We rushed through breakfast yesterday and joined Robert and Lawrence on a chimp trekking expedition. Lawrence thought he had heard them earlier so we followed them into the wet forest. Two hours of seemingly aimless wandering, machete slashing, and stop-and-listen got us only an old nest and some chimp footprints. Even Lawrence lost the trail a time or two. It can get really confusing out there. We also saw a few L’Hoest’s monkeys and a troop of baboons and heard numerous birds. But no chimps. We will try again on Wednesday.We spotted illegal hunters ahead on the trail but gave them wide berth. Poaching is second only to habitat destruction as a threat to wildlife in Africa. With superior numbers and firepower the NFA staff would have confronted them, but not today. It reminded me of a previous time in the jungle a couple of wars ago.
Mashonga Primary school returned this morning and since their English isn’t very good so Lawrence conducted class in their native tongue, so I decided to skip the forest walk. Not only did the kids see a red-tailed monkey, they saw the chimps that we had searched for yesterday. It’s the first time in three years a group has seen them on the forest walk and we missed it.
The rest of the day went as scheduled but something happened to remind us how harsh life can be in Africa. One of the kids from Rototo Primary School was terribly crippled from polio, so much so that he moved along ape-like on his hands. Of course, he remained behind on the forest walk, so I gave him some books to look at. He repaid the kindness by asking me to buy him a bicycle! I understand his thought process and the aid culture but it is awkward.