Mammal sightings in the Congo forest

Guess what? The bonobos haven't appear yet. But leaving apes on aside,
this period has also had advantages and one of them is getting to know
better the wildlife that surround us.

Besides the bonobos and the humans, we share the forest with several
other primates. The four most commonly spotted are the Tshuapa red
colobus (/Piliocolobus tholloni/), black mangabeys ( Lophocebus
aterrimus), Wolf's monkeys (/Cercopithecus wolfi/) and Red-tailed monkey
(C. ascanicus). They can be found in many cases foraging together,
though normally they alarm call as soon as they spot us. However, after
so many search days there is a group of red colobus that seems to be
becoming habituated (now they look at you, call a peer and when some of
them decide they don't like you, they escape, but not as quick as
usual).Less commonly, we can also see the Angolan Pied Colobus (Colobus
angolensis), very rarely the golden-bellied mangabey (Cercocebus
chrysogaster) and recently we even saw a Brazza's monkey (Cercophitecus
neglectus) when crossing the river to make a visit to our colleagues in
the savanna. After the sunset it's common to hear the robot-like
vocalizations of the Demidoff's galagos (Galagoides demidoff) that go
out of their family nests jumping few meters from ground like fluffy
ninjas, while fruit and insectivore bats cross the transects sometimes
scarce centimeters from you (wondering how feasible is getting a deadly
illness if a drop of their saliva happens to drop into your eye given
that they come so close...we are not hypochondriac, it's just that we
are convinced that the zombie apocalypses will start here!...never
mind...).


Insectivores and rodents make a big contribution to the mammal
inhabitants of the forest, but in general they are quite skittish. One
of my favourites is the four-toed elephant shrew (Petrodromus
tetradactylus) which, as many other animals in the forest, when you
approach runs a couple of meters and then stay still hoping that you
don't see it. Fairly frequently we see squirrels , but generally too
quick as to determine the species. We are quite familiar though with a
brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) that wonders around camp
during the night trying to feed on our bankufu (manioc roots). Iko, is
how we call it, which is the local name for the species. Much less well
looking than its southern counterpart.

Mongooses are famous to flee as soon as we approach, so do the leopards
so far, luckily, and only one researcher has seen the famous golden
cat(/Felis aurata/) which goes by the nice sounding local name of Lowa
undu. In my case, the only carnivore that I have spotted frequently (I
might crossed a leopard, but escaped to fast to confirm) has been the
African civet (Civettictis civetta), one that sometimes wanders around
the latrines and even the lab and that I fondly call Massacre, even if
their diet wouldn't suggest so. And recently I was glad to see a tiny
linsang (Poiana sp.)

Tree pangolins (/Phataginus tricuspis/) and long-tailed pangolins
(Uromanis tetractyla) are seen once every month or so, much more
frequently that the poor Giant pangolin (Smutsi gigantea) which,
according to the local tradition, if spotted, it must be killed and eaten.

Forest elephants are a constant fear, but we haven't cross them for
sure. We have seen their traces, especially in the swamps, and we had
been scared by noises at night that thought were them, but could also
had been red river hogs (Potamochoerus porcus), far more abundant.

During the night we have a water chevrotain (Hyemoschus aquaticus),
Inkuta, almost the camp pet (no body feeds it or anything, but it's
adorable). They look like duikers without preorbicular glads and with
tusks.

Finally, there is no day in the forest without scaring at least one
duiker who, according to Kingdon field guide to African Mammals, have
ones of the most complex brains of all bovids...which doesn't say much
about the family...The most commonly seen is the blue duiker
(Cephalophus monticola), and then, we know that have the Black-fronted
duiker (C.nigrifrons), Peter's duiker (C.callipygus) and Bay duiker
(C.dorsalis) but, generally we can't see them so well as to tell them
appart. Once I found a Yellow-backed duiker (C.silvicultor) in the
middle of the transect when looking for bonobos. It took him a while to
decide if it should run away or not at, after it did, he came back
shortly after just to flee again when notized than I was still
there...bovids...

IMPALA!!!!

