Orphans

In total we have almost 400 Chacma Baboons here at C.A.R.E. Sadly, a large percent of them were orphaned when they were tiny pink faces (the younger a baboon is, the pinker its face). They were hand raised by surrogate moms (and dads) and then join a troop that matches their age group. When they finally join a troop they are weaned from their surrogate and begin to sleep with their troop not with a human. From there, the have a lot of human contact during the day until they are about 2 years old and then are weaned off of human contact so that they can live and function as "normal" baboons. The hope is that most of these troops will be rehabilitated back into the wild at some point, however it is a dream that is very hard to make a reality. To many South Africans, baboons are pests, an annoying nuisance and they do not want anymore in the wild. Subsequently, getting a permit and finding a safe place to rehabilitate these baboons can be quite a struggle. But it is something that every volunteer here at C.A.R.E. continues to fight for.

In the Olivia troop (named after a very old and kind hearted baboon that passed away recently) there are 16 babies all of which have been weaned from their surrogates and spend the days playing with their troop, trying to figure out their ranking among the group. There is always at least one person in their enclosure at all hours to play and cuddle them, make sure that they are ok and safe, and playing nicely. These babies get bottles and fresh food every 2 hours and at 5 are brought to their sleeping rooms by the volunteers. Learning the names of all these babies has been kind of difficult but I am finally getting to know all of their distinct features and characterstics. I do have a favorite baboon in this troop (and she chose me) her name is Jayne and although she is a little insane she is such a sweet and fun little lady. She spends most of the time I am in there on my lap or asleep in my jacket.

In the Mountain Lodge we now have 6 babies all being raised by surrogates in the house.
~Rory- 2.5 month old boy, orphaned when tomato farmers shot his mom. He is shy but a sweetheart
~Jonah-4 month old boy, chubby and playful and sometimes a handful
~Tank- 3 month old boy, timid yet gaining his footing, he was found in a barrel and was being used for witchcraft of some kind
~Orion- 5 week old boy, very big happy eyes very playful, his mom was shot by poachers is what we think
~Awesome- 8 week old boy, found by conservation specialists, very shy but curious of his big world around him
~Ellie- 5 week old girl (our only girl!) she just arrived today and I have a lot to learn about her

                                      Rory                                                          Tank

                              Jonah                                                               Orion

All these babies definitely make dinner time a very interesting and unique experince! Its not everyday you have a baby baboon jumping into your lap when you are trying to eat :) What a great experience

What I Have Learned So Far

So here are a couple of things I have learned after being in South Africa for 11 days

·      Lipsmacking is the way to show affection to baboons

·      Bottles are battis

·      A female baboon showing her swelling to you is a sign of trust and she wants you to touch it and you should...unless there is a male nearby then do not

·      A male baboon humping your hand is also a sign of trust and you should “diddle” it...yes diddle it

·      Grooming = love

·      There is a drink that the South Africans make made of fermented wheat, Sorgum, yeast, maize meal, sugar and water that sits in the sun for days...and I had some and lived to tell the tale

·      The babies go through almost 180 battis (bottles) a day

·      Baboons of all shapes and sizes love formula and will always drink the extra

·      Baboons are greedy and always want what you have even if they have the same thing

·      Baboon babies love men more than women and when they grow up respect men more

·      Never get in the middle of a baboon fight (duh)

·      Being peed and pooped on is a daily and multiple occurrence

·      You have never seen the sky look as amazing at night as it does here its unbelievable

·      Going to bed at 930 (or earlier) is totally acceptable

·      I miss my mattress...enough said

·      Beets = magenta/red poop and lots of it on you and everywhere

·      You do not choose your favorite baboon they choose you and you become their person

·      Warthogs are total wimps and scardycats and just kind of annoying

An update from the bush

What a beautiful face
I have found in this place
That is circling all round the sun
What a beautiful dream
That could flash on the screen
In a blink of an eye and be gone from me
Soft and sweet
Let me hold it close and keep it here with me, me

Sitting under my mosquito net bed after another long day at C.A.R.E. Once again, the sound of frogs, baboons grunting and bugs (of all shapes and sizes) buzzing and flying around are the sounds that lull me to sleep at night. What a change from home. A home that I have been away from for exactly one week!

In the middle of a busy day I sometimes even forget I am in Africa. I get so swept up in washing bottles, feeding bottles, playing with young ones and cleaning that I forget how far away I am from home. But then a baboon makes and alarm call and everyone looks up from their job and notices an enormous bull elephant slowly grazing in the bush, knocking down tree limbs and munching on the newly grown grass. It is then that you remember that you are indeed in Africa (no doubt about it). The volunteers all took a good hour to observe the elephant watch its movements and to make sure it did not get too close. This is truly an amazing place and I need to remind myself everyday (even when I am exhausted and  covered in poop) that I am lucky to be here.

Two to three times a day I am responsible for sitting, playing with, and observing the babies (this is by far my favorite time of day). There are a total number of 20 in the baby troop and slowly but surely I am learning all of their names and different characteristics. Just like my seven little babies back in Wooster, each baboon has its own distinct personality. Janey is a bitch in the mornings but loves to snuggle in your shirt and groom you (she just needs to work on being gentle). Tempe is a rambunctious little girl who loves being swung and who wants to play for hours but at the end of the day falls asleep in your arms when being carried to bed. Schmeegle (the alpha male of the group) a big baby who likes to drink his bottles in your arms and who acts tough but is really just a gentle giant. And Jonah, a timid boy with the rest of the troop but when you get him alone tramps around the lodge like he owns the place. What makes the baby time more fun is that they are starting to remember me and warm up to and trust me (not totally but getting there) everyday I make progress bonding with one of them and sharing a special moment with them. I have to say I am becoming a very good groomer and they love it. You have not lived till a baby baboon grooms the inside of your ear (yep this is what my day consists of) The best part, no one here judges anyone for being covered in poop and pee or for wearing pants that you can smell from a football field away. It is just the way it is here and any ounce of embarrassment or self-doubt you have goes out the window (a great great great thing for me!)

