What's next?

There are a lot of things that I would like to write about but have not had the time yet. Hopefully you will continue to check back for updates about Project Bush Baby, Project Squirrel, and my other work.

Coming sometime soon: What is Wild?, What is Natural?, and, now that I have more time on the net and a better connection, I will go back and illustrate past posts.

The journey home--via the Zoo

Well, it has been a while since I have written. The last few days were a flurry of activity. I managed to get some small kudu horns to make a trumpet with when I get home and picked up a few souvenirs for people back home. There isn’t a wide selection of interesting artifacts here, as I have reported, but I have some friends who will enjoy chakalaka and rooibose (there are some scrabble words for you).

Hillary, Eric, and I returned home together. We traveled for 30 hours, not including the bus from Makado and the overnight at the hostel. Our flight was late enough that we were able to spend the morning at the Joburg Zoo. It is a small but nice zoo with a lot of great keepers. We were able to spend a bit of time with several of the keepers who showed us their genets, greater and lesser bushbabies, and aardwolves. We learned a lot about their captive husbandry and behavior. I was especially pleased to see that the bushbabies foraged from their food trays with their mouths then transferred the food to their hands if it needed additional manipulation.

Here the lesser is foraging with it's mouth. The greater is showing how much control galagos have over their ears.

We were also able to see several other animals in nearby enclosures. To me the coolest was the ratel or honey badger. We had not seen one in the wild. They are apparently becoming scarce in much of their range and had been disappointed so the chance to see one up close was great. With most carnivores, the rule of thumb is “don’t run.” In America we tell this to our kids in relation to dogs. In Africa it is the mantra drilled into your head when you go on safari. It’s far easier to not run from a dog than a lion or hyena. However, the other part of this mantra is, if you see a ratel, run as fast as you can. Chances are you can out run it if you really try but if you don’t, it will latch on to you with its vice-like jaws and cause some serious damage. So, it was with a little trepidation that we watched the badger climb, human-like, down the mesh of its cage and, with the typical badger snuffling, grunting, and swaggering walk, approach us to sniff our pants. I recalled the movie star who was in the komodo dragon cage a few years ago who had his white stocking foot bitten by the dragon who mistook it for a white feeder rat. My pants certainly smelled of things that the badger would enjoy eating; I just had to hope he had enough experience not to test the palatability of those smells. All turned out well and we concluded our morning by walking around the rest of the zoo.

Those masseters and the architecture of the skull make the ratel one of the most tenacious and powerful of the carnivores.

One thing that often strikes me when visiting zoos and museums outside of America is the lack of protection given or needed for the artifacts. Many of the ungulates at the zoo were enclosed by nothing more than a two or three rail fence. This allowed wonderful opportunities to get close to the animals and make observations that are impossible from far away. It also allowed the possibility of school kids or stupid adults climbing into the enclosure with the animals. This happened a few years ago in the Anchorage Zoo when a woman climbed in with the polar bears, and more recently with the tragedy with the tigers and the irresponsible kids at San Diego. Such antics are not a realy problem in Joburg nor, apparently, many other zoos throughout the world. May times while at Lajuma it became clear that Americans have a lack of respect for authority and an in-your-face attitude that both contributes to the stereotype of the “ugly American tourist” but also provides us with a cultural foundation for innovation, self-expression, and freedom. However, this attitude, when decoupled from personal responsibility and the more socialist ideals of community property espoused by some of our European friends, necessitates that American zoos and museums put up many more barriers to access to the specimen that other places. Such barriers are necessary for both the protection of the specimen and of the visitor, and (due to our litigious legal climate) the educational institution.

When we got to the airport, there were no lines anywhere. This created a bit of a problem for me because I usually use the time in line to get out my passports and tickets, pack my knife, etc. In the end all went well, though I gave one of my knives to a nice guy who I think will mail it to me soon. The airport looks great and was very efficiently designed. South Africa is preparing for the 2010 soccer world cup and Joburg in general is trying to grow well. In my brief time there it was clear that they have a lot of struggles, especially with crime (nearly every house and business has thick bars on the windows and 10 foot razor wire fences around everything) but they are on a good track overall. Hopefully they will continue to have positive progression.

My computer and data book have made it home safely with me. The next phase of this adventure is to work with the data…

It has been an adventure

If “tourism” can be defined as following an itinerary that takes you to new places for the purpose of entertainment and education , then maybe “adventure” can be defined as managing the obstacles and opportunities encountered in a new situation for the purpose of education and knowledge generation (and a little fun, too).

If these definitions can apply, then I have had an adventure. I came here with several ideas, found a few that worked, and developed those that worked best. Logistical problems have been numerous, labor intense, ideas built upon, skills developed, and insights into the science and my own abilities expanded. Joel has encouraged us to begin missing this place now because soon the physical part of the adventure will be over. The intellectual will continue as I sit under flickering lights in the bowels of some building running the statistics on my numbers but the cold dust and fragrant vines that are just on the other side of this grass wall from me now will be far away.

