16:04, Sunday, 25 November, 2012

It’s a lovely sunny afternoon here in Fisi Camp.  It’s been hot and dry, and we could probably use some rain; Benson says a drought at home is making things hard for his crops.  Cow bells close by remind me of the comical day that I stepped out of the solar tent to find cattle EVERYWHERE in camp – they were along every path and mooed in what I assume was contentment as they munched on the bushes.  About twenty of them blocked the way to the choo, and I had to muscle my way through, luckily an easy job since they don’t much like to be touched.  Also not a dangerous job given the males are not bred like they are back home; a huge bull out here is as docile as any cow.  I patted an enormous bull in Talek one afternoon, who did nothing more than nod its head a bit.  Looking back about ten minutes later, I wondered what I was thinking – I mean, a recurring nightmare I used to have as a child involved a bull cornering me in a stall.  How could I forget they’re not to be messed with?  But I talked it over with Benson and Wilson, who assured me that the bulls out here aren’t at all like I described – the Kenyans have not targeted the same genes in their cattle that Americans and Spaniards have.  I like the genes here better; after all, who wants to be bred to be irritable?  But the cattle returned to camp for the next couple days; I’d be working in my tent, only to look up and see them munching noisily right next to me, soon to realize that I was surrounded.  Amusing, to say the least.  The cow patties they left behind, however, were less than amusing.

Probably my favorite thing to watch the hyenas do is interact with other species.  It’s a good feeling to see different species acknowledging one another in a non-violent way, not to mention it’s often hilarious.  The way my cat used to look at my dog when I was a little girl playing outside would make me giggle incessantly; there’s something about the way different species try to figure one another out and poke fun in the process that is endlessly fascinating.  For example, one morning Julia and I watched Buenos Aires, Pantanal, Atacama, Hydrogen, and Helium messing with a warthog at Pothole Den (no doubt the same warthog that had been randomly popping out of the den hole every now and again, causing Hydrogen and Helium – most often sacked out by the den hole – to go all bristle-tail and watch its every move).  These five would run in at it, it would turn to face them, they would cower away.  As soon as it turned a different direction they would jump back in to test it.  Eventually the warthog got tired of the game and, right in the middle of all those carnivores, got down on its knees and started to graze!  I was flabbergasted, as I have watched hyenas feeding on warthog faces more than once.  (Granted, given those tusks, to tackle a warthog is a very brave move.  And this warthog was much bigger than the ones I’ve seen being eaten.)  The hyenas kept walking bristle-tailed up to it and backing off, perhaps hoping to provoke it again, but it paid them no mind and eventually they got bored and moved away.  Another day Alice, Rebmann, and Foxtrot were wandering about together (making me wonder if hyenas can sense extended familial ties, as Foxtrot is Alice’s granddaughter and Rebmann’s aunt – Foxtrot doesn’t normally hang out with anyone else).  A bright pink, unsettled male ostrich wandered nearby.  All of a sudden, for no apparent reason, the ostrich poofed its wings out so it appeared to be an enormous galloping white-fringed black feather duster.  Then it charged right at the three, which gave them quite the scare as they startled and dashed away with ears back.  The ostrich didn’t stop after one chase, oh no; when one of the hyenas would stop to look back, it repeatedly moved after them, feathers flailing as it lolled from side to side, until they again cowered away, not even entertaining the idea of ruffling such oversized feathers.  So great to witness!  If they can help it, zebras and topi don’t tolerate hyenas testing them either.  Although I love hyenas to death and they are now one of my favorite animals (presuming I have such a thing), I can’t help but feel proud of zebras and topi who give it back to them.  It’s like the little guy standing up for his rights.  Buenos Aires, Crimson, and Atacama decided to give some zebras chase, incidentally the same morning as the warthog game, if I remember correctly.  Well, Crimson turned around and sprinted the other way as soon as one zebra decided it had had enough, and whirled around to give it back, reversing the chase.  I’ve seen the same thing happen in Prozac territory, except this time the unsuspecting hyena was doing nothing more than heading down to a water hole for a swim.  Two zebra worked together and got that swim started a little faster.  Topi have likewise stood their ground as a hyena walks amongst them, snorting and pairing or tripling up to harass a fisi until it lopes away.  (Or, like the Prozac male Mogadishu, the hyena might just ignore the excited behooved beasts and continue walking through them until it reaches the other side of the herd.  Smug.)  Young hyenas are often picked on, because prey animals seem to know they can do no harm.  Poor Yummly ran tail-between-legs into some bushes when some wildebeest went out of their way to give him chase.  My favorite interspecies interaction story, which I didn’t witness as it occurred in Serena, is when a little hyena walked right up to a female waterbuck.  The waterbuck merely lifted her head, and they stood about a foot away sniffing and looking one another for a several seconds, before the cub turned and romped back to the den.  I might have cried had I seen that, because I can hardly imagine watching something so beautiful.  Nora took a video of it back in June or July.

