Yes, as promised, the chigger chronicles. One day a few weeks ago, we were following the chimps into a muddy, swampy area. Ugh. There is a log "bridge" across the latter half of the expanse of hot smelly water. But to reach it, one must risk filling your rubber boots with water. This water was deep, and we were all hesitant to cross. Can't we just watch the chimps from this side?
Audacious Shannon jumps right in, tromping through the mud up to her bellybutton! So we must follow, and fill our boots with this sewage-looking water that the locals drink and bathe in. It can't be that bad, right?
So we all get gross and muddy and have a laugh. My boots are too small, so the thought of walking home in tight wet rubber boots chafing my already raw blisters was not appealing. I walked the 1 kilometer dirt path barefoot, as many people admonished against chiggers.
Chiggers are flea-sized bugs that crawl into your feet and lay eggs, an itchy and painful experience. Though I wouldn't know! Poor Shannon walked back in her muddy boots, and took them off as soon as we got home. Problem is, her feet were soft and moist, easy for chiggers to enter, but mine were dry and hardened from the walk.
About a week after the swamp adventure, Shannon removed 12 (?) chiggers from her feet- as many as 4 in one toe!! Imagine popping the biggest, pus-filled zit you have ever seen. Then remember that it is an insect and its offspring living in an egg sac under your toenail. Ew!!
Shannon has also been suffering from self-diagnosed cholera, probably also caused by nasty water. Sickness has become a way of life, and each meal is a gamble. We have both decided to enjoy the food as we eat it, no matter the consequences, and to take an immodium with the first bite. Each day is better than the last, and hopefully we will both have clean bills of health soon. As leonardio dicaprio put it in the film Blood Diamond, TIA!! (This is Africa)
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
A day in the field
Following the chimps yesterday was so exciting and fun! We stayed close on their trail all morning and it finally seemed this is what being in the field is about. No sitting on the roadside peering through binoculars, no waiting for the chimps to come to us.
We denested Kakono, Kaija Alice, Ajabu, and Ruhara, and later saw Abooki, Komuntu and Sukari feeding in an antiaris tree at the crossroads. We followed them to another feeding tree, and then on the ground.
I'm always curious to know what the chimps do on the ground, and we were close enough to see through the undergrowth the infants playing- Elvis, Ajabu, and Kaija Alice. I also saw Komuntu (alpha male) "teeth clacking" while grooming, a very loud percussive sound that also involves some lip smacking, to alert the grooming partner that a parasite has been removed. It was fascinating to see how the sound is produced and its context.
The next day, after searching all areas of the forest, we accidentally came upon the chimps in block F2, by a well. I was sitting alone and heard some rustling in the bushes behind me, and saw a hand slowly climbing up the trunk of a sapling. I was startled, and thought it might be our field guide Joseph playing a trick on me, but it was Kaija Alice!
We saw Kemoso, Kakono, and Abooki raid the sugar cane that is planted right to the forest edge. I wondered out loud whether the chimps share, with whom, and how do they eat the cane? There are narrow "tunnels" in the undergrowth where the chimps frequently pass, and I practically lay on my stomach in order to see down the tunnel.
I watched as Kemoso processed her piece of cane- holding it in her left hand and peeling the outer layer off with her teeth and right hand. This peeling is very noisy, and her two offspring, Koojo and Elvis, came rushing over as she peeled. They waited as she broke off a small piece for Elvis, the younger brother, and Koojo could barely contain himself from grabbing his piece. (By the way- chimps are SO strong! I tried to eat cane, and needed a knife to peel it, and dont even think of breaking a piece off without breaking your arm first!) All my questions had been answered!
After the brothers ate their sugar cane, we were close enough to see them playing, and could even hear them laughing!! Imagine a hyper kid on a sugar rush, only really acrobatic, not to mention hairy!
We denested Kakono, Kaija Alice, Ajabu, and Ruhara, and later saw Abooki, Komuntu and Sukari feeding in an antiaris tree at the crossroads. We followed them to another feeding tree, and then on the ground.
