Of Moose and Men

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UNDERSTAND JOB OFFER SASKATOON STOP ON SAFARI IN RWANDA TRANSLOCATING ELEPHANTS STOP WILL MAKE CONTACT ASAP ON RETURN TO KENYA STOP HAIGH.

It was 1975, and I was working in Rwanda on an elephant project. The team had taken a brief break and come to Kigali, the capital, in mid-April 1975 and had not long come off the phone with my wife Jo, who was at our home in Kenya. After the normal greetings she said, “A man called Nielsen called from Saskatoon in Canada. They have offered you the job at the vet college.”

She read out the long number, which I tried to memorize, and then I realized that with the nine-hour time difference it would be 4 a.m. in Saskatoon. Not a good time to call. Conversely, by the time Nielsen would be in his office it would be 1 a.m. in Kigali, and I would not be able to use a phone, as the post office would be closed. In those pre-Internet, pre-fax days, a telegram was the only solution to my problem. And I was intent on getting my response to him as quickly as I could.

In the half-dark of a crowded post office jam-packed with Rwandans and three other “Europeans” (as any white person was called), I struggled to compose the telegram.
Eventually I got to the front of the queue, where I found that I could hardly see the clerk behind the grime-covered glass sheet. I bent down and spoke through the grate.
“I’d like to send this cable to Canada,” I said to him, only to receive a blank stare. I had forgotten that I was in a francophone country. I switched to French, which was also a mistake, as I ran out of vocabulary after the initial, “Je veux.” I changed gears again to Swahili, which allowed us to understand one another.

Dr. Nielsen was offering me a post as a zoo and wildlife veterinarian at the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine. I had applied several months earlier and been waiting to hear for some time.

It was this opportunity that has led to my 36 years in Canada and the writing of Of Moose and Men. Moose are the first free-ranging species on which I carried out research work and they have fascinated me ever since. Here is the first moose that I ever worked on and his new collar. The book is now in the editing stage with publisher ECW Pressof Toronto, so I’m moving on to the next phase. Tomorrow, Monday I head to Saskatchewan’s Quapelle Valley and the Sage Hill Writing Experience (see more here) to start work on anew project that I’m calling, for now, From Polar Bears to Porcupines. Let’s see if that title holds up after 10 days of work, but meanwhile, here is one of the pictures I would likely include.

I'm not sure how good the Internet contact will be at the retreat, but if it works I will certainly keep you posted.

Rhino poaching

www.eawildlife.orgLink
Several recent reports in websites and magazines might give one the impression that rhino poaching is a recent phenomenon, but the truth is that it never really went away. However, it has gone high-tech and there has indeed been a surge, most notably in South Africa, where it has been thought that the two African species were perhaps somewhat less vulnerable that in other areas of the continent. You can follow the ugly story by starting at the BBC website here, which has links back to previous accounts. Swara, the fine magazine of the East African Wildlife Society also has an account in their April-June 2011 issue. If this and other African conservation things interest you then try a subscription or visit their website here.

The modern high-tech version of the practice involves night vision goggles, helicopters and drugging. Indeed two South African veterinarians were charged in relation to a poaching ring last year.

There is one potentially good news element to all this, and that is that a Thai man named Chumlong Lemtongthai who has been implicated at the head of one poaching ring and is called a rhino horn ‘kingpin’ was recently arrested in South Africa. He will appear in court on July 15. I hope he doesn’t get away with as much as a Malaysian man on whom the prosecutors reportedly had enough to put him behind bars for mare than a lifetime. He plea-bargained his way into a paltry sentence of less than three years.

What those who have followed the sorry saga closely are well aware of is that rhino horn has been a target of poachers for well over a hundred years. There were once armed gangs scouring Sudan and other countries in that region to supply white rhino horn to buyers.

At least the print media now have it right, rhino horn is not a commodity to help old men get it up. The principal use is in the Orient, or even among oriental people who believe that it is a medical necessity for many ailments. Over 70% of Korean doctors believe it is essential. Secondary uses are as decorative items. This photo was taken by Jimmy Suttie in Korea and show rhino horn for sale in a pharmacy. Look at the very bottom where there are two short pieces.

Current market prices for horn are over $60,000 per kilo. That is about $10,000 more than the price of gold!

With all the high-tech equipment it is becoming increasingly difficult to prevent the poaching. Sadly it goes back to the basic statement by Kenya ex-game wardens Peter Jenkins and Ian Parker, among others, that the only way to ensure rhino survival is to keep them in heavily guarded refugia. That would be hellishly expensive.

Rhino poaching

Link
Rhino poaching.

