Life without Apes and the eco-tourism debate

Over the past decade eco-tourism has increased in attempts to promote, education, awareness, and help protect the great apes.  However, along with the good intentions to try to increase the financial economy in habitat countries, there are also the cases of spreading zoonotic diseases along to the already endangered species that are becoming more habituated to humans.  I came across this article (see below) that addresses these caveats along with a new book "Planet without Apes" by Dr. Craig B. Stanford.  Overall, just the thought of a planet without chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans seems like a very sad world yet it is on the verge of happening. 
What are you thoughts regarding eco-tourism?  Would you pay $500 or $800 dollars for an hour to watch and be atleast 10 feet away from these great apes although there could be some potentail negative impacts?


http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/eco-tourism/stories/is-the-tourism-industry-helping-great-apes

Now We're Cooking - The Cooking Hypothesis

To add to the numerous hypothesis of the evolution of humans from our ancestral cousins, Richard Wrangham, a Harvard biological anthropology professor and fellow Kibale National Park researcher and director of Kibale Chimpanzee Project, has published a new book explaining discussing humans use of fire to cook food. Based on some of the reviews, it seems like a novel and interesting theory. Hopefully, it will not be another pop science book dumbed down for the general masses that actually is based on extensive biological research that is only referenced in detail with the bibliography list at the back.

Have a look at one of the reviews by the New York Times.

May be I will receive this for a Christmas present. hint hint

Good Grief

About a month ago an intriguing picture and article was published, in which the picture appeared to show evidence of chimpanzees grieving and mourning the loss of another fellow chimpanzee. The picture shows a mass of chimpanzees lined up standing side by side, a few with an arm around the other, along the wire fence at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon, West Africa as a deceased female Chimpanzee is carried in a wheelbarrow by two of the caretakers to her finally resting place.



If you have worked with, studied or been around chimpanzees personally, you realize that they are indeed very loud and social creatures and to see the number of chimpanzees in this picture seemingly calm is astonishing. Yes, a lot of times news articles like to direct and focus animal stories and imply anthropomorphic implications. Well, this article in the Daily Mail newspaper and another in The Telegraph does the same in some regards but also provides other examples from other species to indicate that we, humans, are not the only species to have cultural behaviours that include death ceremonies, rituals and even manifestations of grief. Some people may read the article and even think that this idea is novel and exciting; however, it really should not come as such a shock or surprise considering the high percentage of genetic similarity we share with chimpanzees.

What are your thoughts?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1223227/Is-haunting-picture-proof-chimps-really-DO-grieve.html#ixzz0XmDW1CU5

Just to put this picture into perspective, the following pictures below are the typical scenarios and behaviours of chimpanzees at the Ngamba Island, Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda that I experienced during my visit in 2008.

Poop Glorious Poop.....

Yes, you heard me correctly ... Poop! Poo... it is an important thing, well it was heavily emphasized throughout my master's classes and I am going to briefly talk about it.... Apparently, analyzing animal fecal samples, particularly those of non-human primates, can be a useful field research method since it can provide information regarding DNA, genetic information and identification, ovulation cycles, and cortisol stress hormone levels all that can be correlated with behavioural data. Who knew the poo-tential of poo!

More specifically a recent article in the London Guardian Newspaper highlights that gorilla poo (dung), along with various other animals' , is vital in reforestation and helps fertilize various tree and plant seeds. It reminds me of the various biology life cycles that you learn as child growing up, yet there was never a gorilla or elephant located in those diagrams. (Maybe there should be!)

The article then states that it is critical to not only protect the forests but also its natural gardeners, the gorillas. It brings up a good point and reminds us that it is the year of the gorilla, but I think it is interesting that if we cannot think of any other reasons, and there are many, to protect gorillas, then let's solely save them so they can poo their important natural nutrient rich fertilized seed filled poo!

Below is the link to the original article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/13/gorilla-forests-climate-change-redmond

On a less serious note.... as I was trying to relocate the article link, the google search list contained recipes for gorilla poo cookies! A bit disturbing and hilarious at the same time... To clarify, it is a recipe for the more notable non-bake oatmeal chocolate drop cookies.

Gorilla Poo Cookie Recipe

2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cup oatmeal

Mix sugar, cocoa, peanut butter, milk and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a full boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in oatmeal and vanilla. Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool.
(Recipe from: http://lovinfromthebarneckoven.blogspot.com/2009/01/gorilla-poop-cookies.html )

Reading the article reminds me of two random memories related to elephant poo... The first is when my friend and classmate Sara and I were traveling in Uganda going on safari through Murchinson Falls, one of her field assistants requested that she bring back some elephant poo. Apparently, it also has some herbal medicinal value too. She actually found some fresh poo, put it in a plastic bag and put it in the case where the spare tire was attached to the back of our SUV. Unfortunately, we got a flat tire as we were traveling down a very rocky and bumpy dirt clay road. When we opened up the covering to get the spare tire out, the poo was missing....
My second memory is just recently when I went to the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum in London. Located in the gift shop was low and behold, elephant poo in a box that fertilizes rose seeds!!!! They also had several other items like note pads, cards, and paper made from recycled elephant poo. And no they did not smell :)

Urges to sew...

