Award-winning, non-profit & ethical wildlife conservation volunteering. Advancing citizen science & conservation since 1999
Here are some pictures from the 2017 expedition…
26 July 2017 – 17 June 2017 saw the start of Germany’s first-ever wolf citizen science expedition, organised by Biosphere Expeditions in cooperation with the Wolfsbüro (wolf bureau) of the state environment ministry NLWKN. Participants from all over the world searched for wolf sign for a month. The results in terms of signs found, data gathered and media interest exceeded all expectations of the expedition’s organisers.
A total of 49 citizen scientists took part in the expedition from 17 June to 21 July 2017, supporting the state’s official wolf monitoring programme with four groups of one week each. Most of the participants came from Germany, its neighbouring countries and the UK. Some even came from as far away as North America, Singapore and Australia.
After two weeks of intensive training, citizen scientists went into the field in small groups of two to four persons to search for wolf signs. In total 1,100 km were covered on public footpaths and bridleways, which is where wolves also like to walk, patrol and mark their territories. All signs found were recorded following the strict scientific protocol of the state’s official wolf monitoring programme. Over the course of four weeks almost 80 wolf scats and as many other wolf signs again were found and passed onto the wolf bureau for further analysis. An expedition report in early 2018 will detail all findings and also where funds provided by the citizen science participants through their expedition contributions went.
Co-organiser of the expedition Peter Schütte says that “the data gathered by our citizen scientists are a valuable addition to official wolf monitoring efforts and a great way to show support for all the other wolf ambassadors working in our state.” His colleague Kenny Kenner adds that “we alone simply can’t cover large areas. I can just about manage to cover ‘my’ area and ‘my’ wolf pack within. So I am very grateful for the additional help that the expedition provided – in areas where we want to and should know more”.
Dr. Matthias Hammer, founder and executive director of Biosphere Expeditions remarks that “in summary our citizen scientists help on two levels: by collecting valuable scientific data and through financing the project as a whole. Not even we expected the wealth of extra data our expeditioners collected. This shows how much citizen science can achieve in just four weeks and how much it is capable of adding to official wolf monitoring efforts. But of course this does not mean we want to replace or belittle those other efforts. On the contrary. It is only through working together that we will reach our goals. Because the more data we have, the easier it is to come to the right science-based conclusions and develop successful strategies to protect livestock and avoid conflict between wolves and humans. So we are really looking forward to the final results and to repeating the expedition in June/July 2018 again.”
The state’s wolf bureau agrees and also wants to work “cooperatively with partners such as Biosphere Expeditions and individuals who have an interest in the wolf, such as for example hunters, the state’s hunting association, forest- and landowners, shepherds, livestock owners, wolf ambassadors and others. The state of Lower Saxony is glad if people take an interest in the wolf and contribute their skills and time to monitoring efforts, as sound scientific data are the prerequisite for reducing conflict with this predator.”
Wolf ambassador Schütte adds that “if wolves are to have a future in Lower Saxony, then local people must be kept in the loop about their whereabouts and behaviour so that conflict can be reduced or avoided altogether. Our project contributes significantly towards this ultimate goal of wolves and humans living side by side in Germany.”
Here’s a collection of photos from the expedition:
A second group set out for an overnight trip, sampling two cells further upriver. The first day was very steep and we set a camera trap on an animal trail high up on a ridge. Along the trail we also found a barking deer trap set by poachers and cut hard wood trees, a sad reminder that illegal poaching and logging is commonplace in the reserve. We pushed on higher and higher and eventually popped out of the forest on to a clear summit with views of the rainforest in every direction and Subayang River far below, a nice treat for our efforts.
We spent the night camping on the riverbank, watching the stars and listening to the monkeys fighting in the trees. Najib, one of the local placements from the city of Pekanbaru, was awestruck by the beauty of nature “In Pekanbaru you can never see the stars. I want to come back and camp here again – it is amazing!”
The second survey day went smoothly and the group that stayed behind also successfully sampled two survey grid cells and placed camera traps. The camera traps will be collected by the team arriving in the second slot, hopefully lots of animals will be captured to further our knowledge of the abundance and distribution of animals in the reserve.
The research is now in full swing and we have already surveyed five 2×2 km cells in the buffer zone of the Rimbang Bailing Nature Reserve. We have been placing camera traps and looking for tiger prey species as well as signs of illegal logging and poaching. Half of the team went for an overnight trip, going for three hours by boat upriver, spending the night camping on the riverbank and surveying two cells. They came back with tales of steep hills and a great night out.
