Camera Trapping Again

I've set up the camera trap in the garden. So far, aside from cats, we have this fox. I'll upload more when I see more. 

Edge of the Desert Novel

My latest book, an African novel, is now available to buy.

Click below to preview Edge of the Desert.

Available to buy in UK:
from amazon in paperback or on kindle

Or US
from amazon in paperback or on kindle

Also available on all other amazon stores

Available Now: A Zoologist's Stumblings In Africa: How to Habituate a Bonobo

Its finally ready! My book is now available to buy in paperback, kindle and non-kindle ebook. Here is the link to the uk amazon paperback and kindle. http://amzn.to/1RtijVK

It should be on all the other amazon country sites too.

Paperback:
Amazon (UK)
Amazon (USA)
Amazon for other territories: DE, FR, ES, IT
Createspace (USA)


Ebook:
Kindle (UK)
Kindle (US)
Kindle for other territories: DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, CA, MX, AU, IN
Kobo
Smashwords
Scribd
Inktera
iBooks

"Enter Lui-Kotale in the Democratic Republic of Congo and meet some amazing primates, the bonobos. Get to know the least know great apes at a personal level as well as many other species and people. From bonobos in the day to leopards in the night being a bonobo habituator is far from dull. During nine months following a wild group of bonobo, meat eating, wading and urinating on researchers, were some of the many amazing things these apes did. There were also the elephants, driver ants, snakes, poachers and local villagers to deal with. This is the side of Africa's dark heart you have never seen before, the warm heart."

20% of proceeds will go to bonoboalive to help protect wild bonobos.

(Book Teaser) A Zoologist Stumbling's in Africa: How to habituate a Bonobo

A short trailer for my upcoming book soon to be made available. More info coming soon.

Expedition Films

I have been on a few trips since last updating here. Congo, Mauritius and Gabon. I have made several videos and have more to upload. You can keep up to date on my youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTMWs4VA6DJu4REJUqp0ATw

Here is a sample of the videos on my channel. Loango in Gabon. I hope you pay a visit to my channel to see more.

New Job in the Heart of Africa

I don't know why I haven't posted about this, probably because I have been busy preparing for my next African adventure. I am off to a country that I have not been to and not many tourists either. I am off to the Heart of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo with my new job. I am going to be a bonobo researcher for 9 months.
After flying into the country I take a small plane into the interior then hike 25km across savanna, swamp, rivers and rainforest to reach a remote camp in the middle of the dense rain forest. One there I will not leave the rainforest for 9 months.
I found out just days ago and leave in 2 weeks so its all rush. For those who dont know what a bonobo is think pygmy chimpanzee and you get the idea.

A bonobo

Rhinos at the Picnic

The drive ended at a vlei or waterhole with a meal of salad and apples. I enjoyed the salad, which is very odd for me who likes to have some form of meat in a meal. It was probably due to the location than the actual food though. The vlei was located in the middle of a large plain a few kilometers wide encompassed by towering cliff faces on all sides of sandstone and limestone creating a mini crater. The center of the plain contained a depression of a almost circular bowl around 100m across which is where our vlei sat.

Enjoying our picnic

We left our trusty landrover on the road behind a bush some 50m from the vlei and headed to the waters edge. Our “guides” for the evening served up the food from a small pop up table on the waters edge where we sat eating and listening to the calls of frogs just waking from there slumber to begin the deafening night chorus. From the aptly named babbling kassina’s who sound like a bubbling water to the pain inducing pierce of the painted reed frogs we had them all.
Once everyone had polished off there first helpings and collected there seconds or an apple we gathered round the table to debrief and give feedback to the afternoons guide and tracker before handing over to me for my first night drive and my tracker. It was a normal feedback session with the standard comments of “ The drive was a bit bumpy” or “Make sure you know what the species we are looking at is”. These can be of great importance and help you to develop your guiding skills if they are not taken too personally which unfortunately for some they did.
After I had said my piece I felt an urge to look around before the last of the light faded. Coming over the rim of the small bowl containing the vlei not 20m away from us was a female white rhino and calf. We where in the open with the safety of the vehicle in the direction of the rhino. As calmly as possible I casually said “Rhino” so as not to panic everyone. I am sure they thought I was on about the rhino sighting from the drive and about to give feedback. It didnt sink in so I pointed to the rhino slowly plodding along directly to where we stood.

Rhino approaching our picnic

Rhino have very poor eyesight but extremely good hearing and smell. Lucky for us in the fading light its vision was greatly reduced even more and the wind was in our favour. Being in the bowl next to the frogs steadily increasing calls our talking was lost in the croaks and rattles. Once everyone was aware of the very close mother and calf we dropped everything and slowly moved off. Walking rather than running is a golden rule with wildlife but feels wrong especially as what you are trying to escape is keeping pace.We circled out away from them and around to the safety of the vehicle. Wesley stopped to take photos to which Mike wisely made him put down the camera and keep walking.

After spotting the table

We made it safely up the slope, around the bushes and back to our trusty landrover, Eleanor. The rhinos walked casually towards the exact spot we had just been sitting. The had not even known we had been there and was only when she basically bumped into the picnic table they she became aware of our presence. She panicked, jumped back and the two took flight over the far rim of the bowl while we watched from behind the bush in Eleanor. Once they had disappeared from view we returned to our picnic, finished the last of the food and packed it all into Eleanor. We then got back on with our plan of looking for frogs in the dark.

Off they go

The mothers print