Karlee's Adventures in Mauritius: Week 4

The last two days have been spent working on a southern island in Blue Bay called Ile aux Aigrettes. Unfortunately this required those of us working there to catch the 7:15 am bus to Mahebourg, which was a job in itself since Sureyya woke up at 7. As a result, we had to sprint down the bus terminal in order to catch our ride. This was quite comical since I'm the only one that was physically capable of sprinting, and the looks that passerby gave me, the tall, white girl busting her butt down the hallway, were a mix of utter confusion and dismay. I got to the bus first, right as it was about to pull away, and told the bus driver to please wait for my friends (they were about 30 feet away). He nodded his head in agreement so I put both feet on the step, but then he proceeded to start driving away! I tried to jump off the bus in order to be with the girls, which caused him to slam on the breaks, giving Sureyya and Alice just enough time to get on board. It was beyond hectic but we made it. Some would say we really hit the ground running that morning... *please hold applause for excellent pun*

When we finally arrived at Blue Bay, we had to take a five minute boat ride to the island. There we would be working with the branch of the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation that focuses on restoring the population of geckos, skinks, giant tortoises, and a few different types of birds on Ile aux Aigrettes. The island isn't large, but it's unique in that it's composed of old coral and covered in vegetation. This makes it incredibly difficult to walk, however, because you have to watch your feet so you don't stumble on a piece of coral while simultaneously watching your head so you don't get slapped in the face by a branch. Needless to say, clumsy me wasn't thriving off of this. 

The first thing we did when we arrived was chop up pineapples that would be used to feed the lizards. The fruits they use are donated daily by the local market because they are about to go bad or don't sell, which I thought was a cool way for the street vendors to contribute to the conservation of their country. After preparing the pineapple, we went around to all the different lizard habitats to clean their water bowls and dish out the delicious fruit. The lady showing us around, Nadine, explained that they only keep the young lizards in captivity because they get bullied, crushed, or eaten by shrews when left alone in the wild. The MWF is rebuilding the population by raising the geckos and skinks in habitats for the first year of their lives, then tagging them and releasing them into the wild. It was pretty interesting to hear her talk about the preservation of the reptiles, since they are endemic to Mauritius and now only exist on Ile aux Aigrettes. A lot of measures are taken by the MWF to keep the species alive, and this is all done with little funding from the government. Everything they use is either donated or fundraised for, which is impressive considering how much stuff they need to stay afloat. It's a testament to how passionate the people working for MWF are about their work, and how they are willing to sacrifice a fancy, well-paid job to do something they love. 

After a long morning of walking around to the various habitats to distribute breakfast, we began working on their latest project. In an attempt to do more research on the Guenther's gecko, a hard-to-find lizard that they are attempting to monitor, the MWF is tying small pieces of bamboo to gecko-friendly trees in hopes that the geckos build homes in them. Once this particular species nests in the bamboo, the MWF will be able to track them and learn about how they function. Our job was to assist Nadine in installing the bamboo, which is simple in theory and difficult in practice because it required us to carry a huge ladder through the wilderness. Remember what I said about the vegetation hitting you in the face and the coral making you trip? Yea, off the path, this is escalated times a hundred. Then add in the ladder. It was a slooowwww process trying to weave our way through trees, under vines, and over coral rock build ups, all the while making sure we don't step on a lizard or scare a sleeping giant tortoise. It was exhausting physically and mentally, but it also made me feel like George of the Jungle of Eliza Thornberry--a true woman of nature! 

The process of installing the bamboo worked like this: Nadine would use her compass and GPS to figure out which grid of the island we needed to be on, then she would walk around the large metaphorical square until she found a tree she thought was suitable for the gecko home. We would prop up the ladder, measure 2 meters from the ground, and then tie the bamboo to the tree using pliers and wire. We had to use her cool GPS monitor gadget to track exactly where this tree was geographically located, then document that as well as how high up the bamboo was tied. It's a simple process, but each round takes about 20-25 minutes to complete, and there are 400 bamboos that need to be set up by the end of summer. We went like this from grid space to grid space for two hours and only got about 4 done, which was exhausting. By the end of the day my shoulders were sore from carrying the ladder and my feet were on fire from being on them all day. Regardless, it was really rewarding manual work since we will eventually be able to see the results. It also felt really great to help the understaffed MWF do something positive for the environment. It's not as though the few bamboos I set up will greatly impact the gecko population, but it's cool to think that I had a small hand in it. 

It was really an experience to check out the island and hear from those volunteers and students who work there for extended periods of time. Another project they've had going that I found particularly impressive was their work with pink pigeons, a bird endemic to Mauritius. In the 90s there were only 9 pink pigeons left in the world, but because of the MWF there are now almost 300 living on the mainland and Ile aux Aigrettes. We were lucky enough to see a few of them flying around, and they are beautiful! It would have been such a loss if they had gone extinct, and even though I'm not exactly a bird lover, I felt a lot of gratitude to the MWF for saving such incredible creatures. 

I'm happy that I got to work outside and learn about the conservation projects--it was a cool place to spend the week and I look forward to going back! Until then though, I need to pick the twigs out of my hair and dirt out of my shoes. I feel so unbelievably dirty....

 Lastly, this weekend was the half way mark of my time here. I can't believe it's already been a month! Each day is jam packed with activities and explorations, making time fly by. Obviously I miss my family and some of the conveniences of home, but this has been such an amazing experience thus far. I'm really excited to see what the next month has in store, but I'm sad that this means my days are numbered!