Several recent reports in websites and magazines might give one the impression that rhino poaching is a recent phenomenon, but the truth is that it never really went away. However, it has gone high-tech and there has indeed been a surge, most notably in South Africa, where it has been thought that the two African species were perhaps somewhat less vulnerable that in other areas of the continent. You can follow the ugly story by starting at the BBC website here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14114327, which has links back to previous accounts. Swara, the magazine of the East African Wildlife Society also has an account in their April-June 2011 issue. If this and other African conservation things interest you then try a subscription or visit their website here at www.eawildlife.org


The modern high-tech version of the practice involves night vision goggles, helicopters and drugging. Indeed two South African veterinarians were charged in relation to a poaching ring last year.

There is one potentially good news element to all this, and that is that a Thai man named Chumlong Lemtongthai who has been implicated at the head of one poaching ring and is called a rhino horn ‘kingpin’ was recently arrested in South Africa. He will appear in court on July 15. I hope he doesn’t get away with as much as a Malaysian man on whom the prosecutors reportedly had enough to put him behind bars for mare than a lifetime. He plea-bargained his way into a paltry sentence of less than three years.

What those who have followed the sorry saga closely are well aware of is that rhino horn has been a target of poachers for well over a hundred years. There were once armed gangs scouring Sudan and other countries in that region to supply white rhino horn to buyers,

At least the print media now have it right, rhino horn is not a commodity to help old men get it up. The principal use is in the Orient, or even among oriental people who believe that it is a medical necessity for many ailments. Over 70% of Korean doctors believe it is essential. Secondary uses are as decorative items. This photo was taken by Jimmy Suttie in Korea and show rhino horn for sale in a pharmacy. Look at the very bottom where there are two short pieces.

Current market prices for horn are over $60,000 per kilo. That is about $10,000 more than the price of gold!

With all the high-tech equipment it is becoming increasingly difficult to prevent the poaching. Sadly it goes back to the basic statement by Kenya ex-game wardens Peter Jenkins and Ian Parker, among others, that the only way to ensure rhino survival is to keep them in heavily guarded refugia. That would be hellishly expensive.

Of Moose and Men

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Just signed a contract with Jack David of ECW Press for my new book and things are moving ahead towards a spring launch. Very exciting!

The title is fixed at Of Moose and Men. The subtitle is still under discussion. Watch this space!

Here is a brief outline of what it is about.

The book provides a wealth of information about moose from all corners of the world. It covers not only my personal experiences with both tame and wild moose but also an overview of moose biology, including their specialized diet and the relationship between sex and antlers, where size really does matter. It also covers the history of moose on earth and the marked fluctuations in populations that have occurred over time. There are chapters on moose diseases (not too technical), moose and traffic, moose as a resource, and the use of live moose in several ways that range from transport to clothing, as dairy animals and as pets.


Here is a section from my acknowledgements that shows the sort of coverage that I did in researching it.

In order to do as thorough job as possible, one of my self-imposed tasks was to try and gain an understanding of the status of moose in the early twenty-first century, and to that end I contacted biologists from just about every range country, US state, and Canadian province where moose exist. I read as many volumes as I could of the Proceedings of the North American Moose Workshop, not just the publications from the workshops I was lucky enough to attend. These workshop proceedings morphed into the journal Alces, whose front-cover mandate reads: “A Journal Devoted to The Biology and Management of Moose.” I owe the contributors and editors sincere thanks for their hard work. I also consulted several books that contained useful information. When those attempts failed, I went, with some care, to the Internet. In the end I was able to obtain information on fifty-five regions—including five separate ones in Russia, which I think is excusable because there are nine time zones involved.

This is not the place to list all those who gave me valuable information, but they are of course listed in the acknowledgements.

Of Moose and Men

Link
Just signed a contract with Jack David of ECW Press for my new book and things are moving ahead towards a spring launch. Very exciting!

The title is fixed at Of Moose and Men. The subtitle is still under discussion. Watch this space!

Here is a brief outline of what it is about.

The book provides a wealth of information about moose from all corners of the world. It covers not only my personal experiences with both tame and wild moose but also an overview of moose biology, including their specialized diet and the relationship between sex and antlers, where size really does matter. It also covers the history of moose on earth and the marked fluctuations in populations that have occurred over time. There are chapters on moose diseases (not too technical), moose and traffic, moose as a resource, and the use of live moose in several ways that range from transport to clothing, as dairy animals and as pets.

Here is a section from my acknowledgements that shows the sort of coverage that I did in researching it.

