Earthquake at Mahale

By Mwiga Mambo, Tracker - Greystoke Mahale

On 14th November 2009 I went into the forest to track chimpanzees. At around 7:40am I found a group of chimpanzees up in some big trees eating fruits. The chimpanzees saw me coming and did not react negatively to my approaching them at all; they kept on relaxing and feeding.

Suddenly I heard a loud terrifying sound; it was a sound from a tremor from an earth quake. The chimpanzees hearing that loud sound on my arrival, they perhaps thought I was the source and started to scream out. Primus and Cadmus, both adult males came from the undergrowth charging and loudly screaming and climbed to join other chimpanzees up in the trees. Three minutes from when the earth quake occurred, those chimpanzees kept quiet and Christmas, a sub-adult male climbed down. When he got to the ground, he stood on his hind feet and looked at me. He quickly got back to the ground on his four feet and started to scream out and charging while running away from me. Other chimpanzees who were quiet for a while started to scream again when they heard Christmas screaming for a second time. On a tree a bit far from where I was standing Christmas climbed up on it and looked at me with fearful and glaring eyes. They continued to scream and be uncomfortable in my presence for about half an hour.

But 20 minutes later a loud sound from a boat engine started from a camp and aroused the chimpanzees again. This time the scream started from Wakusi, a mother of the beta male. The alarm was picked up by all the chimpanzees around. It appeared, right up until a time when I was leaving, that they were still imagining I was the source of that loud sound and saw me as a threat for that day. But it wasn’t the case the next morning when I went out chimping. They could relax in my presence and carried on with their activities.

Picture by Hugh Webster

Darwin entertains guests with his eating habits

By Lazaro George - Guide, Greystoke Mahale

Darwin is one of the chimpanzees in the M community here in Mahale Mountains National Park. He lost his mother when he was still a young boy. Actually other chimpanzees adopted him by providing him some wild fruits, grooming, playing with and so on. 

He had also the tracker, Moshi Bunengwa who really liked him when he met him in the forest, assisting him by giving him some fruits, grooming. By that behaviour he is still familiar with people nowadays. Either sitting or passing between the observing  people without care what you are holding or distance between one to another.

July of this year I had one family of five guests. We set off to go chimping early in the morning. We were lucky to find them nearby camp and one of the chimpanzees we saw in that day was Darwin. He appeared from undergrowth and passed where we were and sat beside the trail next to the fig tree. Darwin started to pick up fig tree fruits and feed on them. We spend about 25 minutes watching him. It was so fun for everybody because he picked up a lot of fruits and puts in the mouth one by one and peeling out the layer by setting  the fruit against the fore tooth and rolling it by using his tongue.

 

 

Pied Wagtail nest in Mahale dhows

By Gabriel Mushi- Guide, Greystoke Mahale.

African pied wagtail is one of the birds found in mahale mountain national park, especially to the lowland open parts of the forest. This bird is black and white in color and you can diff btw male and female by the black breast band in which male band is broader than female. They have a tendency of waging their tail up and down when resting hence the name.

There is one pair that is often seen around Greystoke camp, and this pair mostly accompanies our boats on the way in and out up to the certain distance and fly back either to nearby trees or back to camp awaiting the boat return. Their habit of following the boats especially MV Gwekulo, is because they have their nest in the cabin of the boat. They enter the cabin of the boat through the small opening in front of the boat. Sometime you will see them with grasses and thin roots bringing them to the boat for nest making. Their nest is like a bulk cup composed of dry grass, stem and roots. After laying eggs one will continue to incubate and raise the chicks when the boats depart to the airstrip sometime up to 7 hours before coming back. They are among the birds that have the habit of reusing their nest, so they have used their nest in the Gwekulo boat for some few years now by repairing it when nesting. The reason for them using the boat for nesting is probably because Vervet monkey and Yellow baboons do not get in to the boat so protecting their eggs from predation by these Monkeys. 

Chimps in canoes?

By Mwiga Mambo- Tracker, Greystoke Mahale.