A tough decision and lots more work

I stopped running the Samangoland grid (now renamed Galagoland since Sara is not using it any more) last night. It was a tough decision. For a few days now I’ve been collecting only morning data, no midnight forays. I’ve gotten into such a groove of baiting, collecting, and recording data but there is only a little time left here and I need to spend every second finishing my citizen science grid, talking with the kind of people who will be using it, cleaning, organizing, and preparing to leave.

I will have two galagoland grids that hopefully will continue to run using primarily European and Venda students. My ideas seem to be interesting to everyone I talk to and several people have said it is the kind of project they would like to work on or help out with on their days off from research. I have had a lot of help and interest, especially in the last month when the ideas and infrastructure were well designed and running smoothly so I have hope that the work will, indeed, be able to continue without me being here. I just need to get the protocols and curriculums written up…

What is "rural"?

As I noted in a previous post, the places where most of the tribal villages are located are called “rural” areas. Though every community here is surrounded by bush, ranch, and farm, most people live in big villages or small towns. It’s not like driving across the Midwest where every few miles you pass a lonely farmhouse--until you get out to the regions where there are game farms and irrigation farms—rather there are dense population centers surrounded by working land. Electricity has been slowly coming to the villages here. Apparently in the early 1990’s one could look out from Lajuma at night to a dark valley. Now it is speckled from one corner to the next with lights. Every light must represent at least a half-dozen households because when I have been on the roads at night I pass many homes with no light more than a candle or kerosene lamp. So, these rural communities are more like suburbs and the land around them is hugely impacted by a variety of human activities.

South Africa is a big country with a diversity of situations and issues, so take what I report here about Limpopo province as a skewed but earnest perspective base on what I have seen and been told. I have been through Gauteng and Mpumalanga and it is obvious to me that Limpopo is very different than those provinces. Most of the black people here live on traditional homelands, some of which were obtained through land claims, which means the previous owners were likely white Afrikaners who were farming or ranching the land. Land claims are awarded if the claimant can demonstrate that they were forcibly removed from the land. Many claims have been made on the national parks and many more on small parcels and farms. In some cases, whites of Dutch, German, French or English descent have made claims, too. Many of these white races have been in the region as long many of the black races. Though this region encompasses the Venda homeland, they have only been here for about 400 years. Archaeological pits may yield Venda pot sherds under colonial china ware under Zulu artifacts. The San were mostly pushed to the Kalihari or incorporated into other tribes, before any of these settlements were very old. Blacks, Whites, Indians, and Chinese may all be equally “South African.” The Chinese are currently trying to get some apartheid rectification legislation amended to recognize them as “black” because they were also discriminated against during the apartheid era but have not been given any of the rectification benefits under the new government.

Though the government seems to be trying to be equitable in the redistribution of land, it is not a simple matter and it seems to me that, in at least some cases, what may be good for the individual or group may be bad for the country, and what may be good in the short term or politically expedient may be ultimately problematic. Many of these tribal homelands include substantial veld that was originally grassland, went through a period of intense farming, was invaded by woody vegetation, was used for game ranching, and was then turned over to the tribe. The government will buy out the landowners as part of a claim settlement but they will only pay for the land, not the game on it. Therefore, the land owner will sell as much of his game as possible before the land is turned over (game on high-fenced land is privately owned). The tribes usually use the land as communal grazing land or farm plots but often they lack the resources to fully utilize it either as intensive agricultural land or as a preserve or game ranch. It other areas, the land that was turned over includes tea estates, nut and fruit orchards, or potato farms. Ranch, estate, or farm, the tribe seldom initially has the expertise to keep production (and income) at pre-turnover levels. However, after some initial struggles, former land owners, managers, other experts, and the tribal governments have been able to work together to make successful enterprises.

These various uses seem to be effective ways for the people to provide for themselves and their local tribes. Of course farming on a small scale can help insulate a community from the massively fluctuating food prices most of the world is experiencing right now. Unfortunately, the government recently announced a “Use it or Lose it” policy. Either the tribes intensively farm their land, or it will again be redistributed (in this case it sounds like it will become government property.) For owners of developed farms and tribal lands in the east where the rainfall is higher, it seems like there’s hope because they are “using” the land according to the proposed government definition, but some of the people in this dry part of the province don’t know what they will do to “Use it” with the resources they have. Without capital for irrigation and machinery, expertise and training, facilities for game ranching and tourism or some other money and logistics intense operations, they are already doing the best they can. This is something to keep an eye on as South Africa continues to develop.

The Freedom Charter

Have you ever read the Freedom Charter?

South Africa has its share of problems with poverty, racism, education, and the other issues that all developing nations face but they are on the right road and really are progressing well considering that apartheid was broken only 14 years ago. Many of the readers of this blog were very young when apartheid fell so I suspect they will be surprised by the blatant racism of the apartheid government. Under apartheid, the Freedom Charter was a banned document written by the black opposition party that espoused racial, economic, and educational equality. I don’t necessarily agree with some of the communist solutions that are proposed here but, to progress from apartheid to today, when the Freedom Charter’s goals are being pursue,d shows important progress for South Africa and, in many ways, sets an example for the rest of the world to help resolve their racial and economic problems.

