Friday already! this week has been a blast of surveying. we finished one clinic, and started on the next. this one is Jadapur region, see map! i'm staying in the eastern yellow bulge at the top (sauraha), jadapur is to the left of the northern green dotted bit, mardi is in the south yellow bit and Kolwa is way to the west!

So we had to spend a day getting permissions for our work from the main park HQ, and there they have set up a vulture breeding centre and also a crocadile breeding centre.

This is breeding Gyps bengalensis, the asian black and white vulture, which is declining at about 50% each year due to the use of Diclofenac a pain killer used when treating cattle. When the vultres eat the carcass of the cow/buffao that has been recenlty treated with diclofenac then it knackers the vultures kidneys and they die! people are trying to ban its use in animlas but its v cheap and that's causing some problems.
the croc farm growing Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) an indian river crocodile that specialises in eating fish.

Also while at the centre they asked if i wanted to see leo-pold..? i had no idea who leo-pold was so studidly when they showed me this dark shed, i stuck my head right against the wire to look in... they pulled me away just in time, as this v v angry LEOPARD jumped up at the wire and had a swipe!! blimey, i almost needed a change of underwear.

They have this leopard, that is kept in appalling conditions. it was rescued as a baby from one of the villages and is meant to be going to kathmandu zoo... but its been in a tiny shed for 1 year already.. see pic

we tried to carry out our survey in Mardi, but the roads are as below, it is like the surface of the moon. trying to ride pillion on the back of a motorbike across this was dreadful! i think i got inter-costal bruising and a spasming back! we did half of the surveying we needed to do before giving up. althought i have just spoken to my supervisor here, and apparently we have to go back to finish the job! that'll be monday if the rains hold off.


roads in Mardi..

this is major form of traffic we have to contend with on most of our journeys.. motorbikes are a rariety!

sometimes when the roads actually exist. them this is our other main contender.. how many people are in this one....?? (probably at least 8-10 on the inside alone!!!)

here is us surveying in Mardi, usually quite a crowd comes to see what we are doing to to proide their own input?!

yours truly and the trusty honda something or other that is the bain of my life (or bum). (7hours driving to mardi and back on the back of this thing...)
this is a milk collection centre in Jadapur. where people bring their 1-2 litres of spare milk each day to sell