Secrets of the Savanna

Though I had seen the novel Where the Crawdads Sing on best-seller lists, I knew nothing about its author Delia Owens. My sister-in-law mentioned that she had read a book by Delia and her husband about the wildlife research and programs they did in Africa.

When I saw there were 56 holds on 13 copies of the crawdad book at my local library, I decided I would look for the earlier book. As it turns out, Delia and Mark Owens wrote 3 books together, but the library had only one available: Secrets of the Savanna. Since the chapters in this book are marked as written by Delia or Mark, this would be a way to get a taste of Delia's writing style.

Secrets of the Savanna takes place in the North Luangwa National Park in Zambia. The Owens couple preferred to work in fairly isolated areas. This large park fit the bill. After securing the necessary authorizations and permits, they went to work to build a camp in the park. They, however, discovered that the park, once known for teeming wildlife, had depleted populations of large mammals. After hearing shots and discovering elephant carcasses, they realized illegal poaching had decimated these herds. 

They came to the realization that a program to end poaching would be needed so the animals (especially the elephants) they wanted to study could be reestablished. They devised quite a well-thought-out approach to helping the perimeter villages rely on other industries and crops to support the residents. The villagers had worked for large poaching syndicates hauling ivory and bush meat to outside markets. They were paid very little. The poachers dealing in ivory made the big money. An incentive to change was the recent ban on international ivory trade by the United Nations. Ivory could no longer be sold in the open, and the prices dropped.

Beekeeping, sunflower oil pressing, milling of grains, sewing of clothing, fish farming were some of the industries tried. The workers received no-interest loans from village groups supported by funds from benefactors to the Owens' foundation. 

They also provided uniforms and weapons and transportation to the game rangers who were to patrol the park enforcing the laws against poaching. 

Educational and medical services were provided by training locals as well. The midwifery courses were well-received.

The descriptions of the animals and landscape of the park as well as insights into the Bemba culture made for an interesting read.

When did Delia and Mark leave Zambia and what were they doing now I wondered. We have all heard the adage that there are two sides to a story. The truth will probably never be known. Not only were there different points of view, but some of the witnesses said one thing, then later recanted. 

The Owens were not afraid to confront powerful people. They had left their study in the Kalahari of Botswana because they made known internationally the fencing of land which prevented the large migration of animals such as wildebeest. The government felt what was best for the country (the raising of cattle) had priority over the migrations. The couple were told to leave Botswana. 

Now they had crossed poachers who had connections high in the government of Zambia. There were frequent rumors that the poachers intended to kill them. Secrets of the Savanna ends with the couple in the United States, their property confiscated by local district bigwigs who supported the poachers, and the United States government telling them not to return out of fear for their safety. The book presents all of this as illegal activity meant to drive them out. Their employees were held under "house arrest" in the villages, but since they were not Zambian, the embassies brought pressure to release them.

But there is another side which came out shortly after they left on what they said was a routine visit to the United States. It is telling that an event that may have precipitated this action against them isn't even mentioned in the book. 

The year before the Owens left Zambia, ABC filmed a documentary titled "Deadly Game: The Mark and Delia Owens Story". Mark had become more Rambo-like in his antipoaching efforts. He used his helicopter to take rangers to stake-outs, made reconnaissance flights using night-vision goggles, set off firecrackers, and supposedly encouraged the patrol rangers to beat native poachers to scare them and to get information (though statements of this were recanted later). He was so obsessed and engrossed in these efforts that he and Delia became estranged, with her taking up residence at another camp she had set up for field study. She disliked the violence, and the risks Mark took scared her. They later reconciled.

During the filming of the documentary, footage was taken of a patrol scout actually killing a poacher. The face of the scout was smudged out, and an additional shooter off-camera was not identified. Some speculated that the killing was staged. ABC denies that they stage anything in documentaries. The filming crew had been staying at the research camp, but Mark did not go out with them. The rangers were men who worked under his direction though. 

ABC used the footage the next year when they aired the documentary. Then questions were asked as to why ABC didn't report the murder. Zambia did not have a "shoot-to-kill" policy regarding poachers, though other nearby countries did. It wasn't until a photographer mentioned to another colleague that the off-camera shooter was Christopher Owens (Mark's son from his first marriage) that the perspective on Mark's and Delia's circumstances changed. 

As I mentioned earlier, recollections changed and were sometimes recanted. There was no body, and the poacher's identity was never made. I have seen on the internet a few mentions of the documentary, but the link I provide is the only detailed account. It may explain why the Owens never returned to animal research in Africa. A Zambian who had worked with them was able to obtain funds from one of their donors, and the changes in the villages continue. Poaching also seems diminished.

Mark and Delia eventually settled in Idaho, buying a large ranch in lightly-populated rangeland near the mountains. A few years ago they divorced, each living on the ranch but in separate houses. An author I thought unknown and of little importance actually has a "past". Part of this past, her field observation of social interactions in animal families/groups, has probably benefited her novel. It is unfortunate that there is a murky darker aspect of this past.