Tuesday, June 5, 2012

It’s been a very long time since I was last able to update everyone!  So much has happened here in Madagascar over the past couple of weeks.  I will try to be thorough in explaining all that has taken place.  I can’t remember exactly when I was last able to update, but I know it was before we went into the forest last Tuesday, so I will begin there.  First of all, I would like to congratulate my brother, Logan, on graduating from high school on May 27^th!  I am very proud of you and can’t wait to see you again J.  We will celebrate when I get back!  Alright, so last Tuesday, May 29^th, Zach, Joe, Hanna, and I left our little house in Maroantsetra to begin our journey to a brand new field site (which no one had ever been to before) near Ambudicacazu (I am sure that is NOT how you spell that, but I have no way of knowing how it is spelled!) in the Makira forest region.  We packed up all of our gear into rice bags (which is how the porters prefer to carry gear) and backpacks, and took a WCS truck to the port in Maroantsetra, where we boarded a WCS motor boat.  We rode through canals on the river all the way to the village of Somiska (about 3 hours from Maroantsetra on a boat) where we stayed for the night.  Our guides, Mark’hila and Donah, arranged porters from Somiska to take our gear to Ambudicacazu, which is a 2.5 hour hike from Somiska.   The next morning, the porters, guides, and the four of us hiked to Ambudicacazu, which was a very pretty hike through rice fields, along streams and rivers, and through patches of forest.  We got to see several small Malagasy communities, lots of mountainous scenery, and several different scenic waterways.  The hike was difficult though, because we were hiking through lots of topography (ups and downs) and LOTS of mud!  The trail through every community turned completely into mud, as most of the time these ran through rice fields, which funneled a lot of water directly onto the trail.  At some points, the mud was shin deep.  It was very difficult to walk through, and so the four of us quickly fell behind the porters, who of course are very used to walking through such terrain. 

On Wednesday afternoon, we passed through Ambudicacazu.  The porters wanted to stop in the village and leave our gear there; however, we had hired them to take the gear into the forest so that we could make camp at approximately the center of the camera grid we were planning to set up.  After much discussion, Zach convinced the porters to take the gear into the forest, and we set off again.  The edge of the forest was about 30 minutes from Ambudicacazu, and we made it to the meadow directly at the edge of the forest when the porters dropped our gear and refused to go on.  They said that there were no trails through the forest, or any streams near which we could camp.  Zach talked with them for a very long time, but there was no convincing them to carry the gear any farther, so we decided to camp at the base of the mountain, in a local zebu pasture (zebu are Malagasy cows—they are EVERYWHERE!  They look a bit different than cows in the U.S. and seem to be a little bit smarter.  Also, they taste really good!).  Zach and Joe decided to hike into the forest to see if there really were trails running through it while Hanna, the guides, and I set up camp.  We were almost done setting up all of the tents when Zach and Joe (whom Hanna and I have decided to refer to as “Jack” when they are together) returned from the forest having found no good trails or any places to camp.  This was disappointing news, but the day was getting late, so we continued to set up camp and decided to try setting up the camera grid the next day. 

