Quality time

For the last week or so our luck with the chimpanzees has been considerably better than it had been during our previous weeks here and we have been lucky enough to enjoy many hours of quality time with our fascinating study subjects.

Seeing the chimpanzees has certainly not lost its appeal for me and a big grin still spreads across my face every time we stumble across them. Watching them moving in the trees above us, occasionally swinging between branches silhouetted against the sky, and seeing how they behave and interact with one another is always a fantastic experience and I am especially thankful for every precious minute that I spend with the chimpanzees now that I have less than a month of this trip remaining.

Excitement grips me each time I see the first dark chimpanzee outline of the day and all thoughts of the miles walked, the aching of my legs and my dwindling energy reserves disappear when I am with them.

The sight of the chimpanzee often draws my mind back to those childhood years when I would watch documentaries about chimpanzees wishing that I was there with them and I would race around the garden pretending to be exploring some distant jungle teeming with wildlife with my treasured toy monkey in tow. These memories make me reflect on how lucky I am to be here now studying the chimpanzees and leave me with a feeling of amazement that my childhood dreams have become a reality as I sit amongst the towering trees in the forest with wild chimpanzees above me.

I am very grateful that the Semliki chimpanzees are currently making more regular appearances, and I now hope that they continue to do so for the remaining few weeks of this chimpanzee chasing adventure.

Written on Tuesday 24th August

Animal of the week - week 7

Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)

The shoebill is a large long-legged bird with a bill that somewhat resembles a giant clog. There is no other bird quite like it and taxonomists are uncertain of where to place the unique bird, with the most recent suggestion being that they are most closely related to the pelicans.

Looking at the shoebill leaves you with no doubt of the bird lineage’s origin from the dinosaurs as, with its glassy staring eyes, its powerful bill equipped with a vicious hook at its tip and even its Latin name, it reminds one of those extinct reptilian giants and wouldn’t look out of place alongside T-rex and his contemporaries. The shoebill was certainly unlike any other bird I’d ever seen and being able to sit so close to such an incredible animal was a fantastic experience.

The shoebills of Lake Albert are used to humans due to the constant presence of fishermen, meaning that the lake is one of the best places to observe the scarce birds. We definitely found this to be the case, as we were treated to the view of a lone shoebill less than five metres from our boat for well over an hour.

I spent that time watching the shoebill blissfully happy, with my camera pointed at the bird and my finger poised on the button ready to capture every posture and movement it made. The shoebill behaved brilliantly, striking numerous poses, pacing deliberately along the raft of weeds as it stalked its prey and lunging at its chosen victims with wings outstretched for balance – all in front of my eagerly waiting camera lens. For someone who is just getting to grips with photography and who loves the opportunity to take shots of wildlife it was an absolute field day!

As a keen birdwatcher I have wanted to see the shoebill for many years and so I am thrilled that my Ugandan adventure has included the opportunity to do so. The experience will no doubt rank among one of my most precious memories from this trip and so, for that reason, the shoebill is my seventh ‘animal of the week’.

The downside of data

I am always positive about obtaining data and appreciate every single data point I collect, especially considering that I have less data than I had hoped for due to the time I lost whilst stuck in Kampala and the effects of the unusually high rainfall.

However, the writing up of data can be said to be a downside of project work, especially when, like me, you don’t entirely trust technology and so insist on painstakingly copying everything out by hand in case electronic files are lost or corrupted.

Many an hour have I spent sat in the dimly lit kitchen hut writing up reams of data as a multitude of moths flutter around my face and hoards of mosquitoes and tsetse flies relentlessly attack my apparently very appetising exposed flesh. With such distractions these sessions are perhaps the least enjoyable aspect of conducting research here in Semliki.

While less than fun, the time spent writing out field notes and copying up data is incredibly useful and it is reassuring that having to spend a long time at this task is a sign of an ever-expanding data set and hence a good thing. I therefore try to think of the aching hand and worn down pencil that results from my data sessions as a sign of productivity – the more cramped the hand and the more stumpy the pencil the better!

