Update from our wildlife conservation Malawi expedition
The temperature has been steadily climbing as we move deeper into the dry season. It is hot! Lake Kazuni is showing obvious signs of water loss as levels drop. And the distance between the lake road and the water’s edge is growing significantly each day. This means less space for each hippo family and results in some of them moving further west and outside our transect. Interestingly, daily counts remain similar, which suggests that lower water levels help our research by revealing more individuals.
Lucky encounter
On a dawn drive, one team caught the morning rush hour as some 50 or so hippos left their overnight resting places in the bush and returned to the lake.
Unlucky elephant drives
The elephants continue hiding from us. So far we’ve not had any more elephant sightings, either during our drives or at camp. But we do find fresh elephant dung and obvious signs of their presence close to the lake. They appear to be bush ghosts.
Vwaza bird book
The absence of elephants gives us more time for expanding the Vwaza bird book. Creating a bird inventory book was initiated in 2025. It will provide useful information for park management. Lily and Zara have captured some great photos, including migratory species such as the European bee eater and rarer raptors such as the black-chested snake eagle. We‘re all on the brink of becoming birders – thanks to Gideon‘s support and patient guidance.
In touch with the neighbours
The whole team was invited to Kazuni Primary School by the teaching staff. The pupils had prepared a role play about the evils of habitat destruction and poaching – something the people here, in close proximity to the park, have to deal with on a daily basis. It was great fun to interact and tell the children stories about our life in far-away countries. A cultural exchange at its best. And a very rewarding afternoon for us.
Night visitor
And finally, while we were all asleep, we had our first lion night visitor in camp. We slept through it all and the night guard informed us in the morning.
Read also: First I second I third I fourth I fifth I sixth I seventh 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.
The daily count staying the same is rather interesting along with the moving out of the transect and water level drop/exposure factors.