Lope National Park: Day #2

Lope National Park: Day #2 A Mandrill is an endangered primate closely related to the baboon and they commonly live in groups up to 1,000.  Today we will see them. The Wildlife Conservation Society tracks the mandrill groups as part of their park conservation program.  Here, a guide is searching for a radio collar signal to triangulate the group's position. Then we had to trek into the jungle to find a hiding place. I did not think they actually meant a hide but this is where we spent the next two hours waiting. The Mandrills move along the stream tree lines and do not like to venture out into the open fields.  Using this knowledge, we positioned ourselves in a bottleneck of forest in the hopes they will pass by. You hear the males wooping first and then you see them.  In ten minutes, an army of 1,000 mandrills flows by in every direction: to the left, right, infront of you, and even in the trees above.  Then it is over and quite again. All the animals here are still very skittish around people.  The park only came into existence during 2002 so the game still has fresh memories of human hunters. That night we camped on the Equator.  I would have tried the toilet trick but could not find one around. We had hoped to be in Cameroon within the next two days.  Instead, we will end up lost on some shortcut and camping on an anthill. Robert J Kent Jr- robjkentjr@gmail.com Water Resource Policy Adviser localhost Voice Mail: +1 (631) 458-1119 Skype ID: rob-rasa LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo Contact  |  Support Us  |  Home  |  Books              all content ©2006-2009 click to REMOVE your email Robert & Rasa's rubbernecking