Oct. 21^st. 2012 – Growing old

Checked all traps this morning and the results were not what we had hoped for. No cat movement at all. Still, we are all hanging in their with the hope the elusive animal we seek will pass through again, soon.

All of the team members, save me, were born in these mountains, so the experience of living in the sticks and walking through the mountains daily is no big deal for them.  I was born in the city.  Oakland to be exact, and although I enjoy the outdoors and camping, my back is starting to feel the hardness of the earth during the night and longs for something a bit more comfortable. The nights have become increasingly colder as well. In some respects, though, I look forward to walking up a hill (for a short distance) just so that my body will generate some heat.

When I arrived in Nepal I was hoping to purchase rechargeable “C” and “D” batteries for the camera traps I had brought along with me. Purchasing them here instead of bringing them along lightened my travel load.  I did not think it would be a problem locating them in Kathmandu. To my surprise, only AA batteries can be found in a rechargeable form in this country. Since I am leaving the cameras in Nepal, I was hoping to reduce the amount of batteries we commit to garbage heaps in this country as I am pretty sure Nepal does not have a special place they put spent batteries.

On a positive note, we located more old cat scat, scratch markings, and the remains of a goat.  A local villager we met in the area said tigers use this particular area in the summer; during monsoon season.  Good to know.

We'll be placing the cameras traps out again tonight, with our finger's crossed.

Thickness of some parts of the jungle

Old feces