Was asked this afternoon to go help catch Kudus. Once we got to the area where we were going to be catching, we found that the boma had already been set up. The first capture operations were already underway so the students just fell in where they had help necessary. I was sent to the second curtain from the truck & man was that fun. Standing behind the curtain watching the kudu run by waiting for the siren to let me know I must close the curtain.
Thus I hit a snag... My curtain didn't close all the way so once we had the curtain closed, myself & Justin had to stand in front of the gap to ensure the Kudu wouldn't escape again. This was a bit nervy as its very interesting watching eight or more Kudu run in your direction looking for a way out. But Justin & I stood our ground & helped to get the kudu onto the truck. So this was quite an exciting end to our day.
Thursday 24 November 2011
Thursday brought about a slightly overcast start to the day, the perfect weather for catching animals. We started out the morning catching some more Kudu & loading them onto the trucks for transportation. Thereafter we were called aside by Sieg, who told us that we were going to go catch Giraffe, now having not done this before, I was excited to get out & help catch them. Sieg gave us a pre-capture briefing, explaining the method to us, as well as the dangers that would be ahead of us. The capture method is actually quite complex, as the Giraffe gets darted by a vet from a helicopter, then the guys on the ground run into the bush with a thick nylon rope which gets wrapped around the animals legs to trip it, once the animal is on the floor, an antidote for the anesthetic is administered, & ropes placed through the animals legs.
From here the animal is helped back to its feet, & then using the ropes is guided onto a trailer for transportation.
The first Giraffe that was caught we just observed how it was done, thereafter we ran into the bush with the capture team to catch the next three Giraffe. I got to help out with leading the Giraffe onto the trailer. I realized just how strong they are by the fact it took about 20 of us to pull the Giraffe onto the trailer.
Overall it was an unbelievable experience & one that I can not wait to do again.
No comments:
Post a Comment