As I said before, I went to Kruger National Park last week; and it was awesome. So much that I started to think if my way was on primatology or, instead, in conservation, as it was the initial plan. The problem with conservation is mainly that, during my master, the summary was that all the conservation strategies had been a failure in the short or long term and that everything was already so rotten that few could be done that would really work (scary stories about ecotoxicology and the disappearing male!); so it's depressing and not likely to get any satisfying result . Also, that I don’t know how useful is to try to convince a capitalist society that things that don’t  produce increasing incomes are also worthy (well, indispensable). Shortly, we need a philosophical revolution in order to fix the thousand problems we’ve got right now . But I won’t bore you with my thoughts (though I’m learning that most of the things we need are inside us and don’t cost a thing); this is not the place, nor the moment. So just enjoy some pictures of the hundreds of animals I was able to spot (Including the big 5: Lion, Leopard, Elefant, White rhino and Buffalo):

African Jacana ( Actophilornis africana)

Impala!!( Aepyceros melampus)

Yellowbilled hornbill ( Tockus leucomelas)

Lion (Panthera leo)

Nile Cocrodile (Crocodylus niloticus)

Hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius)

waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus)

blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)

Glossy starling

 giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmi)

 steenbok, (Raphicerus campestris)

black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas)

Leopard (Pathera pardus)

Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

Twig Snake (Thelotornis capensis)

Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)

klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus

common dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula)

Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus)

Martial eagle(Polemaetus bellicosus)

Back to Soutpansberg

The back was hard. After a few days not thinking about anything, everything came at once. Following the monkeys knowing that the data should go to the trash directly,  no answer  from the director of the project to know if I can improve the protocol or not, responding an email of my master supervisor about publishing and the marginalization rule that most English speakers have seemed to impose on me. Never be the enemy of the person that everybody loves…or at least do it for a good reason, that I think is my case. I could appeal to old traditions but, instead, I packed my mental katana and with a mixed attitude between John Wayne and Nina Simone, I walked a couple of kilometres, climbed a mountain  and spend a couple of hours sunbathing on the top while listening music ( I found out this one, I really liked it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev4hm-ft0zE ). Back at the Barn, good-sad news (yeah, paradoxes are the bread that feeds me, apparently), and most of the English speakers running away sneakily to a bar for the nearly last day of the Cardiffian. So, again, my ipod and I went to have a walk; and we got involved on a battle of stares with a huge male warthog. I was scared, but I won! And after, I managed the great feat of staying on a braai (barbecue) with all the Frenchs and achieved that they spoke in English, just for me. Anyway, I still appreciate when they speak in French; I have to learn it; I’m still waiting for an interview of a PhD in which I require it and, even though, if don’t pass it (if I have it after all), I will need it sooner or latter, parce que c’est l’anglais de l’Afrique! (?????)

If I’m not wrong, everything will be better in a couple of days…

Si me diesen un dirham  por cada vez que pienso en ti...

Fauna and Flora: There are more in heaven and earth of Middle Atlas Mountains, Horatio, than Barbary Macaques

During my first month in Morocco I was astonished by the species in the forest, looking forward to know them before leaving and, as usual, I collapsed. The extremely busy days, the work of the training and, afterwards, the work itself, has been delaying this for months. The situation hasn't changed but, given that I've got short before leaving is time to do the homework. I could not give a very good guide of the living organism of the Middle Atlas mountains, but at least a couple will be cited here (I admit corrections, specially on plants. I did the identifications quite careless and I've been here from autumn to the very beginning of the spring, so I haven't seen most of the plants flowering...my phanerogamic plants professor would be quite ashamed, sure...the guide I've got here is has not even a dichotomous key!!).

Birds & other animals


Great tit (Parus major)



Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)



Coal tit (Periparus ater)


Others, seen but too quick to take a picture are: Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius), Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)...

Among some animals that I have been lucky enough to cross on the field, but without photo opportunity, have been: Wild board (Sus scofra), jackals (Canis aureus), rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)...


Plants



Atlas Cedar(Cedrus atlantica)









Prickly Juniper(Juniperus oxycedrus)






Stinking iris (Iris foetidissima)

( I could only see the remains...but if I'm right it's a feat to know it just with this!)







Hoop petticoat daffodil(Narcissus bulbocodium)







Mistletoe(Viscum sp.)









Euphorbia sp. (Maybe Large Mediterranean spurge (E.characias)








Hawthorn (Crataegus sp. maybe C.granatensis)






Oak (Quercus ilex)










Butcher's broom (Ruscus aculeatus)
I was quite happy when I found this plant, because it has cladodes (its stems resemble leaves, that is why the flowers are on the "leaves"), and I always enjoy to see that my botanic lectures were useful somehow.








Holly (Ilex sp.)















PD: Thanks to the Valencia who identified the bird species (though I knew the P.major!...yeah, ornithology is not my field at all...)And to the guide "Wild flowers of the Mediterranean- Marjorie Blamey & Christopher Grey-Wilson. Domino Guides"; the only handy book about plants here.