This video is of the infant in group R, he’s a little over two years old and almost completely independent from his mother now. The last time I was here, he was still in the weaning phase and she spent a lot of time carrying him. Now he’s flinging himself all over the canopy, exploring and practicing his locomotion. His older sister is VERY rambunctious and he is CLEARLY following her lead because the two of them get pretty feisty with their play bouts, wrestling and chasing each other around. In this video, Rarin was crossing over me quite close, so I got out the camera and then he got a bit nervous – you can see he keeps looking down at me, and looking up (at his parents), so I put the camera away to calm him down. But it’s a pretty cool shot, the quality is not the best, it’s a bit out of focus but next trip with the super camera for my research the videos will be AWESOME!
Here’s another cool video.
This is of Rarin’s mother, Brit, traveling from one feeding tree to another.
Gibbons are so great!
All too often students begin fieldwork full of anticipation and high hopes for big adventure, only to end up burned out and on their way home within a month. This has inspired me to write a post about what it takes to survive primate behavioural research for people who may be considering taking this "road less traveled by" in the future. I won't water it down for you; primate research is not for everyone. Fieldwork is an uphill road, overloaded with obstacles that will test your personal strength every step of the way. (Perhaps there's a reason we opted to leave the forest and culture up our lives, oh so many years ago :). But if you've got what it takes to push yourself beyond the comforts of the average everyday world, and you're interested in finding out just how strong an individual you really are, then studying primates is one of the most inspirational and rewarding jobs available! Think you've got what it takes? Here are my tips for what it...
Comments
Not too happy to hear of the banded krait. I would have preferred to have had it a bit more elusive when you were around.
One week left in this short visit. Have fun. Keep safe - run fast and stay inside.