/journal/. This rebuilt page preserves that address and reconstructs the expedition chronology from surviving contemporary reports rather than pretending the lost journal text is still intact.The Elephant Ivory Project unfolded publicly. During March and April 2011, reports followed Trip Jennings, Andy Maser and their collaborators as they travelled through the Democratic Republic of the Congo in search of elephant dung samples that could strengthen a continent-wide DNA reference map.
March 2011 — departure for the DRC
National Geographic reported that the expedition had been roughly two years in development. Jennings and Maser departed for Kinshasa carrying collection vials and a plan to sample elephants in parts of the DRC where reference material remained scarce.
Kinshasa — planning the route
In Kinshasa the team met conservationist Terese Hart. Attention focused on the TL2 landscape between major sampled regions to the west and east. Samples from this central area had the potential to improve estimates of elephant population genetics across a much larger portion of the country.
Kisangani to Kindu
The expedition moved deeper into the country, eventually travelling toward Kindu and the Lomami River. The journey combined aircraft, motorbikes and pirogues before the team continued on foot through forest.
Obenge and the search for elephants
From the Obenge research area, local field teams and the visiting expedition searched for fresh sign. Dung had to be recent enough to preserve useful genetic material and far enough apart to avoid repeatedly sampling the same animals.
April 2011 — viable samples collected
After difficult days in the forest, the team reported finding fresh elephant trails and enough dung to collect viable samples. In one account they described six usable samples collected during a roughly 75-kilometre trek, with additional samples gathered by local collaborators.
What the journal reveals
The historical record is useful because it shows what forensic conservation looks like before a result becomes a map or scientific paper: permits, transport, local knowledge, field safety, finding animals without disturbing them, sample handling and the uncertainty of whether genetic material will survive.
For the broader scientific context, continue to Elephant DNA Forensics. For the project overview, return to The Elephant Ivory Project.