Right now we are waiting for a large (~1600 lb) eland to wake up. He somehow jumped the fence and ended up separated from his herd on a neighboring farm. It took a lot of drugs to get him to go down. The capture team then loaded him on a truck and transported him across the road to his proper enclosure.
Before that, we worked on two buffalo. They had already been separated from the larger herd and were being kept in separate bomas with a few others. Brendon darted them and 4 students got to go in and work with them - taking blood, treating the dart wounds, testing for TB, and reversing the anesthetic agent. The bomas were nice because they had an upper level where the rest of us were able to go and watch what was going on.
10:45 pm (SA)
What an amazing day! We've done soooooo much! If I had to leave Africa today, which I don't, but if I had to at this point, all the money and travel would be worth it! After we left the buffalo, we went to dart and transport 2 white rhino from bomas on another part of the reserve. I was one of the lucky ones who actually got to work on one. It was difficult because my rhino was led into a huge truck and since I'm so short, it was quite a stretch for me to be able to reach him. I did it though! I treated the dart wound with penicillin and antibiotic topical spray and administered reversal drugs in a vein in the rhinos ear, which was very tough to get a needle through!
Our rhino adventures continued on and we darted 2 more from the helicopter (one white and the other a black rhino). We ear-notched these for identification purposes and put microchips in the rhinos as well as their horns so that they could be traced back to the correct rhino and reserve if they ever ended up on the black market. So many rhinos have been poached already since the beginning of the year. It is so sad that people actually make a living killing such amazing creatures! After we finished notching the black rhino, myself and two other students were able to ride back to the main compound in the helicopter. It was a really short ride, but it was really neat to see everything from the sky (especially the groggy rhino waking up)!
Two hours of lecture in our living room followed a quick lunch of cucumber sandwhiches. I've noticed that many of their sandwiches don't include any meat here. Interesting. And not very appetizing. Peter gave us a lot of good information on carnivores and general wildlife care. He's a really good teacher. We went for yet another game drive before dinner and were lucky enough to see an ardvark (which Jonty says is pretty rare to see)! We also saw a mongoose and a bat eared fox! Right as the sun was setting we found the north pride male who had beat up the three young sub-adults. He roared right after we pulled up - it was really awesome to watch - his whole body moved! Then Robin showed up with the other half of the gang. It was getting dark so Robin shined the red light on him so we could get some better pictures and he roared again!!! This time, we had moved so that he was facing us and I could feel the vibrations from his roar through my chest! It was breathtaking! They call him "Brad Pitt" and he really acts like a spoiled movie star, moving his head so the wind blows his mane just right. He even graced us with yet another roar when a third land rover pulled up! What a ham!
We arrived back at the house to find the chef's having a braai in the back yard. Jonty and Robin pulled the couch and other seats out on the grass and everyone sat around the fire till the food was ready. They also taught us a new drinking game that is a weird mix of several games now combined into a crazy fun time dubbed "Kwandwe Rules". The girls loved it and are looking forward to teaching it to everyone back home. It might be a challenge to get to sleep tonight with all the continued partying going on across the hall, but it's our last night here, so I guess I understand their desire to live it up. As for me, I'm gonna hit the sack - it was a very long but rewarding day.
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