Wrapping up field work!

Lo and behold, data collection is done. Kenya asante sana and peace out!

Bike and Frisbee coming down low and playing on my last day of follows.

We finished collecting data at the end of March, a bit earlier than planned. Why? Because we collected at a faster rate than planned! Hallelujah. After two months of training, four months of heavy rains, and four of light rain/dry season, we followed 40-41 juvenile blue monkeys for about 1600 hours (67 full days), or 5 hours per subject month. We collected 620 urine and 627 fecal samples… and the little-solar-freezer-that-could kept them frozen the whole time. The next steps for me are labwork and lots of data analysis. Data analysis and labwork will come together to reveal how social relationships tie into physiological status during development. They'll also overlap with the entire process of WRITING UP the dissertation. If you're interested in how the chapters of my dissertation are to pan out, I've put their titles at the bottom of the page.

Awash National Park, Ethiopia (baboons on right)

Alexis, homegirl extraordinaire

Since February, data collection was briefly interrupted by a trip to Dr. Larissa Swedell’s Filoha camp in Awash National Park, Ethiopia, where I went to visit Alexis Amann, a friend and PhD candidate at CUNY. Alexis studies female reproductive strategies in hamadryas baboons, a species where a single male tightly and despotically controls the movements of his small “unit” of females (once-upon-a-time called a “harem”). Units come together and travel as “bands,” and bands come together at night to form the upwards of 250 baboon-strong “troop.” They call this a nested-hierarchical social structure. As field sites run the range of plush to rugged, Filoha is rugged. The living situation is comfortable but the work itself is hard. Hamadryas baboons are cliff-dwelling, which means humans have to hike up cliffs very early in the morning to find the massive troop before it files off quickly into the great arid unknown. Alexis basically rock jumps (see right) and cliff hangs to collect baboon feces to monitor males' and females' energetic and reproductive status. If the camp did not have a cook on staff, and Ethiopian food weren’t so amazing, Filoha would be a bonafide fat-camp. The trekking is hard and dangerous, but if you ask Alexis, the "babs" are worth it.

Racing bikes at the Kisumu arcade

At the end of March, my data collection team (and their kids!) spent a celebratory two days in Kisumu, the large city near our camp on Lake Victoria. It was the first time these four women ever visited Kisumu or saw Lake Victoria, despite living their whole lives two hours from it. They also saw their first film in a cinema (Kung Fu Panda in 3D), played their first games of air hockey and bumper cars, stayed in their first hotel, and saw their first zoo (lions, cheetahs, giraffes…). As a reward for their hard work this year, I also gave them their data collection tablets (Samsung Galaxy 3 Tab Lites). So we we spent lots of time using wifi to get them oriented with their new accounts.

At Lake Victoria

Eating great Italian in Watamu

All of April, I’m tying up loose ends and enjoying some holiday time in Kenya. I’m currently writing from the coast in Watamu, recently arrived from Kilifi, and experiencing how hot and different this side of Kenya is. Watamu and Malindi are considered a "Little Italy" of sorts, and boys on the beach call out "ciao bella" instead of "how are you mzungu?”, which is a welcome change. The pleasant "ciao's" have a less than charming origin - mafiosos started moving to this area several decades ago and set up a sex trade industry. You'll often find 60 year old men and women with their hot little 20-something local strolling the beach or eating shrimp cocktails by the pool. But hey... food's great!

After I get back to camp, I’ll head out again to two field sites of friends/colleagues in Kibale National Park, Uganda. And after that... I’m pretty much back home. Yep, I’ll be back end of April/early May and can’t wait.

Watamu Bay

When I get home, I may take moment to shake off a bit of PKSD (post-Kenya stress disorder). Just FYI. There have been so many daily frustrations, big and small, which I sometimes think have left me a little rough around the edges. I haven’t recognized myself on several an occasion, and have had to reflect on how I might have handled a situation better on a semi-daily basis . While acting as if I wanted the world here around me to change, I’ve been praying, since November really, that God change something inside me. Pretty much “God, make me less angry and angry less often!” He did, but the story is complicated and ongoing. No doubt, it has a happy ending.

I’ll miss stepping outdoors into a reasonable temperature every morning and running through simple routines of checking the freezer in the morning and before bed. I’ll miss the beauty of worshipping alongside people with lives vastly different from mine. And I’ll probably miss the monkeys… But more than that, I’m looking forward to coming back to NYC and

SEEING FRIENDS AND FAMILY! And having fresh juices, sushi, wifi, network data, reception, etc.