On Thursday, we organized gear for three groups to try to set up four camera stations each.  A typical grid is supposed to contain 25 camera stations, consisting of 50 cameras, with stations at least 450 meters apart from each other.  Grids can be rectangular or square, depending on the trails running through the forest.  Usually Zach’s team is able to set up 12 stations per day, taking approximately 2 days to set up the entire grid.  We set out as a large group and hiked up the mountain on the one trail running up to the first mountain ridge.  There, we split into three groups: one consisted of Mark’hila, Donah, and a local guide; one was “Jack,” Aina, and a local guide, and the last was Hannah, Rija, a local guide, and I.  We each set off in a different direction from the ridge trail to look for places to set up stations.  My group headed south off of the ridge; our local guide had to cut a brand new trail through the forest for us to go south.  He had nothing but a machete (which the Malagasy call a “coop coop”), but cut a clean trail through the thick rainforest with it.  And he never had to refer to the compass to continue going south; we were checking every now and then, and he was always headed directly south.  It was impressive.  Each group had a GPS unit with the point at which we split on the ridge marked, and we were supposed to head in our given direction for at least 450 meters before trying to set up a station.  If we were successful, we were then supposed to continue going in that direction for another 450 meters, and set up another station, and so on, until we were out of cameras for the day.  This was all hypothetical, and absolutely did not work out.  My group was successful in cutting a trail straight south for 450 meters from the ridge point and setting up one camera station.  However, by the time we were done setting up our cameras, it was about 2:00 pm, and our guide’s machete was too dull to try to forge on.  After we set up our station, we headed back the way we had come, with the plan of putting up the camera station on the ridge (we had all decided that whichever group came back first would put up this first station) and then heading back to camp.  But we met Jack’s group on the way to the ridge point (they were slightly off their trail…) and they told us that they were successful in putting up one station, but that beyond that their trail was impossible to continue because the forest was just too thick.  Zach was very depressed, as putting up the grid was looking to be far more difficult than anyone had expected.  He told us to take a different trail down the mountain to camp, as we would then be able to look for more possible sites for stations as we made our way down the mountain.   So our guide began clearing a trail down the mountain towards camp.  We were 950 meters from camp according to the GPS, and it took us about 2 hours to get out of the forest, even going downhill the entire time, because the vegetation was so thick!  Hannah and I fell down a lot, because the ground was entirely mud and leaves and vines and the downhill slope was at an average of a 90 degree angle.  It also rained most of the day, so we were soaking wet and covered in mud and leaves.  We also did not see a single place to set up a camera station the entire time (conditions have to be met before you can set up a station, and the forest was NOT cooperating with us!).  

By the time we emerged from the forest, we were soaking wet, muddy, and had cuts and scrapes all over from thorny vines that were strung throughout the forest.  We had also only set up one of what was supposed to be four stations for the day.  It was disheartening.  When we got back to camp, we met Jack and Mark’hila’s groups; each group had only set up one station, and had found no other places to set up cameras.  We had also not found a good place to camp in the forest.  Given all of these conditions, Zach decided that it was best to give up on the grid entirely and revisit a site he had worked in several times previously, called Mangabe.  It was extremely disappointing for everyone to abandon this new field site, but it was definitely the best decision, as we could have wasted much more time, many more resources, and beat the crap out of our bodies trying to get that grid set up and running.  

So the next day, Friday, Jack went into the forest to take down the three stations that we had set up the day before while Hannah and I stayed in camp and trained Aina and Rija, two new Malagasy researchers, on how to set up camera traps for tenrecs.  (They were sent to help us in the field by a post-doctorate student from Harvard named Chris Golden who has been working in Madagascar for 13 years, studying bush-meat consumption by the Malagasy.  Aina and Rija were hired by Chris to set up a camera grid in a different area of Madagascar to try to capture images of tenrecs, which are endemic mammals; this will supplement Chris’ bush-meat consumption data, as he has determined that tenrecs constitute a very large percentage of Malagasy bush-meat.)  The rest of the day was spent relaxing, as we were all sore and upset from the previous day.  I had a massive blister on my right heel which was preventing me from walking very well, and we were worried it was going to get infected.  (Thankfully, Hanna and Joe have poured so much iodine on it over the last few days that nothing could possibly live there.) 

So then on Saturday, Donah arranged porters to carry all of our gear back out of the forest and to Somiska.  Zach, Joe, Hanna, and I hiked the 2.5 hours back to the village and then caught a pirogue (canoe) to a village even closer to Maroantsetra, which I cannot pronounce, let alone spell.  The hike that day was interesting because my blister was preventing me from walking quickly, and it had rained a lot, so the trails were even muddier than before.  Also, Joe wasn’t feeling well that day, so we took it very slow.  Still, I enjoyed the scenery once again.  We spent Saturday night in the village past Somiska and then took a pirogue at 4 am to the next village, where we caught a motor boat back to Maroantsetra.  The 4 am pirogue ride was amazing; the sky was extremely clear that morning and we were able to see an incredible amount of stars.  There is no light pollution in this area of Madagascar whatsoever, and all of the constellations are different than the ones in the northern/western hemisphere.  We saw the milkyway as it was meant to be seen; it was so thick and bright that it looked like a cloud!  And the sunrise was incredible over the mountains.  It was worth the 30 minute hike through knee deep mud at 4:00 in the morning from the village to the port.  But only barely ;).  The motor boat ride took us 4 hours to finally arrive back in Maroantsetra, but it was pleasant enough, if a little bit cramped as people kept getting on with bicycles, chickens, bags of rice, etc.  But we finally made it to Maroantsetra on Sunday afternoon.

