Up at 5:30, breakfast at 6, off on foot at 6:30 to see chimps. The going is rough, frequently off trail uphill, over slippery roots and mud. The chimps are solitary in the morning, grazing high in the canopy, 150 feet above our heads. Slowly they join others. We spend the morning searching to see where a group will congregate. We are advised during the day, the chimps will descend. They do, but not low enough and camera conditions are poor. We wait.
We lunch and then take off in a different direction. We spot a sole male juvenile on the ground. We follow him hoping he will take us to another group. Eventually he gets tired of us and takes off up a tree. We trek for another 3 hours, up and down hills, on and off trails. No more chimps. At 4, we give up. We hike to a road and wait for our driver to pick us up about 6 km from where we started. All I have to show is 4 lousy pictures, none on my blackberry. Instead of a chimp, you get an olive baboon. Chimps are hard.
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