Joel is a Commercial Pilot with over 5 years of bush flying experience in Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania with over 4000 safe flying hours under his belt. As an active member of the Coastal team, he is now leading Coastal's Operations in the Northern Tanzanian regions from Arusha. Joel says that it's the exceptional team effort amongst the Pilots at Coastal that make it possible to provide updates for Herdtracker.
Joel says: “When visiting us in Africa, feel free to thank our people for being the custodians of the last few treasures of the world and come have a coffee and tell me about your experiences when passing through the Arusha airport”
HerdTracker updates from Captain Joel J Fernandes
Captain Joel J Fernandes |
24 Jan 2017
Lack of rain has slowed calving season down
Hi HerdTracker
From the air, the herds are quite spread out. The lack of proper rains have split them apart and I hear that the situation on the ground is quite dire. While many of the females have calved already, it seems some are holding out in the hope of better rains.
A huge portion if the herds were spotted near the Seronera airstrip and west with some herd further South in the Moru area. Few small herds also spotted further South of Ndutu too. I think the whole Serengeti is hoping for a few days of good rains to rejuvenate the plains again.
Thanks and Regards,
Capt. Joel J Fernandes
Coastal Aviation
Arusha