Done with data

The last couple of days here have been pretty manic. In a final bid to complete my data collection this week and avoid a last minute panic I have spent nearly 20 hours in the forest juggling chimpanzee tracking duties and my own research. However, the effort was definitely worth it as I am pleased and relieved to announce that as of earlier this evening I have finished with the data collecting aspect of my project.

It certainly hasn’t been plain sailing – there has been bureaucracy, a misbehaving GPS, abnormally high rainfall and a distinct lack of wells to deal with among other things. Somehow though I have managed to collect a volume of data that I am satisfied with and can state with some pride that I have officially completed my first ever stint of self-led field research.

With the data in, all that remains for me to do is to analyse it and produce my write-up when I return to the UK. Whilst I am anxious about whether or not all will go smoothly when I return home with my data I realise there is nothing I can do about that right now and so I shall put my worries aside and focus on enjoying the little time I have left here to the full with the weight of my research temporarily lifted from my shoulders.

Besides, whilst I really want my project to be a success, and would love for it to win the praise of my academic supervisors, I can see that no matter what the outcome of my research, this trip will have been a truly incredible experience and will have taught me a lot about what it takes to carry out research in the field and to chase chimpanzees. With that in mind I shall now carefully pack my well-used research notebooks away and concentrate on enjoying my remaining days with the Semliki chimpanzees.

Written on Friday 3rd September

Sketching under the evening sun

My tent here sits upon a raised wooden platform and the area outside it forms a veranda area with a fantastic view over the forest. The spot is bathed each evening in the rich golden glow of the slowly setting sun and is a wonderful place to relax when the afternoon’s tasks have been completed.

I often sit and read in this sun-drenched spot until the dimming light and swarming insects force me inside. I also find it a perfect place to put the small art set my mum gave me to take out here to good use and indulge in an hour or two spent sketching – something I really enjoy but rarely find time to do at home.

Warmed by the sun and accompanied by the sounds of the forest I find my time spent sketching and the concentration it involves very relaxing and a great way to unwind at the end of a long day.

Those evenings spent with sketching pencils in hand have been an unexpected bonus to my time here and I am very grateful for them. It wil be nice to take home a collection of drawings of the animals, birds and other sights that I have encountered here along with the hundreds of photos I am steadily amassing.

I would never have thought that it would take a journey of thousands of miles to an incredible isolated environment and exhausting schedule to bring me back to a past hobby, but I am glad it did and so will happily continue to add to my sketchbook in my remaining evenings here.

Written on Tuesday 1st September

Animal of the week - week 9

Forest elephant (Loxodonta Africana cyclotis)

The forest elephant is one of the two recognised subspecies of African elephant, the other being the substantially larger savannah type. The forest variety differs in several aspects other than size, noticeably it has more rounded ears and possesses tusks that are more downwards pointing to facilitate movement through the dense vegetation of the forest habitats they frequent.

It is incredible to think that such large creatures can move with ease in an environment that we have difficulty progressing through despite our secateurs. That is until you see evidence of the passage of the forest giants and realise that their bulk enables them to employ a method of movement that centres upon simply barging through the understorey as branches, vines and even small trees yield before them.

Frequently we come across trails of destruction in the forest that suggest the passage of a tank but are coupled with giant unmistakable footprints and piles of dung. The trampled grass and torn branches act to remind us that we are sharing the forest with the elusive elephants, as does the sound of trumpeting that often meets our ears as we move along the trails.

At times it has to be said that the elephants appear to be a little too close for comfort. For example, a few days ago we were startled by the sound of loud trumpeting emanating from the nearby forest as we traipsed through tall grass on the chase of chimpanzees. I asked William, the day’s ranger, where the trumpeting was coming from. “Jogo Jogo trail”, he replied. Moments later I asked where next he planned to take us in our search for the chimpanzees. “Jogo Jogo trail” he responded, apparently with no fear for our safety in light of his previous answer.

We put our trust in the previously-dependable William and headed off in the direction of the trumpeting. However, I have to admit that I was slightly worried when at one point we used a newly trampled elephant trail, complete with steaming dung piles, as a shortcut!

The sound of trumpeting is an exciting addition to the noises of the forest and the lack of recent sightings of the forest elephants despite their occasional proximity has made me realise how lucky I have been to glimpse them at all during my time here.

