No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Once again sorry for the delay in updates, I have been very busy working nonstop 12 days in a row. I have been up, down, and all around the Budongo Forest Reserve, experiencing the other sites where research on chimpanzees is taking place.

First, I visited Kaniyo-Pabidi, an ecotourism site. It is a gorgeous pristine forest with 87 chimps in the study group. The forest was so beautiful it was depressing to think of how degraded Kasokwa is. We could easily follow the chimps in the trees and on the ground, as the undergrowth is not very thick. I became fast friends with the field assistants Justin and Joyce. Not only did I enjoy the serenity in the forest, but I really appreciated a hot running water shower! :)

I also visited Sonso, the main research station in the forest. I had to do habitat work for Zinta, what most people consider "hardship duty." Habitat work involves making a 1 km transect, plotting points every 5o m. At each point, a GPS is taken, and all trees in a 12.7 m radius are identified and measured by diameter at breast height. It is tedious and dirty work, especially in the rain! I had to crawl under vines, over logs, through lantana, and wade through a swamp.
So after 2 days of this, it was a treat to go out with the Sonso chimps. They are so well habituated and trusting; a group of at least 8 individuals laid down on the ground within 30 feet of where I sat for an hour long nap.

It was also refreshing to be among the intellectual company of other researchers for a few days, and to escape the village gossip (see below). Tony described to me the challenges and excitement of being involved in the Chimp Health Monitoring Program; Anya vented frustration over the moisture ruining expensive camera equipment, and meanwhile Mario detailed the findings of several Theory of Mind studies done with ravens.


I enjoyed my little vacation, but it helped me realize there is not place like 'home' in Kibwona. Though the forest is really more of a scrap heap of trees not wanted by loggers overgrown with invasive lantana species, the chimps more of a textbook case study on population bottleneck than a thriving community, and the villagers more reliant on witchcraft, myth and alcohol than education, banks and healthcare, living in Kibwona has been an incomparable experiences most primate researchers (or most people from developed nations) never have the chance to enjoy.

How could I forget passing by a small gathering only to find out it was tha town council deliberating how to deal with a man intending to kill 9 people accused of witchcraft? Or hearing of the antics of Mama Roddin's crazy sister hopping on one leg naked though the village? Or my personal favorite- the gummy alcoholic who tried to sell me a bag of his teeth so he could afford to quench his thirst.

The chimps, too, have been memorable, and this past week has been one of the best yet. I am able to get closer to them when they are on the ground--I have witnessed who makes the teeth clacking noise while grooming, whosteals sugar cane from others (Komuntu in both cases; how sugar cane is processed and shared with offspring; I have learned to recognize some voices and distinct pant hoots (Abooki wanting to raid sugar cane, Kangeye fleeing from insistent suitors); and I have laughed a the infants' energetic and curious playfulness, to their mothers' chagrin.

Most recently I watched Ajabu hang upside down by his feet and fall repeatedly on top of his mother Kakono sleeping in their nest. When she left the nest looking perturbed, Ajabu had a huge smile on his face and began bouncing in the nest balanced delicately on the flexible branches, reminding me of myself jumping on the bed as a youngster. Though I must reiterate that chimpanzees are APES, not monkeys, it also brought to mind the familiar refrain "No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

As the research comes to a close, I am sad to leave these chimps behind, their future uncertain in this forest caught between multiple avenues of human disturbance-- logging, hunting, farming (not to mention the lack of gene flow...). Will Kakono live to see healthy grandchimpies bouncing around? Ruhara, whose first son burned to death while caught crop raiding, and whose second son's hand is mutating into a uselesss claw because of a wire tightly wound around his wrist, recently gave birth to another baby; will the third time be the charm for her?

While it is difficult not to despair, there is reason for hope as researchers collaborate to find a solution, as Roots & Shoots groups in the area learn more about conserving forest resources, and as people around the globe become more aware of their personal impact.

-Katie