Above all I am just grateful that I have data to work with, and so I certainly shall not complain as I continue to wile away the evening hours bent studiously over my notebooks with a swarm of insects hovering around me.

Written on Saturday 21st August

In search of the shoebill

I have wanted to see the shoebill since I first heard of its existence watching “Life of Birds” with my Grandpa as a young girl. It was his encouragement that first sparked my interest in birdwatching all those years ago and so I wish that he could have been with me on the waters of Lake Albert earlier today when, over twelve years on, I finally saw a live shoebill.

It was the bizarre appearance of the shoebill, accentuated by the massive misshapen bill that gives the bird its name, which first caught my attention as a child. The shoebill was even more strange and incredible-looking in the flesh than it had appeared on screen and I was in birdwatchers’ heaven for the hour or so that I spent with one of these unique and magnificent birds. While my left-over excitement from this morning’s shoebill encounter means that I could happily write reams about the experience now I shall save myself, as I think you can probably guess what my ‘animal of the week’ is going to be!

If all today included had been that long-sought-after shoebill sighting then it would have been a brilliant day in my eyes, but as it was the addition of several other events made it a truly exceptional one.

Our trip to Lake Albert in search of the shoebill was courtesy of the Semliki Safari Lodge managers Nadia and Keith, who very kindly offered to take us with them on the fishing trip to the lake that they had planned. I was brimming with excitement this morning as I waited for them to pick us up and almost jumped for joy when they arrived in an open-topped safari vehicle.

I clambered up to the back seat of the wonderfully intrepid-looking car laden with binoculars, camera and well-thumbed bird book and sat there surveying the stunning surroundings from my superb vantage point. With Keith having previously worked as a safari guide for six years, the journey to Lake Albert was as good a game drive as I could have hoped for, complete with sightings of warthog, Ugandan Kob, waterbuck, a giant forest hog, numerous beautiful birds and much more, and I loved every minute of it.

After a fantastic drive we arrived in Ntoroko, a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Albert where we were to boat from. The town was filled with colourful buildings, the shimmer of the sun on drying fish and the salty smell that accompanied this and the sound of excited greetings from the hoards of brilliantly-beaming children who seemed to appear from every nook and cranny to wave at us as we drove by.

Once ourselves and essential supplies (namely lunch and beer) had been loaded onto the boat we were off and slowly motored in the direction of the expanses of floating vegetation where the shoebills are known to be found. It didn’t take long for a bulky large-billed shaped to appear through my binoculars and soon I was happily lying across the front of the boat with my camera pointed at a real-life shoebill and with a huge grin plastered across my face.

After well over an hour spent with the shoebill in the scorching sun it was time to drag myself away from the fascinating bird and head back out to open water, and so I left that spot with a feeling of immense satisfaction, along with a camera filled with photos and the start of a sunburn.

We spent the afternoon gliding through the algae-clouded water enjoying cold beers and the glimpses of storks, pelicans, kingfishers and many other birds we were treated to as Nadia and Keith fished from the back of the boat.

Lake Albert is an impressive sight to behold, with the imposing slopes of the Rwenzori mountain foothills providing a backdrop along the shore and the view in the opposite direction being over a seemingly never-ending expanse of water. The glassy greys of lake and overcast sky merged so that the horizon was discernible only from the floating islands of water hyacinth that bobbed in the distance – an effect that gave the lake a somewhat eerie appearance.

Eventually, the time came to return to shore and then drive back to camp. Whilst I was reluctant to leave Lake Albert and its shoebills behind I was hopeful that the journey back would be as enjoyable as the outward one. I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

As we bumped along the dirt road leaving a cloud of dust in our wake I eagerly scanned the surrounding savannah on the lookout for signs of animal life. All of a sudden I saw a large dark-grey mound poking up like an island amongst the tall grass and my excited shouts of “elephant” drew the car to a halt.

