Monkeys and Geckos and Bush Babies, oh my!

Since most people come to Tanzania to see the amazing wildlife, I thought I’d write a bit about my fellow critters.  Although I’m quite close to Lake Victoria and numerous national parks, I am located in the bush around a largely dried up lake all of the really cool animals aren’t within eyesight of my bed.  Hyenas were always around here until just before I came because one became rabid so they had to shoot it and the rest get scared and left.  Nani has seen a leopard or two in the past.  Hippos are only around in the rainy season.  Lions haven’t been within miles for over 15 years.  As the surrounding area has become largely farms, most have them have moved out.  So, I’m left with strange pesky little things and so far monkeys, geckos, and bush babies are the main animals that I’ve come to encounter most frequently, besides birds, bugs, and cows (they also have a farm with 80ish cows that often graze within feet of my house).   Here’s a bit about each of them:

Monkeys.  As Kian calls them: the enemy.  They are absolutely nuts.  The most common ones out here are grivet monkeys, and they are quite the pesky little buggers.  The other day I was sitting on my porch enjoying a breakfast of toast and papaya while waiting for the boys to arrive for school and I kept hearing all of these strange noises.  I looked up to see (at least) 30 monkeys surrounding me.  We definitely had a showdown and I’m pretty positive I lost the staring competition… but once they came within feet of me and my peaceful morning mealtime and tried to walk inside my house I couldn’t really keep my composure.  Luckily I heard the boys had arrived so I went inside to greet them.  Dylan heard something outside so we went to see and sure enough a few of them had attacked the table for anything that remained.  I looked over to see a monkey sitting in a nearby tree with leftover papaya and toast in hand.  I swear he was maniacally grinning.  One point for the monkeys, zero for me.  I believe the war with the enemy has just begun.  I used to think monkeys were the cutest thing and if I were to ever have a pet I wanted one, but next time they are wreaking havoc or running on my roof (the first time I thought there was a huge thunderstorm or that judgment day had finally arrived) I might just be picking up the slingshot that has been serving as a nice centerpiece for my coffee table and put it to use. 

Geckos… As I’m writing this a gecko just came within inches of my head.  These things are everywhere.  I truly mean EVERYWHERE.  Although they’re only about 6 inches max, they have caused me to get airborne on more than one occasion.  Last night I went to open a binder that I have a bunch of information in and one jumped right out at me.  I jumped right back.  Yesterday Dylan was looking through my cabinets for something and one scurried out past him but he didn’t even flinch.  I guess I just have to get used to them, but they’re quite good at camouflaging so it’s gonna take some time. 

Bush babies! Probably my favorite animal around here right now.  These are honestly some of the cutest/homeliest little things I’ve ever seen.  They’re nocturnal, but at night they’re really easy to spot because their eyes get glow a piercing red with any glint of a flashlight to reveal a tiny fuzzy animal jumping around the trees.  Google them.  Really.