Monkeyschool

I have completed my first two days of monkeyschool! Monkeyschool is like boot camp.... with monkeys.

The first day, was a search day. We basically had to walk along trails through the jungle and search for a specific monkey group (Exclosure Group is the name). At one point, we saw some capuchins - but it was not the group we were looking for. We followed them for a few minutes, and then had to leave to continue the search for Exclosure. The three of us (the PHD student, the other field assistant, and I) walked the trails together all morning and then had a break for lunch. In the afternoon we decided to split up and search alone. This was cool cause it gave me the chance to learn how to use the GPS on my own and get my bearings.
After 8 hours of walking tiny overgrown forest trails, we hadn't found Exclosure. boo. I did however find some sun and some insect bites. I win!

The second day also began as a search day - but Exclosure ended up finding us. After about 10 minutes of searching, we came up to them on the main road that runs through the park. lucky!! We followed the group around, and i got to practice identifying the alpha male and the four adult females. At first they were difficult to tell apart - especially since the little buggers are always on the move and they rarely look directly at us (we use many facial features to tell them apart). They also move quietly through the trees and can slip out of view before you even notice they are gone! We lost them 3 times today!! So far i seem to have difficulties keeping my eyes on the monkeys and walking through the forest at the same time (some parts really need a lot of careful stepping). I also have trouble remembering all of the 3-letter codes for inputting data as well as all of the genus names of all the food trees. I have to remind myself that it was just the first day of actual observation, but still!!

Here are my thoughts/comments on my first two days of monkeyschool.

- at first I was worried about peeing in the jungle (knowing me, i would fall while peeing or something just as dumb). The good news is - all water leaves my body through my skin. On Day 1 the sweating was out of control. I hope I adjust quickly because I have to carry extra water in my pack to compensate - and water is heavy.

- observation days are long. We can't stop to rest unless the monkeys stop to rest. My poor feet that never see the light of day are sore and destroyed. I have a blister (that doesn't hurt, surprisingly) on my toe and when I popped it - the pressure sent blister juice squirting onto my leg! (its sexy, stop pretending like you don't love hearing about it).

- capuchin monkeys are cute cute cute! I can't wait to get to know all their faces really well and I hope that I do a good job at gathering data. I feel a little overwhelmed with all of the things I need to remember right now but with practice, it will stick. I haven't decided who my favorite is yet.

- I saw 2 different snakes today, a tarantula in the bathroom (i'm going to mail it to Massachusetts), and A TAPIR! Apparently they are very very rare - and some people who have worked in the park for years haven't seen a tapir yet. I will consider seeing one on my third day here a huge sign of good luck! Also, tapirs are gigantic!!

That's it for now.
<3 Day