It has been a while since I last blogged (read Bethan's previous post, Trekking through Cameroon), and a lot has happened. Long-term survey work is continuing at the Ebo Forest Research Station and we have appointed a young Cameroonian botanist to our team; I presented details of our work to academics and others interested in primates at the International Primatological Society Congress in Uganda; the surveying of different areas within the Ebo forest has continued despite a particularly intense rainy season.

Last week, I went with two of our research assistants, Ekwoge Abwe and Victor Nkome (pictured above, right to left) to the western part of the Ebo forest, across the Ebo river valley from where we have our research station. Our aim was to visit a " famous" hunting camp known as MisMis, a two- to three-day trek into the forest along an overgrown and abandoned logging road. I wanted to see how the forest and hunting patterns on the west of the river differs from that on the east side where we have our research station. We passed several smaller hunting camps on the way: one was even inside a felled tree (see bushmeat drying rack below)!

It was immediately obvious to us that this area was very different; the tree species offered a diverse array of fruits which are not present around our research station. We saw a lone chimpanzee fleetingly, feeding on some as-yet-unidentified red fruit species covering the ground. We also saw Goliath frogs in the fast-flowing rocky rivers, which are very high at this time of year with the daily rains. In fact, it rained relentlessly the entire trip. Each morning, we had to put on our wet clothes to start our work. Not long after setting off shivering, each of us began to steam as the damp clothing dried out from our body heat. We observed monkeys, including the mona monkey, but their behavior was markedly different from what we are used to: here, they became quiet when they realized humans were nearby and tried to hide in the deepest foliage of the trees. We were not fortunate to see drills, although some hunters later told us that they had been sighted a few days earlier (and not killed, thankfully, since the hunter did not have a dog to track them).

We reached MisMis after two days and spent as much time as we could talking to six hunters. This group was from the east of Cameroon and had come to this region because the prices they get for their bushmeat are higher since the forest is so close to Douala, one of the largest cities in Central Africa. They pay the local chief a monthly " fee" for using the forest in this way, which varies with the method of hunting: trapping or shooting. A second group of hunters was local and tolerated the easterners only because some of the hunting fee the chief receives comes to them.

Back in the village days later, we saw a bushmeat taxi bringing crates of beer, rice, and luxuries from the city to be exchanged for the bushmeat. This is an all-too-familiar sight in villages surrounding the Ebo forest, and we are trying to document the intricacies of the trade here to suggest practical, implementable ways of curtailing it when the Ebo forest becomes protected. We must never forget, however, that hunters are often suffering from extreme poverty and have very little chance of finding alternative employment in Cameroon and supporting their families.

I was happy to get back to the relative comfort of our base and a clean, dry change of clothing. I'm still amazed that the forest is so different from the forest around our base camp: they are only 19 miles (30 kilometers) apart, on opposite sides of the Ebo river valley. It was also interesting to see and speak to " foreign" hunters, who do not hunt in the forest surrounding our research station.

Finally, I found myself wondering why, after over 10 years of working in tropical Africa, I had my tumbu fly initiation just last week. This intriguing insect has larvae that live in the deep skin layer after the eggs hatch on wet clothing (in humans). I did not realize that the infected swelling on my leg was anything suspicious, so I had quite a shock when a white maggot emerged! Under the microscope, I later marveled at the diversity of life here, but this life form is one I could have done without.

Dr. Bethan Morgan is a Conservation Research Fellow for the San Diego Zoo's CRES.

Here's more information about Bethan's project in Cameroon.

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