All the children saying goodbye to us after our 3 day stay in their village
a mouse lemur during our night-time trapping
a really cool looking spider (they're really big here, like REALLY big)
kids love photographs in villages
old man sitting in a window in a village
all the children saying goodbye to us after our 3 day stay in the village
Hey all!
Madagascar is still doing really well. I just got back from an expedition to the second village that we are working with (out of 3). Since the village is only about a 20 minute drive away, we did a lot of work there before our expedition meaning that we only had to sleep there for 3 nights. Village 3 is a few hour drive away and because of that we have to do all of the work there at the same time; we're leaving on tuesday for a 10 day expedition.
Yesterday we went mouse lemur trapping, which was a really amazing experience. Mouse lemur trapping consists of setting small traps in trees and hanging them by strings. A few hours after setting the traps you go to collect them and take the lemurs out. When we took the lemurs out (they're in between the size of a mouse and a rat) we got to hold them (with gloves on) which was just so great. There's nothing cooler than holding the world's smallest primate in your hand, so thank you IRES, for giving me that opportunity.
Meanwhile, on hours that we have off and on weekends, I frequently go visit the river that's down by the Centre, or go hiking in the forest, or go on day trips with other researchers and help them with their research. Earlier today I went into the forest with another lemur researcher and we were collecting lemur urine, which is probably one of the most difficult things I've ever done. She used frisbees to collect urine as it was falling from the canape.
I'll be sure to check back in as soon as we return from the third village
All the best
Ian
Hey Ian, thanks for the update. It cracks me up when you guys get so excited about your critters. I was talking to another student who was visiting different labs and she about screamed "omg, they have SO MANY MICE!" Most people wouldn't get it but we do, we do :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I just noticed, on the photo of the old man, are those little solar panels resting on that shelf outside the window?
ReplyDeletesuper photos and great quotes for the program!
ReplyDeletehaha, yeah, in a lot of the richer villages, people will buy one or two solar panels to power just one lightbulb that they can keep on while eating dinner here. In the winter here (summer for the US), it's pitch black by 6:30 and so it's candle's and solar powered lights (or flashlights too)
ReplyDelete