With the David, the American student here, conducting research focusing on chimpanzee nests, he employs climbing equipment in order to reach, measure and collect these. Ever since he arrived with his ropes, harness and karabiners in tow I have been desperate to have a go ascending into the treetops and today I got my chance.
I recently stumbled across a cluster of 25 fresh chimpanzee nests in my search for the chimpanzees – a number far greater than previously found at one site here in Semliki. With this unusually high density of nests being discovered David was keen to visit the area for himself to investigate and he kindly offered to take me along with him and let me have a go with his climbing gear whilst we were there.
Always keen for the chance to climb, and intrigued to see a chimpanzee nest up close, I was bubbling with excitement as I watched David set up his equipment and himself ascend into the tree above me, and was itching for my turn to come.
Before long David descended back to the ground with a nest in tow and handed the ropes and harness into my eagerly awaiting hands before giving me a quick tutorial in the art of clog ascending – the method he uses to climb.
Clog ascending involves attaching a set of grips to the ropes and then fixing one of these to a foot and the grasping the remaining two, one in each hand. The grips allow movement upwards but not downwards and so you slide your foot and then arms up the rope in alternation to progress upwards.
Hauling your body weight up the rope is fairly exhausting work and getting the hand of the required movement takes a while. It was therefore relatively slow progress as I ascended the first few metres – inching up the rope like a caterpillar crawling up a silken thread. However I soon got to grips with the technique and my progress sped up considerably, before being slowed once more by the increasing burn in my upper arms.
After around 25 feet or so of effort I reached a crook in the tree I was suspended alongside and clambered into it to enjoy the view and revel in having made it to the treetops on my first clog ascending attempt.
After a brief respite to let the burning ache in my arms subside I was free to explore the canopy and so clambered and swung between the branches for several minutes before deciding to climb higher to get a closer view of the chimpanzee nest above me.
After scrambling another 8 feet or so up the increasingly swaying tree trunk, fighting off a stream of biting ants in the process, I got my first in situ view of the tangle of crushed leaves and broken branches that is a chimpanzee nest. It was brilliant to be able to see the leafy bed that a chimpanzee will make afresh each night from the point of view of its constructor and to think that the chimpanzee owner would have been peacefully sleeping in the same nest not so long ago.
Having explored the upper branches and seen the nearby nest I decided after about half an hour that I had had my fill of canopy clambering for the day and so made ready to return to the forest floor. After a much easier and more rapid descent I once again planted my feet safely on solid ground with a big grin stretched across my face and having thoroughly enjoyed my first clog ascending experience.
Written on Monday 6th September
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