Saturday, September 21, 2013

Good day to you my fellow Adventure seekers!!

                Sorry I could not post anything last week, hadn't received any updates on the team's progress. But there is some very exciting news so let us not delay but get right into the thick of the jungle.

                Two weeks ago, I mentioned a couple of places, in the previous blog write up, and did not provide a picture of a map, my sincerest apologies. However. I am now going to correct that mistake hopefully providing some clarity and giving you all a chance to orient yourselves as to where the Nepal Tiger Project team is. So without further ado- here is Nepal, its right in between India and China.
Map of Nepal

Map of Jiri to Shivalaya (team's next location)










It has a population of about 27 million and has several district zones, approximately 75. The Nepal Tiger Project team was in Jiri, which is in the Dolakha District, within the Janakpur Zone. This zone borders reach from the Indian border on the south side to the Tibetan border on the north side.

I hope that clarifies things a bit, and again my sincerest apologies J

Present Day...

                After touching down in Jiri, the team continued to Shivalaya while it was STILL raining. Between these two cities is very hilly or mountainous, and with the rain and multiple species of leeches the trek is a very difficult one. In  John's words: "...our two day trek the hardest of the three times I've visited this country. It got so bad at times that I really wanted to quit and turn back. Even the local guys I hired to carry supplies where having a tough time of it". Because of such unfavourable conditions, they were unable to make it to their base camp right away; but were able to stay at the home of local team member to wait out the rain. And while taking this temporary, weather dependent breather; a few of the local team members went scouting to see if they could find anything, and one of the members came back with what is believed to be scat samples of a tiger!!!! It hasn't been analyzed as of yet since it was so fresh, but keep those fingers and toes crossed that it is indeed from a tiger! They stayed at this location for 2 before heading out again ONLY to be stopped by the rain! Luckily, they were able to make it to another local team member's home to again wait out the rain- and after another 2 days they were able to make it to their base camp. WHEW...that's a lot of rain. And while they were hoping that the rain would be a blessing, making the process of tracking easier, it appears no leopard or tiger tracks have been reported near the site they were seen last year :(
                But fear not fellow adventureans, as they are spotting some other wildlife near their base camp area. They have so far spotted the Asian Black Bear, Barking deer, Hog deer,  the Sloth Bear,  Nilgai antelope (locally referred to as Black deer) ; despite the last two are not part of Nepal wildlife according to the Wild Mammal's of Nepal field guide- and if anyone has more information on that, please let us know!! The Nepal Tiger Project team have managed to collect samples of all these animals and I save the best news for last J! After moving their campsite closer to the village's corn crop, more so to the edge of the forest, a 'suspected' tiger print was found!!!!!!!!!! The tiger print was found in the highlands, by one of the team members- although there was a slight mishap in measuring the tiger print. Hopefully there will be no more kinks in their tracking and a little less rain. As John said "Rain is good for tracking bears and deer but not cats".
Hog Deer, Hyelaphus porcinus
Asian Black Bear, Ursus thibetanus




Barking deer, Muntjacs

Nilgai Antelope, Boselaphus tragocamelus






















Sloth Bear, Melursus ursinus


If you would like to read John's original posting, it is posted on the Nepal Tiger Project Facebook page (they just posted some recent pictures too it looks like):


                And since this post is so long I will be doing an entirely separate one for tiger facts. And it will be up very soon. I also want to mention if you are interested, do not hesitate to donate! John would really like to get a few more biologists going with him on these trips but finances can be tight sometimes. But that is it for me, for now but I will be back soon, very soon, with some more wonderful tiger knowledge!


Till next time adventureans!


Sources for pictures: 









Monday, September 2, 2013


        An exuberant hello to you fellow adventure seekers!!

