Update from our elephant conservation Malawi expedition
We are now in the groove of field work and data collection, much helped by the generous actions of the Vwaza wildlife.
Hippo counts
You may have read in the 2024/25 expedition report that “hippo populations have dramatically declined over the past six years and the reasons for this decline should be investigated and management strategies developed in partnership with Nyika-Vwaza Co-Management Trust (NVCMT)”.
Our hippo counts this year are coming in at a steady 80-90 a day. This is close to the average of 84 per transect from the last report. It’s too early to tell what this means in detail, but at least it looks like the decline has been halted.
Buffaloes & Elephants
We see the resident buffalo herd most days and we think it numbers around 150 animals, but it is the elephants that keep us really busy.
We have seen the same family groups on repeat days. This means we can really work on our Elephant ID data base. So far this expedition we have photographed and identified two new female elephants and we’ve named them Libby and Gilly after two of our Australian citizen scientists.
These data provide tracking information, family ties and shows how elephants work together to maintain the herd.
This is also where our dung analysis comes in. Do they eat crops this creating human/elephant conflict? The 2024/25 report found no evidence of crop consumption. It will be interesting to see what our research shows this year.
Rest day
We took a day off on Friday. Some of us visited Rhumpi, the nearest small town and later the whole team paid a visit to our local primary school to explain what we do here.
Camera trap results coming
We will be swapping out our camera trap SD cards over the next 48 hrs. Let’s see what they will reveal…
Read also: First I second I third I fourth entry. All entries for the Malawi expedition volunteering with elephants, hippo, lion and African biodiversity on one page.
Author: Simon Thomsett
Simon Thomsett MBE was born in the UK but now lives in the Austrian Alps. He served in the British Army for 36 years, working across the globe including two years in the jungles of Brunei, as well as Africa, North and South America and South Asia. He has run diving expeditions in the Indian Ocean, Caribbean and the Mediterranean Seas. A keen ski mountaineer, he now lives and works in Austria where he runs a ski business with his wife Claire. Simon is a qualified BSAC dive instructor, a ski instructor, international mountain leader and Emergency First Response first aider.
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