In order to do as thorough job as possible, one of my self-imposed tasks was to try and gain an understanding of the status of moose in the early twenty-first century, and to that end I contacted biologists from just about every range country, US state, and Canadian province where moose exist. I read as many volumes as I could of the Proceedings of the North American Moose Workshop, not just the publications from the workshops I was lucky enough to attend. These workshop proceedings morphed into the journal Alces, whose front-cover mandate reads: “A Journal Devoted to The Biology and Management of Moose.” I owe the contributors and editors sincere thanks for their hard work. I also consulted several books that contained useful information. When those attempts failed, I went, with some care, to the Internet. In the end I was able to obtain information on fifty-five regions—including five separate ones in Russia, which I think is excusable because there are nine time zones involved.

This is not the place to list all those who gave me valuable information, but they are of course listed in the acknowledgements.

Travel in Uganda

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A couple of days ago I got a letter out of the blue from Derek, a Washington father worried about his son who is off to Uganda. Food was a major concern. We exchanged a coupe of mails and here is what came out of it.

Jerry, do you have any Uganda guidelines you have sent out about what to eat and what not to eat for westerners who don't want to get sick or distressed stomachs? .... some kind of "DON'T EAT THIS IN UGANDA".

Immediately after my son gets back to the USA from this 3 week trip, he plans an extremely rigorous climb of a very high mountain in Wyoming and I am worried that he might get sick from eating strange foods and drinks in Uganda and have difficulty in Wyoming or even in Uganda.

Now it seems that I have to go too because my wife wants to make sure it is a safe trip.

So, we fly there July 1 and go away into bush driving from Kampala on the 7th and return to the USA around the 23rd or so.

You would know best what is safe there.

I asked Derek how he had tracked me down and he said that he had read my book The Trouble With Lions: A Glasgow Vet in Africa and found me on Google.

Here is some of what I wrote back.

On food, we ate almost anything and did well. Wonderful fruit everywhere.

When Derek and Seth get to Uganda one of the most spectacular things they will see are the wonderful fruit and veg stalls alongside the roads. Common fruits in the right season include mangoes, avacado, watermelons and jackfruit. In some parts of the country delicious pineapples are abundant.
Here they are piled in Kampala ready for distribution.
These ones are set in a customised frame in the town of Mbarara.vThey are so much better than the ones in our local supermarkets that we have given up buying them here.

I also gave them a few food tips.

“If you are lucky enough to stop at a roadside stall that sells grilled green bananas (matooke), tasty (very tasty) chapatis and a variety of meats you should make sure the meat is cooked through. My favourite is "chicken-on-a-stick." It's delicious but the vendors, usually young people, will mob the vehicle with several sticks each. Choose one person and ignore the others. Then go back to the charcoal brazier and insist that the chosen piece of meat be cut to the bone to show if it is cooked through. If not (likely) then it should be put back on the heat and carefully watched. Once done it can be thoroughly enjoyed.”

“French fries are called chips. On potatoes in general, if you ask for potatoes you will get sweet potatoes. If you want potatoes as we know them ask for Irish.”

Another thing that I was asked for was an emergency medical supplies list advisable for self drives in the extreme back country. Of course I could not do much here as I am not a physician, but I did reply briefly as follows:

“On meds, you should seek advice from a physician. We only had one surprise in 8 years. We had all the usual things, antibiotics, antihistamines, ointments, headache stuff, diarrhea stuff, band aids, etc., etc. We did not have laxatives. As you may have read in my book The Trouble With Lions one very uncomfortable student said to my wife "I would do anything for a fleet enema right now." She had not passed stool for 3 days!

On a final note the family will travel connected. Here is what Derek wrote
“I am thinking of getting a USB data modem from *both* of the two cell carriers in that country, and then plugging them both into my router, which will default over to the best connection at all times, unless you feel that one carrier is so clearly superior to the other that there isn't a need for that.

I'll want a good connection to data so I can GPS drive with Google Earth data displayed on the laptop.”

Here is my reply.

“I'm sure that the Internet over a laptop has improved a lot in the two years since I was there. Good luck with it. Here, Jen Curragh is on the phone with her family in Manitoba and we are in the middle of Queen Elizabeth NP at least 40 km from the nearest town. The cell phone service is way superior to ours here and much, much cheaper. For one thing you don't pay extra for incoming calls or texting, which we do here. I consider this an absolute rip-off and have written to our local provider to tell them. Got me nowhere of course.”

Folks in UG use texting a massive amount.

One funny story about cell phones.
I delivered a lecture at the vet college & asked a colleague whether it would be okay to ask the audience to urn off their phones. "No way," he said. "They go to church to hear a message from God, but if the phone rings they take that message right away!'

So, if you plan to travel in that part of the world make sure you are fully vaccinated, make sure you have good mosquito nets and make sure you get started on malaria prophylaxis before you travel. As for food, if you are sensible it will be the least of your worries and you will no doubt have some very pleasant surprises.