The Season of Flowers

First of all: yesterday. I was in the forest before dawn and I walked up and down the volcano all day in search of Wrinkle Belly or his group. No luck. But perhaps more importantly, I was able to get some ecological data and also just more general data on the number and composition of other howler groups out there. I encountered 5 groups total and heard two more. That’s a lot of monkeys.

Early in the morning as I was scouring the North group core for WB, I ran into the “rich gringo landowners.” As it turns out, I think I was misinformed. These people are practically kids, and they have no intention of cutting down the forest. It seems like they’re actually just after a Thoreau-like Walden experience of being one with nature. They’re going to build a little hut near the forest edge, and it seems that all the commotion that has been going on in the North patch is to dig a water-line to their place. (I guess Henry David Thoreau didn’t have running water in his house, but at this point that’s probably splitting hairs). At any rate, they seem like nice people. While we were talking, I saw a flash of red, yellow and black on the path (Red against black, friend of Jack…)… the muchachos had found (and killed) a coral snake while working on the waterline. Geez… that makes 2 coral snakes in the past week!!

While wandering around the forest in search of Wrinkle Belly, I did come across a patch of cleared land at the edge of the North group range. I’ve been told a few different things by different people, but it seems like this land has been cleared by a local person who is going to grow oranges. What I do not know is if he is going to clear more land or if this is it. If he doesn’t cut down more trees, I doubt Wrinkle Belly’s group will have to make drastic changes to their ranging patterns. I am still really confused about all the various things I have been told over the last several days, but at the moment it seems like this whole situation got better without actually getting worse. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

On to today: There was some confusion with Simeon as well, but I was finally able to have him come out with me today. We found Wrinkle Belly before we even entered the forest. I have never seen the group that low before. There were just a few trees along the trail, and fields were on either side. Simeon said they use these trees as a corridor to go down to a different patch of forest along the road. Simeon had previously told me that WB’s group sometimes goes down to the road, but I had been extremely incredulous—that forest patch has to be over a kilometer away from their usual location, and that’s a long way for a howler monkey. But after seeing them in the corridor, I am starting to believe Simeon.

Like a true delegator, I sent Simeon off to do some other investigating for me while I stayed with the monkeys. I had him count all the Spondias trees in the North group forest patch and look to see whether or not they were fruiting. I know there are many more Spondias trees in the North patch than in the South patch—leading to dietary differences between the two groups. Next time I will have Simeon count the Spondias in the South patch (I think there might only be 1) so I can compare. At any rate, you’ll have to read my dissertation to find out the true number of Spondias trees up north, but let me just say, it’s a huge amount. And right now, Spondias season appears to be over: none of them are fruiting. As the rains have mainly stopped and the winds have picked up, we have now entered the season of flowers. Some of the trees have begun blooming, and the monkeys have gone wandering in search of the season’s first delectable flowers.

More later, thanks for reading.