Life with the Ostriches

My new village has roughly 4,000 people, is settled in a small ‘mountain’ range, and about 500 k to the nearest anything. Maybe further… Other than that, it’s small enough to feel at home, but large enough to not feel obligated to know everyone. There’s electricity for 8 hours of the day, 4:00 pm to 12:00 am and the nearest water pump is about 10 feet out my front door. I have a smallish house used as a kitchen, a large two room house used as my main house, which they just finished- when I got there it didn’t have a floor, and only a feeble little door that didn’t shut properly, but when I moved in we brought with us three bags of cement and screen windows and doors. Two weeks later and two additional bags of cement later (which I bought from a market 50 k away and had sent out to the village on a car) the house is finished… Well, they put a new door on it- that doesn’t shut, but other than that it’s great. And then in one corner of the concession is a little house with the latrine. It’s almost too much space for one person, but I have to admit it’s nice. Unlike my first village (in Tahoua region) I don’t have kids poking over my walls every 10 minutes, or women coming in to tour my house (and ask for all my possessions) uninvited, or those goats that somehow got in my concession in the middle of the night and have eaten half my shade hangar.

The village itself has primary and secondary schools (elementary and middle schools), a good sized health clinic, and several other important looking buildings that I haven’t figured out what they are yet (I did find out one of them is a library). Oh, and the Sarki of the area lives here (sarki is Hausa for ‘king’) and has a small mud-brick ‘palace’ (if you will). Niger is very interesting in that it still has a large influence of traditional leaders. (Differing from the government leaders) Most villages have a ‘maigari’ or village chief, most areas have a ‘sarki’ or ‘king’ reigning over several villages in a larger area, and Zinder is even home to the Sultan, obviously the highest position.

Moving on… the Ostrich conservation site is about a 20 minute walk from the village and set at the base of the mountains. There are two guards/caretakers for the site (Abdou and Abdoulai) and their families, and then me. Keep in mind this is also backed by several organizations, namely the Nigerien-based organization, CRNEK, and the Sahara Conservation Fund, and a whole team of people in the states (such as the St. Louis Zoo, Disney Animal Kingdom, etc.). In a nutshell, I work with the team to address problems/needs of the site/birds and then with the site keepers to implement the potential projects and changes. The site consists of two large sections, the Eastern and Western pens, each pen broken down into two holding pens, and ten breeding pens. Right now we have only 8 birds; 4 males, 3 females, and a female 6 month old chick, so everything is focused in the eastern pen. Hopefully a few years down the line we’ll have both pens filled.

We’re just getting in to breeding season, so the moment I got there I’ve been working to get things set up. First, switching their diet from a maintenance diet (they were receiving wheat bran and corn with a supplement of limestone) to a breeding diet (Beans and sorghum with a limestone supplement- we’re working to find an additional bone meal type supplement). So I spent one day with the caretakers teaching them the proper dietary amounts, weighing and measuring the different feeds, etc.

Another project we’ve been working on (that’s so far proving to be far more effort than I thought it would be) is to put up screens between the breeding pens and then separate the birds into pairs into the pens (currently we have a group of 5 in one of the large holding pens). With the three screens, one was made with millet stock, the next I tried woven mats sewn to the fence, and the last one we resorted back to millet stock. The biggest problem has been getting the birds in to the new pens. I’m still working on that one. Because the gates are so narrow, they either completely pass by them without seeing them, or are too scared to attempt to go in. So far I’ve tried to lure them in with food (melons) by leaving a trail (I feel like waiylee coyote trying to catch the road runner..), since that isn’t working, I think my next plan is to move their entire grain/water dish near, and then in the new enclosure. If THAT doesn’t work, then it may have to resort to setting up a temporary chute and herding them in. I want to keep this as stress free for them as possible, but we’ll see.

Anyway, that’s the general goings on of my job. I already miss the Musee like crazy- especially the primates- and I hope they’re doing ok without someone there to give them some attention. Oh, and my baby hippo- I really hope he’s weaned to grass soon, then I’ll stop worrying about him too. And of course all my friends and the keepers I got to work with.

With a little of my spare time in my new post, I’ve gone walking up and down and around the mountains and saw two Dorcas gazelles, several ground squirrels, and what I think was a hooded vulture. I’m still waiting to see the potas monkeys, I’ve been told I have a few weeks before they’ll be down on the site all the time (I see their prints in the sand a lot). Also there’s this one mountain that stands alone; I’ll try and add a picture of it. There are all kinds of stories surrounding it that long, long time ago it was a stronghold during all the wars and that there are massive caves in the mountain which they hid their armies and all their weapons. The story is that the caves are still there with all the weapons from the wars, but that the entrance is caved in, or that nobody can find the entrance. I spent an entire afternoon climbing it and searching for caves… which, there are several (or maybe just small holes, I don’t know), so I may have to come back with some rope and a flashlight. I’m getting a new Peace Corps volunteer neighbor only 10 k from my site… I really hope he’s into hiking… or spelunking…

Anyway, the first two weeks at my post have been really great- I love the village, I love the landscape, I love my new job, I think it’s going to be a great 3rd year in Peace Corps!

Before I left, the Musee had a little ceramony and presented me with a certificate (they even had a tv crew there.. it was a little over kill and a little intimidating) This picture is me and all the keepers I worked with throughout the year

Posing for one last picture with baby bouban: he wouldnt hold still- he gets really distracted by feet...

First few days in my new village: this is me and the two guards/caretakers on our way to the ostrich site

This is Jullien, 10 year old male ostrich. They love these wild melons (they're not the delicious melons youre thinking of) and if I walk in to the pen with one him and Aisha (the female in his pen) they get a little over excited....

This is thelone mountain I mentioned earlier. Dont let the photo fool you- its HUGE, and really fun to climb (I climbed up around the back side, it slopes a little better there)