I've finally started live trapping but am not catching any animals. In part, this is because the lovely folks who issue the research permits, forbade me to use live bait (chickens, which are protected in the trap by chicken wire so they are never harmed). I got the call about not using live bait literally as we were driving to the field site with four small chickens in our back seat (which took Okan hours to procure). While it might seem cruel to you to use live bait, it is really one of the best ways to capture carnivores in huge forests like Nyungwe because the chickens make noise that attracts the predators. I won't bore you with the reasons why they forbade me to use live bait, or why the decided to make this change as I was deploying the chickens, but it is extremely disappointing given that they approved my permit to do this in April and I have dotted every i and crossed every t with regard to working with the permit agency and my research. Anyway, don't expect any capture photos anytime soon.
The good news is that the camera trapping continues to yield great pics of carnivores and other animals (see below). The field work has been utterly exhausting. In the mornings this week, I have hiked for several hours with my students and have been training them in capturing small mammals. After a week, they are now on their own and doing well! But it has been exhausting because after getting back from the students, I eat a sandwich and then go out to hike my own trail and bait traps. We are hiking 10km a day every day. Okan however, doesn't feel this is challenging enough. So he hikes OUT to the trail from another trail which adds another 5km to his daily hike. Today he hiked up the trail where my traps are in only 30 minutes (it takes me closer to 1.5 hrs!). Needless to say, it is hard to keep up!
Okan is all better from his Giardia and while we are both exhausted from the field work, we are otherwise well and healthy. This weekend we have friends in town and will take them to my field site tomorrow in Nyungwe. Then next week I go to Arusha for a conference for a week.
Ok, some quick pictures of the animals I have found on my camera traps!
A SERVAL
A FRANCOLIN (FOREST HEN)
A L'HOEST MONKEY
A YOUNG CHIMP
A JACKAL
BLACK FRONTED DUIKER
A PERFECTLY POSING L'HOEST MONKEY
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KITTY IN THE FOREST (SERVAL)
MORE L'HOEST MONKEYS
AN OLDER CHIMP
A "GREY BEARD" (OLDER) CHIMP
ONE OF THE BEST CHIMP PICTURES I HAVE. HE IS CHECKING OUT THE CAMERA AND POSING.
MAMA AND BABY
DUIKER
GENET- I thought this was a genet but NO! It is an African Palm Civet: ANOTHER ONE OF MY STUDY ANIMALS
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