I'm always curious to know what the chimps do on the ground, and we were close enough to see through the undergrowth the infants playing- Elvis, Ajabu, and Kaija Alice. I also saw Komuntu (alpha male) "teeth clacking" while grooming, a very loud percussive sound that also involves some lip smacking, to alert the grooming partner that a parasite has been removed. It was fascinating to see how the sound is produced and its context.
The next day, after searching all areas of the forest, we accidentally came upon the chimps in block F2, by a well. I was sitting alone and heard some rustling in the bushes behind me, and saw a hand slowly climbing up the trunk of a sapling. I was startled, and thought it might be our field guide Joseph playing a trick on me, but it was Kaija Alice!
We saw Kemoso, Kakono, and Abooki raid the sugar cane that is planted right to the forest edge. I wondered out loud whether the chimps share, with whom, and how do they eat the cane? There are narrow "tunnels" in the undergrowth where the chimps frequently pass, and I practically lay on my stomach in order to see down the tunnel.
I watched as Kemoso processed her piece of cane- holding it in her left hand and peeling the outer layer off with her teeth and right hand. This peeling is very noisy, and her two offspring, Koojo and Elvis, came rushing over as she peeled. They waited as she broke off a small piece for Elvis, the younger brother, and Koojo could barely contain himself from grabbing his piece. (By the way- chimps are SO strong! I tried to eat cane, and needed a knife to peel it, and dont even think of breaking a piece off without breaking your arm first!) All my questions had been answered!
After the brothers ate their sugar cane, we were close enough to see them playing, and could even hear them laughing!! Imagine a hyper kid on a sugar rush, only really acrobatic, not to mention hairy!
Animal House
There is no such thing as a silent night here. There is always some sound to impede our slumber- Nyango's radio (an ancient rastafarian-type who lives in a room attached to the house), a chorus of frogs, the bats chirping and fluttering under our tin roof, and the most pesky of all: a rat chewing on plastic in our kitchen.
The other night was particularly bad- worrying the rat would chew through our tupperware and eat our lunch, we got up several times during the night to hide our food and rearrange traps. We were very rudely awoken around 5:45 on our day off as the huge rat somehow made it into our room, and snuggled up in bed with Shannon. This uninvited bedmate crawled across her sleeping bag 3 times!!! three strikes, and you're out- we HAD to catch it.
We ran around with a broom, a bucket, and complete darkness for 45 minutes before Shannon had the bright idea to throw a mosquito net over it- which actually worked! Once caught though, neither of us would dare to kill it, so we left it in a bucket with abrick and a note on the lid, hoping some brave soul would dispose of the rat in our absence as we walked to the market at Kinyara. It turns out, some curious kid took the lid off and the rat escaped! hopefully it wont come back, but if it does, it will have McLovin to contend with.
McLovin is a chicken currently nestled among my dirty towels in the corner of the dining room. Here's the explanation: My friend Prossy, who works at the internet cafe, invited us to dinner at her home. We flipped through several photo albums of her family (Mother is 47, Prossy is the oldest of 8 children at 26, and the youngest is 15)- so there were a lot of pictures to look at. We then enjoyed a traditional Ugandan meal of cassava bread (a firm but sticky ball of dough), matoke (bananas prepared into a salty, sliceable block), meat with g-nut sauce (like soupy peanut butter), greens, and watermelon for dessert. As we were preparing to depart, we were honored with McLovin as a parting gift.
What to do wiht a chicken? Tie its legs and carry it home on a motorcycle, of course. That said and done, there was no one to advise us what to do with it once we got home. After convincing Shannon that its legs should remain tied (or else we would have to get the mosquito net again to catch it in the morning), she couldnt help but feel sorry for the poor fella, and cradled him in her arms, and made a comfy nest in the corner with my towel. After singing him a lullaby (ok maybe we didnt go that far), we went to bed. At 5:45 the next morning a loud and startling cock-a-doodle-doo! woke us up.
Stay tuned for the chigger chronicles....!
The other night was particularly bad- worrying the rat would chew through our tupperware and eat our lunch, we got up several times during the night to hide our food and rearrange traps. We were very rudely awoken around 5:45 on our day off as the huge rat somehow made it into our room, and snuggled up in bed with Shannon. This uninvited bedmate crawled across her sleeping bag 3 times!!! three strikes, and you're out- we HAD to catch it.
