Conservation
Hippo Counting in Wechiau in Wa - Ghana
"One will wonder whether an airship can be used to make counting of some species possible. It will interest one to know that the airship was used to count hippopotamus in the Black Volta."
On the 23rd of August, 2006, a group of five engineers who contributed their knowledge to the building of the first airship in Ghana were in Wechiau in Wa to help Eric Brener, a naturalist from Czech Republic to undertake a hippo counting exercise. Eric Brenner arrived into the country on the 25th August, 2006. On the 27th of August the engineers set up their airship for the hippo counting exercise following a series of successful test flights. To the amazement of all the airship developed a technical fault just when the engineers and the spectators got to the bank of the river where the hippopotamus are. No sooner than later, a message was received from the Chief of Wechiau community telling the engineers to come back home for a libation to be poured so that everything would go on smoothly for the engineers. One wondered whether the Chief and his Subjects knew of the problem in advance.
This brought into mind the existence of African Electronics which surpassed Western Electronics. It would be interesting to know that the airship functioned normally after the libation.
Some of the engineers sailed to where the hippopotamus were while the others flew the airship at an altitude of about 100 m and made some interesting aerial shots.
It must be admitted that it was difficult locating all the hippos in the Black Volta due to the fact that in August, the female hippos give birth and as a result hide so they are not disturbed.
The group is therefore thinking of not only making another count but a more successful one in March since the hippos will be pregnant-free and also the level of the water drastically goes down.