A favorite activity of mine when I do find a moment of peace is to walk around the grounds and try and get to know some of the other wild and housed baboons. I have found that I love the personalities, demeanors and beauty of the males. They are huge majestic creatures but look at you with these eyes that seem all knowing with hints of kindness. Although it is technically not allowed I always try and sneak some treats for them when no one is looking, I just can’t help myself, those eyes are impossible to say no to. I’ve learned from the other long term volunteers which ones are nice and which ones can be jerks and all of their individual stories and rankings. It’s an amazing thing to eat your breakfast and look out to see fifty or so wild baboons interacting and socializing with each other and just being wild yet safe. No one will harm them here or poach them or trap them as pets, it is a haven and they know it.

As much as I miss the comforts of home (and having completely clean fingernails (an impossible thing here) I try and enjoy every moment I have here. Of course my mattress is not the most comfortable thing in the world, and I spent 2 hours picking up rotten food from an enclosure for basically shits and giggles and I smell (more like reek) of baboons all day, but this is an awesome place. Not just the environment but the people. People who share my interests and who all have the same common goal: to help all creatures (except for these fucking bugs I swear to god I need a zapper and I will pay cash for it!)

Isn't Africa supposed to be hot?

Day 3  at the C.A.R.E center and also the third day of rain, mud and freezing weather! I am definitely wishing I had some warmer clothes because the combination of being muddy, wet from the rain, being peed on and 47 degree weather makes for a very cold Courtney! Besides the weather it is absolutely wonderful here, think camp but with baboons everywhere! 

The days here start at 6:30 where you wake up, pull yourself out of your warm bed and begin to make bottles (56 to be exact) for the babies small enough to need bottles. Then you bring the babies from their sleeping room to their play room where they are until 5:00pm. Between now and then your time is spent monitoring the other baboons around the center (around 400) to make sure they look happy and healthy, preparing food, making warm bottles, washing those bottles, playing and caring for the babies, and trying to grab a meal here and there. By the end of the day we are all pretty wiped! A couple of the babies, too small to stay with the others are brought into the house and sleep with surrogate moms and provide us with entertainment in the evening.

The good news is I have internet...the bad news is the internet barely works enough to do even the most basic of tasks (aka checking my email which I cannot do) but at least it is something and was a surprise :) I'm trying to post some pictures but they might have to come all at the end.

Traveling in Numbers

Hello from the Johannesburg International Airport Transfer Terminal! I successfully made it to Africa in one piece. I have to say, the flight went by a LOT faster than I thought it would! I guess it helps when you have some champagne to calm the nerves and 100+ options of things to watch. Just a short post today to give you all an idea of my journey using some numbers.


12,000: number of miles between Colorado and Phalaborwa (approximately)
4.5: number of movies watched in air
4: glasses of champagne consumed
3: hours of sleep
1: bag successfully made it to Johannesburg
2: words spoken to seatmate (not a very friendly guy) 
600: number of possible seat positions available
1: one still very nervous traveler who is trying to stay calm and have fun! 

That is all for now  :) Miss you all

When I Come Back Down

I am officially counting this as Day One: September 2, 2012. I am sitting in the Hilton near JFK after a four hour flight from Colorado to New York (part one of the 36 hour journey: complete!!) I am trying to enjoy this nice hotel room while I have it because I know a bed this nice and a shower this hot are going to be hard to come by for the next two months, but that doesn't help how lonely it feels. One thing for sure,  I am so lucky to have my parents with me for this portion of the trip ( I say goodbye to them tomorrow as they are headed off to Scotland on their own adventure), but saying goodbye to Derek was HARD, and no amount of semi-decent hotel restaurant food and HBO will make this day any easier. I always judged those couples that would kiss and hug each other goodbye in the airport, crying as they parted, but today I have a new found appreciation for those couples because I became one.  I am sorry for ever judging you. I kind of wished I could tell everyone I passed, who looked at my red cheeks and puffed up nose with a curious and pitiful look, that I was not a wimp who was just taking a 2 day business trip but that I was going 12,000 miles away from my fiance and life here for two months in Africa!

Time to put on my big girl panties and accept that this is actually happening. Part one of three complete, no looking back now, Here I GO!
 
No pictures of cute monkeys today, all I have for tonight is a song by Nickle Creek which, although I sob everytime I hear it, is helping me get through the next couple of days. I love you Derek!

Listen to the song here!

"When You Come Back Down"

You got to leave me now, you got to go alone
You got to chase a dream, one that's all your own
Before it slips away
When you're flying high, take my heart along
I'll be the harmony to every lonely song
That you learn to play

When you're soaring through the air
I'll be your solid ground
Take every chance you dare
I'll still be there
When you come back down
When you come back down

I'll keep looking up, awaiting your return
My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn
And I won't feel your fire
I'll be the other hand that always holds the line
Connecting in between your sweet heart and mine
I'm strung out on that wire

And I'll be on the other end, To hear you when you call
Angel, you were born to fly, If you get too high
I'll catch you when you fall
I'll catch you when you fall

[Bridge:]
Your memory's the sunshine every new day brings
I know the sky is calling
Angel, let me help you with your wings

When you're soaring through the air
I'll be your solid ground
Take every chance you dare

I'll still be there
When you come back down
Take every chance you dare,
I'll still be there
When you come back down
When you come back down