21:53, Saturday, 18 June, 2011

Another exciting day on the Masai Mara!

Lia and I went on morning obs with Meg and Zac today, because we had yet to see North Territory. On the way there, we came across a hyena that was walking near some zebra. One of the zebras (probably a stallion) repeatedly chased the hyena away from the herd. I don’t even know if the hyena was hungry; I feel like all of the ungulates are a lot braver when they sense a full belly, understandably so.

Among the cubs at North Den were Tsunami (from the natural disasters clan) and Nancy Drew (from the kid detective clan). They were pretty inactive as far as cubs go. Nearby was Tinsel’s (Christmas decorations clan) natal den; a natal den is where hyenas keep their cubs until they are big enough to be moved to the communal den, so for about three weeks or so. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Tinsel in the den, but rather Handyman (the poor female who was mistaken for a male when it came time for naming). Handy had just her head sticking up out of the den, so lovably just staring at us with sleepy eyes and no concern.

We followed a loping female hyena after leaving the den. She pooped, and so we had to stop and collect it. Talk about smelly! Meg got out and picked it up with a plastic bag, and Zac had the pleasure of stuffing it into tubes when we got back to camp for genetic analysis. I suggested we make perfume out of it.

Later on we came upon our first lions of this trip; I was relieved since it is crucial that I see lots of them for my project to be successful. There were about two cubs and five lionesses on the opposite side of the Mara River from where we were; I couldn’t manage good photos of them, but there was a lone lioness on our side that we got some good pictures of. One of the lionesses on the other side was teasing a hippo, sitting on a big bush root and staring daringly at it. This hippo was up on land, and he and the lion were creating quite a scene for the rest of the hippos. It was hilarious, because all of the at least twenty hippo heads poking above the water were turned in the direction of the spectacle. Eventually the hippo reentered the water and turned swiftly around to keep an eye on the lion. I love interspecies interactions so much.

There were tons of birds out this morning, as usual. We saw a crowned crane dancing for its mate, bobbing and flapping its colorful wings. We also saw this type of plover that looks like it is wearing a tuxedo (Meg pointed that out) because of its black and white coloration beneath brown wings. We were introduced to black-bellied bustards (great name), and there were some sort of eagles in a tree. I spotted a yellow-bellied bird that must have been some sort of lark, and another with a highlighter-orange belly.

Back at camp, Filiman and Jorgio made a fantastic breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and the most delicious scrambled eggs mixed with miboga (vegetables). Jorgio is another member of the camp staff who had to go home for a family emergency, but has now returned. He and Filiman are just the best. Filiman is such a sweetheart; he pays attention to every detail and makes camp a delightful place to be. In front of each of our tents is a personal flower pot with several plants waiting to bloom. Kay wouldn’t let him spend money on coasters for our mugs, so there are blue tupperware tops beneath our tea mugs that are about three sizes too big. He arranges the vegetables in fancy patterns every time he makes a salad. His demeanor is inimitable. Jorgio is similarly splendid. I can tell he really likes it when I talk Swahili with him and Filiman.

I began my project with the lioness picture! I read a paper on how best to differentiate between lions; it involves using the whisker pattern of their top two whisker rows. The way that row A (the top one) falls on top of row B, along with the number of separate vibrissae holes are unique to each individual. Ear nicks and scars are also very helpful, as well as any other oddities. I am creating a whisker, nick, and scar chart for each lion. Also recorded are the GPS coordinates of where they were sighted, the time they were sighted, the weather conditions (sunny, cloudy, etc.), the maximum and minimum temperature of the day, and the rainfall (the latter two pieces of information will be collected in the morning). I named my first lioness Shakira. I plan to name my lions after good music artists, and this ole girl looked like a Shakira.

While we were working at the lab tent, one of the bats that flies around the light above the table catching insects at dinner time alighted on the ceiling of the inside of the tent, hanging upside down with its head tilted back so that it was looking outwards, inspecting us. ADORABLE.

I experienced my first bush shower today. A little ways off to the side of the driveway is a rectangle built of tall branches with a tarp covering the entrance half of the floor, and a pile of big and smooth rocks beneath a very simple metal showerhead. There is a latter built of branches leading to the area over the shower, where rainwater is poured into a big black bucket connected to a pipe; the water comes out of the head when you loose a little lever-handle above it. A hanging washbasin is where one puts their soap and shampoo. I may be a wimp when it comes to cold water (even in the intense midday sun), but it felt so neat to be taking a shower out in the middle of nowhere beneath trees and singing birds.

Night obs were really neat. We went with Dave back to North Den, where there were at least twenty hyenas, fourteen or so of them very curious cubs, some of them nursing. Nancy Drew, Johny Rotten, Typhoon, Mean Mr. Mustard, Peppers and Sniper were among those that came right up to our car. I had fun making sniffing noises right back at Nancy Drew and watching her reactions when she was right below my window looking up at me. She didn’t know what to think of that. I was struck by the doglike behavior of the hyenas, who are actually more closely related to cats. They scratched their ears, laid in very doglike ways, stretched, yawned, and rolled in smelly crap (such as their own barf) just like the dogs I have always known.

It was really strange when a low-ranking female named Left C-Slit came walking into the den area. Cubs of high-ranking hyenas are born higher up than adult hyenas of lower rank than their mother, and somehow they know it. About six of the cubs gathered around behind her in a great mob, their tails all bristled, letting out the high-pitched giggle vocalization for which hyenas are so well known. Then they pushed her away from the den; it was absolutely nuts! Luckily she still found her cub, which followed her off to the side, where she intently groomed him. Dave said that Left C-Slit is one of his favorite hyenas, because even though she is picked on all the time, she doesn’t give a crap and still comes around. He said that she is also an excellent hunter.

Other notable sightings of the night included three warthog piglets and a reedbuck curled beneath a tree. A secretary bird was doing an insane dance; we thought it was catching a snake or something, but there was nothing to be seen on the surrounding ground. A tommy came up and appeared to somehow challenge the bird, jumping at it in little bounds. We also saw a baby tommy, so tiny and endearing that I nearly squeaked aloud (Julia’s “Want to squeeze!” exclamation from BEAM might have run through my head). An adult male and female tommy ran past the hyena den all out sprinting while we were there; it looked exactly like they were racing one another. Finally, we came to an area that I dubbed the Island of Misfit Animals. There was a lone hippo in a water hole, and a lone cape buffalo just lying on the savanna. There was also a very bold warthog; most warthogs go running as soon as they see you, their tails sticking straight up in the area. This warthog actually came back to the vehicle to stare at us, very unusual indeed. I liked him very much.

Back at camp, I began reading A Primate’s Memoir from the little library of books in the lab tent while we waited for Zac and Meg to return for dinner. Dave and Lia read as well, although it was hard to see with the limited light (I had to use my headlamp). But I can tell I am going to love the book.

Dinnertime conversation centered around the hyenas. I remember reading in Jane Goodall’s biography how everyone was so enthused about chimps that even the dinner conversation revolved around the going-ons between individuals. It is so neat to be around people who are just as enthused about hyenas. We made fun of some of the current lineages, and I picked on Dave for his choice of “bears” as one of them. There are two hyena cubs named Polar and Panda. Noble gases, schools in England, religious buildings, and famous redheads were among other ones we laughed about.

We have a little gecko that patters across the top of our tent at night. It makes me smile. The featured sound of the night is hyena whoops.