Tuesday May 21, 2013. Awesome Nature.

By Stephanie Fox -

                              
Awesome nature spotted this week:
  •  A small snake!  I don’t know what kind. Angela and I both yelped and leaped away when it made the slightest, slowest motion in our direction. All the kids laughed at us. 
  • Awesome ants. There is a nest of red ants somewhere outside of my door. Despite the fact that their little jaws look like they could induce extreme pain, I greatly respect them because unlike the black ants, they don’t seem to bite unless seriously provoked. Instead, they neatly march along the roof, the laundry line, and around my door everyday cleaning up all of the dead bugs who were flying around the light the night before.
  • A scorpion! Unfortunately I had to kill it, this is the rule when its on the porch or around the guest house. I felt very brave. The red ants cleaned up all of the remains.
  • A array of preying mantises. Big ones, small ones; red, brown and green!
  • A skink!  It was hanging out in Josie’s cloth that she was about to wrap around herself. Surprise!
The monkeys are behaving themselves. My proudest moment this week was when I correctly identified the alpha male of a group just from his tail when I was looking straight up at only butts and tails hanging down in the very top of the canopy. AND THEN he swatted at an infant who approached him = male-infant interaction!  This delights me because it means that I won’t be sitting in the forest looking for male-immature interactions for six months only to conclude that it happens never. I will write a post about what my project is about for next week. 

 Here is a photo of the product of my bravery:


(For those of you who didn't know either, a Skink is a type of lizard. I had to Google it ... - Laura)

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