlBGYs_GcVR_65o320Nf0dfpWEfVnf5A0ntuCHE19_H4etghD7ZcUPvGeeeAzLj6Qsc1i5jTqLZ3t6WVuNjdYBdhzH20/s1600/DSCN1026_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33VHupdZdSz6qHV3nAiIGKbHk5HPtLXt9d8rPVOAuAAWpZtutlBGYs_GcVR_65o320Nf0dfpWEfVnf5A0ntuCHE19_H4etghD7ZcUPvGeeeAzLj6Qsc1i5jTqLZ3t6WVuNjdYBdhzH20/s320/DSCN1026_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tsavo mounts Treacle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Since I'm new here, I would briefly like to take the chance to introduce
myself. My name is Ari Whiteman. I'm a recent college graduate with a degree in
biology from the United States and I'll be here at Karongwe for at least the
next three months as a long term intern. I'm beyond excited to be here
contributing to such amazing research and I look forward to filling you guys in
on our adventures again soon!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJDN3IZ9qNg85GhOJG58XeRK6-UUHWqVb2Kl9Wwb5JJnk2RKwXGE1SccXTFy_C5KH0NfhKSdU0Sge-a2HLF8Jnf5jzpNV3WapzgenDBEVtn3bRt1tZpwrTFmLIpyVHlktypFYFCybmSg/s1600/1006220_10151762031633103_1268505824_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJDN3IZ9qNg85GhOJG58XeRK6-UUHWqVb2Kl9Wwb5JJnk2RKwXGE1SccXTFy_C5KH0NfhKSdU0Sge-a2HLF8Jnf5jzpNV3WapzgenDBEVtn3bRt1tZpwrTFmLIpyVHlktypFYFCybmSg/s1600/1006220_10151762031633103_1268505824_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ari Whiteman</span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Long Term Intern, GVI Karongwe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Not all spotted cats in trees are leopards
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<span lang="EN-GB">I learnt an important lesson this week,
that not all spotted cats in trees are leopards.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I discovered this whilst out having a
lovely stroll with the ‘cheetah boys’, my number one favourite pastime. We were
moseying along, them sniffing and scent-marking at various spots along the road,
me watching and collecting data on their behaviour. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdij1ODdTvyBR52EVv-jXCRGHrzzkyuIbt5CtIFXBRD82Fcuz4k9EuGd31Og6xvrutlEgHRGnJsMgxRud9QITdyVUinSwMUES6rT8_eY8hCuNW5Msmob6-1EueR5XwzXcZcpnf5dFHjA/s1600/yawning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdij1ODdTvyBR52EVv-jXCRGHrzzkyuIbt5CtIFXBRD82Fcuz4k9EuGd31Og6xvrutlEgHRGnJsMgxRud9QITdyVUinSwMUES6rT8_eY8hCuNW5Msmob6-1EueR5XwzXcZcpnf5dFHjA/s200/yawning.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxhhyHTKOzPILsQN_kyir-7fsp3SVAUe2DoRIcbvi3z7IqKGk8ixSa3hK6XSFzQj_YoHdXd2erOAN6w6vqpv7Q5JsfXAaeLfVQ-pe4X5cb3GbiCcHgAFSJ6dxN0b0yOTjqyevPZmxrWU/s1600/peering.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxhhyHTKOzPILsQN_kyir-7fsp3SVAUe2DoRIcbvi3z7IqKGk8ixSa3hK6XSFzQj_YoHdXd2erOAN6w6vqpv7Q5JsfXAaeLfVQ-pe4X5cb3GbiCcHgAFSJ6dxN0b0yOTjqyevPZmxrWU/s200/peering.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEl_zVL_brkMOae5wGfJ3S6SJzd5cMMDggMcgb9NvMi8Othc3kJDuZvNcRZRTNZrs_Ynrld1Gn2VwPw9DGNQAIbXFrJcNayL-_t5ns1cu4OocHsgt144I5Oa5yH2H1o_uAk7Kh0_MjI4/s1600/walking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEl_zVL_brkMOae5wGfJ3S6SJzd5cMMDggMcgb9NvMi8Othc3kJDuZvNcRZRTNZrs_Ynrld1Gn2VwPw9DGNQAIbXFrJcNayL-_t5ns1cu4OocHsgt144I5Oa5yH2H1o_uAk7Kh0_MjI4/s320/walking.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">After about 30 minutes the boys changed
course and headed off the road into the block. I knew there were a couple of
other groups heading to the sighting hoping to also have the magical experience
of walking with wild cheetah, so I stopped to make a mark in the road so they
would be able to follow our trio into the bushes. Whilst doing this and letting
everyone know our movements over the radio I took my eyes off the cheetah for a