Packing
Sorry I meant to post this Sunday morning, and as you can clearly see- time got away from me just a wee bit. Anyhoo in more exciting news, John and the Nepal Tiger Project team have officially made it to Kathmandu- where they are currently experiencing a lot of rain. But any hardship can be turned into a positive and they are hoping the rainfall will only prove to be beneficial in tracking tiger tracks, if they are able to get out in time- so keep those fingers and toes crossed!! John was able to send me a little message to update everyone:


               
 I arrived into Kathmandu yesterday afternoon after spending the pervious day in Delhi, India.  Kathmandu was about 20º C/ 70º F and raining when we touched down.  Its the end of the rainy season.  My host told me the road leading to the edge of the Himayala foothills  is un-passable, so will be taking an alternative route, which will make our car journey a bit longer and the hike up to our project area longer and steeper.  (Oh, Joy!)  I will have plenty of ticks and leeches to look forward to.  I can feel them crawling on me now.  :) as much as I enjoy nature, I am not a fan of ticks or leeches.

On a brighter note, becuz of the rain, we may be able to see some great prints left by tigers and leopards!  That is, course if it doesn't rain continuously.

Jiri
                Pretty cool stuff!! John and the team were also able to send me some photos of them packing for the trip so those are the photos scattered throughout this blog post for your viewing pleasure: them packing in Kathmandu, lunch and tea, and Jiri (which is a village in Dolakha District). And lastly, an update on the transition from blogger to Word press-  it should be happening very soon, we’re trying to make it a bit more aesthetically pleasing, and that is really the only issue that remains- well that and I can't seem to access it yet (hahahaha oh technology). Of course when it becomes official I will let you all know ASAP, hopefully next Sunday, so you can continue to follow along on this grand journey. Hopefully the leeches will not suck the fun out of it (see what I did there). 


Lunch
Keep it real my fellow adventurers,

P.S. I will post double the amount of tiger facts for my next post. Scouts Honor (honour if you're Canadian)

Jizel

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Hello Readers!!

   There's a new blogger in town...and it's me! Muwahahahahaha!!!!!! Just kidding about the evil laugh but the excitement is still one hundred percent there, and thus the exclamation marks will remain. I go by the name of Jizel (pronounced as Giselle), and as a new volunteer for the Nepal Tiger Project, it is my greatest pleasure to share all the exciting data John and team Nepal Tiger Project will be discovering while away on their adventure. I personally cannot wait to see and read about the adventures and findings their tracking tigers will bring and relay them to you! Being an avid fan of Panthera tigris, the tiger scientific name; I hope to do you, the readers, justice in telling this magnificent adventure and learning more about tigers as the journey progresses. SO let's start off with a couple of tiger facts, because ladies, gentlemen and all unassuming organisms this party is about to get started!!

Tiger Fact Number 1: Tigers are EXCELLENT swimmers! They love water, constantly seeking rivers or ponds to chill and relax in.  They are able to dive on unsuspecting prey from underwater as well as carry their prey through water

Tiger Fact Number 2: They have very strong memories. This coupled with their size and the amount of time they have been hunting large prey, makes them very skilled hunters.


Tiger Fact Number 3:  The tiger was first classified as a distinct species of cat in 1758. Though it has been around and hunting for approximately 2 million years!! That's a pretty long time.

Tiger Fact Number 4: There are only six remaining subspecies of tigers in the world, Bengal, Amur (Siberian is another name), Indonesian, Malayan, South China, Sumatran. The Siberian or Amur tiger is the biggest of all the subspecies, as measured by their skulls and the amount of folklore behind them. Amur tigers are also able to survive in harsher conditions were as their fellow subspecies would have a much more difficult time.

Tiger Fact Number 5: Each individual tiger has their own individual set of stripes. No two tigers' stripes are the same. The stripes are very useful as it makes it much easier for tigers to camouflage in their surroundings while hunting 

  And there you have it, some interesting tiger facts to get you started! Before I sign off, I want to let everyone know that the blog will be changing to a newer location on THE WEB, somewhere along the lines of Wordpress, is the rumor. I will keep you updated as I am, so you will know when to join us o'er yonder. Also, I am posting the link to the Nepal Tiger Project website, in case you want to learn more about the people travelling on this expedition, the actual project itself,  or if you want to donate- cuz let's be honest finding and trying to protect tigers can be expensive! Well that's all for me, until next time fellow adventure seekers

Adios!!

