Shh...Don't wake the ocelot!

I didn't find the monkeys this morning and so came back home to take a break before going out to search again. While I was on the computer, Adrienne comes running back from the field and says there's an ocelot sleeping in a tree that the monkeys were alarm calling at. So, I jump up, and we all put our shoes on and run out. It was kind of funny, I was in my super short sleep shorts, and was so excited that I put my hiking boots on without realizing I didn't have pants on! So I was walking around in essentially hot pants and snake gaders and hiking boots. Some tourists in a car passed us while we were walking on the road, and a young kid gave me a weird look like I belonged on a different planet. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but it might have been my only chance to see an ocelot! Thankfully, he was still there by the time we got out there. So beautiful; perfect fur and big, caramel eyes. He was eying us, and his ears would move a little every time we moved, which was fun to watch. We hung out and took pictures for about 10 minutes, then decided we should leave him to sleep (his eyes were opening and closing a bit, so cute!). I just wanted to scratch him behind his ears and kiss his face!

A Mixed Day

So, good news first. While I was in the field thinking about this blog entry, I was originally going to title it "Monkey On The Ground!". Having monkeys on the ground in the dry season was a daily occurrence; in fact, they were pretty much always on the ground. Now the monkeys are rarely on the ground, and when they do come down to about 10 feet or so, its very exciting. And even more exciting when they actually get on the forest floor. They only get to the ground for a second or so to pick up a fallen palm tree or bromeliad fruit, and then run back up a tree. Yesterday they were down at eye level for almost an hour, and they were not only on the ground for a few seconds, but they were actually walking on the ground. Oh, it was so nice. I really do miss the dry season. Not the heat so much... But the monkeys were just so much more fun. There's something exciting about having wild monkeys that close to you. So, I got to nab a few more pictures (as well as get some much-needed fecal samples and easy follows!)


































































































The bad news is that Luna's baby, Errol, went missing yesterday. I saw him the day before yesterday, but when I saw Luna yesterday afternoon, she didn't have Errol with her. He most likely was the victim of infanticide sometime during the night. Because the alpha male in a group sires the vast majority of infants, other adult males will kill newborn infants, because it brings the female back into estrus, and she's able to get pregnant again, so the other males will have another chance to sire offspring with that female.

When I first saw Luna without Errol, I was totally in denial. At first I thought maybe he was next to her belly and I just couldn't see him. Most of the time the infants will travel on the mom's back, and they are very obvious because it looks like the mom has on a little baby backpack. But occasionally they'll be nursing while the mom is moving, so they're harder to spot. But when Luna got closer, it was obvious that Errol was no where around. So, then I just thought that maybe she pawned him off on another adult for a little while. A few days prior I had seen Errol climb onto Albus (an adult male) while they were resting. But, the whole group was moving fairly fast and so it would be unlikely that Errol would be with someone else in that situation. A few minutes later I was doing a follow on Crabbe, and saw a bushy-browed female with a dorsal infant out of the corner of my eye, and thought it was Luna and that I had just made a mistake. I was so relieved. But after the follow I realized that the baby was too young to be Errol, and that I had seen Minerva, who just had a baby about a month ago. So, sadly, Errol is gone. I am really bummed out. From a scientific perspective, its all very interesting but personally I am sad. Its just a stupid reproductive strategy, I think. Such an enormous waste of energy. And I really like Luna. She's older, and has had a few babies, so I didn't think that this would happen to her. I wonder what she thinks about it all. I really do think that the moms must be emotionally attached to their babies (as I think all verebrate moms are) and that she must feel a sense of loss, and probably even sadness. And my heart goes out to her for that. But thank God Hufflepuff's okay. I would have a breakdown if anything happened to him. And there would be at least one male monkey with a couple broken legs.... Nobody messes with my Hufflepuff.

The monkeys also took me to a new place in the forest yesterday. Its the site of an old dam bridge from the farming days. A fig has taken it taken it over, and is growing in and around it in interesting ways. Its always an interesting feeling to come across human artifacts in the field. Its like a reminder, after being in the forest with only monkeys for 12 hours, that yes, there are still humans in the world. And always nice to be someplace I haven't been before.

Simple pleasures

My trail mix is so beautiful and makes me so happy. Mom's special recipe of Cheerios, peanuts, raisins, and M&Ms. Yuuuummmmm.