minute and when I looked up again I couldn’t see them anywhere. Rats! This is
very annoying! First of all because I was very much enjoying being with the
boys and secondly because I didn’t want to lose them before the other groups
arrived. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">So, determined to relocate them I headed
into the block along the course I had last seen them on. I went about 100m
looking and listening for any sign of these cats who are adept at moving
stealthily and silently through the bush. Then I hear rustling a few metres
ahead of me but not coming from ground level, up in the canopy of a large
marula tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I glance up and just make
out the black-spotted pelt amongst the leaves. “Blimey”, I think to myself, is
it really possible that I have bumped into a leopard whilst walking with the
cheetah?! But whilst this thought is working its way through my brain my eyes
focus more clearly on the animal that is teetering and looking highly ungraceful
in the fork of the tree and I realise with some surprise that it is not the
spotty rosettes of a leopard but the cheetah boys trying their hand at tree
climbing. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaNhT3y0ZRggi62HDJjXo0fqgm7vQlq2szTqx1NFQ79lRkBqq6eonLBVZA9sa1KeWHog7PImIzVu8aSkMjpByIRVMTfoC_iPCi7Vy4Q-v9GoUz110vNuL4MKw5lYUnTN2XntQSVYj58Q/s1600/tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaNhT3y0ZRggi62HDJjXo0fqgm7vQlq2szTqx1NFQ79lRkBqq6eonLBVZA9sa1KeWHog7PImIzVu8aSkMjpByIRVMTfoC_iPCi7Vy4Q-v9GoUz110vNuL4MKw5lYUnTN2XntQSVYj58Q/s320/tree.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-Jq0-5KHF-NHoPvyX7Eafj9NeQ6No-zH_Da273SBraJ6HEMQB7ZvWV56Qb5dcdBy5Tg5r59AQfqUJaBu7rswEe_5LLe2AoF25Ht33aLura5tuv4TmTzxvo5LQ-Xq7J0aVl3Qj3xfdgY/s1600/dismount.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-Jq0-5KHF-NHoPvyX7Eafj9NeQ6No-zH_Da273SBraJ6HEMQB7ZvWV56Qb5dcdBy5Tg5r59AQfqUJaBu7rswEe_5LLe2AoF25Ht33aLura5tuv4TmTzxvo5LQ-Xq7J0aVl3Qj3xfdgY/s320/dismount.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">So
there it is, the day I learnt my lesson that not all spotted cats in trees are
leopards. Though I’m pretty sure it's not a sighting I’ll see regularly having
seen how uncomfortable they looked in the tree and how ungainly the dismount
was.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Rosie Miles</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Base Manager</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">GVI Karongwe </span>
Community Combo Program - HIV/AIDS Lessons at the Eco-clubs
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may have seen my earlier <a href="http://gvisouthafrica.blogspot.com/2013/06/community-combo-program-kicks-off.html" target="_blank">blog</a> about GVI South Africa's new program, the community and wildlife combination, but now the end of my internship has come. During my final week, Kath and I had the last two sessions with the Eco-clubs and the topic was serious and very
important: HIV/AIDS.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During our very first week here, one of the students
asked Kath and I how we could help him if he had HIV, that was the reason for
why we wanted to talk about this topic. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Normally, Kath and I have been assisting at the
Eco-clubs, but this week we were the teachers. We were a bit nervous to be
talking about this serious topic, but it went better than expected!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGORwOnIBnPws_4YZP0Ai2x7rKtUCssJ-73V1iD4cm1q0yVdk4wFWcqmeZtLqKPDBS0vazHj5EeVqws7eehOqHdYEb0w6-kh3hpFmeo3SxrAL2Eo3AiEfBdkYMsRySzTkbHLWI02fuPE/s448/IMG_6641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGORwOnIBnPws_4YZP0Ai2x7rKtUCssJ-73V1iD4cm1q0yVdk4wFWcqmeZtLqKPDBS0vazHj5EeVqws7eehOqHdYEb0w6-kh3hpFmeo3SxrAL2Eo3AiEfBdkYMsRySzTkbHLWI02fuPE/s320/IMG_6641.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kath (right) and I teaching</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We started off with a group discussion about
