The serious faces of anti-poaching...

                                   

It's been an interesting couple of days in Bardia National Park, Nepal.  That's not unusual.  Despite the tranquil outlook and apparent peace there's always something going on here.  It's been a busy time but I'm just happy with the mild temperatures.  Earlier in the year when I was here just before monsoon the average temperature was in the high 40s, great for seeing tigers, not much good for anything else.

I spent yesterday in the jungle with Hemant and Prakash of the Community Anti-Poaching team and my good friend Cecile from France but now living in Morocco.  Cecile is helping me as an assistant researcher for a few days and yesterday was her first Bardia jungle day.  We had a fantastic elephant encounter and great wildlife viewing in general.  No tiger but plenty of pug marks which are always great to see.

We passed through military outposts in the jungle.  The army is back at full strength in the area after a deployment for the election.  In the second image Hemant is consulting with some soldiers about activity in the park.  At the moment things are relatively quiet.  Bardia's great anti poaching record of late continues.

                                         

It's not just anti-poaching personnel who keep things in check.  We were informed late in the day a local was killed by an elephant.  The man had ventured into the park illegally to gather grass for his buffalo.  The wild bull elephant took offence to the man being in his habitat.

Hemant quietly told me what had happened.  It was a poignant moment because as many of you know his father was killed by an elephant but in completely different circumstances.  Hemant's father was a conservationist, a damn good one.

Things happen in Bardia.

I've been showing and discussing recent technology for anti-poaching work.  Tomorrow I give a demonstration of a camera trap system which can give an edge.  National Park wardens Ramesh Thapa and Ashok Bandari are enthusiastic about the possibilities of this system.  They are committed conservationists on the front line.  Over the years Ramesh has received many death threats.

As the sun set over amazing Bardia, Ramesh and I talked about the sacrifices that have to be made for this cause.  We both have long periods not seeing our children.  The irony is that it is for future generations we do this for.

It's worth it.