Keith then brought the car lurching off the road and into the sea of grass with great skill to allow us to enjoy a better view of the lone elephant, which upon closer inspection turned out to be one of the forest subspecies. Whilst much smaller than the savannah elephant that is typically seen on safari, the forest variety is nonetheless impressive and it was fantastic to have the opportunity to observe one at close range.

The elephant soon ambled off with ears flapping into the distance and so we returned to the track and proceeded with our journey. Upon reaching camp we were dropped off by Nadia and Keith who then drove off towards the lodge with the sound of our heartfelt thankyous floating after them.

Now back in my tent, I am writing this and reflecting on how wonderful today has been. Tonight I shall go to bed incredibly happy and will not be at all surprised if I meet the glassy stare of the shoebill in my dreams.

Written on Thursday 19th August

A birthday in the bush

Let me start by saying that it was not my birthday that was being celebrated today, but Duncan’s. However, for all of the wonderful things that I was able to share in, it may as well have been.

We were up bright and early and into the forest before seven as usual much to Duncan’s dismay, as I think that he had hoped that the special occasion would justify a lie in.

After three hours of walking with no sign of the chimpanzees we decided to add a bit of a celebratory feel to the day and so our wonderful (in my eyes anyway) creation, the ‘birthday chimp’, was born from the natural sandpit that is the Sand River Trail. After all, you are never too old to play in the sand!

The day got better from there on, as we soon found a lone male chimpanzee – a male so old and slow that we were able to happily watch him with his sparse grey hair and wrinkled face for over four hours as he sat resting his weary body and occasionally moving from branch to branch with all the speed and agility of a sloth.

Whilst the day in the forest was a particularly good one, it was in the evening that the celebrations really began.

To mark the occasion all of us researchers went to the plush surroundings of the safari lodge to join the managers Nadia and Keith for a birthday meal, along with Edson, who will be turning 40 on Thursday and so was sharing in the festivities.

The evening was a great success. The lodge is a stunning location, especially when viewed by the poolside with a cold beer in hand, and we were all very grateful to its lovely managers for inviting us to hold the birthday celebrations there surrounded by the beautiful wilderness of Semliki, or 'The Bush' as they called it.

The meal itself was incredible, with creamy pumpkin soup and mouth-watering steak to savour, and even a melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake to finish with! Very colourful and tasty cocktails were provided as well as beer and wine, and with our exposure to alcohol being limited over the last month or so the conversation was soon flowing and everyone was on very good form.

While I am sure that Duncan missed having his friends and family around on his birthday I can’t think of many better ways to celebrate such an occasion than a day filled with a walk through the forest, complete with giant sand pit, and with some chimpanzee watching, followed by an evening of food, drink and merriment.

Today has been brilliant and I am very grateful to have been able to share in Duncan’s special day, as it was a special day for me too.

Written on Tuesday 17th August

Animal of the week - week 6

Common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

The common chimpanzee is one of two living chimpanzee species, the other being the bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee. Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, sharing over 98% of our genetic makeup with us and being more closely related to humans that they are to gorillas.

I can’t really explain what it is about chimpanzees that inspired my childhood fascination in them, but something did and it is an interest that has remained with me to this day. As a young girl I idolised Jane Goodall and held ambitions to one-day study chimpanzees in the wild, and so being here on this chimpanzee chasing adventure is a dream come true.

The chimpanzees have so far surpassed my expectations of them, and every minute I have spent observing these Great Apes has been incredible. Or almost every minute I should say, as there have been times when a chimpanzee will appear briefly before retreating behind a branch or a tangle of vines and may remain there for sometime while I strain to see them from below. In this case I must admit that even I struggle to remain enthusiastic about diligently taking notes whilst staring at a clump of leaves for an hour or more!

However, the moments when boredom begins to creep in are few and far between when we are with the chimpanzees. Often we are treated to brilliant views of them and on a few memorable occasions I have been lucky enough to experience very close and personal encounters with the fascinating animals.

One of these encounters has to be my best moment with the Semliki chimpanzees to date, and in fact my favourite experience of the trip so far. We had been watching a group of three chimpanzees for several hours, with the four of us researchers positioned at different points on the forest floor to best collect observational data on them. The chimpanzees had been sat in the treetops above me feeding when suddenly they began to move.