The Freedom Charter

Adopted at the Congress of the People, Kliptown, on 26 June 1955

We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know:

that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people;

that our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality;

that our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities;

that only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people, can secure to all their birthright without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief;

And therefore, we, the people of South Africa, black and white together equals, countrymen and brothers adopt this Freedom Charter;

And we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won.

The People Shall Govern!

Every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws;

All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country;

The rights of the people shall be the same, regardless of race, colour or sex;

All bodies of minority rule, advisory boards, councils and authorities shall be replaced by democratic organs of self-government .

All National Groups Shall have Equal Rights!

There shall be equal status in the bodies of state, in the courts and in the schools for all national groups and races;

All people shall have equal right to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs;

All national groups shall be protected by law against insults to their race and national pride;

The preaching and practice of national, race or colour discrimination and contempt shall be a punishable crime;

All apartheid laws and practices shall be set aside.

The People Shall Share in the Country's Wealth!

The national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people;

The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the Banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole;

All other industry and trade shall be controlled to assist the wellbeing of the people;

All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture and to enter all trades, crafts and professions.

The Land Shall be Shared Among Those Who Work It!

Restrictions of land ownership on a racial basis shall be ended, and all the land re-divided amongst those who work it to banish famine and land hunger;

The state shall help the peasants with implements, seed, tractors and dams to save the soil and assist the tillers;

Freedom of movement shall be guaranteed to all who work on the land;

All shall have the right to occupy land wherever they choose;

People shall not be robbed of their cattle, and forced labour and farm prisons shall be abolished.

All Shall be Equal Before the Law!

No-one shall be imprisoned, deported or restricted without a fair trial; No-one shall be condemned by the order of any Government official;

The courts shall be representative of all the people;

Imprisonment shall be only for serious crimes against the people, and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance;

The police force and army shall be open to all on an equal basis and shall be the helpers and protectors of the people;

All laws which discriminate on grounds of race, colour or belief shall be repealed.

All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights!

The law shall guarantee to all their right to speak, to organise, to meet together, to publish, to preach, to worship and to educate their children;

The privacy of the house from police raids shall be protected by law;

All shall be free to travel without restriction from countryside to town, from province to province, and from South Africa abroad;

Pass Laws, permits and all other laws restricting these freedoms shall be abolished.

There Shall be Work and Security!

All who work shall be free to form trade unions, to elect their officers and to make wage agreements with their employers;

The state shall recognise the right and duty of all to work, and to draw full unemployment benefits;

Men and women of all races shall receive equal pay for equal work;

There shall be a forty-hour working week, a national minimum wage, paid annual leave, and sick leave for all workers, and maternity leave on full pay for all working mothers;

Miners, domestic workers, farm workers and civil servants shall have the same rights as all others who work;

Child labour, compound labour, the tot system and contract labour shall be abolished.

The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall be Opened!

The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life;

All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by free exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands;

The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace;

Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit;

Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan;

Teachers shall have all the rights of other citizens;

The colour bar in cultural life, in sport and in education shall be abolished.

There Shall be Houses, Security and Comfort!

All people shall have the right to live where they choose, be decently housed, and to bring up their families in comfort and security;

Unused housing space to be made available to the people;

Rent and prices shall be lowered, food plentiful and no-one shall go hungry;

A preventive health scheme shall be run by the state;

Free medical care and hospitalisation shall be provided for all, with special care for mothers and young children;

Slums shall be demolished, and new suburbs built where all have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields, creches and social centres;

The aged, the orphans, the disabled and the sick shall be cared for by the state;

Rest, leisure and recreation shall be the right of all:

Fenced locations and ghettoes shall be abolished, and laws which break up families shall be repealed.

There Shall be Peace and Friendship!

South Africa shall be a fully independent state which respects the rights and sovereignty of all nations;

South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation - not war;

Peace and friendship amongst all our people shall be secured by upholding the equal rights, opportunities and status of all;

The people of the protectorates Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland shall be free to decide for themselves their own future;

The right of all peoples of Africa to independence and self-government shall be recognised, and shall be the basis of close co-operation.

Let all people who love their people and their country now say, as we say here:

THESE FREEDOMS WE WILL FIGHT FOR, SIDE BY SIDE, THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, UNTIL WE HAVE WON OUR LIBERTY

Quiet birds

When I first arrived here I thought that there were no species of bird that chirped before the sun came up. In the states, I often hear robins begin calling at about 3:15 am. Other thrush species in the states and around the world may call all night. Since I have been cathemeral, I have found that there are plenty of species here that call at night, but they call very quietly. Even during the day most birds call very quietly, even the widely spaced and melodiously tuned thrushes. There has been research showing that birds that inhabit loud places are more likely to sing loudly. I don’t know if this is the reason the birds here are so quiet but I did hear a lot more bird song while I was in Joburg, which is a very loud and bustling city. Here there is a lot of human activity but there is little electricity and little money for petroleum so the activities tend to be pretty quiet.

Acacia Pied Barbet

The Greater Double-Collared Sunbird, one of the common species in camp.

A Southern Boubou