Thursday, 3 July 2014

Chitengo

Chitengo is our small little village, if I can call it that, and it's a fenced camp that serves as headquarters for the Gorongosa National Park. It's a community with three different, but connected, communities.
There're are the rangers whose main functions are to detect poachers, or the snares they leave out, in an attempt to eliminate illegal hunting of wild animals, and also look for illegal loggers. When they "need" a light day in the field they come with the scientists to keep an eye on the wild beast that may try something unpleasant if we inadvertently get too close. 


You never know when a sneaky little fellow like the one bellow may try to have a taste of your leg (though we apparently aren't fleshy enough for their taste, I've heard).

 
We also have the restoration project team, which is composed of a number of resident scientists, both from Mozambique and abroad, mainly form the USA, and visiting researchers like the Coimbra team in which I'm included. Scientific facilities were inaugurated not long ago, with the mighty E. O. Wilson blessing the lab and putting is name on it. These include a few lab and office spaces, shared by the lion people, ungulate people, bat girl, plant people, and ourselves, the seed dispersal (or poop) people.


Several bungalows for accommodate all of us comfy enough to face days of hard work (I can see the derisive grin of hardcore fieldworks in the middle of nowhere camping and going some other hardships), and a tent-kitchen, which was raided by baboons a few days ago making casualties among food items we all keep there.


Finally we have the tourist side of this place with a team that receives "civilians" who come to spend some time peaceful resting time, and taking the chance to go on a safari to see the wildlife that this area has to offer. In fact this is very convenient for everyone as we all can have access to the restaurant and bar (important in times of football world cup), and a little souvenir shop where a postcard can be bought, along with some other merchandise from the park, and sent to the world out there (once we have the opportunity to go to Chimoio or Beira., Chimoio being the closest and at 2 hours-drive distance from Chitengo). 

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