I repositioned myself slightly to better track their movements and soon realised, to my delight, that they were beginning to climb down a tree only six or seven metres from where I stood. I crouched low and waited with my heart in my mouth.

One by one the chimpanzees descended the tree and when close to the ground they each in turn stopped and stared calmly at me for several incredible seconds before disappearing into the undergrowth. Those seconds spent staring into the eyes of the chimpanzees were some of the best I have yet lived through and will forever be etched into my memory.

The chimpanzees are the reason that I am here, and seeing them is the realisation of a childhood dream for me. For that reason it was inevitable that they would be my ‘animal of the week’ sooner or later, and so finally in this week, the 6th of my Ugandan adventure, my featured animal is the common chimpanzee.

Snake attack!

Earlier today, as I sat in the kitchen hut helping Duncan sort though bark samples, I was distracted from this work by the sound of my name being excitedly called from outside. I rushed to where Edson, the source of this calling, was standing to see what the fuss was about and to my delight found a scene not unlike one you might see in the BBC wildlife documentaries I so love.

A spotted bush snake had just struck a hapless gecko and was in the process of devouring it with incredible speed. Shoulders, belly and soon legs and tail disappeared down the snake’s throat as the expanded jaws swallowed the lizard whole – a process enable be the specialised articulation of the jaw bones with the skull, or cranial kinesis, that all snakes possess.

I’m afraid to say that the gecko’s demised was a particularly unpleasant one – it slowly suffocated as it was forced down its attacker’s throat and could still be seen twitching for a short while within the snake’s belly!

While the scene was slightly macabre, and I felt a stab of pity for the poor gecko, it was a fascinating example of “nature red in tooth and claw”, and an event that I am glad to have been a spectator of.

Written on Saturday 14^th August

The woods are lovely, dark and deep

From the moment I stepped into the forest following my return to Semliki it felt good to be back. The cool, dark forest that enveloped me once again on Tuesday morning was even more beautiful than I remembered it and I was thrilled to be back amongst the giant tree buttresses and tangled vines.

The light from the newly risen sun poked through gaps in the canopy that morning to illuminate the beautiful butterflies and irridescent beetles that moved along the trails and the air was filled with a chorus of animal calls. It took only a few minutes back on the trails to put a huge grin on my face that lasted the rest of the day.

In fact, my smile widened further as Tuesday progressed, because it was not long before we ran into the chimpanzees. Having not seen them properly for three weeks the hour or so we spent observing a group of 6 adult chimpanzees feeding in the fig tree above our heads was a real treat.

Our luck with the chimpanzees has continued further into this week, with several hours our sightings, including a wonderful afternoon spent in close quarters with the magnificent apes today.

In addition to some fabulous encounters with the chimpanzees, I have enjoyed many other experiences this week. Eager to get back to data collection I completed another long and productive river walk and I even found myself up a tree collecting bark samples once more.

With chimpanzee calls being heard further afield this has meant that the search for them this week has brought us to parts of the study area that I had not previously visited, including a trek along the aptly named Sand River trail. This stunning trail follows the course of a dried riverbed filled with fine golden sand, giving the impression that you are walking in a giant, forest-lined sand pit. It is always nice to explore new parts of the forest and this trail has to be one of my favourites to date.

All in all, my return to Semliki has so far been brilliant and I am very happy to be back here. I can’t quite believe that I am now over half way through my chimpanzee chasing adventure. Despite being tough at times, especially during our unexpected detention in Kampala, the last five weeks have been absolutely fantastic and I look forward to five more weeks spent in this amazing place with its incredible chimpanzees.

Written on Friday 13^th August

Animal of the week - week 5

African weaver ant (Oecophylla longinoda)

Weaver ants are so-called because of the intricate homes of interwoven leaves, or nests, that they produce. The larvae of these ants produce a sticky silk-like material and the adult workers hold these grubs gently between their jaws moving them back and forth between neighbouring leaves so that the fine threads glue their edges together. It is this process that is used to create the nests that the weaver ants live in.