Nepal Tiger Project websitehttp://www.nepaltigers.org/

Tiger Facts information collected from:

http://tigers-world.com/facts-about-tigers.html, Facts about Tigers, Tigers-world.com. Date Accessed: Aug 25, 2013

Vaillant, J. (2011) The Tiger. Toronto, Ontario: Vintage Canada.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Three days and a wake up.

I am looking forward returning to Nepal to conduct more research and interview more villagers in the are concerning their knowledge of tigers living in the area.


On another note, I was fortunate enough to receive some last minute support from a few organizations.  TORG Outdoor Products (torgusa.com) provided a couple of day packs to help carry our camera traps into the field. The Freeland Foundation (Freeland.org) has shared their expertise in monitoring wild tigers and Takakp Sato with Tigers for Tigers  (.facebook.com/ecotakako) for sharing her contacts groups.

 Some organizations were are now partnering with on a humanitarian or scientific level include Project Doable (Projectdoable.com), Wild Tracks (wildtracks.org) and the San Diego Zoo ( sandiegozoo.org).

We can always use additional supplies, such as batteries for the camera traps, SD cards, inexpensive digital cameras, cooking equipment, etc.  If you live in the USA, your donation may be a tax deduction, but will nevertheless be greatly appreciated.

[ways to give: Via PayPal or Via Go Fund Me]

We hope to be sending reports back from the field, which will be posted on the Blog.  Jizel, from Canada has volunteered to keep you as up to date as possible on what we've encounter. 

Thanks, Jizel!


Saturday, August 17, 2013

Tech

Last year I made a promise to the School Master of a village school near are project area.  Actually, I made a few promises to him.  The first was simple enough to fulfill.  Obtain a couple of used laptop computers for staff and students to use for record keeping and conservation education.  My old employer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, came though today and donated one to the project.  As crazy as it made seem, computer use in this area is not common. So, computer training will also part of the commitment.  I do not want to make the school dependent on computers or technology.  I am merely providing a back up to their current records collection method (paper) as well as providing conservation education material. (Most of the records I observed at the school were mildewed.)

The other promise will not be so easy to fulfill.  Assist the village with finding a way to safely provide heat for the classrooms during the winter.  Insulating the building will help but, currently, body heat is the only source of heat in the rooms.  The winter cold is particularly tough on the younger students, making it difficult for them to concentrate.  Think about it. The school sits at about 3,000 meters in the Himalayan foothills...  It snows up there.

Ideally, I would love to have a big company donates solar collectors for the building. Any one have contacts or leads?
Floor of class rooms need improvement

Gutters need to be installed to channel away rain water

Monsoon rains are causing erosion around the class rooms

Village school

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Soon....

In about 22 days, I will be back on an airplane, across the international date line, making my way into Nepal. After catching my breath in Kathmandu, I'll be  meeting with two local biologists interested in assisting with the Project.  Then its Preparation time.  Packing up supplies needed for a 25 day trek into the Himalayan foothills once again to interview villagers, document pugmarks (paw prints) and set out new camera traps. Twenty-five days may seem like a long time to stay in the field to gather data, but it is not.  We'll barely be able to set a foundation to keep the locals interested in working with us to uncover the presence of tigers among them.

 A one day car ride to where the road ends then a two day walk into the foothills to reach the project area, hovering around 3,200 meters. Not an easy trek for one who lives a sea level.

With less than 3,300 wild tigers known to roam this planet, less than 190 of those are believed to live on protected areas in Nepal.  The leopard population there is unknown.  The tigers and leopards I seek are neither none nor living on protected land.

In 2012, armed with four remote sensor camera, I came really close to capturing a tiger on camera.  But, as the saying goes, no cigar.  Two leopards, however, were photographed in great detail.