Little luxuries

When you first come to the park, you are given sheets and a towel in a plastic bag. As you can imagine, neither are very fancy or of super high quality. They have been used and washed many a time. My sheets and towel were a light dusty blue, which is fine. Didn't think much of it. When Tim came, he got a bright gorgeous red towel. Exactly the same quality as mine, just a much better color. I was jealous, so I stole his towel, and replaced it with my blue one (after I washed it, of course). I was very happy to have the red towel.

I was doing my laundry a few days ago and as I was throwing my clothes in, I realized I had forgotten my socks, so I ran back to the bunkhouse to get them. In the process I had forgotten to throw my towel into the machine, and started it without putting the towel in. Its one of those machines that you can't open once its started. When I came back to put my clothes in the dryer, Lily, one of the women who does the housekeeping for the dorms and such, was in the laundry room, and asked if that was my towel laying on the ground. I told her yes, and that I had forgotten to put it in the machine. She proceeded to tell me something in Spanish which I didn't quite understand, but now I think she was telling me that it would bleed all over my other clothes. Which is true; I did wash it with my clothes before, and it bled slightly. But, since all my field clothes will be burned in a huge bonfire at Naranjo Beach before I leave, I don't really mind if they are discolored. She asked me a question, which I didn't quite understand, to which of course I said 'Okay.' She walked out of the laundry room, and I followed her to the room where they keep all the clean sheets and towels. She was only in there for a few seconds, but she must have been using that time to find the saddest, crappiest towel the park owns. She handed me a new towel. Thin. Pea green. Now I'm kind of sad. I miss my bright red towel. Actually, I really miss my fluffy, bubble gum pink towel I had back home. The new one has a pattern on it, and its okay, but it looks a towel that's on its way to be donated to a vet clinic, or something. And I will never have the red one back. It is going to be 4 months of crappy pea green towel. I could never go to Lily and say that I want the other towel back. What kind of a freak would I look like? It is truly the little things in life...

I'm back!

OMG!!!! Its been like, forever since I updated my blog. But, my new, shiny, belongs in Star Wars computer will fix all that. Since its been almost two months, I will give y'all the brief synopsis of my life the last couple months, in reverse chronological order:

Reed is here. Reed is replacing Tim, who left for financial reasons (couldn't get anybody in England to rent his room, so he had to go back). He's in my (now our room). Just graduated from Humboldt University. I have to say, he does not meet my Humboldt stereotype of granola hippie. But he seems like a good kid and he seems to fit in very well already. On a similar note, Lucie is leaving. Her cat back home had an injury, and she feels guilty being so far away. And, mostly I think, she is just not enjoying herself here, for a variety of reasons. I'm sad to see her go, but really think its the best thing for her. One of Reed's friends is supposed to be coming down to replace her, but we haven't gotten final confirmation on that yet.

A stink bug flew into my eye. They secrete acid, so I basically got a shot of bug acid in my eye. I had a horrible allergic reaction to it, and my eye swelled up so much that it closed. I went to the ophthalmologist and he gave me drugs to make it better. The swelling has gone, but now I have a scab above and below my eye. Hopefully it will heal well and not scar!

My parents came down for my extended 5-day vacation. First we went to the cloud forest in Monteverde. It was very beautiful, and very different from the dry forest where I am. We went on a night walk and saw an orange-kneed tarantula, and kinkajous mating. We also went ziplining, which was very fun. Amazing to be flying above the forest canopy. Then we went to the beach, which included much relaxing, and a snorkel trip on a catamaran. They also got to see the monkeys! Not my monkeys, since no one was working with my group that day, but monkeys none the less. All in all, a great trip. I'm so proud of my parents for coming down and trying new things, and it was great to get some time away from the forest and some TLC from Mom and Dad.





















































During vacation, I turned 31. Really, I have to admit I do not associate that number with myself. How the hell did this happen? Its the first birthday where I really didn't care either way. Not dreading it like 30, or looking forward to it like 21. Just, mah..... I'm 31, whatev. New people down here will ask me if I'm still in school, or just graduated, and I can only assume they mean from undergrad. So, if people want to mistake me for being a decade younger than I actually am, let 'em. Who am I to stop them? Really, if I had to pick an age I'm probably closer to 21 than to 31 in terms of where I am in life and my outlook. You're only as old as you feel, right?