SEE YOU SOON!

Love,

Nicole

The write-up plan!

Chapter 1 - Literature review: how do affiliative relationships influence fitness?

Chapter 2 - How do affiliative relationships influence survival in adult female blue monkeys?

Chapter 3 - What predicts patterns in juveniles social relationships?

Chapter 4 - Are the causes and patterns in affiliative relationships similar between juveniles and their mothers?

Chapter 5 - How are juvenile social strategies influence beneficial in the short term? Do they help juveniles maintain lower stress levels and fewer infections? Do they increase access to food and help individuals avoid predators?

Pictures and shillings and sweets … oh my. Reaching out in the community.

It is mid-February of 2016. Time. flies. I’m looking forward to coming home relatively soon, seeing people, and enjoying several comforts of my norm (wifi, electricity on a grid, trains, punctuality, regular and real communication with people, the occasional cappuccino, sushi, fresh juices… I actually think I’m a pretty low maintenance girl).

I look around lately and think that much of what could have been enjoyable in this neck of Africa has been just out of my reach. Maybe that's because to enjoy this place (beyond sightseeing) is to succumb to its pace. A slow one. A pace where when people say “come at two” they mean “start walking at two and get to my place around three or four.” Real conversations come slowly, real relationships even more slowly, and if you’re trying to get more than one thing done in a day, opportunities for conversation are lost. I know this happens in any place - no one gets to smell the roses if they don’t stop to smell them. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the luxury (or the will?) to stop for so long as many roses here need time to bloom (for me).

Tea plantation at the edge of the forest and village.

Of course, it’s not just the difference of pace that sets me akilter from the people I meet here. A teacher once told me that you can only understand life in a place if you recognize it as a “palimpsest.” Literally, a palimpsest is a piece of writing where the original text is visible but has been altered to make room for new text (to clarify, this was a cultural anthropology prof., i.e. mostly well-meaning but bonkers). A palimpsest is a metaphor for life in any place: there are layers of experience of different generations and backgrounds, layers of use of the land and spaces. Depending on the place I’m in and the experiences of the people I meet, what I represent can change. I would be naive (or naiver than I am) to walk anywhere here and think “I’m just Nicole Thompson, a 30 year-old woman with no nation, no culture, no ancestors, no physical appearance, and no particular advantages in life.” I have all of those things and I am, whether I like it or not (usually not), an ambassador of them all. 

I live in a western pocket of Kenya, in a rural area outside of Kakamega town where it’s particularly poor, populated, and perhaps counterintuitively, particularly secluded (there are real statistics on this - e.g. Nick Mitchell 2009). There’s little investment in infrastructure and few attractions to give people the means and cause to come in or the means and finances to go out. People don’t busy themselves with much around here except living, and they don’t see many white people. When they were kids, locals my age probably saw white people that took their picture, gave them candy, or 10 shillings (10 US cents). As adults their impression of the picture-taking-candy-and-shilling-giving mzungu (foreigner) sticks. Their kids want those things too and more of them. Older locals probably experienced the colonial powers and seem to eye and greet white people with stoicity or rigid respect. In my humble opinion, the interactions between locals and foreigners reflect a deep dynamic - colored with colonialism, white guilt, the exploitation thereof, anti-colonial backlash… and simple, well-meant candy. A motorbike driver shouting ridicule at a white tourist could be genuinely amused with the stranger’s clothing and appearance, or he could be cutting someone down to size that his society and history have wrongly exalted.

But enough about the touchy stuff…

Teaching with SAVE: Evans presents to the large group of students.

For the past two months I’ve been involving myself more in community outreach. We’ve given S.A.V.E. Kakamega Forest (Swift Advocacy for Viable Environments… had no part in the name) a facelift and instead of a single visit to a different school each month, we’ve expanded and developed a three-lesson series:

1) Intro to Kakamega Forest’s Flora and Fauna

Ernest and Evans mark students' essays.

2) Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation

3) Sustainable Alternatives

We’re piloting the series now at St. Gerald’s Secondary School in Shinyalu. We’re also working towards assessing students learning from the course. For now, we’ve implemented a type of reward system based on the interest and aptitude that students show in a short essay on "why is a healthy forest important?". From these essays and participation, we’ll choose 7-10 outstanding students to join our research team in the forest for 1 or 2 Saturdays in March. 

