Bioblitz on the Mountain

Chitengo Camp, GNP, Mozambique 

Today, was a day of biodiversity.  The bioblitz was on and there was definitely a biobuzz around camp.  Encyclopedia of Life recently announced our activities and had recognized the event under the Global Bioblitz. 

Prior to the helicopter flight up the mountain it was time to prepare some sampling gear.  A few days ago, Greg Carr mentioned they held confiscated material from poachers in a room next to a small jail cell.  The cache included muskets, snare wire, and netting from fish poachers.  I had been hoping to get some additional nets for the kids of Mt. Gorongosa to capture butterflies.  This was it  --  seized poacher’s snare wire and netting to survey insects for biodiversity and wildlife conservation.  Four nets were assembled and we were ready to go.  Resident vet and star of the Lost Eden Carlos Lopes Pereira assisted us in getting the material.

We left a little early for the bioblitz so we could see some hippo around the lake.  We saw lots of crocodiles and the abundant water bucks around the lake.   This growing waterbuck population for will be good for boosting predator populations. Such is the cycle of life in Gorongosa.   

On the way to the bioblitz we also had time to investigate some ponds on the upper mountain.   The scene was so incredibly pristine.  A wide open meadow set in the dense upper forest of Mt. Gorongosa.  At the lower end of the meadow were two beautiful crystal clear ponds.  We slowly approached and the pilot, Mr. Berges decided it wouldn’t support our weight so we had to lift off.  It was decided would have to come back another time with fewer people.  Hopefully, soon.  Ed figured this would be “an ideal area for a freshwater ecologist.  A dream.”  The ponds and streams below were so beautiful and pristine.

Next stop bioblitz.  Heading down the mountain we arrived across the stream near the tree nursery.  Lots of local Gorongosi were waiting.  After unloading, a few more nets were fashioned and the blitz was on.

The forestry workers had constructed a beautiful working space for Ed next to the stream.  They had made a bamboo shelter with planks over the rocks along the stream.   The plan: send out local school children to collect every animal in sight for classification by Ed.  The energy was powerful.  Barefoot local youth were moving through the high grass, diving into the thorn scrub and reaching into the stream.  Soon the bounty started to be set before Ed.   He carefully inspected each and every specimen with magnifying glass and sometimes a field guide.  Most specimens were compared from memory.  He then recorded the family or genus, and sometimes species of the insect (mostly) and then began with the next young naturalist.  It was incredible.  So much learning, exploration and discovery.  Dream realized.   This activity put everyone in touch with nature.   

Showing young Gorongosi boys the benefits of a butterfly nets was especially enjoyable.  I learned my first Gorongosi word,  “probeta” or butterfly.   We caught some beautiful specimens with the converted poacher’s materials. Ed was quite excited and hoped to bring these to a colleague at Harvard.  

Some of the experience reminded me of the descriptions of Ricketts and Steinbeck in the Sea of Cortez with the assistance of local children.  While collecting within the intertidal of the region they often had support of Seri Indian children who enthusiastically turned over rocks and probed the region for a variety of intertidal species.  Today was much of the same, but most our youth had a ziplock bag in their hand.

Flying home we all had a wonderful feeling of the event.  Ed described it as “historic.”

The afternoon was scheduled for the Gorongosa Eduation Center.  This is something we had been looking forward to the whole trip.  The center had a group of 25-30 local teachers who were in attendance for an environmental education training workshop.  Ed gave a great talk about the importance of education, the importance of biology/biodiversity and some of the importance behind his work with ants.  The group was especially interested in the work with ants.  It was a challenging talk as the was intermittent with translation to Portuguese and the cultural differences led to difficulty interpreting their reactions.  After he spoke I gave a short talk to the teachers about my work and approaches to biodiversity education and project-based learning.  I hope to return in a few days to meet with these teachers once again.

At dinner time everyone was still riding high after the very successful bioblitz on the mountain.  Great that it was all documented by the Nat Geo crew as many others will have the chance to experience this wonderful event.  It inspired everyone involved.  The energetic youth exploring the region gave us additional hope for the preservation of the beautiful mountain, and for the recovery of its wildlife.