The early rainy season has started, which means a lusher, greener forest, but it also means that the monkeys are harder to follow. So, there is a lot more 'down time', where you really can't collect much data, because the monkeys are very high up, in the foliage. So, that leads to more boredom and frustration and stress. I think I've hit the 3 month lull. I feel completely comfortable with being able to collect all the data I need to, so there is nothing new to learn. Now I just have to power through it. But everyday something special happens, and I am reminded of where I am and what I'm doing, even if for a short time. The juveniles will be playing and being adorable, or one of the males will groom and love on one of the newborn infants or the sunrise lighting in the forest will be orange, and everything will look beautiful. Its usually something small, but its enough to raise my spirits.

With the rainy season also comes the mosquitoes. I cannot tell you how many bites I have, as I cannot count that high. I am trying to deal, but I am really quite a wreck physically, and I have no self control when it comes to scratching. And oven mits duct-taped to my hands for the next 5 months just won't work.

Adrienne and I went on my first visa run to Nicaragua. I liked Nicaragua. We stayed at a hostle called The Monkey Hut. Just hung out and ate and drank and slept. Adrienne got offered a job as a bartender at the hostel, and was tempted but chose to return to the monkeys. She's quite the life of the party, always a good time with that one....

I got to name a baby monkey! The rule is that whoever spots a newborn first gets to name them. The group I work worth is based on Harry Potter names, and I settled on Hufflepuff. Its not an actual character, but one of the houses of the magic school, or something like that. It was founded by Hilda Hufflepuff. Not the most prestigious of schools, but one based on loyalty and friendship, which is all I wish for this little monkey! My nicknames for him are Snugglepuff, PuffBear, and The Huffler. He (we think its a boy, but haven't been able to get a positive ID) was born on May 21, and in the last few weeks he's developed a mohawk. I haven't been able to get a picture of it yet, but swear to God he has a little tuft of hair that is darker than the rest of his hair on top of his head that sticks straight up. A mowawk. He is so adorable and I am obsessed with him. Luna also had a baby, but Valerie spotted him first, so she gets to name him. I think she's going with Errol. I love Errol, too, but he's just not as cute as Hufflepuff. Really, nothing is. Look at that face.















We went on an all-group vacation to Tamarindo (the beach). That was with Valerie, Adrienne, Anne-Sophie, Lucie and Tim. Team bonding time, and as a fairwell trip to Anne-Sophie, who left shortly after that. It was good time, stress-relieving. Valerie got a National Science Foundation grant (which is a pretty big deal), so to celebrate she bought us a surf lesson. We all had a good time.

I got a slonea spine in my eye. Slonea is a type of tree, related to a fig, whose fruit is covered with tiny spine-like fur. The monkeys rub the fruit on a branch, which gets the spines off, so they can eat the fruit. Of course, the spines go everywhere. If they get on your skin, they are extremely itchy, like fiberglass. I got one in my eye, and didn't really realize how bad it was, and that it needed to be removed by a professional.

So, I think I am all caught up. Or rather, whoever is reading this is all caught up. I will try to be better about posting..... ;)

First Vacation, etc.

So, much to catch up on. I seriously feel like I don’t have that much free time. Between 12-14 hour field days, and working 5-6 hours on data days, plus just hanging out, making dinner, washing dishes and having some time to myself, there just doesn’t seem to be much time left over for writing e-mails and writing on my blog. God, its like I have a real life or something! I don’t know how you people do it! But I am trying to keep y’all updated. Thank you for your love and being interested in my life!

First, vacation. We (me, Adrienne, and Anne-Sophie) had three days off at the beginning of May. We rented a car and took day trips out of the alberque. We had our ‘personal taxi driver’ Ronnie drive us to the rental car place, where he has friends that got us a good deal. Thank you Ronnie. It was a good bonding opportunity with Ronnie, and a good chance to practice my Spanish. I called him on Skype the night before to ask him if he had time to drive us into town, and I was a little nervous, as he speaks no English. I’m nervous on the phone with people I know that speak English! But, all went very well; Ronnie is good people. I'm proud of myself for making it over that milestone.

The first day it was just me and Adrienne; Anne-Sophie is trying to get a job in Indonesia, and she had an interview that day, so she had to stay at home. We went to the beach, Playa Junquial. Beautiful. Its on a bay, so there were no waves, which I enjoyed actually. Much more mellow vibe. We drank some warm beer, hung out and talked and walked along the beach, watched the sunset. So romantic. I like Adrienne. She’s kind of a tomboy and is very funny, a kind of sense of humor you get from hanging around guys your whole life. We both have a mellow outlook, and get along well. I’m glad she’s here.

