Economy

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

Since we received a question about this... unless we include a caption that says otherwise, the pictures on this blog came from Steve. They're still images taken from his video footage. We'll try to post more soon!

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center

I exchanged a few emails today with Vasco Galante, the communications director at the park. He has been reading this blog, and wanted to share a story about running into a herd of elephants yesterday... It is still the rainy season at the park, which means it's extra special to see animals - the grasses are very tall and thick, and even elephants can disappear quickly.

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

So we've gotten some comments about the whole landmine issue.

During the Mozambican civil war, there were landmines all over the place. And sometimes, at least according to what people on the ground have told us, nobody kept track of where the mines were buried. (And in a really cruel turn of events, big flooding in 2000 and 2001 moved a bunch of the landmines, making mine maps of the area all but worthless.)

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

Hi. I realize there have been a couple of questions about animal reintroductions, and I haven't really answered those yet.

The whole question about how to bring animals back to the park has been the focus of a lot of research and analysis. See, ecosystems are super complicated. Every species has a role to play, and each animal impacts every other animal. So the park staff has to be really careful.

Hi there. So Steve and I flew back to Johannesburg (where I live) this weekend, and then Steve went back to DC. I think we are finally feeling clean. We are still working on the story though, and are happy to continue chatting online. Also, if anyone has a question for someone at the park, we can try to get answers for you.

Here are some questions from St. Louis:

Stephanie Hanes and Stephen Sapienza, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

So a question from St. Louis:
"I was reading about your time over in Mozambique and I was wondering if you could describe what exactly you are seeing and how it is affecting you physically and emotionally."

Stephanie Hanes and Stephen Sapienza, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

Yet another complication for the Carr Foundation crew:

Officially, the rural communities that live around the park don't really exist. They've been around for generations, and have traditional rules about land use, but they've never registered with the government, and have never mapped out their land in any modern or formal way.

Stephanie Hanes and Stephen Sapienza, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

Hi there.

Thanks so much for the great questions.

Q: My question is similar to those posted below. How do the local residents feel when Carr, who is an outsider, comes to give them a presentation about why they should change their way of life? You mentioned in a photo caption that some villagers were "suspicious." I'd be curious to hear more about the range of reactions. Thank you!

Stephanie Hanes and Stephen Sapienza, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongoza, Mozambique

Stephanie Hanes and Stephen Sapienza, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

Today we met Tendai Loja, a man cutting grass with a big machete in Gorongosa's Chitengo camp. He used to be a poacher – the boss of a group of villagers who would go into the park and snare protected animals, which they would sell at local markets. But he was arrested after some of his colleagues ratted him out, and he was sentenced to six months of manual labor in the park.