Transects

52 — that’s the number of transects I’ve walked to date.

A transect is a straight line or narrow path along which I record baboon presence. On paper, my GPS tells me I’ve walked 135 km while surveying, but I know the actual distance is considerably more. At each location, I walk one kilometer, turn 90 degrees, walk 500 meters, turn 90 degrees, walk another kilometer, turn 90 degrees again, and then walk the final 500 meters back to where I started. Only the one-kilometer sections count toward my survey distance.

If I’m lucky, the starting point is near the road and I only have a short distance to walk before beginning the transect. Often, that’s not the case. This past month, for example, I walked three kilometers uphill just to reach the starting point—and then began the transect.

I have 14 more transects that I can potentially walk. I say potentially because one is in an area with lots of hippos and elephants, and I’m not convinced it’s particularly safe to walk. I’m still trying to figure out what can be done. Another is on property owned by a Saudi prince. Despite a bit of pleading—and even sharing some of my published work with Saudi colleagues—I suspect my request will probably go unanswered. Three more are in Kruger National Park. I mentioned last month that I’m still waiting for my research permit. Well… I’m still waiting.

It wasn’t intentional, but it seems I’ve managed to walk the low-hanging fruit first. What remains are the challenging transects—either because of access or because they will be difficult to walk.

One of the remaining transects is on communal land. I tried to reach it previously, but I wasn’t sure whether we needed permission to survey there. More importantly, the road getting there practically gave me a panic attack. It’s a steep, one-lane dirt road filled with twists, turns, and potholes. If I had met someone coming the other way, there was no place to turn around, and I seriously doubt I could have driven backwards back up the hill. I remembered that “discretion is the greater part of valor” and decided it would be wiser to seek permission first—and see if I can find someone willing to drive us there.

It’s also hunting season, and several of my remaining transects are on game farms. Most landowners are understandably busy with paying clients, so I have to wait until it’s convenient for them to let me survey. My goal is to complete the remaining surveys by the end of September, and I’m hoping a few more landowners will be able to help me out.

I’ll let you know next month how many of those 14 transects I managed to complete. I’m keeping my fingers crossed—or, as they say in South Africa, I’m holding thumbs.

By the end of September, I’ll have just two months remaining in my Fulbright project.

I predict they’re going to be busy ones!