Update from our wildlife volunteering Malawi expedition
Our expedition has come to an end. Thank you to all citizen scientists and partners from LWT. Here are some early results. Final ones will be in the expedition report once Lea and the LWT researchers have processed and analysed all the data and pictures.
First-ever residential lions
We were able to show that lions are resident at Vwaza for the first time. Investigating tracks and signs as well as following up on tips from the rangers, we spotted two different individuals during the day: a lioness and a young male lion. A third individual – an adult male lion – we captured on one of the camera traps set out during the first week.
Marabou storks return to Vwaza after six years
We spotted the first six Marabou storks at Vwaza since 2019 at the beginning of expedition week three. Over the the following couple of weeks more and more Marabou storks came back and we encountered them repeatedly, not only during the daily surveys along the lake shore, but also from the communal platform at base. Even though we got kind of used to seeing them, they never failed to be fascinating.
First aardvark in Vwaza since 2018
As yet another proof of presence, we also captured on camera the first aardvark since 2018.
Other inventories
We recorded 92 sightings and 59 different species on iNaturalist.
The bird inventory list kept growing too and there are still some recordings that need final identification.
The return of the elephants
After six days in hiding, some elephants ventured out of the bush again so that we could continue the picture ID work.
Happy hippos
Preliminary results after four weeks of repeated hippo counts suggest that the Vwaza hippo population is doing well. We spotted many juveniles this year, which is a good sign.
Fuel crisis
Thank you to Gideon for deftly circumventing fuel shortages via his local contacts and good planning. This is a good example of how a great partnership on the ground makes all the difference.
Thank you team! It‘s been a very special adventure and I hope you‘ve enjoyed it as much as Malika and I.
Read also: First I second I third I fourth I fifth I sixth I seventh I eighth 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.