Road Trip to Makanjira

I was part of a team of researchers that took a trip to
Makanjira, Malawi in October to measure the amount of
carbon in Faidherbia albida trees. The trees above, at our
research site, are Faidherbia and are bigger than the rest
because they were on the edge of the plot.

We measured the diameter of the trunk,

And the height,


then felled 45 of them for close measurement.
We cleaned off the small branches and measured
the circumference and length of the trunk and
all of the major branches.

More next week...

Wildebeasts and Lions!

The guide said that wildebeasts could travel 70 miles in a day.

These were watching a male lion. Now I know why they call
him 'King of beasts'. This one walked like he
owned the whole county.

The female lions were relaxing closer to the gate.

The guide said that we were lucky, that usually the lions
stayed out of sight.

Antelopes!

I think that the ones with racing stripes are impala and
that the large ones are hartebeast, but I'm not certain.

This is the mother and baby,

And this, I think, is the father...

African Buffalos!

Africa has buffalos similar to the ones in Asia, but these aren't tame!

The driver told me it was common for them to charge,
and I believe him!