Ok, so this post is somewhat different and not totally related to primates. Ever since I came back from doing my research in Uganda I have been fascinated by African wax block print fabrics/textiles. My dear friend Jassy a.k.a African Princess Barbie b/c she is extremely fashionable and beautiful, whom I would visit on the weekends or whenever I travelled into town, Fort Portal, to obtain supplies, food, and use the internet cafes, provided me with the dearly missed female stereotypical familiarity of shopping, African style. She thought it was unusual that I did not bring with me any skirts or dresses which I had to explain to her that it was not practical to wear while trekking through the forest especially with all the ants, itchy nettles and million and other things. So as my farewell present (yes it is unusual to say and allow but she was from a "well to do family" and is a city girl) she had a dress and a skirt and top outfit custom made for me. She picked out the f abric from the market and had a more traditional African dress made for me that had a fish tail skirt with ruffles and slightly off the shoulder sleeves in a red, yellow, green and blue design. The second outfit was a black and white pattern, hence I was studying the black and white monkeys! It was a simple A line skirt and a separate strapless top with some embellishment stitching at the top!!! Absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, I need to get the zipper fixed as once I tried to wear it properly with a strapless bra the zipper busted. Hmm, I guess I should have known better. In return, I got Jassy the same thing for her good bye present, a skirt and dress and a necklace to go with them which were made esp ecially for her which she was delighted about!

Towards the end of my stay another lady within the field site as we referred to as "Baby Momma" (her real name was Immaculate) offered to make me an outfit (cause clearly I needed a skirt or dress and was to manly in my trousers and capri pants lol). So I agreed, selected with the help of the locals, and paid her a reasonable price for the outfit I thought she was going to make. And to my surprise, she outsourced the project and was actually the middle "man" and had it made by a seamstress in Fort Portal (cheeky but I must say smart). The top was a gorgeous tunic and even had piping on the edges and a long fish tail deep blue skirt. I was extremely impressed by all of the outfits.

So I guess that is why I am now a bit obsessed with trying to make my own African print dress using a 1950's simple dress pattern and African wax print block fabric. It makes me wish I had my grandmother's sewing machine that she gave me or could use her newer one and had her old dress patterns. But with technology today and the trusty internet here is what I found so far for inspiration!

http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/1950s-dress-with-african-fabric

http://www.coutureallure.com/products/vintage-40s-african-print-cotton-sun-dress-medium-bust-38

Great Gorilla Run 2009

Speaking of Goals....

Just last week I completed another one of my goals, to run in The Great Gorilla Run in London. I willingly registered and committed myself and £80 to run 7 km in a gorilla suit and raise a minimum of £400 that goes to over 20 established projects that support gorilla conservation. It is a great cause and an amazing idea and event that The Gorilla Organization has conceived. Hundreds of people running around in furry gorilla costumes throughout central London, passing by numerous tourist and main London attractions and scenic bridges. To the average bystander it must seem like a scene from the "Planet of the Apes" films. It is frightening to know that there were more gorilla runners in London that day than the total remaining population of the mountain gorillas and even triple the amount of the remaining Cross River Gorilla species!!!

I successfully raised my set fund-raising goal with the help of my fellow primatologists and by enticing friends with pictures of my apetastic fun. I also had a major business sponsorship, RTA Publicity and proudly wore a t shirt with their logo and contact details. If you are interested in sponsoring me, there is still time to do so. Donating through the site below is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me!

Please visit the link below

http://my.artezglobal.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=283051

The actual experience was amazing even though I felt like I was rolled up in carpet that continuously shed and found its way into my mouth, nose, and eyes!!! It was hot as it was abnormally warm for a September day, but it was nothing compared to the hot weather in South Carolina! :) I took advantage of this opportunity and ran the entire way with a cardboard box sign that read "Fighting Permanent Redundancy". I admit I am overly proud of this cheeky play on words and smiled when I saw people read it and nod their heads. I hammed it up or should I say "aped" it up for the cameras by running slower, knuckle walked and displayed when I went past photographers. I even deliberately sat down on the Millennium Bridge (the famous wire metal looking one between the Tate Modern Art Museum and St. Paul's Cathedral) to increase the visibility of my clever sign and raise the awareness of gorilla conservation. Overall, it was APETASTIC! I even got a couple of bananas as I ran past some cafes in which the workers excitedly handed us bananas (good thing I had a box to put it in).

I am not crazy, well maybe a little, but Ian Redmond actually knuckle walked the entire 7km barefooted!!! I passed him during the early stages and knew it was him as he is probably the only Gung Ho! person I know who would do this run with black painted bare feet!!!! Now that is dedication. If you don't believe me or sadly do not know who Ian Redmond is, then check out the link below :)

http://gorilla.wildlifedirect.org/2009/09/28/ian-redmond-ready-steady-go-rilla-the-yog-jog-blog/

I hope to one day see the gorillas in the wild before they are "permanently redundant".

Monkey Tales...

Since I cannot remember my previous blog login id and password that I initially started, I thought I would just start over and have a fresh start.... Call me a dork but it has been one of my goals to start a blog and record my random thoughts, ideas, and adventure tales. So with only a few months left in 2009, the year of the ape, I figured I best get started. :)

One of the reasons I wanted to start a blog is so that I can share my experiences with others. I am a twenty something year old living in London for the past two years! Yippie!!! I guess I can now officially be referred to as an expatriot! I came to London to obtain my master's in research in primatology, hence all of the primate, monkey and ape, references. I successfully obtained my degree and have been working and living in London ever since and trying to figure out the what next part in life as we all do. So stay tuned for more tales from this inquisitive monkey, well technically ape, to be scientifically accurate :o) !