The United States Ambassador Gavin visits Dr. Alexander  in Botswana as she directs the  opening of the CARACAL craft center (Dr. Alexander is the President, Dr. M. Vandewalle is the CEO) in the Chobe Botswana study site. The Ambassador was given an overview of program development under Dr. Alexander's direction including the NSF project objectives and the study of the interactions between humans, animals, water quality and health in Chobe District. Ambassador Gavin was invited to the opening of the craft center in recognition of the cooperation between CARACAL, Botswana Government, Virginia Tech in the United States.

Today, we remember Tshimologo Njonjo, our colleague, our friend. Tshimologo was a special person of joy and he cared deeply about his family and friends. He was committed to improving the health of Chobians and providing inspiration to the youth of the District. He will be sorely missed by us all. Dr. K. Alexander

Lions in Chobe- no evidence of distemper related mortality

The Chobe National Park has a large predator population that utilizes the river front area of the park. As the only permanent water resource in the area, both predators and prey concentrate along this interface for much of the year. Previous work has found that canine pathogen exposure (including distemper) is common in these populations (Alexander et al 2010) although with the exception of the loss of wild dogs in 1995 to distemper (First documented report, Alexander and Appel 1994), no other infectious disease mortality has been noted in this population to date with the exception of a possible anthrax case. The results of over a decade of work in this area indicates that canine infectious diseases are found throughout Botswana even in remote parts of the country. Predator management should be directed at identifying underlying sources of predator mortality that may be impacting populations such as human - wildlife conflict.

Educational Program: Rivers and Birds -Walk with CARACAL and Bird LIfe.

Education is the cornerstone of any research program. Our NSF program has a strong cooperative program directed towards not only scientific training but involving stakeholders from the project area in program training. Children are the future of science. We need to ensure that children who are also stakeholders not only value the resource and understand the the challenges but become motivated themselves to purse careers in science that might benefit their communities.

School children look for birds on the Chobe River flood plain- evidence of elephant everywhere.

Birds are fundamental to ecosystems and a good indicator of habitat quality.

 Dr. Mark Vandewalle (project partner) leads a discussion about the importance of birds to ecosystems.

 The Department of Wildlife and National Parks is on the lookout for any animals that might threaten the group. Elephants, buffalo and hippo can be dangerous and are numerous in this area of the river.

Temperatures have exceeded 109F but rains are on the horizon. In this picture, marabou storks search for food in human waste, seeming indifferent to the heat. These creatures have adapted to heat in an unusual way,  defecating and urinating on their legs as a way of cooling off in the extreme temperatures. This practice accounts for the white streaks on the legs and is termed urohydrosis. 

Cattle watch the water sampling team as they move down the river conducting water quality sampling. Sampling is extensive and occurs along the Chobe River in both protected, township and agricultural areas. Erosion is evident along the banks of the river both in human modified landscapes and the Chobe National Park. Erosion in the park is attributed to high speed boat movement and wakes that erode river banks.

Sewage contamination of the environment is a global problem that can affect both humans and animals in the system. This picture shows  a sewage spill occurring within 200 meters of the Chobe River.