13:00, Tuesday, 27 November, 2012

While antelope might be able to chase the hyenas, other animals employ different strategies.  Such as the adult tortoise Lee was batting around.  It was beyond cute, even though I was worried for the tortoise, especially when she decided to chew on it.  Hyena jaws are arguably the most powerful in class Mammalia, and I don’t think a tortoise shell would stand much chance.  Other hyenas joined in, everyone so interested in this breathing rock with legs.  We stayed with the hyenas until they left the tortoise; miraculously, I think it was unharmed.

Carnivores interacting with other carnivores is a treat to watch as well.  I know I’ve written about it many times before, but jackals and hyenas seem to get along incredibly well.  I feel like a hyena could easily kill a jackal if it wanted to, although maybe I’m mistaken.  Just the other day, Bowtie (a male in Prozac) was sacked out, not paying anyone any mind.  A passing jackal walked right up to him and sniffed him, standing nearly on top of him, touching his nose to Bowtie.  Bowtie tolerated it for a bit before becoming seemingly annoyed, and mildly t2 lunged the jackal, who continued on its way.  A bat-earred fox jumped about Avarice a different day.  Its tail was fluffed out to its max, its back arched, and it just leaped sideways about her while she stood sniffing the ground, not paying it much mind.

And then there are the lions, who have been in a more innocent role than usual lately.  It’s crazy how lions and hyenas are naturally pitted against each other.  When Charlie and Benson were off in Nairobi and I was out transcribing by myself, I came upon a subadult lioness who sauntered in and sacked out in the road, minding her own business.  Pretty soon some nearby hyenas noticed her.  Did they leave her alone, even though she was doing nothing to provoke them, and no food was present?  Ha!  They coalitioned and bristle-tailed and went out of their way to poke the bear, approaching to within a couple meters.  Eventually she began to growl and lunge little bits, but who can blame her?  They just would not leave her alone.  Falafel came and sacked out right near her, getting up now and again to approach and stare all bristle-tailed.  I never pegged Falafel as the mischievous type, but there you go.  Some others behaved similarly.  After an hour or more of this, the subadult lioness finally moved off.  The thing is, she could have moved off earlier.  It’s almost like in some twisted way lions and hyenas enjoy being bothered by one another.  Such a statement is universes from being scientific, but if I were to put down the struggle against the human perception we are stuck with, that’s what I would say. 

And back to square one, although hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs, I see lions looking at the hyenas like my cat used to look at my dog.  One morning two subadult lions were sacked out in the bushes, minding their own business, and the hyenas came in.  Our guys were interacting with one another, periodically going up to have a look at the lions, coalitioning and approaching within a few meters.  Well, Burger came about, and didn’t realize the lions were there.  Typical Burger, absorbed in the happenings of the royal circle, bumbling about Helios and her daughters and son, who had since moved away from the lions.  All of a sudden Burger startled a mile to the side as she saw the lions, and bristle-tail got into a position where her legs were stretched out behind her, whooping like a lunatic at least ten times and then popping about in investigation.  The way those lions looked at her; it took everything in me to keep transcribing as opposed to doubling over.  Then later, Magenta or someone was aggressing on Burger, who was giggling and scapegoat chasing Great Smokey, who was also giggling, and they all just ran in an absurd circle of giggling nonsense and obnoxious squeals.  The look in those lions’ eyes was just like “What the heck is wrong with these maniacs?”  The hyenas were giving them quite a show of behavior, and given the behavior of lions seems to have a much more limited (some would say “normal”) repertoire, I can’t imagine they could make much sense of what they were seeing.  Just another reason I love hyenas.  So complex, but when you don’t know what is going on, they do look a bit ludicrous.

Other lions aren’t so tolerant.  One lionesses at the Dip was horribly cranky with our fisi, emerging unannounced through some bushes and chasing them off from where they had been comfortably sacked out.  Her big male mate backed her up, and they lazily lounged in the place where the hyenas had been.  I mean, really.  There are plenty of other bushy areas about.  But what kind of lion can pass up a chance to bother a hyena, and (what has recently become clear to me), vice-versa?