I was stretching in the forest one morning and some kids saw me from far away and started imitating everything I did. One thing leads to another, and now we have a weekly morning yoga session (mostly goofy yoga).
Coolest bug I have ever seen. 50 points for anyone who can tell me what it is. I am looking at you Leah Bland.
In early May, my mom, sister and I went on a safari in Murchison National Park. My mom had booked the trip through a local safari company. When I got word that our safari guide Donna would be picking us up, my ears perked up. Donna. Perhaps a woman safari driver? Huh. That would be cool. Were we that lucky? Yes. Yes we were. It's rare to see women driving in Uganda, let alone driving a standard transmission vehicle, let alone driving tourists around, let alone while simultaneously spotting leopards and lions in a four-wheel drive safari van. Indeed, Donna Katesi is one of four female game drivers currently working in Uganda. People did stare a lot – construction workers literally stopped working and stared, mouths gaping, as we drove by. Donna is a skilled game driver and total badass. She joked that she makes her way among her male colleagues by being a bully. Case in point – when she sent us off on a boat tour one day, I heard her tell the guide t...
One day last week, the chimps took us to the top of one of the highest hills at about seven in the morning, just in time to see the sunrise. The hills in the foreground are all part of Kibale National Park, and in the far distance you can see the Rwenzori Mountains. This mountain range is also the border with the Congo. I haven't yet learned what this plant is, but I saw it in the forest this week. Isn't it crazy!? I think probably a fly trap of some sort. The view from my porch, watching a storm roll in. My house looks just like the other two in this photo - each one is a duplex and I have half the house to myself. A particularly large elephant, as you can see from this footprint, was hanging out nearby us in the forest a few weeks back. I could also see prints from its wrinkly skin in the mud. I got poured on while I was trying to get to town to get groceries. Luckily anyone will let you stay on their porch to wait it out.
When we arrive in camp, chimpanzee researchers are quarantined for five days to make sure we aren't carrying any communicable diseases that we might give to the chimpanzees (even a common cold can kill them). So I've had some time to reacquaint myself with the the friendly faces that regularly pass through my backyard at Makerere University Biological Field Station. Yesterday I tried out my new camera as I watched all of the usual suspects pass by. Here are some snaps! (and yes, that poor baboon baby is being yanked by the hairs on her chinny chin chin). You can click on any of the photos to see them larger.
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