OK…so, I continue to be a bad blogger (at least in terms of posting things in a timely fashion). We are set to arrive in India tomorrow morning and I’ve not yet posted my South African information! Part of the delay has been trying to find a way to summarize such a great trip (and dealing with about 1000 photos taken there!). I'm also heavily involved in helping to plan the Sea Olympic events coming up soon on the ship. So….this will be a very concise representation of the South African experience. Catch me in person sometime to see more photos and/or hear stories.
The Sea Monkey Safari census count has now reached 14! Only
three added in South Africa, but all three were seen in their natural habitats.
The ship arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, early on
February 24. I had made a plan ahead of time to meet primatologist Larissa
Swedell and her daughter, Annie, at a nearby shopping mall (near the port). We
finally managed to meet up and got acquainted while hanging around the mall.
The most notable part of the mall experience was a local “performance artist”
whose skill was to mimic animal sounds. He’d go up behind unsuspecting
mall-goers and bark or meow or otherwise frighten the person. Onlookers found
it a hoot. Larissa and I decided to turn the tables on him and set ourselves up
to be his targets. When he started in on us, we turned on him and barked at
HIM. He seemed genuinely taken off guard…until he recovered and began meowing.
Good times. (Sorry, no photos.)
The three of us drove up to visit Table Mountain. You can
hike all the way up, if you have time and energy, but we drove to the area
where you can take a cable car the rest of the way up. It was an excellent day
to see the view of Cape Town.
Left: Sitting at breakfast on the ship, Table Mountain calling us from the distance.
Right: Now on Table Mountain, looking down at Cape Town (ship is there...trust me).
Below: A lizard on Table Mountain!
(For Sam-well Hedenberg!)
We met Larissa’s hubby, Julian Saunders, and fellow
primatologist, Kirsten Wimberger, for dinner. As luck would have it, there had
been a workshop on baboon-human conflict the past week, so Kirsten was in Cape
Town for that (and I drove back to her home/field site a couple of days later …as
described below). Another key participant in that workshop was
specially-invited guest, Shirley Strum. Shirley is an uber baboon expert – and probably
the best person alive to bring in for baboon-human conflict advice. She joined
us for dinner (see Bradette’s page for a group photo).
The next day, Kirsten was busy with work, but Larissa,
Julian, Annie, Shirley, and I went in search of baboons. As most people know,
the Cape area is home to the chacma baboon (Papio
ursinus). In some areas, they are considered pests – because they’re big,
bold, and cheeky. They know how to open car doors, home doors, etc….and get
themselves into a lot of trouble. On the other hand, the baboons have a lot of
fans, so people are hired to protect them (and protect people from them). Many
protection plans and projects are underway and in the planning stages. Keep an eye on Cape Town for how they’re dealing with this important problem. 
We had enormously great luck in our baboon search! We found
three troops over the course of the day. One was one of the well-known highly
habituated and totally cheeky troop (first four photos below), one was a semi-laid-back troop that lived
along a beach, and the other was a very shy non-habituated troop living in the
fynbos (the various fine bushes that make up the Cape ecosystem).
Below are a
few photos of our baboon experience.
He said he was the Valet!! (I'm photographing from inside the car. Shirley and Julian shooting from outside.)
SUCCESS!!!!
Julian took this shot.
Monkey see, monkey do?
(What do you get when you have three crazy primatologists and three baboons together?)
(What do you get when you have three crazy primatologists and three baboons together?)
The last three shots were taken of the troop living at Buffels Bay. Beautiful scenery and great critters. And, of course, a few birds….
The first two are Kelp Gulls (top is adult, the photo with two features juveniles) and the lower photos are a Hadada Ibis and a White-fronted Plover. The whole day was just fantastic and I have to thank Larissa
and Julian again for being such wonderful hosts and tour guides. We topped off
the day with a great meal at a quaint spot along the way back to their place
(and I was dropped off at the ship).
Next morning (February 26), I took an early taxi to Kirsten’s
to ride along to her home in Hogsback. Some things need to be said
here. Hogsback is in the Eastern Province of South Africa (see map). We started
out from the far WEST of South Africa and the trip was SUPPOSED to take about
10-11 hours. Well, frankly, some cars could likely do this in about 9 hours. It
took us 14. “Why?”, you may ask. Well, it has something to do with our vehicle.