The team that stayed at base also surveyed one cell per day and visited two villages to conduct interviews with locals to help better understand the perception of tigers in the region. There seems to be a “not in my backyard” attitude with everyone believing tigers are good for Indonesia and the ecosystem, but fear is strong and as such they don’t want tigers close to where they live. In Tanjung Belit village we also visited the recycle shop, where women are turning used plastic packaging into beautiful bags. This is an initiative spearheaded by WWF, our local partner organisation.
A group of school children from a nearby village came to visit the research station. Gia from WWF explained to the children and us about the Rimbang Baling Reserve and its ecosystem, highlighting the importance of the Subayang River system. Afterwards we got the opportunity to answer questions from the curious children and play games in honour of Global Tiger Day, which was on 29 July. Global Tiger Day was coined in 2010 in St Petersburgh, Russia, during a tiger summit there in an attempt to highlight dwindling tiger numbers worldwide. Peter from Austria summed the it up well: “It is so important for the children to know about their natural heritage and it is delightful to interact with them.”
Today is stormy with rain and snow, so we decided to take a trip to the zoology a museum on the other side of the Karakol pass in Doing Alysha, which is where I’m now writing from.
Meeting up with group 3 in Bishkek went perfectly. Now that the Karakol pass between our two valleys has been cleared of snow by group 2, it was possible to travel the shorter route to base camp from Bishkek. Once at base we unloaded groceries and got everyone settled in. Training on Tuesday held perfect weather again, so in an effort to keep traditions alive, we made sure that on our first day out for a survey, it rained. The weather cooperated all day till just after lunch when the clouds rolled in and the thunder started. Fortunately, the rain was only short-lived and everything dried up quickly for an all-round good survey. We have already, in only two survey days, collected information in 12 cells, seen one ibex (and lots of ibex sign), countless marmots, and plenty of birds, butterflies, and petroglyphs. Hoping for many more sunny survey days next week!
And the office tells me that the article by Matthias Gräub (group 1) in Swiss magazine “Tierwelt” (animal world) is now online on https://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/volunteeringinkyrgyzstan#press , alongside many others.
The first group has arrived on site and we spent the first couple of days with training in the scientific methodology and use of equipment.
On Wednesday, armed with our new knowledge, we went into the jungle. First for a practice run getting used to the lay of the land and in the afternoon a few of us completed the first survey. Our intrepid team of four placed the expedition’s first camera trap and were frightened half to death by a two meter long monitor lizard that ran out right in front of us. We also spotted barking deer tracks along a creek. Barking deer is preferred prey species by the Sumatran tiger, but also by the local population who like to eat game meat. By surveying for the presence of tiger prey species, we get a good idea of the capacity for tigers in the reserve. Seeing tracks of barking deer is a good sign, indicating there is still prey for tigers in the area, despite competition from humans.
“This is so fantastic, we have already seen so many things! It is so beautiful here,” says Karen from Germany.
Tomorrow a team of six will go deeper into the woods for our first overnight trip surveying some of the more remote areas, while the rest of us will focus on survey sites closer to base.
One of the questions on a Reef Check site description form is ‘Is this the best reef in the area?’ Distressed by our recurrent findings of unhealthy degraded reefs, we decided to go in search of just that, so on 26 July, after consulting the knowledgeable crew of our research vessel, we surveyed Litholu Kandu, an outer reef on the far eastern tip of Vaavu Atoll. We were not disappointed. This may not have been a pristine reef, but in comparison to what we had been seeing, it was a sight for sore eyes. As we headed north we found that the reefs once again were suffering, and these weren’t just the inner reefs, but the outer reefs as well.
On 27 July we performed our whale shark transect, but were not as fortunate as last week, and no whale sharks were sighted. But a large pod of around 50 spinner dolphins put on a great show of leaping and spinning, really playing up to their name.
For our final day the weather turned and our last transect, on a particularly silted reef, we battled with the wind, rain and poor visibility. The site we were surveying in Embudhu, South Male’, previously had 30% hard coral cover (in 2012), but now foreign investors in conjunction with the ministry of tourism here in the Maldives are reclaiming 7 km of land to build tourist islands akin to those in Dubai. As if the reefs aren’t having to cope with enough already! It was a sad way to end our week, but another example of why these surveys are really important, and why the world, and the Maldives, really need to wake up to what is going on just below the surface!