Our team of presenters is growing in organization and style. We’ve found naturalists to bring their expertise on birds, trees, insects, reptiles, mammals (when logistics/planets align and allow them to come). The group has come a long way actually since its beginning, and I’m hoping to see it continue strong in my absence.

Strong showing at the proposal writing workshop.

I’ve also been helping with a local women’s group - name withheld because I think it’s awful - that’s at the seed stage and, to be honest, will probably not advance beyond that. Their goal is to re-popularize traditional food practices to enhance health and food security in the area. I’ve tried to hold some proposal writing workshops for them, but corporate organizing hasn’t been there strong suit. For me, the small experience has been eye-opening about why home-grown change here is rare and what obstacles hold people back from self-organizing.

Love to all,

Nicole

New Year & New Knowledge... 5 common questions.

New Year's Resolutions at Church.

In the Mara: Elephant Mum and Babe.

The Paternal Unit - IN KENYA

Hello 2016... and hello to you! I’ve been off the map most of December, enjoying things like my father and his partner Marilyn's visit to Kenya, our trip to the Mara region, and Christmas and New Year in the village. 

Special thank you's are in order to several people who rocked my world this Christmas -

Sister Ivonne - sent me awesome work out clothes. Just looking this good breaks a sweat.

Papa Thompson - brought me a smorgasbord of field equipment… and kind bars.

Nicole Wolfe - went above and beyond, organizing a package of goodies. Thank you to contributors Heather Obasare, Kim Wilson, Ekene Daniel, Hilda Cheng, Lydia Roesser, and Eme Cecutti :).

SuJen Roberts - ever the thoughtful pen pal, sent me a lovely christmas letter.

Clara Cheong - her monthly gift hooked me up with the only eye shadow I have out here.

...Thank you!!!

Christmas Dinner with the legendary Imboma family

A holiday from the worksphere and time with special people did wonders for the ol’ perspective. This is partly because I started to hear questions about what I'm doing with my life that I hadn’t heard in a while… and they got me thinking.

5 common questions I get...

Sky's the limit!

1. What more is there to learn about these animals? This is kind of a big question. Animal behavior, like other sciences, is growing in stages. First, people describe what they see - almost Planet Earth style - they document what you call the “natural history” of a species. Second, people start to see patterns across different animals and groups of animals - like the importance of the mother-offspring bond to normal development in mammals, or that male birds are more colorful and ornamented than are most male mammals. After people notice patterns, they develop hypotheses like “early physical and psychological trauma in mammals leads to shorter lifespans” or “monogamous mating systems are more likely to select for showy males than are polygynandrous mating systems” (just examples, not necessarily true!). After people figure out ways to test those hypotheses, they go test them. As different fields of biology (and even earth sciences) become integrated - genetics, systematics, paleontology, medicine, psychology, neurology, physiology, ecology - the sky is the limit to what new knowledge we can produce.

2. Whoa, a 5 year program! Are you going to be some kind of super specialist?

Most of the time I feel like I'm a specialist in being told, like Jon Snow, "you know nothing." But isn't that exciting? So much to learn. Medical doctor’s take a long time to know the in’s and out’s of the human body and how to practice medicine (for which we’re all grateful). Doctor’s of philosophy take a long time to know the in’s and out’s of generating new knowledge and how to instruct at a university level. 

Yawn.

3. After all this “schooling,” are you going to try to do something more practical? Will I do something outside of academia? Maybe. Practical is a bit in the eye of the beholder. What’s more practical than generating new knowledge and transferring analytical skills to the next generation? Trust I might otherwise be doing interpretive dances at the new age community center - a very practical enterprise indeed!

Homemade sushi for NYE

4. You’re paid?? Yes, I am!
… however poorly. I’m funded by the graduate school of my university, my supervisor’s grants, and the US National Science Foundation. I support myself to live in NYC and to travel abroad. This is the norm for this level of “schooling” … our job as one prof in my department put it is actually “to think and to write… and to do data analysis somewhere in between.” I'm pretty grateful that I'm paid to do these things that I enjoy (FYI - I'm currently in the data collection phase - analysis will come). Although many entry-level research positions are voluntary (contributing in part to some of the underrepresentation in the sciences), biology is no longer a science restricted to monks (Gregor Mendel) and the independently wealthy (Charles Darwin).

 These kids are still excited
for Christmas morning.

