Hello Hello,

Since the release, a research team has been monitoring the group’s daily patterns and adjustment to their new home. The research team, comprised of myself, the Project Manager for the Release Project, a local research assistant (provided by National Parks), an anti-poaching scout and a driver, will monitor the baboons for the next 6-12 months, helping to ensure their successful integration into the wild.

The initial weeks were adventure filled and difficult at times, but always exciting. In this first month, the group proved their ability to forage well on their own, explored a 2.5km radius around the release site and have begun interacting with a wild group of baboons. Initially, many members of the group were very attached to the vehicle, as well as the research team, continually climbing on the vehicle, inspecting the researchers and following the team’s every movement. Four weeks later, the group slowly started breaking their dependency on the research team, spending more time away from the humans and vehicle exploring and interacting with their environment.

In the 2nd week of the release a wild male occasionally visited the group, often times peacefully sitting among the group and sometimes being chased by Jack. At times an entire group (which may include this male) spent significant portions of the day with our group, up to 6 hours. No real aggressions occurred, rather these interactions have been quite friendly, though Jack will occasionally chase around members of his own group while in the presence of this wild group, most likely to prove his strength and command over his group to the wild troop.

Brenda, one of the 3 adult females in the release group, took quite a liking to the new wild group, spending much of her day with them. Brenda is the lowest ranking adult female, and therefore, may be looking to emigrate away from the release group, joining a new wild group. This is just speculation at this point, however.

The wild baboons will hopefully teach our group the necessary skills they will need for survival in the wild; skills our group may be lacking from their rearing in captivity.

Richard, one of the sub-adult males in the group is a baboon filled with character and innocence, which you all will grow to see in the coming months. He is the lowest ranking male in the group, not appreciated much by anyone. He tends to do his own thing, preferring to interact with the humans and the vehicle than any baboon. Sometimes I think that he truly believes he’s human and not a monkey. In any event, he has developed a very special relationship with the vehicle, which the research team has been trying to break, but will probably only come in time. Richard will come running from the brush every time he hears the vehicle, charging at full speed straight for the bonnet, which he will leap onto and settle in, as if this is his proper home. We have even observed Richard using the vehicle as a form of security, threatening Jack from the bonnet of the vehicle. Richard is a 7.5kg male and Jack is a 20kg male and the leader of the group, but one threat from Richard on the bonnet sends Jack running. Slowly Richard is breaking his attachment to the vehicle and research team, as he is spending larger and larger amounts of time away from us and off the vehicle, however, this time is not spent interacting with his group members, but rather off on his own inspecting his surroundings and feeding on scraps he finds in the bush. His lack of attention to the group often gets him left behind, one day 2.5km behind. Richard is a baboon who provides much amusement and intrigue and is certainly a case to follow.

We have now completed 2 full months of the release and this past month has been a very exciting and eventful one indeed!

We have seen a lot of the wild group of baboons; and it’s the whole group, not just the male. After the first encounter with Jack’s troop,  the wild baboons have visited our group on 4 other occasions. What initiated these encounters was a little adventure Chris, Ali, Bobby John and Brenda took one night. These 4 went missing for one afternoon and night. To where?…we’re not entirely sure, as we could not find Chris. However, that night we followed the signal on Chris’s radio collar to a wild group of baboons, sleeping about 600m from Jack’s troop.

While I did not see any of our missing group members with them, I am almost positive this is where Chris and the others ran off to, as the next day the wild group was around, persistently trying to get close to Jack and the others. The wild group stuck around for 3 days, sleeping near to Jack’s troop (within 50 meters), trying to interact with members, such as Chris, Brenda and the babies (Ruth and Nina) when they could. During these days no one else in Jack’s group took much of an interest in the wild troop, despite the great interest from the wild group, particularly an adult female and a male sub-adult.

The wild troop disappeared for several days after these encounters, only to return again 5 days later. Upon this next encounter, Jack’s troop inherited the wild adult female who was so curious with our group, and she has remained in our group, leaving her’s behind for the last 4 days. I’m not sure if she will become a permanent member of Jack’s group, but for the moment she’s hopefully passing on valuable lessons to our group. And Chris has already mated with her many times, so perhaps his genes will permanently become integrated in the wild population of baboons in Kasungu National Park. While we inherited a wild female, we also lost Brenda, whom I believe has moved on to the wild troop. The next several weeks are sure to prove interesting!

In other news, much poaching activity has been occurring just around the camp, where the project is based (3.5km from the release site and baboons) in the last 3 weeks. There have been 7 incidents in the area with poachers, 5 gunshots heard, 1 occasion of dogs barking and 1 occasion where 3 poachers were actually seen walking next to camp. Fortunately no one was injured during any of these encounters. And on 1 occasion, a poacher’s gun and the Kudu (a large antelope) they had killed were confiscated by the anti-poaching scouts in the Park, upon the project’s report of the gunshot heard. However, it has been challenging sometimes to receive scouts to follow-up on the reports we make to Parks of this poaching activity. For instance, the day the 3 poachers were physically seen, no scouts were deployed to try and trace them due to a lack of fuel by National Park’s staff. Typically the project would assist with the transportation of scouts, however the project vehicle was out conducting research with the baboons at the time the incident occurred and cell phone reception is very poor at the release site so there was no way of informing myself of the activity. A lack of resources both by National Parks and the Release Project is an unfortunate reality at the moment, which can be a problem in achievement of optimal results; however, we are working to resolve some of these issues.

Till next time, I wish you all happy reading, and I look forward to reporting the further progress of our babies next month!!

~Andrea~