And what is going on is that inner reefs are devastated. Outer reefs aren’t in the places we’ve been to. If you look at IUCN ratings, over 30% cover is OK, so there may be opportunities for some recovery, but the problem is that impacts just keep increasing – sedimentation, pollution, ocean warming, overfishing, ocean acidification, you name it, it’s all here in the Maldives, which is why the inner reefs are indeed knackered and may not recover…..and this is of course where most of the resorts are….
We’ve been coming here since 2011 and even in this short time things have become much worse. Unless the Maldives, its people and its government wake up to the reality of what they are doing to their reefs, which are after all the basis for everything in the country, including the very country itself, then greed, ignorance, apathy and short-sightedness will win the day and kill the reefs – and with it much of the country’s economy and the well-being of its citizens. There’s no nice way to put this. What we are documenting is the rapid decline of a country in more ways than one.
Thank you to a fantastic team who have worked really hard in the face of an ecological crisis. This was the first time that Biosphere Expeditions has run an expedition for those already trained in Reef Check protocols and methodology, and it has been a great success. To be able to get to work quickly after a brief refresher, and to travel to distant locations has been a real bonus. It has also been great for participants of previous expeditions to meet up with old friends, and to make new ones. Everyone hopes that other diving destinations will follow suit and if they do, I hope to see you all in another location continuing the good work!
We would also like to thank the fantastic crew of our research vessel. The food has been amazing, and the knowledge and skill of the dive guides has really helped the whole operation run smoothly. A special thank you to Inthi, for being flexible and accommodating at all times.
So until next year… we wish the Maldivian reefs a year of recovery. `They need all the luck and help they can get.
The past couple of days we have been busy preparing the Subayang Research Station for your arrival, and it is ready! We managed to get all 12 boxes of equipment to site and get it orgainsed, the research plan is finalised and the station is spick and spam. The station also has a brand new freshwater laboratory and education center, and next Saturday we will host a school group from Tanjung Bilet (a nearby village) at the education centre teaching them about the importance of tigers and the habitat they live in. I will finish up the preparations tomorrow and I really look forward to your arrival on Sunday. See you soon!
A few days ago our first Germany expedition came to an end. Peter and I packed up the research equipment, maps, tents and paperwork after the fourth team had left. Writing this, I am back at my desk. Before I say goodbye, I would like to share some results with you: During the fourth expedition week 234 km of forestry trails were surveyed, 48 km by bike. 25 potential wolf scats were collected. In total 49 Germany expeditioners covered 1,133 km of public forestry trails and paths! Peter will forward 78 approved and alleged wolf scats, 33 of them in ethanol, to the Wolfsbuero lab for further dietary and DNA analysis.
Twenty-five 10 x 10 km monitoring grid cells were surveyed, yielding 31 wolf tracks, 32 unclear scats, 5 carcasses and one livestock kill, as well as one possible wolf picture from one of the camera traps set up near base.
These numbers alone tell their own tale. We hope that these results will silence the critics and those from yesteryear still mistrusting citizen science projects.
It will take some more time until the final lab results will be available for writing up the final expedition report, envisaged to be out in early 2018, and we will of course keep everyone in the loop.
A big, big thank you goes first and foremost to all team members for their contribution and hard work. The project simply would not be possible without you!
We would also like to thank Theo, Baerbel, Kenny, Holger, Felix and Valeska for their time, support and sharing their knowledge. And last but not least, big thank-yous go to Jana and Jenny from the Wolfsbuero for supporting us on the ground and coping with buerocracy behind the scenes.
I think that we all have already achieved a lot together. “Keep up the good work” is a feedback comment I came across quite often during the wrap up. Thank you and I simply pass it on. I hope you’ll stay in touch and I look forward to meeting many of you again some time in the future.
All the best
Malika
I have arrived in Pekanbaru and been working with Febri and Gia at the WWF office over the last couple of days preparing for the expedition. Tomorrow we will travel to the Subayang Research Station to prepare for your arrival. I will stay at the station finishing up the preparations while Febri will travel back to meet group 1 at the Red Planet on Sunday at 08.00. From here you have a three hour bus journey followed by a 30 min boat trip up the river. The sun has been shining since I arrived in Pekanbaru and it is the dry season, but a heavy downpour can happen at any time in the tropics so you may want to keep your rain poncho handy for the boat journey. I look forward to meeting you in a few days!