We ran around with a broom, a bucket, and complete darkness for 45 minutes before Shannon had the bright idea to throw a mosquito net over it- which actually worked! Once caught though, neither of us would dare to kill it, so we left it in a bucket with abrick and a note on the lid, hoping some brave soul would dispose of the rat in our absence as we walked to the market at Kinyara. It turns out, some curious kid took the lid off and the rat escaped! hopefully it wont come back, but if it does, it will have McLovin to contend with.
McLovin is a chicken currently nestled among my dirty towels in the corner of the dining room. Here's the explanation: My friend Prossy, who works at the internet cafe, invited us to dinner at her home. We flipped through several photo albums of her family (Mother is 47, Prossy is the oldest of 8 children at 26, and the youngest is 15)- so there were a lot of pictures to look at. We then enjoyed a traditional Ugandan meal of cassava bread (a firm but sticky ball of dough), matoke (bananas prepared into a salty, sliceable block), meat with g-nut sauce (like soupy peanut butter), greens, and watermelon for dessert. As we were preparing to depart, we were honored with McLovin as a parting gift.
What to do wiht a chicken? Tie its legs and carry it home on a motorcycle, of course. That said and done, there was no one to advise us what to do with it once we got home. After convincing Shannon that its legs should remain tied (or else we would have to get the mosquito net again to catch it in the morning), she couldnt help but feel sorry for the poor fella, and cradled him in her arms, and made a comfy nest in the corner with my towel. After singing him a lullaby (ok maybe we didnt go that far), we went to bed. At 5:45 the next morning a loud and startling cock-a-doodle-doo! woke us up.
Stay tuned for the chigger chronicles....!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Another Update, plus photos!
Osibirota!
Life in Kasokwa has ben easy recently, the chimps have been eating the
fruit of the antiaris trees for the past three weeks. Their daily
movements were very predictable- we often found thm feeding in the
same tree each morning, and if they happened to move on, we could know
exactly which tree was their next destination (there are very few
trees, much less fruiting ones, inthis highly disturbed habitat). This
makes observation easer, but it is unfortunate for the chimps.
Now that almost all the fruit has ben eaten, the chimps are beginning
to fall back on their usual diet of sugar cane. One day, they spent
approximately 26 minutes in the antiaris tree beforeclimbing down, and
we did not see or hear them for the rest of the day. That evening, we
went to look again, and found a field of sugar cane recently raided.
We saw chimps moving in the thcket adjacent to the field, and heard
them chomping and enjoying the sugar.
The following day, they spent a short time in the tree before climbing
down again. We spent a good part of theafternoon listening to their
activity on the ground. The undergrowth is thick, so even when we know
the chimps are present, visual observation is impossible. This is the
frustrating part of primatology. We couldhear teeth clacking, an
indication of males grooming each other. They make this sound to
notify their grooming partner thatthey hve found an removed some
parasite from the oher's fur.
We knew the chimps must be getting hungry and restless (we were too!
Shannon and I discussed all the foods we missed from home, and as
Shannon finished her lunch, se sarcastically marveled,
"Mmmm....rice."). Butit was already past 4pm, our usual finish time,
and so we left he forest.
Disappointed that we had not seen much of the chimps that day, we
decided to linger at the edge, whre the fores meets the sugar cane
field, in hopes of catching them raiding as they had done the previous
evening. Many local villagers walked y to inquire about our work with
the chimps, and it wasnt before long that a "guard" posted himself in
front of he cane field. At this point, we knew the situation had
become a standoff- chimps vs guard, and that t was hopeless for us to
wait any longer. As long as we waited, so would the guard, and we
wouldnt see the chimps partakein their evening meal.
We departed on our way home, and w were surprised to see just around
thecorner, Sukari at the top of a sparsely fruiting tree, literally at
the edge of the road. Any leaves that dropped landed at the feet of
several observers. He was very hungry, desperate even- to expose
himself like that. Many people stood ponting and commenting as Sukari
uttered a series of suppressed food grunts coupled with nervous "huu"
sounds.