Follow me in September as I make may way back into the Himalayas in search of the tiger.  And tell a friend!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Tiger facts

Good morning! Just want to share a few fact about tigers. All this stuff you can find on the net, but I thought I would bring it close to you through the Nepal Tiger Project.

  • The tiger is the biggest species of the cat family.
  • Tigers can reach a length of up to 3.3 metres (11 feet) and weigh as much as 
    300 kilograms (660 pounds).
  • Subspecies of the tiger include the Sumatran Tiger, Siberian Tiger, Bengal Tiger, South China Tiger,
    Malayan Tiger and Indochinese Tiger.
  • Many subspecies of the tiger are either endangered or already extinct. Humans are the primary
    cause of this through hunting and the destruction of habitats.

    It's nuts how we as a specie in the past can be so harmful. Now in the age of communication 
    and information, we are able to share our values and hope that other people see it the way we do. 
    Hopefully we can all learn to live together in this great world.

    Have a great week! Peace!


Friday, April 26, 2013

Canine Mason (2)

A few folks mentioned to me that the canine video link did not activate.  Here it is again.  (You may have to cut and past into the URL bar.) http://youtu.be/a4UWXebCLek

Cheers

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The capital city of Nepal is......

Kathmandu!

A city that is the nerve center of Nepals economy stands over 2000 years old. In the past, when people referred to Nepal, they were referring to this capital city. It is about 20 sq. miles and is bout 4,430 feet about sea level in the Kathmandu valley.


Scour the net and you can find a lot of details regarding the art and culture as well as the history of this old and interesting city!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Happy Friday!

Yes my friends, it is the end of yet another work week and I hope you had a good one!

This weekend, I'd like to share something I found out about tigers.

For some time now I have been a fan of the strange and smelly fruit called the Durian.

Its has a hard, spiky shell and is found in tropical areas. It is known mostly by its really offensive odor, which keeps a lot of people away. Good. More for me. Just kidding.

The fruit itself is white and creamy and can be eaten raw, blended in smoothies or turned into ice cream and candy. The smell however can be so bad that hotels, airlines and buses often ban the fruit.

Well, much to my surprise, I learned that tigers are also a fan of this stinky fruit. There is also a rumour that given a choice, the tiger would actually eat this fruit over a human. How crazy is that?!

Anyway, if you get a chance to eat a durian, do as the tigers do and eat it. You may be pleasantly surprised!


Have a great weekend.

Love,
Charlie

Canine Mason

I was looking through the FWS press releases the other day and was surprised to learn that the Office of LE finally decide to adopt a K-9 program to help the fight against smuggled wildlife. But was equally as surprising to learn was that the Service did not give credit to the team of dedicated employees who actually proposed and initiated the program in the 1990's at the port of San Diego, California. So, I am posting this video, created in the '90's, to provide factual information of the process which lead to the current program.

I am a former Special Agent with the Service and the founder of the original certified canine detection program. Along with the three wildlife inspectors stationed in San Diego at that time, we worked on our own time to conduct a feasibility study on the use of dogs to detect smuggled wildlife. The proposal was adopted by the Service's Pacific Region (Region 1). The Region funded the program and allowed one of our three inspectors received training along side Canine Mason, a dog we obtained through Guide Dogs of America. Both Mason and his handler passed the course and received certification. Contrary to what is written below, in BOLD PRINT, (taken from the Services Q&A on the new canine program) the canines now being certified through the Agriculture program are not the first FWS LE dogs to receive official certification. Canine mason was certified and recognized throughout the world. In fact, because of the San Diego project, many European countries adopted the program in the 1990's, as well as South Korea, while the FWS decided not to bring on full time handlers. The Service briefly toyed with the idea of bring on part-time handlers.

6. HAS ANYONE ELSE DONE THIS BEFORE?
THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE EXPERIMENTED WITH A SINGLE DOG IN THE MID-1990S, AND HAS DEPLOYED DETECTOR DOGS BORROWED FROM OTHER AGENCIES, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN THE U.S. THAT WILDLIFE DETECTOR DOGS HAVE UNDERGONE AN INTENSIVE TRAINING REGIMEN AND CERTIFICATION PROCESS LIKE THIS. A FEW OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ASIA HAVE SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS IN PLACE.

