Stephen LongDrought — but does it matter?Last year wasn’t really a drought year. We had more or less average annual rainfall but the rains came to a halt early. It’s normal that…7 min read·Apr 5, 2024----
Stephen LongCONSERVATION VS BUREAUCRACYWhen I last wrote, we had just had a spell of ten days of rain. How things can change! Now, we’ve gone to the opposite extreme — not a…5 min read·Feb 28, 2024----
Stephen LongJanuary water bird countMandavu Dam is the largest body of water in Hwange National Park. In the dry season, enormous numbers of animals drink at the dam on a…6 min read·Jan 23, 2024----
Stephen LongWHEN THE RAINS COMEHere in north-west Matabeleland, we don’t have the traditional seasons of winter, spring, summer and autumn: it would be better to list…6 min read·Dec 17, 2023----
Stephen LongTWO BAD DAYSJust because we live in a National Park, surrounded by wildlife, which many people would think is pretty much a perfect life, it doesn’t…6 min read·Nov 15, 2023----
Stephen LongGiraffe monitoringBack in 2017, along with the Parks Ecologist here at Sinamatella, we looked through the Park Management Plan to see what projects we could…5 min read·Nov 15, 2023----
Stephen LongElephants — dead and aliveIt’s very hot, the food supplies for the animals out in the Park are poor and the water supplies are under pressure from unusually large…4 min read·Oct 6, 2023----
Stephen LongKazuma Pan National ParkUntil it was stopped by Covid, Bhejane Trust ran a very successful volunteer project at Sinamatella. We always enjoyed hosting the sort of…5 min read·Sep 24, 2023----
Stephen LongWater for elephants, counting giraffe — Hwange National Park, ZimbabweLet’s start this new ‘blog’ with an introduction to who I am, what I do and so on.4 min read·Sep 17, 2023----