When we did get into the city, we made our way to the little house in town that WCS had arranged for us to stay in.  But when we got there, the proprietor of the house told us that WCS had the key.  Zach walked to WCS to get it, but because it was Sunday, WCS was closed.  (As was everything else in Madagascar…) So we were stranded, it seemed!  (Mind you, at this point we had no clean clothing, my feet were cut and scraped, we were all sore, tired, and extremely hungry.)  So we went to a local resort and had a nice lunch while we contemplated our situation.  We decided to walk to the house we had been staying at previously, just outside of town, which was a difficult decision because it is a 30 minute walk to get to the house from the city, and we were extremely tired.  Also, we would only be able to get into the house if the keeper, Etien, was there; and since it was Sunday, we were worried that he would not be there.  But we really didn’t have any other options.  So we made the walk.  Thankfully, everything worked out very well and we have been staying in the house ever since! 

Yesterday, Monday, Hanna, Joe, and I stayed at the house and did copious amounts of laundry (which is difficult in Madagascar because there are no washing machines or dryers to be heard of…) and cleaned all of the gear from the field.  Zach went into town to take care of business with guides, WCS, etc.  We had all of our gear transported to the house as well.  Thankfully, yesterday was the most beautiful day I have seen in Madagascar!  It was sunny and gorgeous all day, which was great because we had a lot of wet clothes, tarps, sleeping bags, backpacks, etc.  I really enjoyed relaxing all day and not having to hike, haha. 

Finally, this brings us to today!  Zach had to leave us to go to Sahavari, a village a few hours away, to give a presentation with a Malagasy student named Fernando (everyone here in Madagascar has a great name).  

So today, Hanna, Joe, and I are in town trying to get business in order for our next trip: going to the Mangabe field site for 3 weeks!  We hope to leave either Thursday or Friday morning, depending on if we have to do camera trapping, which Zach’s adviser is deciding today.  If we do not have to do camera trapping, we will leave Thursday to place a grid of small mammal traps in the field site.  If we do have to do cameras, we will leave Friday, because we will have to get all of that gear together.  It is nice that we will be able to do small mammal trapping either way, because we actually get to touch and see the animals that way.  We will mark them and hopefully recapture some of them as well.  This data is actually going to be very helpful to my thesis, as Zach has a lot of previous camera trap data on Mangabe regarding feral cat population densities, so I will be able to compare rodent densities to cat densities using both camera data and physical capture data.  I am very excited to be able to do this. 

It is a little nerve-wracking but also exciting that Zach won’t be with us for the next few weeks, as he has to travel around the Masoala region giving presentations and meeting with other researchers for various projects.  I wish he could come to the field with us, as it will be confusing and stressful for us to do it by ourselves; but I am grateful to have the opportunity to try working with the guides, boat drivers, and porters on our own.  The plan for now is that Joe, Hanna, and I will leave with all of the gear and guides and porters later this week, arrive in Mangabe on Saturday or Sunday, set up camp, set up at least the small mammal grid, and begin collecting data for a week without Zach.  Then, around the 17^th of June, Zach will meet us at the field site to help with data collection, and we won’t be separated again.  We are not planning to come back from the field until the 26^th of June, so it will really be about 3 straight weeks of hiking, camping, and field work; I am very excited, but it will be difficult! 

I hope everyone is doing well back in the U.S.   Mom, Dad, Logan, Kelsey, Meredith, Rachel, and everyone else important in my life: I miss you guys and love you a lot!  I am doing well and am loving my time in Madagascar.  Also, I have taken a lot of pictures already (mom) and have them on a flash drive to show you when I get back.  Take care, and I will try to update when I can! 

~Chelsea