The red-orange ants do not sting, but can deliver a vicious bite, as I have often found upon accidently passing too close to their well-camouflaged nests. Despite their biting tendencies, weaver ants are eaten in some parts of the world, such as in Indonesia where the local species of weaver ant is used to flavour sauces.

Indeed the Semliki chimpanzees appear to consider the African weaver ants a delicacy and will brave their powerful jaws to feast upon them. The chimpanzees will often grab a tree stalk loaded with an entire nest and eat this ants, grubs, threads, leaves and all like a stick of forest candyfloss with a bite to it. The discarded piles of partly chewed nests that provide evidence of this risky feeding habit are occasionally found on our forest visits.

I find the behaviour of social insects, such as ants, truly fascinating, and so the weaver ants and their complex nest-making technique are of great interest to me. Therefore, despite the pain that they have often inflicted upon me, these tiny forest architects are my fifth ‘animal of the week’.

A long way back

Having finally escaped Kampala and started on the journey back to Semliki we hit another hurdle upon arriving in Fort Portal. The camp vehicle needed fixing before it could take us to camp and so we were yet again stuck somewhere we didn’t wish to be until this problem could be sorted.

Being so close to Semliki and yet unable to reach it was hugely frustrating and I was so desperate to return to camp that I even began to seriously believe that walking the remaining distance was a legitimate option!

We ended up staying two nights in Fort Portal, and those nights were far from pleasant thanks to a sinus infection that I had developed due to the vast quantities of dust and fumes I had inhaled in Kampala and the insistence of the woman who owned the shop below my hotel room to blare out painfully bad disco music from a loud speaker 24 hours a day!

Thankfully the car was eventually fixed and after 8 days, reams of red tape, many miles of bumpy roads and several sleepless nights I am safely back in Semliki.

I spent the last leg of the journey from Fort Portal into camp elated and relieved to have finally cleared the last week’s hurdles and I even managed to get that previously elusive Rift Valley shot to make the trip even more wonderful.

Being stuck away from camp has made me appreciate even more how special Semliki is and how lucky I am to be here. I shall now continue my chimpanzee chasing with renewed energy and enthusiasm and will make the most of every minute that I have left of this Ugandan adventure.

Written on Monday 9th August

Success at last

After days of jumping through hoops with increasing frustration our permit situation is finally sorted. Tomorrow, after nearly a week stuck in Kampala, we can head back to camp, to my relief and delight.

With my money running low, my sinuses clogged with dirt and diesel fumes and filled with a yearning to get back to the chimpanzees I am thrilled at the thought of our return to Semliki.

I cannot wait for tomorrow morning to come and to be able to leave the hectic, noisy and dirty city behind and to get back to the beauty and tranquility of camp and to the excitement of chimpanzee chasing.

It will not be long before I am back in the forest, trekking along sun-dappled paths and following the trails of the chimpanzees. With lost time to make up for on my research project, and having spent the last few days missing Semliki terribly, I cannot wait for that time to come!

Written on Friday 6^thAugust

Animal of the week - week 4

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus)

Stuck here in Kampala the wildlife is certainly less abundant and varied than it is in Semliki. However, there are animals to be seen even in this dirty and hectic city, and perhaps the most impressive of these is the marabou stork.

These large and almost horrendously ugly birds can be seen throughout the city – on telegraph wires, crowding rubbish dumps or flying awkwardly overhead. The storks are especially numerous at Kampala’s golf course, where they move in large flocks with a lurching walk and hunched shoulders in an almost sinister fashion.

Seeing such large and unfamiliar birds flocking around the city’s rubbish is a shock to someone who is used to crows, rooks and other corvids filling this scavenging role, and at up to a metre and a half tall the storks are hard to miss!

While these grotesque birds certainly don’t add to the aesthetics of Kampala I believe that they do add to its character. The sight of the storks flying overhead with their bulbous throat sacks beneath them is certainly one that has made impression on me during my time here, and for that reason the marabou stork is my fourth ‘animal of the week’.

