It’s the last official night here and while we’ve made the
most progress on our project. Today has not been my favorite. Watching the
primates survive and cohabit with humans is to say the least horrendous 100% of
the group of baboons survive off of trash. Literally licking rotted can,
plastic bottles you name it. But worst of all 90% of those baboon are
mutilated. Not just scratched up, a wound from fighting here or there, but
mutilated. Limbs missing, nerve damage from electric wire, missing eyes, limps
in the process of loosing because of snares. It is horrifying. It’s one thing
to see wounded animals and understand it’s just how survival works. But to
watch these magnificent creatures hobble with a half connected hand through
heaps of trash trying to survive is awful. I cannot stress that awfulness
enough.
On a lighter note one of the females with a missing arm
we’ve named Peda, because well she has learned to walk bipedally. Litterally
runs on her back legs, while caring her infant. She is quickly my hero of the
day. It’s so human like it’s scary. One of the big guys here who is missing a
hand as well, also has nerve damage from an electric shock so his lip hangs and
he has a slight drooling problem. But let me tell you, he is still cocky spit
and all. Because they’re so used to humans he’s not scared at all. And this
leads us to our next segment. “When Baboons Attack”
I want to prelude this with the fact that, at the end of
this I have never laughed so hard on this trip until this moment. Scene set up:
We’re all waiting in the bus, exhausted, cranky in fact, the sun is blazing the
windows open. Out walks a small baboon, female, who keeps making eye contact
(aggressive/dominant thing). I start to notice she’s looking at the bus,
looking at the windows and starting to approach. I instantly srtart making eye
contact. Attempting to threaten her, let me tell you. My stare is not very
threatening-to her at least. She makes a running leap and is now in our
inclosed bus. It is sheer pandemonium. Screaming, running.. I instantly go into
fetal position and thoughts of our entire bus being mutilated by a crazy scared
baboon flash through my mind repeatedly. Finally the chaos, at least the shrill
shrieks subsisded so either I was the only survivor or she left. I was hoping
the latter. I was luckly correct. I looked out the window and the female is
running away a bag of cliff bars in her mouth. Smart, smart primate-let me tell
you.
So we start thinking “Oh man she’s gonna get beat up for
that bag!” and for a brief moment are sad, until those thoughts are
extinguished as we realize instead of being selfish she’s told the rest of the
baboons including the alpha male “we have food”. So here we have a troop of 5
or so large baboons, spit face at the charge, approaching the bus. Panic again.
We all desperately try to close the windows, but most are
jammed. They keep approaching, at this point I’m a little glad their not all
healthy, and that the missing limbs may have us at an advantage. Luckily the
windows are shut in time, but when I say “in time” I mean like 5 seconds away
from pure chaos and a primate vs. human show down. Instead these innocent Asian tourist unaware
of the situation at hand climb into their car..doors open. Their mistake. In
jumps the gaint male, who then doesn’t run away but just sits in the back of
the seat like he’s requiring a ride. The Asian tourists, don’t react until the
park manager yells “Get out of your car!!”, don’t know if they understood but
one ran way screaming when he looked in the back seat. The large male runs out
with a box, thinking it’s food but winds up just destroying the poor mans cell
phone (which was nestled in a box). The male tossed is aside, while slumped
back. He was not a happy camper. My favorite part was Caitlin the assistant on the trip immediately goes "Did someone shit.. Did someone just shit themselves on the bus?" I lost it, I could not hold in the laughter at all. I and everyone in the back smelled nothing. But it was hysterical.
We than began to talk about a Lord of the Flies Scenerio, I got to stay alive because I can drive stick- who knew how handy that talent is.
We than began to talk about a Lord of the Flies Scenerio, I got to stay alive because I can drive stick- who knew how handy that talent is.
Just for a reference on size compared to humans and how terrifying baboon are please feel free to take a look at the photos below.
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