Tuesday, November 10, 2009

5-safari camp residents

Sorry, could not get this posted last night, but it is the last of the safari camp photos.

The residents. Nope, not the human kind. There were about 10 guests, a bunch of staff (all male staff, never saw any females except for the guests), and then the animal kind of residents.

Baboons are noisier than monkeys on the roof. They screech like raccoons at night when they are chasing each other through the camp and then up the fig tree behind our tent. Then it rains figs down on the tent ceiling. There was a troop of baboons — about 30 or so hanging around. I think these might be Olive Baboons.



The first evening we were at the camp, there was a very low grumble growl. Everyone heard it at about 3 in the morning. We all thought that was it. Some predator had come for easy pickings regardless of the Masai with the spear. We talked about it at breakfast wondering if it was a leopard, a lion, don't know. Robin, the maitre de, said it was a velvet monkey. We have a hard time thinking that a monkey, of any size, could make that kind of noise. Mark, one of our safari mates, said he looked around his tent to see what he could use as a weapon. I didn't go that far, but said a prayer, must have been comforted because I then fell sound asleep.

Another visitor was the crocodile. Well, he stayed on the opposite bank of the Mara River, but he was always there.


A cow wandered in from a local Masai herd. The baboons scattered but then when they saw it was only a cow, they came back to hang out under the fig tree. The baboons scattered again when the tribesman came to check on his cow.


I'll post safari animals next but right now we're heading out on the Tube to see the London monkeys and baboons.

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