THE MAKGADIKGADI MONITORING PROJECT

This is a supplement to the December Boteti Diaries for those interested in Dave’s and Melissa’s project to look at the effects of the new electrified fence along the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park’s western boundary. They got a lot done despite just enough funding to get them into the field while the migration was still concentrated on the Boteti Riverbed, their dry season range.

I will be notifying everyone about the winner of the two nights at Meno A kwena Tented Camp in the January 2005 Boteti Diary.

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LATE RAINS OR BAD RAINS?

Just before Christmas I was on safari in the Makgadikgadi Saltpans and was surprised, and disappointed, to see how dry it was. A female wildebeest ran off into the shimmering flat and dry horizon, we were more than 200 metres from her; she was obviously very distressed about something. As we approached where she had been standing, we saw the tiny newborn calf lying in the track. The first few minutes of life were its last.

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