The crowd started growing as more bicycles stopped, herders arrived
with cattle, and final as the afterschool group of children came
running and shoutig down the hill. All the commotion certainly
fightened Sukari, who climbed down in a hurry. A teenage boy, no shirt
or shoes, tried to follow him into the forest out of curiosity, but
this would definitely drive the chimps further in. Would they go
hungry tonight?
http://community.webshots.com/album/562691524gkeZDf?vhost=community
-Katie
Life in Kasokwa has ben easy recently, the chimps have been eating the
fruit of the antiaris trees for the past three weeks. Their daily
movements were very predictable- we often found thm feeding in the
same tree each morning, and if they happened to move on, we could know
exactly which tree was their next destination (there are very few
trees, much less fruiting ones, inthis highly disturbed habitat). This
makes observation easer, but it is unfortunate for the chimps.
Now that almost all the fruit has ben eaten, the chimps are beginning
to fall back on their usual diet of sugar cane. One day, they spent
approximately 26 minutes in the antiaris tree beforeclimbing down, and
we did not see or hear them for the rest of the day. That evening, we
went to look again, and found a field of sugar cane recently raided.
We saw chimps moving in the thcket adjacent to the field, and heard
them chomping and enjoying the sugar.
The following day, they spent a short time in the tree before climbing
down again. We spent a good part of theafternoon listening to their
activity on the ground. The undergrowth is thick, so even when we know
the chimps are present, visual observation is impossible. This is the
frustrating part of primatology. We couldhear teeth clacking, an
indication of males grooming each other. They make this sound to
notify their grooming partner thatthey hve found an removed some
parasite from the oher's fur.
We knew the chimps must be getting hungry and restless (we were too!
Shannon and I discussed all the foods we missed from home, and as
Shannon finished her lunch, se sarcastically marveled,
"Mmmm....rice."). Butit was already past 4pm, our usual finish time,
and so we left he forest.
Disappointed that we had not seen much of the chimps that day, we
decided to linger at the edge, whre the fores meets the sugar cane
field, in hopes of catching them raiding as they had done the previous
evening. Many local villagers walked y to inquire about our work with
the chimps, and it wasnt before long that a "guard" posted himself in
front of he cane field. At this point, we knew the situation had
become a standoff- chimps vs guard, and that t was hopeless for us to
wait any longer. As long as we waited, so would the guard, and we
wouldnt see the chimps partakein their evening meal.
We departed on our way home, and w were surprised to see just around
thecorner, Sukari at the top of a sparsely fruiting tree, literally at
the edge of the road. Any leaves that dropped landed at the feet of
several observers. He was very hungry, desperate even- to expose
himself like that. Many people stood ponting and commenting as Sukari
uttered a series of suppressed food grunts coupled with nervous "huu"
sounds.
The crowd started growing as more bicycles stopped, herders arrived
with cattle, and final as the afterschool group of children came
running and shoutig down the hill. All the commotion certainly
fightened Sukari, who climbed down in a hurry. A teenage boy, no shirt
or shoes, tried to follow him into the forest out of curiosity, but
this would definitely drive the chimps further in. Would they go
hungry tonight?
http://community.webshots.com
-Katie
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
New Kid on the Block
For those of you who have not been keeping up to date with my blog (shame!), I am the newest resident of the village of Kibwona, following a long line of other muzungus. I have moved from Busingiro to Kibwona, and trek into the Kasokwa forest fragment each morning to observe the 14 chimpanzees that live here.
Village life is interesting- I always have an entourage of kids following, poking, and prodding me, and inspecting the contents of my backpack. Here’s a rundown of the usual crowd:
Edigar- the two year old son of our cook, Prossy. Spoiled and entitled. Never naps, always cranky during dinner. But the way his face lights up every afternoon as he runs towards me when I get home from the forest makes up for it.
Moses, aka “Where are your pants?”- this quiet klepto’s typical garb is a tweety bird vest, and that’s all folks.
Jossy- cute little girl whose natural rhythm is a dance.
Dennis- parents are on extended vacation in Kampala (euphemism: they died of AIDS). Has weeping sores all over body; cant help but feel sorry and give him a hug.
