World Wildlife Fund

Robin Naidoo
© Greg Stuart-Hill, WWF-LIFE

Robin Naidoo, a conservation scientist in WWF's Conservation Science program, returned from two weeks in the wilderness of Namibia's Caprivi Strip - a long, narrow band of Namibia that runs east-west-west between Botswana, Angola and Zambia. Get a first-person account of what it takes to capture, collar and release large African mammals - including buffalo, sable and impala. Read about his near-misses, helicopter chases and other adventures in conservation science.

Part 8: Close Call

Jan and Mark get very close to the ground as they select a buffalo to dart.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

I go up early in the morning in the "vomit comet" with Mark, and we successfully locate all four collared buffalo. We then drive across the Caprivi strip and relocate the camp to the Susuwe area, on the banks of the Kwando river, about 120 miles east of our former location. We will use this as a base camp for buffalo capture at three sites in east Caprivi: Susuwe, Mudumu National Park, and Mamili National Park.

In the late afternoon, Mark and Jan locate from the chopper a big herd of buffalo in the treed savanna west of the Kwando River. Unlike Mahango, where buffalo were on the open floodplains during the day, these buffalo are in the bush. The helicopter drives the buffalo towards an access road, where three animals are darted. Then we "bundu bash" - a South African expression for offroading - through thick vegetation. Several of the trucks get multiple flat tires. In one instance, Dr. Greg Stuart-Hill of WWF-LIFE worked feverishly to change a tire on his vehicle while a newly collared buffalo, just woken up from being tranquilized, ambled woozily but menacingly in our general direction. Fortunately she changed course, the tire was replaced and we headed back to the relative safety of the road.

On an average day there were four truckloads of scientists and rangers.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

A herd of buffalo on the grasslands.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

We work several different herds in the same manner throughout the rest of the day and the whole next day as well. It is tough but we deploy five collars at this site and take blood from 16 buffalo in the Susuwe area. At the end of the day, we are rewarded by the site of a magnificent leopard dashing across the rough track ahead of us. What a fitting way to end an exhausting but productive day of work.

Part 1: Calls of the Wild | Part 2: Tracking Collar Basics | Part 3: Rangers and Radio Collars | Part 4: LIFE in Namibia | Part 5: Face to Face with Buffalo | Part 6: Impala and Sable Capture | Part 7: Hippo Visitation | Part 8: Close Call | Part 9: Improvisation | Part 10: Homecoming