It was 23^rd Sept when we were tracking chimpanzees in the evening. The chimps were heading to the northern part of their home range, and when we reached one trail known as G5, there was a dead Pcnanthus log. When the chimpanzees get to this log they have a habit of licking it as if they were licking rocks to get salt minerals. The log has now fallen down because it has rotted more, and where the chimps were licking has developed a shape like a local canoe.

When the chimps we were following reached this dead log some ignored it but one juvenile chimp known as Matsuya could not resist such a simple pleasure, so she gets into a place that has developed itself like a canoe and leaned her shoulder from one side to the other as someone paddling a canoe. After that she started shaking it and standing on top of it and tried to drum it but lastly she get in again and feeling tired she get out and tried to drag the log, but it was far too heavy for her so she left.

New baby born to the chimps of the M-community

By Kakae Saiteu, Guide - Greystoke Mahale
 

Totsy, one of the most relaxed and comfortable with human presence of all females in the habituated chimpanzees’ community, recently went missing from the main group. The main group is normally composed of the alpha male, adult and sub adult males, several females and infants. The researchers noticed Totsy’s absence from the main group on 31st of August, the next time they saw her again was on 3rd of September accompanied by Kalunde and her only son, Teddy. But when watching Totsy and her companion getting closer, they could see a tiny thing on her belly. On close examination they realized that Totsy had given birth to a baby female.
 

Next morning when we went out chimping we found her back to the main big group, probably she came to introduce the little one to other members. We found her sitting with Carter, an adult male, Teddy her son and Matsuya, a juvenile female. A few metres from where they were seated were others chimpanzees grooming and many others were in bushes feeding nearby. Totsy looked over possessive to the tiny baby. Whoever showed an attempt to touch her baby, she reacted aggressively to those individuals subordinate to her and walked away when dominant ones walk by or showed interest to the baby. Even Teddy her very own son wasn’t allowed to touch the baby of which he seems to be interested. Teddy and Matsuya however, following refusal of Totsy to let them hold and play with the baby, engaged in a marvelous play up and down trees and time to time could come by, peering at the little baby before running away.  

By Vianney J. Kabwine– Guide, Greystoke Mahale

It was at almost 21:50 and most of the Greystoke staff were sitting watching a FIFA confederation cup match on television. After all the cheering we saw something passing between us at a speed that we couldn’t tell what it was. No one was able to tell what has happened and after some time we all get back and keep on watching the match.
After the match ended everyone was keen to know what passed by us while we were watching the match? We took our flash lights and started searching for it because we heard something eating under the wooden floor. Banded Mongoose and Dwarf mongoose are the mostly likely to be seen in many national parks.

It was a White Tailed Mongoose feeding under the wooden floor!!! It was my first time seeing this animal, I rushed to my tent and came out with my Camera and enjoyed the moment with the white tailed mongoose. They sometimes come around the staff tents and feed under the wooden floor of the tents or they feed near staff kitchen. It is so amazing watching these animals near people; they could just come very close to you and feed.

Vervets and yellow baboons compete for guava fruits

By Hassani Rashid - Tracker, Greystoke Mahale

In Mahale Mountain National Park, there are eight other species of primates apart from Chimpanzees.
On 14th of August 2009 I was in the forest tracking chimpanzees, when I came across a vervet monkey with her tiny baby up on a guava tree eating fruits. While standing there watching, I saw a male yellow baboon come toward that tree where the vervet was. As he got closer to about 4 metres from that tree the vervet was the vervet started acting defensive, by bristling her hair, giving alarm calls while at the same time coming to lower branches as if is coming to attack the baboon. The yellow baboon couldn’t be stopped by that aggression and continued to walk toward that tree. As he got to the tree, the vervet kept on screaming but louder than before and other vervets who were up on trees nearby rush in for help. The baboon seeing more and more vervet coming from almost all trees around, decided to flee away.

Unfortunately many vervets were already nearby and started to attack the baboon as he struggles to get away. That left me puzzled, as whether the yellow baboon was after the vervet’s baby or guava fruits. When yellow baboons get an opportunity they can hunt and eat other small primates including Vervet monkey.