It was a little Nissan pickup truck. The South African term for pickup is “backie”
– but I believe the actual definition of “backie” is “deathtrap.” It’s not that
it was a horrible vehicle, but it lacked one of those nice featurees you
sometimes want in a vehicle: when one turns the key in the ignition, one
expects the car to, um, start. Let’s just say that I had the opportunity to
teach Kirsten the very important skill of “popping the clutch.” Pretty much 80% of the time we stopped the
car we he had to push-start it. Oh, and did I mention the lack of air conditioning
in South African heat? OH…oh, oh, and
did I mention we were riding with TWO DOGS in the cab with us? And, if we’ve not met, do you know that I have
SEVEN CATS back in Oklahoma, i.e., I am not even remotely what one would call a
“dog person.” Yet, the person below rode in my lap almost the whole way to
Hogsback. I count this as one of my major accomplishments in self-sacrifice. If
I believed in heaven and I believed one needed to do 10 deeds before entering….I’d
have something to check off my list. (Well, in truth, we actually bonded,
Cassie and I, and when we got to Hogsback she slept in my bed both nights. In
fact, she seems to like me more than she likes Kirsten, but don’t tell Kirsten
this.)
Right: A scenic photo from the road trip....
Below: We stopped at a store/restaurant along the way that featured this wonderful statue of a baboon! Kirsten, Plasie, Cassie, our new friend, & me.
Below: We stopped at a store/restaurant along the way that featured this wonderful statue of a baboon! Kirsten, Plasie, Cassie, our new friend, & me.
Of special note for the Sea Monkey Safari, along the way to Hogsback, we got another species to add to the census…but there is not photo for that. You see, the ONE vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) we got for the census….we almost “got” (i.e., Kirsten almost MURDERED a vervet monkey that ran in front of the car). Too fast and no camera handy, the little critter escaped becoming Chlorocebus roadkill by only seconds. I still see that little petrified face in my nightmares. Kirsten is convinced that I plan to ruin her career in primatology as a result of witnessing this event. I am still considering my actions.
(Just giving Kirsten a hard time here. She was a wonderful host and I thank her for her generosity and good nature in putting up with my ribbing.)
We finally reached Hogsback and got settled in at Kirsten’s wonderful
little home. She is so incredibly fortunate to live in such a great location …only
a few minutes’ drive away from her study subjects, the Samango monkey. The
Samango (Cercopithecus mitis labiatus)
is a subspecies of Blue Monkey that is endangered. In fact, it is the only primate
taxon in South Africa that is listed at any level of threat. Kirsten and her
colleagues are doing great things to help protect and study these terrific little
monkeys. With luck, their hard work will help turn around the fate of these
guys. One of the main problems for the Samango monkeys is habitat destruction,
of course, but the other issues include human-wildlife conflict brought about
by their living in proximity to cities and towns. The monkeys use electric
lines to navigate across roads (or risk being struck by cars). Often, they lose
their lives to electrocution on the lines. Kirsten is investigating the use of
overhead bridges (horizontal ladders) to help the monkeys gain safe passage. Go
Kirsten!
Below are a few shots of the lovely Samangos we saw on the
following day….along with some nice shots of their lovely forest home. The house in the first photo is a guest house in the village of Hogsback. One of Kirsten's study troops routinely leaves the forest and enters the village area.
A word about South Africa: I loved it. It had so many
wonderful things to admire and enjoy – the beaches, the vegetation, the
friendly people, and the monkeys. It’s such a mix of things, though. I found
myself thinking “I could live here” …then quickly remembering its history and
hating myself for liking a place that became “developed” and “advanced” directly
as a result of how a small minority of its residents treated the vast majority
of the original South Africans. Though Apartheid is officially ended, there is
still clear evidence of inequality and separateness. It’s wrong. They’re
getting there, but still have a long way to go. And then I think of my own
country and the very similar way our own history was played out in unfair
racial divides and know that we are a country that just happens to be on a
slightly different point along the same continuum that South Africa is on. We
both have a long way to go.
As for Hogsback, it’s a wonderful little town in the
mountains. So many things about the place reminded me of being in one of those
quaint artsy villages in the Rocky Mountains. In fact, we visited a place
called Starways Arts Centre…which could have easily been dropped into Colorado
and fit right in. The best part of it was a pottery/art gallery, operated by
the van der Merwes - a father and daughter team of pottery artists (see pix).
See their web site at www.starways.org!
The next day (Feb 28), my time at Hogsback had come to an
end and this time I flew (in a plane that apparently responded the proper way
to a key in an ignition) to Cape Town. I spent the night on the ship and on our
final day in South Africa, I once again went out to try to locate baboons with
Larissa. We had along with us Jenna Lawrence, a primatologist and/or marine biology
enthusiast who happens to also be teaching on the Semester at Sea voyage with
me (and who went to graduate school with Larissa). We were not as lucky this
time; not a baboon in sight. But, we did enjoy a nice drive - a few more birds
and fun bonding before Jenna and I headed back to the ship for our departure
that evening. (I thought I had photos of Jenna, but can't find them. She'll appear later in the voyage....)
I may post some Mauritius photos when I get around to doing
the India ones….but, for now, I hope you enjoy the South African portion of the
Sea Monkey Safari blog!
