This really is fisi camp...

Had a great birthday several days ago, slept in, just Julia went out, and then had a nice relaxing day in the hammock, flipping through the hyena books, transcribing, and going through photos. Went out for evening obs with Wes and got to drive around in south territory for the first time! Got to take the maruti over some rough tracks which was a lot of fun and saw an amazing sunset with a bunch of lightning up on the escarpment. After obs we went up to Serena lodge and sat outside on the balcony by a fire with a full moon shining across the savannah. So beautiful. Had a dawa (vodka/honey/limes), a shot of jameson, and some jameson with ice. Its always a little weird up at the lodge, it's really like its own little world separate from the field life that we live as hyena researchers. Flush toilets! Mirrors!  

Hyenas in camp all night two nights ago and into the morning! When I got up around 5:25 there were at least four subadults/cubs in the kitchen tent area knocking over chairs and one of them even started walking up the path to the lab tent where Julia and I were! When we got back to camp after morning obs Ramone and Strummer were/are hanging out around the choo. Wes (who stayed in this morning due to us still only have the maruti) apparently watched them wandering around camp all morning. They are both “in the process of graduating” and it seems like camp is becoming a regular hangout for some of these guys. It also looks like the den may have moved away from Schipol Den (the den right on the road) because there has been very limited activity though it’s not clear whether or not that’s just from some of the cubs graduating.

Then the afternoon day before yesterday actually got to see strummer in camp. Sometime after lunch while I was alone in the lab tent he comes walking down the path from the choo, walks around the table to the end of the lab tent, stares around camp, then turns around and starts walking back up towards the choo. NO RESPECT! Ramone stayed further back in the woods. Apparently he went inside the lab tent also, possibly looking for powdered milk that Julia uses in box trials? Quite a feeling to be that close to a little hyena.

We were starting to wonder if maybe ramone and strummer had graduated to our camp! Julia had the thought that they had moved to the breakfast plain and Dave was picking up a lot of points around maji nedge. So who knows?

Last night we finally got our answer. While driving out of camp we immediately started getting a lot of points from several of our collared moms, probably coming from the breakfast plain, we encounter Ema sacked out in the grass not too far from camp with Dr. P possibly nearby. When we started making a loop around the breakfast plains we see them through our bincolars! Then it was just a matter of finding a way too the den without hitting the lugga, wet spots, and rocky areas that plague the breakfast plain. I was driving and I definitely got a little stressed out with all the “slower!” “turn” “back up” “not there!” That was some serious off road driving and the tall grass disguises everything. Thankfully the hilux is a fairly forgiving vehicle. We finally made it to the den and almost all the cubs were there! Didn’t see Rama but he’s often a little separate from the others. Also found an easier way in than out. This also explains why we’ve had cubs in camp, they’re only about 600 to 800m away! No one has graduated yet, Uzi was still there at the den and they have to be seen away from the den three times in a row in order to be considered graduated. 

Dave (grad students) is back in camp again so we're back up to four. Quiet morning at happy zebra today, but did some nice driving around the burned area where two male lions (the clegane brothers?) were hanging out. What is it about male lions? Very relaxed and regal. Also got to see Temp aka buttsicle (for the sickle shapes on his butt). I’m really making a point to study those books so I can get these hyenas down now that I’m pretty familiar with the cubs. The north cubs still throw me a bit though, they’re all the same size and color and when I see like six of them romping around the car my brain freezes up and goes ahhh so many spots! And I don’t know both sides of every cub so sometimes I’ll see a side and not be sure if it’s an unfamiliar side or I’m missing a key spot.

Finally have clean clothes- been wearing shorts for the past two weeks and it feels strange to have pants on again (though nice for chilly mornings). Wes says my definition of dirty will evolve.