HIV/AIDS, to see what the students knew about the topic. We also talked about
when they first heard about the disease and what their thoughts and feelings
around it are. It seemed like all of them had already heard about HIV/AIDS in
primary school. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The students knew a lot about how the disease is
transmitted and how to prevent it from spreading. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaiThFqP4b4qXrgH0D6hehfVir5BYzRYuv2oKZ6vsNE6AG96Brb32RFuVI9DYlssyPoIG-7iY4c1fkLTOMvfJN8ljpIoQp12xezGRfePiSxd3BXD_KQqWawhxp-tG4ZH7D6z79AA9OVk/s448/IMG_6656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaiThFqP4b4qXrgH0D6hehfVir5BYzRYuv2oKZ6vsNE6AG96Brb32RFuVI9DYlssyPoIG-7iY4c1fkLTOMvfJN8ljpIoQp12xezGRfePiSxd3BXD_KQqWawhxp-tG4ZH7D6z79AA9OVk/s320/IMG_6656.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also talked about some of the myths around
HIV/AIDS, just in case some of the students believed in any. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though the students knew a lot they didn't
seem to understand the extent of the problem before we showed them some South
African stats. With 50.6 million people living in the country, 5.6 million of
these people live with HIV/AIDS. I told the students that the number of people
that are infected in South Africa is higher than the number of people living in
the country I am from, Norway. Their eyes grew bigger when I said this, but
they got even more surprised when I told them that 13,7 % of people in Limpopo
were living with the disease.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the discussion and talk around the subject,
we gave the students an activity. We split the class into smaller groups; each
team had to develop a plan for how they were going to help stop the spread of
HIV/AIDS and how to prevent discrimination against those who are infected. We
wanted them to come up with a group name and logo. They had to tell us their
mission statements and short and long term goals for the group.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTMQ9mutb1Mn2N7Ne3SLB2T8J_KnoVfXAUss3WLAL2APAw2h3AzgRBqyPhCwu8HFnwchQ1iJeqN3gl9OXtHbmrybpj73nkGMLUAEIootNZl83m79RsbD0U3OvO0QsLhOuGBtU7JShyhs/s448/IMG_6827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTMQ9mutb1Mn2N7Ne3SLB2T8J_KnoVfXAUss3WLAL2APAw2h3AzgRBqyPhCwu8HFnwchQ1iJeqN3gl9OXtHbmrybpj73nkGMLUAEIootNZl83m79RsbD0U3OvO0QsLhOuGBtU7JShyhs/s320/IMG_6827.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the teams worked really hard, actually all
the students were really focused during the whole club! It was easy to see that
this was an interesting and important topic for them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They were all on the same side when it came to
safe sex and they all wanted to educate others in why use of condoms is so
important. One of the groups named themselves as 'HIV- Fighters', they also had
their own slogan, 'It begins with you!'. They wanted to “reduce the rate of
people who are infected with HIV/AIDS by educating people about the dangers of
not protecting themselves while having sex.” They also wanted to encourage
people to get tested and teach them about the importance of knowing your HIV
status. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karoline Risan,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GVI Intern and Community Program Officer</span></div>
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