All of our finding were well documented and presented to the Service, along with our recommendations for a viable dog program. As I recall, a few of the recommendations we proposed was to use passive alter dogs, as as not to damage personal property. Use a play rewards as opposed to rewarding the dog with food. Make the dog handler position full time, as opposed to shared duties (part time wildlife inspector, part time dog handler.)

My colleagues and I received recognition in the late 1990's from the international wildlife law enforcement community for conceiving the wildlife detection program and were invited to attend the first ever symposium on canine wildlife detection, which took place in Bad Schandau, Germany. Ironically, we have yet to be recognized for our efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement which is fine. We did not undertake the program for recognition. We did it to create an effect tool to help the world find more efficient ways to protect and conserve wildlife. As the new program takes off, I thought it important that history to reflect the truth about the program's origins.  If you would like to see footage of the original program, please follow this link: http://youtu.be/a4UWXebCLek

I retired from the Service in 2008 but contined to dedicate the majority of my work towards wildlife conservation.  Thus, The Nepal Tiger Project. Please consider donating to this worthy cause.  http://nepaltigers.org/donate.html

Monday, April 1, 2013

Ask better questions...

Aloha and Good morning!

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend. Now it's Monday and the beginning of another great week!

I had a chance to finally speak with John since he's returned from his holiday in Brazil and I asked him for direction regarding the blog.

We came to the conclusion that in addition to writing facts about Nepal and tigers in general, we should ask questions to get you, the reader, the supporter involved in finding better solutions.

In the past, I have learned in order to get better answers, that the keys actually lie in the questions we ask. Ask better questions, get better answers. Simple eh?

So the question I would like to ask all of you, is:

Could humans (primarily the villagers in Nepal) and the tigers and wildlife coexist? And if so how?

And if not, why not?


Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Love,
Charlie

Monday, March 25, 2013

Just a shout out

Good morning again,

I just wanted to take a little time to thank everyone that supports The Nepal Tiger Project.

We have friends everywhere that give their time, share their talents and contribute financially to the Project. I want to send a particular shout out to Chasen Nuttall, our talented graphic design intern who has worked very hard to create the logo and letterhead  for the Project.

Chase studies design at San Diego Community College and should be finishing up the program real soon. Hopefully he will continue to use his talents to create a positive change in the world.

If you every meet the guy, don't hesitate to say hello. He's super cool and he's up to big things!

For the rest of the team, I look forward to meeting you all in the very near future. Keep up the good work and know that every effort you make is appreciated.

Love,
Charlie

Count your tigers!

Good morning everyone!

I was scanning the internet this morning and I found this post:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/02/20132581124784731.html

Any thoughts?

Have a great week!
Charlie

Monday, March 18, 2013

Mt. Everest and others

Nepal is home to eight of the ten highest peaks in the world, including Mt Everest. The peak of Mt. Everest is just over 29000 feet!


Hello!

Hello Everyone!

On behalf of John Brooks, myself and the other team members of the Nepal Tiger Project, I would like to say thank you for following our blog and for supporting such a worthy cause.

If you've been reading John's posts in the past, you'll know that he went to great lengths to create a positive change for the people and the tigers of Nepal. Now it's our turn to do what we can to ride the momentum and get the word out.

Many of you do not know who I am so I shall introduce myself. My name is Charlie Compuesto and I am a friend of John's and a member of the board of directors. I understand that we are all pretty busy these days and to take the time to read and learn about the people, wildlife and the land of Nepal may not work in everyone's schedule, so my goal is simple.

My goal in helping to write this blog is to learn a simple fact about Nepal and her features and share this fact with you, so together we can learn how to make a difference in the wonderful world of ours.

Looking forward to sharing with you,

Charlie Compuesto

Board member
The Nepal Tiger Project