The second day we went to a waterfall. Anne-Sophie was able to come with us. It’s the widest waterfall I’ve been to. It seemed like we were the only tourists there; a lot of groups of young people or families with picnics. A bit of the local flavor. I stayed in the water till my hands were pruny, then took a nap in the shade. After siesta we hiked the short trail to the top of the waterfall and took lots of pictures. Glamour shots. We had a good time, some much-needed time away from the forest.

The third day we just went into town, returned the car and hung out in a café. A café with a couch. So nice to have a soft, comfortable place to sit that isn’t your bed. Its funny the things you miss once you have to live without them. I didn’t bring a book with me, so I took Love In The Time of Cholera off the bookshelf. I got through 50 pages of it, and I liked it. Might have to pick it back up sometime.

I’m officially trained. The last day of field work I collected real behavioral data. Which is actually kind of stressful. I got into a nice routine of just collecting fecal samples, and doing follows as I felt like it, for practice. But now I have to collect so many follows each day (really, as many as I can) in addition to getting fecal samples. I ate my lunch while I was walking after a monkey yesterday. Oh woe is me. ;)

A few field days ago, it rained. Of course I was not expecting this and wasn’t wearing nor had any of my rain gear. The first time it rained, it just actually nice. Side note: there are cockroaches everywhere. One just ran across my computer. They fly and they bite. They are my nightmare. The good thing is that being here will most likely cure my fear and severe aversion to cockroaches… Then it stopped raining. I was soaked, my fingers were pruny, but it was good. I felt like a hard core field biologist. Then I had an intergroup encounter. At least I think that’s what happened, as I never actually saw the other social group of monkeys. All I know is there was a lot of screaming, males were running one direction, females were running in another, and the juveniles were just running. I literally almost stepped on one that was running toward the female I was trying to follow. Then it started pa-ouring. I lost the monkeys, and the rain was so loud I couldn’t hear the lost calls. I hung out and wondered around for while, with no real hope of finding anyone. So I headed home. Which I was actually kind of happy about that. Having to put the monkeys to bed and walk home in the dark and the pouring rain with a less than reliable headlamp just didn’t sound like fun. It was raining almost all the way home, and there puddles of water in my shoes. It took them like two days to dry out. Just a little preview of the wet season!

There are fireflies everywhere. For the last couple weeks, I’ve seen one here and there, and was told they are fairly rare. Then one night they were everywhere. Stars on the ground is what Anne-Sophie calls them. I love that. They’re so magical! They were all along the trails on my way home the other night. Apparently its very rare for them to show up in such large numbers. I decided I want to live somewhere for a while, or at least spend a summer, where there are fireflies. I mentioned this at dinner and Valerie pointed out that I am living somewhere where there are fireflies. Which is true, but I have a feeling they’re not going to be around for very long.

The two new assistants are here. Tim from Liverpool. He sounds exactly like the humpbacked guy in Rocky Horror Picture Show. And Lucy, who grew up in France and now lives in England. She has the most interesting accent I think I’ve ever heard. It’s completely equal parts French and English. They both seem very nice, and I have to admit its nice to have someone on the team who knows less than me. I’m no longer the wide-eyed newbie who doesn’t know if she’ll be able to make it. Now Lucy is the wide-eyed newbie who doesn't know if she'll make it! I am now the seasoned veteran. And Gavin left today. He’s from Scotland and was working on his PhD with flowers and ants. Hello, Hello, Goodbye, Goodbye. That’s all there is, and the leaves that are green turn to brown…

Alone at Naranjo and Lost Monkeys

My internet has not been working for like a week, which explains why I have not posted in a while. Ahh! Technology – so wonderful and so incredibly annoying at the same time. So, I wrote the following on the 18th with the intention of posting it then… Hopefully I can get my computer fixed and will get back to posting regularly soon!

A lone capuchin separated from its group, either by force or accident, cannot survive long on its own. It will quickly succumb to starvation or predation or aggression from other monkeys. I felt a little bit like a lone capuchin when I went to the beach on my day off the day before yesterday. The beach is about a 3 hour walk one way from the alberque along a very rough road, and the beach is therefore pretty isolated. Its Playa Naranjo, where Witch’s Rock is, which I guess is a pretty sweet surf spot. It was featured in the movie Endless Summer 2, which I have yet to see. I went there by myself, since I was the only one here who had a day off. The walk was long, but not too bad in the beginning. There’s a look out about an hour into the walk, where I took this picture.

