14th February
by Dr Sara Llamas
It was 6:30 when the alarm went off this morning. In the garden the air was cold, but the chai was hot and ready, right on time for our first lesson at 7am. It was a brief outdoor practice using range finders, GPs receivers and compasses – the key equipment used in line transect distance sampling, a method used to carry out population estimates. We had been introduced to the theory of this technique yesterday, but handling the equipment and doing and the subsequent mock exercise really helped put things into perspective. I particularly liked starting the day with outdoor teamwork.
This was followed by breakfast, after which we went beyond Sariska’s Palace grounds and into the reserve’s real field, our study area. I know it has only been 5 days, but I can confidently say I cannot get tired of the open-back jeep rides into and out of the reserve, getting both mesmerized by its beauty and dust-covered. There, divided into teams we carried out a practice line transect survey with the equipment we had previously familiarised ourselves with, recording the presence of flora and fauna. I had never seen scorpions before! The park rangers helping my team were kind enough to invite us for chai on the way back to the Palace, where we had a theoretical session on the processing of the data collection which really helped consolidate the understanding of this method.
After a great lunch and some rest in the sunny terrace surrounded by playful, mischievous macaques, we had a brilliant introductory lecture to telemetry and its applications, which was again followed by a mock exercise in groups, trying to locate a radio-collar within palace grounds. There were of course plenty of chai breaks between sessions throughout the day. Last but most certainly not least, we had a special and relaxed lecture on species biology and behaviour in the context of wildlife management, this time not in the lecture theatre but in the garden in Queen’s corner, with a fantastic bonfire in the middle to keep us warm in the progressively cold evening. Spoiled as we are, we were treated to cups of warm homemade soup during this cozy and captivating talk.
Dinner followed, after which rather than going to bed, most of us opted to return to the bonfire. There we played music, exchanged stories and laughs for a couple more hours – aware it had been long and busy enough, but reluctant to put closure to an otherwise very wonderful day.