I love the thought of such giant beasts ambling through the forest and I am amazed by the ease with which the damage they leave behind them suggests they do so. The impressively powerful and fascinating forest elephant is therefore my 9th ‘animal of the week’.

The search for the fabled fall

For some weeks now I have been intrigued by the ‘waterfall’ waypoint marked on my GPS by its previous owner. Having never quite made it to the end of the Mugiri trail and the promised location of the fabled fall I was keen to investigate, and with chimpanzees being sighted near there yesterday afternoon today seemed like a good opportunity to do so.

Upon entering the forest early this morning we set off upon the 8km journey to the waterfall, pausing frequently to check tracks and shaken branches for clues to the chimpanzees’ whereabouts. The walk took us further than I’d previously explored and before long I found myself in an excitingly unfamiliar area of the forest, where the normally gently bubbling river changed into a torrent of tumbling water.

I always love the exploratory feel of my first encountes with previously unvisited portions of the trails, and this part of the forest was particularly beautiful. Additionally, the act of searching for a waterfall known only from a GPS point and the accounts of previous visitors gave the trek a definite air or adventure.

Eventually we were greeted by the incessant pounding of water that signalled our arrival at our destination. In reality there is not one, but two waterfalls at the site - the one further upstream being the more impressive of the two, with a cascade of water around ten metres high carving intricate crevices into the surrounding rocks and leaving them glistening with spray.

Ever eager for the chance to explore I suggested to Eli, our ranger for the day, that we climb up the valley sides to the top of the second fall to see what could be found there. Somewhat unexpectedly Eli agreed and so he and I set off up the steep slopes scrambling over rocks, roots and vines in our quest to discover what lay atop that second waterfall.

It turned out that beyond the second waterfall lay a third fall. This one was smaller but, in my eyes, more beautiful, with the dark red, spray-drenched rocks that framed the falling water glistening in the sun. Once I had insisted on crawling out over a ledge to peer down over the cascading water of the fall we had just climbed up, we naturally decided to find what was upstream of waterfall number three.

Upon reachig the top of that third waterfall it seemed that the time had come for our exploratory foray to come to an end, as we were presented with no falls but merely a new stretch of river. Disappointed to find no more waterfalls to climb, but having thoroughly enjoyed our brief exploration we headed back down to where Duncan and our chapatti-filled lunch box were waiting.

With our bellies filled we headed back downstream. My hopes were briefly raised when a trail of partly eaten fruit suggestive of chimpanzees was found, but unfortunately that trail soon led to a dead end and so we arrived back at camp with no chimpanzee sightings to report, but able to verify the existence of the fabled fall and to announce our discovery of the third waterfall.

Despite the lack of chimpanzees, today has been a great day. Having been here nearly 8 weeks now there are few sections of trail remaining unexplored for me, and so today’s excursion into unfamiliar territory, and the included scrambling search for what lay beyond the known waterfalls, was a brilliant adventure.

Written on Sunday 29th August

A forest full of thorns

Whilst I love the forest here in Semliki and find it an incredible place to work, I will admit that there is a less than welcoming side to it.

As I discovered in my first few days here, when rushing eagerly off-trail into the tangled vegetation, many of the forest’s vines, shrubs and branches are armed with vicious spines and thorns. These well-defended plants act to slow our progress through the understorey, with the hooked barbs that many possess often latching onto clothes or skin to pull us sharply backwards as we chase after the chimpanzees.

In addition to the pain inflicted upon us by the vegetation, much of the forest’s insect population mounts daily attacks on our flesh, and I am regularly subjected to the bites of many a mosquito, tsetse fly and ant as I move amongst the branches and vines.

A day in the forest frequently leaves me covered in bites, scratches and puncture wounds, and I spend many an afternoon busy extracting thorns from my skin and covering swollen bites in antihistamine.

It seems that intact and unbitten skin is a necessary sacrifice when in the business of chimpanzee chasing, and so it is lucky for me that it is one I am more than happy to make. After all, what’s a few scratches when you get to spend time with the Semliki chimpanzees!

