Yes for fieldwork!!

14 February

So I didn’t write about this earlier because I was afraid it may not go through, but I just got the confirmation!! I found out during fall quarter at UW that the lab I’ve been volunteering in, the Center for Conservation Biology at UW, was starting a new project in Cambodia in December. Funded by the World Wildlife Fund (think Panda), the project’s aim is to take a census of the tigers and leopards living in the Mondulkiri province of Cambodia. This province is much less developed than the rest of Cambodia, having rich forest that still support a surprising number of large fauna. NGOs such as WWF are interested in expanding eco-tourism opportunities in the region to help conserve the wildlife and diversity, similar to how safari tourism protects the Serengeti. I emailed the lab’s director, Dr. Wasser, about the opportunity for me to check out the project while I was in Mui Ne and he put me in touch with the two researchers out there, Jennifer and Liz. We communicated about the option of me joining them for several days but they needed to confirm that they would in fact be out of the field, in town, on the 21st of February and that it would be ok for me to join them (I think you need government permission to enter the park). I’ve been waiting for that email, rather impatiently while knowing they have limited email access, because it would dictate my travel plans and schedule.

I just got the email and I’m very excited about the opportunity. The fieldwork that the Center for Conservation Biology does is really exciting, plus the research fascinates me, and having spent nearly 2 years volunteering in the lab, processing samples from the field, I’m thrilled to be able to partake in the actual fieldwork.

I don’t know much about what to expect, except that: I will probably spend about 8 days (or more) in the field with them, it seems that you need private transport to get into the forest where they are and it isn’t easily accessible, I doubt there is electricity, I will be sleeping in a hammock with mosquito netting. The work consists of walking long distances daily with the lab’s specially trained “conservation canines.” The dogs are trained similar to drug detection police dogs. They find and identify the scat from various species. We work with them, rewarding their finds with play, and collecting the scat samples for later genetic and endocrine analysis in the lab.

My understanding is that the current work is an initial survey of the area to determine the number of individuals of tigers/leopards, and perhaps male to female ratio as well. This can all be done using this noninvasive sampling method, without ever disturbing the animals.

I think it’s unlikely the researchers ever see any tigers, and no matter how much I may want to, I know it’s better that we don’t… Besides, I’ve been lucky enough in my life to see tigers in the wild in India.

Have I mentioned how excited I am about this? Now I need to leave for the south immediately. Unfortunately, I will be missing a lot of Southern Laos and I have little time to relax any place along the way. The time in the field will also cut into my time to explore Cambodia. But this just means I will definitely have to come back to these countries. The opportunity is well worth the 10 days less traveling!