And so the march of progress continues. In a few days time I'll be in the air again, returning to Mareja. The news of elephant poaching activity from Dominik has not been good. The general feeling is that poachers have been active in the Reserve since I left, due to the relative paucity of rain and not too much high grass to impair visibility of wildlife.
A young elephant was shot and wounded a few days ago about 2 km from camp, and amazingly, the National Park Rangers arrived to help Dominik track the animal and its assailants. I have no further information as to whether they caught up with either party. These are grim times and they put our efforts to raise awareness and funds for the area, into sharp perspective.
I will be in Mareja for about 6 weeks, and intend to have a good luck at the larger watercourses, to establish how intact the forest remains. The richest soils and some of the largest trees, are to be found along these rivers, so if people feel they can operate undiscovered, they will clear and cut to their heart's content. I would like to be able to tell Sophie and Dominik exactly what is happening because the health of these areas has a large bearing on Pemba Bay to the east and south.
Like all expeditions, there are great unknowns; large gaps of information that need filling in. I will get a debrief from Dominik when we meet in Pemba and then the maelstrom in my mind may settle, a bit.