5. It’s Summer/Thanksgiving/Christmas/Spring break, isn’t it great to be on vacation? It's kinda nice to have the undergraduates away. They're on break, but graduate students and faculty are actually busy working on their research. They’re pretty desperate to focus on this because, for better or worse, grants for research keep them hired by their institutions and during break they’re not consumed with teaching courses (though next semester still needs planning!).

Cherry on the Sundae…

6. Can you bring one of your monkeys home as a pet? Nooooope. Even if I could manage to do this, I really wouldn’t want to! First, they are way too smart to be domesticated… they would completely TRASH my apartment looking for food. Second, a note on ethics: a lot of animals that live in social groups, especially monkeys and apes, are about as intimately tied to their group members as you and I are to our families, friends, churches, D & D groups, etc.. When these animals are made into pets, they’re made orphans, kidnapped and often full of psychological problems....I would rather get a dog (or hey, a field cat).

My new house cat - Sophie :)

You can add to these questions in a comment! I have left out some big obvious ones, like "how did you get into THAT [what you do]?!?" Take me out to coffee for that one ;o).

Lots of love and I hope you're all having a great start to 2016!

Nicole

Trying to be an academic in rural Kenya... and other joys

Better late than never! November - what a month. It's been a reminder of a fundamental need for peace and purpose, combined please. I’ve spent a good portion of October and November (and will in January) writing grant applications alone in my little house in the forest and turning a bit gelatinous in mind and body, while my dedicated team has endured the El Niño rains. Most deadlines are past, but I won't soon forget the experience. I know that most fields are driven by a culture of "achieve, advance, pioneer " but few of them are quite so individualistic and combine a dependence on online resources with a year in rural Africa. No doubt, this is some kind of character building experience. Thank you, God.

Speaking of shaky internet - I currently don't have enough signal to wow you all with pictures. So sit tight for many to come.

I've hit my halfway mark now - 6 months in the field and 6 months to go. Yayyyy! I'm also 30 years old now. Yayyyy! ;) Really though, I'm very happy about this. Besides these two milestones, here are other things that happened in November that brought me joy.

1) I saw my friend Judith from C3 Church Manhattan (C3M) for a special weekend in Kampala, Uganda. 

2) I got to listen to a podcast of my sister preaching an awesome message at C3M!

3) I got a wave of kind messages, letters, and a few care packages from amazing people for my birthday.

3) We finished our second period of data collection fully on target.

4) I celebrated Thanksgiving with my buddy and coworker Lauren by seeing a movie (in a real cinema!) and having lunch in Kisumu.

Aaaaand now my dad and his partner Marilyn are here for a visit! We are currently in the airline terminal to take a small plane to the Maasai Mara. Be assured, LOTS of photos of that to follow!

I'm shifting gears now to address two things plenty of people have asked me about: what's the language situation like and why does my day involve so much excrement ;).

Language/Relationships~

After six months, my Kiswahili has improved polepole (slowly). Many people who live in the immediate area know that I know a few words and our conversation can move past - "she is speaking Swahili!" and my response that "… yes indeed I try." My greatest motivation was to have more authentic relationships with people… and to defend myself in the ever-so-occasional negative situation. Typically, people in Kenya learn their local language first (Kiluhya in my area), then Kiswahili in grade school, and soon after English, the second national language. So almost everyone does know English, but I prefer to catch heckling motorbike drivers unawares in Kiswahili... muaha-ha. On my team I speak casually in Kiswahili, but revert to English when I really want to be clear on something - instructions, schedules, money - so quite a lot really.

Monkey poop / Monkey pee ~

Aha, you've been waiting to hear about this, I'm sure! What am I doing with this stuff… Ultimately, the responses to my grant proposals will decide, because all laboratory analyses cost $$$. But first off, why collect poop and pee. When doctors want to give you a thorough check, they usually send you off to give a blood sample, which you may be more or less happy to give. For a wild monkey to give blood you need to trap it, immobilize it, and have epic amount of permits, training and equipment. Even then, other monkeys that watched you trap their brother may never come to trust you in their midst again! We avoid this major headache and opt for a more minor one of

collecting poop and pee from the ground and leaves. In this “excreta” them you can find lots of information or “biomarkers” that are also found in blood.

My research is about measuring the benefits of friendly social relationships of the younger monkeys. Very cuddly. So, a few ways that I've defined benefits are things like increased energy intake, lower baseline stress levels, and decreased rates of infection. You can measure the signals of all these things from excreta.  I’ll probably let you know which ones I do examine  — i.e. which ones I'll afford ;).

Hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday season, whether it be in snow or sun. God bless!

Lots of love,

Nicole

Good times despite everybody's favorite Niño

Cheers to one month Hans solo! Living solo has left me with A LOT of time for introspection (about 99.9% of which I'll spare you) and movie watching. Movies I've watched lately that take place in Africa (e.g. Blood Diamond, another on Kony's LRA) are such a far cry from the world I live in that they've been a good reminder: there's popular media and then there's reality. Just like not all Westerners are mysteriously well-off, sexually open, and glamorous like Carrie Bradshaw and/or gun-wielding like OO7 and Rambo, not all Africans are violent, corrupt, and in a state of crisis... We know this.

A very encouraging Weds ;)

Perhaps the best part of living alone, besides the space, is feeling compelled to reach out in the community. This month I started joining yet another group of missionaries in my more local area, Kakamega Town, at their bi-weekly "Encouragement Wednesdays." Yep, at the end of the day, encouragement is just what each of us needs, we who are far away from home and/or maintaining a new home in Western Kenya. It's an absolutely lovely group of American and British expats, most of whom have picked up and moved indefinitely to the Kakamega area. Some work in children's education and caretaking, others work in agriculture (e.g. animal husbandry, soil management), and others still contribute to existing congregations - pastoring and encouraging adult disciples. Most of them served in the same capacity at their home churches, found their way here via the missions their churches run, and felt God's call to move here more permanently. I can't imagine God calling me to live here indefinitely, but I'm glad He did them, because they're great company. 

My field assistants deserve a round of applause for having been excellent sports this past month. They've been essential in running the project through the various challenges we've faced and been brave enough to flex some new muscles:

Sylvia, the walking rock/
My boots aka we're not in
Brooklyn anymore

1) El Niño: We thought we were out of the rainy season, when suddenly ultra-wack weather arrived. It now either storms or drizzles from 13:00 on in the afternoons, part of the night, and most mornings are reminiscent of London and Seattle. Neither human nor monkey enjoys this weather (except for my oddball colleague from Oregon). So while we bat off-trail through sodden undergrowth and suck our boots out of ankle deep mud, the monkeys hide high up, spread out and quiet. Like the mud, we suck it up, although my assistants do a better job of it than I do.

Solar repairs on a sunny
morning/my baby...
I mean, freezer 

2) Related solar power issues: Because of said niño, my beloved solar freezer (where our bio samples are stored) had some power struggles. Thank goodness, not a sample was compromised, although my sleep and patience were. We had several visits from our friends at a small solar business to make adjustments and found a solution for every ill. My assistants have humored me and been hard-working throughout my freezer-sitting and prolonged email dances in the forest to search for signal.

Sheila teaching a secondary
student during an activity

3) Conservation outreach: In my Summer 2014 pilot season, I started visiting nearby schools with some of the local forest workers to build appreciation and conservation awareness about Kakamega Forest. This past month, I asked my field assistants to join me. Each played her part in style, leading kids in activities on population ecology and discussing energy-saving alternatives to common practices in the kitchen. We're looking forward to keeping this up and doing outreach as a team once every month.

Last thing, now. Every November something special happens - I turn another year older. That's right, this month marks the end of my 30th year on this planet. In the immortal words of Cedric the Entertainer "Ima grown a$$ man!" And I'm pumped. Let the celebrations begin.

Take care all of you wherever you are and keep in touch.

Lots of love!

Nicole

Satisfying September

Just this week I've said goodbye to my favorite housemate, field buddy, and older lab sister, Maressa. She finished her year of field work last Sunday and has now flown home :). Congratulations, Mareese! You've worked so hard - time to enjoy being back. Maressa has been my *lovely* house mate for the past four months, and I'm lucky to have shared the time with her. Now, I'm starting the eight month haul solo. As I'm still living in "Hans' house", you might even say I'll be flying… Hans Solo.

The current Cords Lab
pictured in the field:
Holly, Nic, & Maressa

In other lab-related news, in August our newest labmate Holly came out to get her first taste of the forest. It was great to welcome her and fun to see the forest as novel again through her eyes.

Mid-September, Maressa and I had the great opportunity to present our research to the biology and ecology department at our affiliated university in Kakamega, MMUST. My assistants came to help me present and did a fantastic job, having rehearsed their speaking parts and looking exceptionally *smart*. The audience was mostly advanced graduate students that were eager to listen and asked interesting questions. I was grateful they could make it - we started about an hour later than announced, so I'm not sure how they did! Ah, the mysteries of African culture.