Written on Friday 28th August

Animal of the week - week 8

Emerald tree snake (Hapsidophrys smaragdina)

Many a time, as I walk through the forest, a particularly vivid green vine transforms before my eyes into an emerald tree snake, often as I am just about to walk into it. Thankfully these well-camouflaged snakes are non-venomous and so I can enjoy my encounters with the elegant serpents without fear for my life.

The slender dazzling green snakes with their striking black eye stripes are, in my opinion, very beautiful and I am always happy to see them emerge from the undergrowth.

On ocassion the emerald tree snakes have made an even less expected appearance, such as the time when one fell almost into my lap from a beam above me as I sat reading outside my tent. We are told by Nadia and Keith that it is not uncommon for snakes to fall from the trees above as you walk through the forest and so I sincerely hope that it is the harmless emerald tree snakes that continue to fall into my path and not their more deadly relatives!

While I more frequently encounter birds and mammals on my forest visits, and these tend to be the focus of the attention of tourists who come here, there are many equally fascinating reptiles lurking among the roots and vines. I have been lucky enough to see several of Semliki’s reptile species, such as the blue-headed tree agama, rock python, spotted bush snake and velvety-green night adder, but it is the emerald tree snake that I will remember most fondly. Due to my frequent encounters with the slender serpents, and to their elegance and knack of materialising from the vegetation before my eyes, the emerald tree snake is my favourite of the reptiles I have seen in Uganda so far and is also my 8th ‘animal of the week’.

A lazy day

A day off here in Semliki is rarely what the name would suggest. Whilst it does provide a brief respite from our toils in the forest and the opportunity for a much-appreciated lie in, the need to organise equipment, write up data, wash clothes and carry out other such tasks means that there is little time left for relaxation. Today however was an exception.

Since the arrival of David and Holly, mine and Duncan’s day off has moved to Wednesday, so that between the four of us we can ensure that someone is out searching for the chimpanzees every day of the week. Since this means that our day off now coincides fortnightly with the supply trip and its early departure, this means that the treat of a lie in for me has now reduced to just once every other week.

Having not slept in past sunrise for two weeks I was therefore very grateful for the extra few hours in bed this morning and finally emerged from my tent into the blazing sunshine and cicada chorus feeling much refreshed.

The day got better from there on, as Nadia and Keith had generously offered us the use of the safari lodge pool and so, after a late breakfast, Duncan and I set off in the direction of the lodge laden with towels, suncream, chocolate and other such poolside necessities.

We had hoped to cut the 5km journey to the lodge short by borrowing the camp bicycle, but soon discovered that attempting to cycle a rickety old bike with a passenger and several bags on the back down a narrow dirt road leaves you hot, breathless and splattered with mud but not much closer to your destination!

With cycling proving too difficult, we decided to walk the rest of the way and so set off at a brisk pace under the glaring sun with thoughts of the pristine pool spurring us on. Several kilometres, two dozen painful tsetse fly bites and one python sighting later we arrived at the lodge to find that the walk had definitely been worth it.

With no guests currently in residence, and Nadia and Keith occupied elsewhere, Duncan and I had the plush lodge and its pool to ourselves. We spent a few wonderful hours there, where I relished gliding through the cool refreshing water and relaxing at the poolside accompanied by a good book and a bar of Dairy Milk.

I soon felt more relaxed that I had done in weeks as I lay soaking up the sun with the pool glistening beside me. Eventually the time came to leave and so Duncan and I reluctantly dragged ourselves away from our luxurious surroundings and began the journey back to camp.

Upon returning to camp I continued my day of relaxation. I first sat on the verandah of our tent platform under the rich evening sun, simply enjoying the view out across the mosaic of trees with the vivid flowers and the feather duster tails of the black and white colobus monkeys dotted amongst them. Then I leant back in my deckchair and returned to my book with the sounds of hooting colobus, bird song and the hum of cicadas providing some wonderful background noise.

Today has been a truly lazy day – a rare occurrence during my time here in Uganda. As I sit writing this surrounded by the orange glow of the setting sun I feel calm and content and very appreciative of my incredible surroundings. I am now eager to get back to work with my newly recharged batteries and shall return to chimpanzee chasing tomorrow with a spring in my step ready to make the most of my remaining few weeks here in Semliki.

Written Wednesday 25th August