There is a Silver Lining in the clouds above West Africa!
By Greg C. Greer
Staff Naturalist
International Expeditions
I work for International Expeditions and I am extremely fortunate in that I am able to travel the world in search of spectacular wildlife and natural vistas that often grace the world’s most famous post cards. Over the past years, I have traveled at least once a year to West Africa and specifically to the countries of Mali, Senegal and The Gambia. In past years, it has always been difficult to find wildlife as habitat destruction through ions of time has resulted in most wildlife being extirpated over much of the vast region of Western Africa. Certainly there are some pockets of “insular” habitat where a few species of monkeys, bush buck and a few duiker may exist. In addition there are even some unique adaptations exhibited by some very rare species, including desert elephants. Desert elephants are highly publicized in Namibia, Southern Africa and most people are not even aware of the small herd of elephant that exists in a desert area of Mali, where the big pachyderms traverse miles of desert to go from one watering hole to the next. However, this being said, much of the wildlife of West Africa is gone today, thus when a hot spot is found…..it becomes something extremely significant and we “naturalists” tend to really get excited about these types of treasures. My trip this year resulted in one of those magical times when “the kid in the candy store” had his cup runneth over.
We were navigating up The Gambia River, about 200 miles from its mouth. We left our very lovely home, a Greek ship named the M/Y Callisto and we boarded a more conventional mode of transportation on the river…..a double decker pirogue. The boat was very long and its entire upper deck was clad in cushions. Just perfect for relaxation and just sitting back and watching the river, slowly pass by. In some areas, the banks were lined in gallery forest and in other locations, huge stands of fragmites, over 4 meters high blanketed the waters edge. Very soon after embarking our pirogue we began seeing primates. (the non-human type) There were two species, red colobus and vervets and both were probably equally common but because of the coloration and size of the red colobus, that species appeared to be the most common. However, as I scanned with my binoculars, it was only then that an almost equal number of vervets were present. The red colobus are a very handsome creature and it became quite obvious that there were not large avian predators in the area as these monkeys would sit, completely exposed at the very tops of some of the bare trees. We frequently observed chases and great leaps as these monkeys were either being playful or aggressive depending upon the situation and if females, young or food were the reasons for the chase. Through the length of the morning we probably observed a few hundred primates which was such a wonderful change from my past experiences in West Africa. In addition, along the way we observed many birds and in one bend of the river, we came upon huge rafts of waterfowl. The large rafting was actually made up of smaller flocks of a few different species. The species remained true to their species within their smaller flocks but as birds rose from the water, one could very easily see that there were at least 3 distinctively different species. The most abundant were white-faced whistling duck and a very close second were Comb ducks, AKA Knob-billed duck. Both species are highly arboreal in their roosting habits and it was really interesting to see the very BIG comb ducks landing on horizontal branches of the trees along the rivers edge. There were also some spur-winged geese but their numbers were considerably less than the two previous species mentioned. Upon binocular inspection, we also observed Northern Shovelor, Northern Pintail, and just a few tufted duck. Also in regards to birds, we would occasionally see well off in the distance a bright white spot in the trees. As we closed the gap, most often these white spots became African fish eagles perched along the rivers edge. These birds are incredibly gorgeous with a body of chestnut coloration and an immaculate white head and neck. We then arrived at an area known as the Baboon Islands. This is part of The River Gambia National Park, where some of the islands are now home to common chimpanzees. The chimps have been released here as part of a rehabilitation program and although we were informed that the chimps are not frequently seen, we could hear very loud screams, that only a chimp can produce. Up ahead, there was a great deal of movement in a tree over-hanging the river. As we neared the tree, there was a large male chimp, using his massive power and weight, to bounce on a limb while he held onto another large branch that was perfectly situated over his head. With his very lengthy extended arms he could hold firmly, the limb over his head, thus keeping his balance. He was really putting on a show and as soon as we learned there was not adequate foraging on the island for the chimps and that the chimps were fed daily by rangers…..we then realized this big fella was being very demanding wanting his “grub”. Even in this natural yet un-natural situation, it was quite a sight to marvel at this very impressive animal. The very sad realization is that many years ago, these great apes ranged throughout most of West Africa as the region was historically heavily forested.
Not long after we bid goodbye to the big chimp we spotted a small group of hippos in the river. Hippos also are not doing very well in West Africa because the local people do not take too kindly to hippos doing what hippos do…..they leave the river at night to feed on vegetation. Unfortunately, not much remains of suitable grazing for these massive animals and they find themselves feeding on crops, thus villagers do not take very kindly to the river horse and most of them have been killed off for this reason as well as for meat. In addition to the hippos, there were also a few Nile Crocodiles to be seen and although the slender-snouted crocodile is also present in this area, we were not successful in finding one. I am sure that a night boat trip with a good spotlight would have met with great success but this would have to be for another time……..which really tugged at me as I have a very strong affinity for herps. (reptiles)
As we neared our destination, which was Janjanbureh, we left the river with memories of a very pleasant morning filled with nature. It is extremely nice to know that there are still some places in West Africa where wildlife is still doing…..OK, at least for the time being. In this area of the world, tomorrow may bring tragedy but hopefully it will only bring another sunrise of hope for the last holdouts of the natural world.
I have worked for International Expeditions for 10 years. I am the staff naturalist and Conservation Director and I also lead numerous trips into the field every year. International Expeditions has wildlife destinations on all continents of the world and it is wonderful for me, as a naturalist, to have the world as my office.
I can be reached at: ggreer@ietravel.com
International Expeditions website: www.IEtravel.com