Kelvin- quiet girl who stutters, and tags along with the older kids
Patrick, aka “the smart one”- older boy, maybe 9, who understands my miming and translates the rules to hide and seek.
Helen- older girl, maybe 8, held back in school for sucking her thumb. Only removes it to slap others.
I’m also making friends my own age- Lucky, the 22 year old girlfriend of my 34 year old- married with two kids- field assistant Joseph. This situation is completely normal and in fact Lucky and the wife are good friends. And Prossy, a girl working at the internet café who I see often; she pulled me aside and asked in all seriousness if I would be her friend, she seemed as nervous as if she were proposing! But “making friendship” is a big deal, and you want to be able to bring friends home to mother.
You might think that hiring a cook would reduce your worries, but in fact it is sometimes stressful communicating your order. Everything has tomatoes, and we average a half dozen a day, even if we are only having rice and beans. I dont know where they all go! Also, the food pyramid here is drastically different. Meals consist of a carb-rich, flavorless base, such as cassava, posho (maize flour and water), rice, irish (teeny potatoes), chapatti (like a greasy tortilla) or muzungu pasta. It is apparently normal to eat, though I wont allow, two of these in the same meal. The base is served with a "sauce" or "soup"- any combo of cooked veggies resembling pasta sauce. anything uncooked is "salad," even if it is only an avocado, or only a cucumber.
The other day in Masindi town, I tried to order a vegetable curry entree, and the waitress explained I had to also order something else because what I wanted was "a small cup of sauce;" So I'm imagining it will be like ketchup, and order a side of potatoes. Of course the curry was this huge bowl of delicious spicy veggies, and then I had a plate of bland potatoes I didnt know what to do with. Perhaps she was new, but I suspect the traditional meal plan requiring a "base" forced her to advise me against only curried veggies.
And of course what would an update be without more on the chimps?! We had a busy week documenting the disturbances to the forest- 3 fires, 1 person chopping wood, and 1 snare. Despite this, the chimps have been relaxing in the same tree all week, enjoying ripe antiaris fruit. A quick intro to some of the chimps:
Koojo- "the spy" always notices our arrival on the scene and watches us closely for several minutes before returning to his own activity.
His younger brother Elvis is independent and playful, with ears as big as his personality.
Their mother, Kemoso, is easy to identify by her missing leg. She often climbs up trees using her two hands, one foot, and her knee.
Kangeye was miss popular for a week due to her large estrous swelling.
her son Makosa is a steadfast playmate to Ajabu, and it's hard to tell the two apart when they are wrestling in the treetops!
Kaija Alice is a pudgy, squinty-eyed female, older sister to Ajabu. Their mother Kakono is missing a hand, so when she scratches those places she cant reach with her remaining hand, she contorts into the strangest positions!
Ruhara is a balding female with a newborn infant. Whoever determines the infant's gender gets to name the baby. the competition is fierce!! Her older son, Ritch, was recently caught in a snare, and it is still tightly wrapped around his hand.
The adult males include Abooki, Sukari, and Komuntu. It is their job to raid the sugar cane and bring the spoils home to the women.
I have FINALLY posted some pictures onto my website so you can get to know these personalities from afar, and more are on the way!! (sorry internet is so slow!!):
http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg223/MsKatieHall/UGANDA/
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Darn!
I was all excited to try uploading pictures again, I thought I might have a way around the large file size. But I forgot my darn USB cable that connects the photos on the memory card to the computer! I promise I will post pictures next time, and I will send out a mass email with the link.
In other news, feeling better from my bout with giardia, or at least thats what i think it was. The chimps have been very stationery lateley, spending all day in a single fruiting tree, several days in a row. that makes things easier for us researchers! just sit back and watch the day unfold.
sorry not much excitement this time around-be patient for pics, it may be another week before Im in town.
In other news, feeling better from my bout with giardia, or at least thats what i think it was. The chimps have been very stationery lateley, spending all day in a single fruiting tree, several days in a row. that makes things easier for us researchers! just sit back and watch the day unfold.
sorry not much excitement this time around-be patient for pics, it may be another week before Im in town.
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