by Mike Loomis
March 26, 2003
We traveled from Djembe to Kombo today. We traveled by pirogue (a type of dugout canoe) up the Sangah River, stopping at a Wildlife Conservation Society camp called Mombongo, which is located in Noubali-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo. Three of my colleagues—Steve Blake, Sharon Deem, and Robin Radcliff—are staying there while collaring elephants in Congo.
After a brief visit, we continued up river to Bomassa, another WCS camp. There we changed to a larger pirogue, and continued to Libongo. The boat trip lasted from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm. While approaching Libongo, we ran into the tri-national anti-poaching unit that had recently captured two poachers and confiscated their equipment.
From Libongo, we drove on to the Kombo camp, finally arriving at 8:30 pm. The river trip was very hot and tiring, and it took two hours longer than last week's trip to Djembe because we were traveling against the current and had a smaller engine in the boat. Everyone was very tired when we arrived. We'll be back out in the field soon.
About the author:Dr. Mike Loomis is Chief Veterinarian at the North Carolina Zoological Park.
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