My first view of the Pacific in weeks! The last hour was torture, though, I had no idea how much longer I had to walk, it was midday and freakin’ hot and I just wanted to get there already. When I arrived, I walked straight through the campground, toward the sound of crashing waves, and onto the beach. The beach is huge. It went in both directions for a least a mile, probably more. And there was not a soul on it. There were a few people in the campground, which you can’t see from the beach because its blocked by vegetation. So I had the entire beach to myself.

I change into my bathing suit and head for the water. It was not Caribbean warm, but more like So. Cal. warm. It took a couple minutes to get used to it, but after that it was heaven. Since I was unfamiliar with this beach, I was a little hesitant to go too far out. I was pretty tired from the walk, and I got (maybe unnecessarily) worried that if I got caught in a rip current or something I wouldn’t be able to swim back to shore. Like Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice, but with no John Garfield to swim me back to shore. So I stayed in water that was no deeper than about waist deep, which I am a little embarrassed to admit. I was just very aware that if anything happened to me, there was no one, like no one, who was there to help me. It was a weird feeling being alone in the water on that beach. Especially for someone for likes to and needs to have a lot of alone time. Maybe I’m more dependent on the company of others than I think.

I lost the monkeys yesterday. Valerie and I were out searching for them, and she found them early in a place they’ve been frequenting. But, they went through an area with really dense underbrush, and we had trouble doing our behavioral follows. And they went to the middle of nowhere, at least by our standards and in terms of trails. They were a good 500m from the nearest trail, and they haven’t been more than 200m this whole time. So, Valerie went in early, since she was going to wake them up, and I stayed to put them to bed. Valerie was slightly concerned about leaving me so far from the trail and me having to bushwhack back in the dark. But, I felt comfortable, so I let her leave. About 15 minutes later the monkeys start heading east, towards the trail and their core area. They weren’t moving too fast. Then the alpha male starts lost calling, which I thought was weird since obviously he’s with the group, but monkeys were answering him, so I think maybe he was calling to round the group up. Then everyone starts moving quickly, and I’m staying with them, moving at a brisk pace but not quite a run. It was fairly open, so I could move easily. Then they start running. Like galloping. One of the females was carrying a juvenile and he looked like a jockey on a thoroughbred. Then I made what I think was my fatal mistake. There was a scuffle, and I turned around to see who it was, because we’re supposed to record aggressive behavior. So I figure out who it is, and by the time I turn back to Baba and the other monkeys, they’re gone. So, I turn back to Albus and Crabbe, the only monkeys I had. And they start running. I run after them, but lose them pretty quickly. When I say run, I really mean run. Saying that I chase monkeys through the forest is not hyperbole. I keep running in the direction they were heading, and caught a flash of a monkey, then ran into some bromeliads (large aloe-like plants with spines) that I had to go around, and that pretty much stopped the chase. I was pretty disappointed. I did my best to stay with them, that’s the most I could do, but I was still pretty bummed that I lost them. I searched for them along the trails until dark, then had to give up. Valerie was going to go out for a half day today, but since we didn’t know where the monkeys were sleeping, she didn’t. So, we lost out on some data.

Oh, after the monkeys rested yesterday they came across an area where a bunch of stink bugs had laid their eggs (the green things stuck to the trees). The monkeys were so happy, making their little happy foraging monkey sounds. And they were really mellow. Usually when they’re feeding down low, they are a little more vigilant, especially Baba. But with the eggs, I guess since there was more than enough for everybody, they didn’t seem to mind me getting really close. There were a lot of adult stink bugs around, too, and on some trees, when the monkeys would jump on them, a bunch of adults would fly off. Pretty cool.

One of the monkeys, Minerva I think, caught a squirrel. Then Albus, who is pictured here, stole it from her. I saw the squirrel with various monkeys throughout the afternoon, so the monkeys seemed to get a lot out of the one carcass.

Anya arrived today. She’s working with birds and will be here through August. Funny thing, I actually applied to be her assistant here. I mentioned this to her, and she said she got like 200 responses to the ad for the position. It made me appreciate a little more how lucky I am to be here and how many people would like to be in my place. Hopefully that thought will make me be a little more appreciative!

One of our study groups came through the central park area today, and it was right after I had bought an ice cream bar at the commissary. My dream of watching monkeys and eating ice cream came true.

Anya brought a new mosquito net for me with her. Its much daintier than the military one I was using, and is free from moth holes. Smells like victory.