Part 4: Diamond in the Ruff (Jwaneng)

As soon as I got back from Thailand I was off again. Erik, the wildlife vet who works for the clinic, was called out to do some wildlife management work in Jwaneng. Jwaneng is the town where Debswana's diamond mine is located. And if you find a loose diamond on the ground, you can get up to 30,000 Pula for it! ($3750!) Needless to say we were looking ;-P They are having a serious baboon problem however, and asked Erik to step in and help.

Right before we left, we had to stop at Erik's house. The house had a few surprises in store:

Erik and his wife Marlize (who is also a vet at the clinic) keep this lion as well as a leopard in their back yard. Talk about cool! They were orphaned and the president allowed them to keep and care for them. They actually play with them, so crazy! In this picture, the lion is only about half the size he will be when he's all grown up! And then, when Erik said he had to "check on the little ones" we were not sure what to expect...and then.....

 

So cute!!! Alex and I each got to hold them and take pictures. Next thing I knew we were off to Jwaneng. Regrettably I didn't get any pictures of the baboons, they run off when you get close to them. The problem is that they are harassing the ladies that make lunches for the workers and digging in trash bins etc. The people are becoming scared of them as they are getting more aggressive. Erik's solution was keeping kitchens closed and also locking up the waste containers in a way that is baboon proof. Finally, we had to scare them off to let them know they are not allowed in the mine area. This included shooting at the baboons with a rifle. What a sight to see Erik running around after the baboons firing off warning shots every few seconds. We counted about 47 baboons in total all over the mine area. We first scared them off in the "Green Area" where any lay person is allowed to go. But then we had to also scare them away from the "Blue Area" which is a more tightly secure place. To enter, you must first go through "Induction." This is a 3-hour long course that involves all of the safety hazards of the mine. Erik and Alex had already gone through it the week before while I was in Thailand so I was on my own. Half of it being in Setswana and the other half full of repetitive questions, I was not seriously impressed. But after it was over I was then able to get into the "Blue Area." We began scaring them off again. At night we slept in a game reserve caravan that was right next to the mining area. We got to see some Zebras within the reserve as well as track the baboon spoor (footprints). After two days of excitement and sleeping in a caravan, we headed home, hopeful that our work would be continued and the baboon problem would lessen in Jwaneng.