I made it back in one piece...it would basically be impossible for me to blog about being gone for two and a half months...suffice it to say that I had a wonderful stay at CCF, and it's kind of weird being back to internet and American culture. I have some photos on my facebook profile, and will have more up soon.

Here's a quickie overview of what I did...
I was involved with the wild cheetah census using motion-activated (DeerCam) cameras at playtrees and termite mounds that are frequented by cheetahs - this involved checking the 19 camera stations (two cameras per station) on a regular basis and maintaining them - changing film and batteries, making sure no critters knocked them over, etc. Once the film was developed, Laura (also from OSU) and I logged info. about each photo under the researcher's direction - this is basically done so we know how many photos are actually of animals and cheetahs, how many are just background or error shots, etc. Once that was done, I started working on identifying individual cheetahs using spot patterns and time on the film. I identified over ten individuals.

CCF just got four GPS tracking collars, so I helped set and check live cage traps - while I was there we caught three large male cheetahs and they were all checked out medically and fitted with collars. I recognized one individual from our camera trapping photos - he was caught at the same playtree he was photographed at.

I also did a fair amount of data entry and analysis - CCF conducts monthly game counts to monitor wildlife populations, as well as an annual 12-hour waterhole count.

Exciting sightings: wild leopard and cheetah on CCF property, young male lion in Etosha, black rhino at Waterberg Plateau Park, aardwolf and aardvark, rock hyrax, African wild cat.