Tangled in red tape

Despite the luxuries available in Kampala, I miss camp and am now impatient to return to Semliki. I was therefore incredibly hopeful that our trip to the UWA headquarters this morning would go smoothly and that we would leave having dealt with the necessary bureaucracy successfully and with our documentation in hand ready to return to camp. Sadly this was not to be so.

I won’t bore you with the details, but will just say that we left empty handed and with somewhat vague instructions about how to proceed. It seems that we must return on Friday in the hope of speaking to the head of the department that deals with research permits in order to progress further. Finding myself unexpectedly tangled in red tape when I long to be back in the field is hugely frustrating and the thought that our return to Semliki may be delayed further has put a serious dent in my morale.

I only hope that we will have more success during Friday’s trip to the UWA offices and that it will not be too long before I am back in the forest searching for the chimpanzees once more. Fingers crossed that we can untangle ourselves from this unpleasant red tape soon!

Until then all I can do is jump through all the necessary hoops and to use the extra time in Kampala to think about my project and to better plan how I shall proceed with my data collection and make up for lost time upon my return to Semliki. If I cannot spend the next few days in the field as I wish to, then I will at least make sure that when I get back to camp I am able to hit the ground running. Having already lost valuable time and looking set to lose more, I can at least follow the Scouts' motto and ‘Be Prepared’ for my return to my research. Being a former Scout, and with little else to currently occupy me, it is this preparation that I shall pour my effort into whilst I am stuck here.

I shall also put to good use another lesson that I have found useful in my life so far - though I hasten to add that it was not the Scouts that taught me this one. This much valued lesson is to follow the mantra of ‘when stressed and feeling down, have a stiff drink!’

Written on Wednesday 4^th August

The silver lining

It was on Saturday that Duncan and I received some slightly worrying news. It seemed that there had been a problem with the processing of the permits that we require to conduct research in Semliki. To cut a long story short the issue was that, whilst we had obtained verbal permission for our stay, the processing of the official written documents had been held up and the chief warden of Semliki Wildlife Reserve was kicking up a fuss about our lack of paper documents.

After a discussion over the phone with the people at the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) headquarters Edson revealed to us that we would need to go back to Kampala and visit the UWA office there in order to cut through all the red tape that was now surrounding the production of our permits. We would have to leave the next day as we required the documents before we would be allowed to continue our research in the reserve.

Initially I was annoyed at being caught up in such bureaucracy and reluctant to leave Semliki. However, I tried to look upon this unexpected excursion as a positive thing – a chance to treat myself to some rest, warm showers and large portions of meat and a break from the isolation of camp.

Our stay in Kampala so far has indeed been a good one. We have treated ourselves to some great meals out, including a visit to Uganda’s one and only revolving restaurant! We have also taken advantage of the large nearby supermarket to stock up on vast quantities of Cadbury’s chocolate among other luxuries.

Having long since run out of books to read at camp I have spent the last week in Semliki going slightly stir crazy trying to entertain myself in the expanse of evening left free once the typing up of data and other daily duties have been completed. I was therefore ecstatic to find a good bookshop here in Kampala and to be able to buy enough novels and crossword books to keep me occupied for the remainder of those vacant evening hours.

Being in Kampala has also meant that we were able to meet and greet the American students who will be joining us in Semliki for the remainder of our stay. David and Holly arrived this morning jet-lagged and struggling to recover from a long and arduous journey and with an impressive collection of bags and boxes of equipment in tow. They were instantly likable and I look forward to having them for company in my remaining weeks. It will be especially nice to have some female company at camp after being deprived of this for around a month now

It seems that every cloud does indeed have a silver lining, as despite my initial reluctance to leave Semliki, I feel that the last couple of days of rest and relaxation have done me good. I feel re-energised and am more keen than ever to get back to Semliki and the chimpanzees. I am now itching to return to camp and to continue my chimpanzee chasing adventure.

Written on Tuesday 3^rd August