The last half of September, I spent most of my time managing the team to round up data for the end our first "period" (i.e. two months of behavior and hormones). Aside from the usual routine of serially searching for a monkey and writing down everything it does for 20 minutes, you can see (left) what else ending a data period can lead to, i.e. maniacally praying for a monkey to pee and triumphantly collecting it (one day, I will explain our hormone analyses).

Last thought: as I'm settling into month 5 and starting to live Hans Solo, I've started to realize that my life here is really not so different from that in NYC, even despite some slight variations:

Running is the best medicine to clear the head (in rainforest vs. riverside park)

Commuting by public transportation is good thinking-time (motorbike vs. subway)

The bathroom is kinda far away (outdoors to the long drop vs. down the hallway of a railroad apartment)
My laptop is my evening companion (while I mind solar power usage vs. minding the hour of night)

Popcorn is a go-to lazy meal (pot vs. air popped)

Binge watching TV shows is still a thing (am currently into Homeland - pirated dvd's :'( vs. Netflix)

A good chunk of Sunday goes to church - worshipping, soaking in a message, meeting new people and catching up with others (dirt floor schoolhouse vs. The New York Times Center).

Yup, all-in-all pretty similar.

I'm looking forward to setting up some new routines to keep in even better touch with people going into the next 8 months. Thank you to those of you with whom I already get to occasionally chat - the simple chats mean a lot! :)

Lots of love,

Nicole

P.S. A shot from Maressa's going away party - a festive event complete with three legged races, beerpong (incidentally, without beer), and a whole lot of food. The beerpong game face seems to be universal :).

What is a focal follow? (aka. what I do all day)

Field Assistants Sheila and Sylvia in T-West North group

My study is observational, not experimental. Observations and experiments go hand-in-hand, but are different: experimenters manipulate conditions and observers do not (e.g. day length in colony room vs. day length according to natural season). In both types of studies, the researcher measures one or more conditions (e.g. day length) and response variables of interest (e.g. song frequency of birds). You may sometimes hear of "natural experiments" - these are times when mama nature herself (aka God +/- chance) is the manipulator, creating different conditions across which researchers measure and compare a response. For example, to see the effect of military service on income, a researcher could compare the income of veterans vs. non-veterans, given a random draft. Most observational studies take advantage of these natural experimental conditions, and so do I. Take away: I observe the monkeys' behavior with little to no involvement in it.

In 1974, a smart woman named Jeanne Altmann did everyone in the emerging field of behavioral ecology a big favor - she wrote "Observational Study of Behavior: Sampling Methods." In doing so she succinctly described the various ways that people can (and perhaps should) sample spontaneously occurring behavior. One of these ways, now ubiquitously common, is called the "focal follow." And in the focal follow you can employ a variety of recording techniques…

Frisbee, Sheila, and our digital data sheets

Focal follows are what we do for most of the day here. We follow a "focal" animal (i.e. one of our subjects) for 20 minutes, during which we record all of its social interactions. If I'm following Bike, for example, then I might write line by line in our code "bike receives approach from frisbee"…"bike receives groom present from frisbee, bike accepts and grooms frisbee". Then every minute on the minute, alerted by our repeating timers, we record what Bike is doing (e.g. feeding, resting, moving, grooming) and who is nearby. If Bike moves out of sight for more than 10 minutes in a row… we wail, shake an angry fist to the sky, and abort the follow. If we follow Bike for the full 20 minutes… then we cheer, bust a Saturday-night-fever, and move on to find another focal.

We try to do the same number of follows for each subject each month and conduct those follows evenly throughout the day…

Game-face time: the forest
observers and monkeys traverse

About 80% of the time the monkeys are high up in the trees (30-50m), so you need your game face (focus hard and write quickly) to avoid shaking that angry fist to the sky. When monkeys decide to move, they move! This poses a problem for us lumbering terrestrial bipeds. The treetops and underbrush are paved rode for the monkeys' lithe little bodies and nimble hands and feet, but they're less accommodating for us.

Nevertheless, there is that lovely 15% of the time when the monkeys come low, and the 5% when the follow is an absolute and glorious cakewalk. See above a photo of Sheila's cakewalk with Frisbee and a view of our tablet interface.

I'll save the fun details of how we collect hormone samples (pee and poop!) for another time. 

I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse into the world of focal follows! For more details, please just ask ;).

Lots of love,

Nicole