14:58, Sunday, 17 July, 2011

I missed our hyenas on the morning of our first obs; I didn’t like having no idea who anyone was. But I can tell that I am going to love these hyenas as well. The cubs over here are chubby from the migration to the point that they look like teddy bears waddling up to the car, especially Eldor. Genetics are amazing! The hyenas on this side of the park have crazily distinct spots; it’s taking me half the time to identify them, and I already know some by heart. The cubs are also darker, and their faces shorter. I was very excited to see that Mojave had a white spot at the top of her tail, thinking it would be very easy to identify her, only to find out that Crimson, Moushou (Disney sidekick lineage!), and several other cubs have the very same white spot.

The hyenas are additionally much easier to find because of the short grass, and nine females in the Talek West territory have radio collars. The radio telemetry is neat to observe; the co-pilot wears headphones that start beeping faintly within a certain distance of the hyenas, and at that time it is handed off to the driver, who plays hot-cold based on whether the beeps get louder or softer. I have yet to find out the distance at which the beeps can first be heard.

One excellent thing about this camp is that we aren’t confined to it during the day. It was time to explore! Lia and I went down by the river, keeping an eye out for crocs and hippos. The river is much much tinier than the Mara, and very lovely. There are trees, some sand, and big gray, flat square rocks bordering it. Some of the banks are sloped just enough to be easily traversed, and some of the rocks are within the river, so we can cross over as desired. And to top it all off, agama lizards run across them at regular intervals.

21:47

We continued along a faint road, marveling at the perfect baboon tracks in the dirt and spooking some impala. The bush around here is out of a book, so different from anything in the United States. We came upon a Maasai herding his cows. He didn’t speak Swahili past “Jambo” and “Habari yako,” so it was very interesting the way I knew he understood when I introduced myself and Lia even though it wasn’t in Maa. I’ve heard that people of different languages can communicate very effectively in dire situations, and I believe it. Continuing on, we realized that we were in the reserve- oops. Janie had said specifically that she had crossed the river before going running in the morning. Therefore we returned to camp, picked up Eli and went for a walk across the river. Many Maasai women (who usually do the work concerning the cattle, home, children, etc. etc.) and children waved at us. Some of the kids would shyly dart behind bushes, giggling and only at the last moment working up the courage to wave. We marveled at the size of some elephant tracks, and scoped out a running route for the following morning, walking towards the mountains and discussing which American summer foods we miss the most. How delicious watermelon, cherry tomatoes, ice cream and lemonade sounded, especially since it soon became apparent that the dry season has finally awoken. Swirls of dust rose up periodically from the roads and savanna, and the equator sun beat down to burn us through our sunscreen.

On the return trip we got lost, not realizing that the river winds around. We crossed it, only to find ourselves in an unfamiliar bush thicket. We climbed through a troop of baboons up to a high bank overlooking the river to see if we could get an idea of where we were. A hippo peered at us from down below, looking larger than normal since the river is much smaller than what I’m used to. Suddenly the baboons erupted in chorus, and two of the males began chasing one another frantically around, fighting about a meter from us. Thankfully the scuffle was purely between the two them. Eventually, three Maasai boys from across the river asked if we were lost, and we crossed back over so they could lead us back to Fisi Camp. We were close, just a bit turned around.

Back in camp we discovered a fruit bat. Their eyes are so big, and I just wanted to squeeze it as it hung upside down staring at me over its long rostrum. The type of bat that lived in the Serena lab tent live in the lab tent here as well. Just today Eli decided he wanted to pet one, and reached up to touch an individual that was asleep. The bat didn’t even fly; it just woke up and started peering around as Eli retreated, ears flipping back and forth like mad, swinging to and fro from the poke. Poor thing, woken in such a rude fashion. I noticed it was hanging from only four itty-bitty fingers of one foot, the very tips of them barely touching the metal bar. It’s really miraculous that they manage to hang there like that!

Along with bats, there are African grass rats that hang around camp. I was delighted to see one nearby while sitting out at the desk writing. They remind me of Thumbelina, the wee baby rat I caught on the small mammal trap day of BEAM.

On my way back from my tent for dinner that night, I spotted two hyena eyes in the dark. I stopped and shined them, and it stared at me while I stared at it, making sure it was okay with my being there before continuing to walk. The hyenas must know that they are beloved and safe here.

Kelsey let me touch her tail about five times at dinner! She is such a sweet little genet. Her mom appreciated the chapatti I threw her as well.

The following morning brought a cub hilariously tripping over a huge piece of wildebeest skin it was carrying, aggressing at other cubs so as to avoid sharing a meal bigger than he was. Further along, several hyenas harassed a lone male buffalo lying in the bushes. Oddly, the buffalo didn’t seem to mind, and just kept chewing its cud as though it didn’t have five carnivores encircling it, and moving off only after a good solid half hour. Then a huge group of elephants wandered over, stuffing their faces and amusing themselves by mock-charging our hyenas, trumpeting and holding their ears out to the side and sticking their trunks straight out ahead. What an incredible apparatus, trunks. My favorite thing is watching elephants drink with them, curling them around into a little loop to deposit water in their mouths.

Eli, Lia and I went running as soon as we got back to camp. It was invigorating running out in the open towards the mountains, although the altitude makes it more difficult to catch one’s breath. We must be careful to keep an eye on the ground; Janie told us she nearly stepped on a cobra one morning!

Too tired to continue until tomorrow.