Judy's Notes from Uganda, 2006
received 6-26-06
Hi Everyone!
I switched to the Hotmail acct, because Yahoo! has a new spam protection thingy that just made me lose about an hour's worth of news...I'll try to get it all together this time! :-)
Did anyone know that mongeese (mongooses?) groom warthogs?!? I met a primatologist (expert at observing and evaluating animal behavior, right?) on the way out of Mweya who told me this story...wish I could have seen it!
A warthog ambled up to a stick gate and peered in, looking from side to side...and knelt down. Out popped several mongeese who crawled up on him, eating all the bugs they found...even getting some out of his ears! How amazing life is, huh? This reminds me of the Cleaning Stations in the Ocean! Its so cool how we all depend on each other for survival and comfort...sometimes I forget...
After an 11 hour bumping bus bash, we arrived at Mweya tired and were greeted by several groups (pods?) of hippos crossing the road. How cool is that? It was dark, and I'm not sure where they were going, but we were stoked!
The owners of the Safari Lodge wouldn't let us work on their staff, so we went on a mini safari! Cape Buffalo and Uganda Kobs graced us with their majestic presence, Vervet Monkies skittered past our cars, and Warthogs hiked their tails as they ran from us! (Amazing, since the warthogs seem to graze peacefully beside us as we sit on the porch or stroll down the lane!)
We saw the ears and shoulders of a lioness as she ambled away, and the driver took off, four-wheeling thru the brush ... but she wasn't interested in showing herself to us... We took a river trip and saw hundreds of species of colorful and comic birds! The Pied Kingfisher is such a tease...they hover like a humming bird, just before they dive for a fish! I really wanted a picture of the pretty creatures, but they move too fast! They have the most beautiful birds here!
There is also a fishing village we saw, grandfathered in and allowed to stay when they created the park...they must be in more photos than the animals! Many waved, but more just turned their backs to our lenses...can't say as I blame them! A herd of elephants was down bathing across the channel when we started out, and we got there in time to observe for a bit! There were several lone Cape Buffalo in the water, facing the bank, watching for danger. The guide said they had lost the dominance battle and were kicked out of the group...poor things looked so sad!
Some of us went to hunt for Chimps in a really interesting rift in the Savanah terraine. We saw Red Tail Monkies, Black and White Colobus Monkies, and could hear the Chimps... There was a primatologist with us and she was a great tracker...we learned lots about monkey/chimp dung! We kept crossing the river (on increasingly smaller logs!) But the Chimps were always one step ahead! We did get to see them across the narrow valley as we climbed out, but sadly, not up close...maybe next time!
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On the way back from the Chimp trip, we saw lionesses crossing the road and stopped! Right in the path they were using! They came out of the brush, on the way up from the river, seeminly oblivious to us...walked right up to the bus, giving us quite a thrill! And shaking their great heads, walked around us to the other side of the road! |
There were 7 lionesses, but the lion either was not with them or was waiting 'til we left...rats! These ladies were so regal!!! And magic! They showed us how they hide in the bush...about ten feet from the road, they laid down in the bush...and we could not see them! Even though we knew they were there! I'm not sure if they were hunting or settling in for the night, or possible both, but it was astounding to know that we probably passed many! They just didn't want to be seen and are very clever at hiding!
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On the way out of the park, a troop of baboons entertained us with their antics! I'll update again later about the next part of the trip...to Bwindi...The Impenetrable Forest and the Mountain (Silverback) Gorillas! Love,
Judy |
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