Greetings!
Realized an
email is LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG overdue! I'm sorry I have not been better
about writing-I know it has been a couple of months and I am SUCH a slacker :(
I guess I could blame it on all sorts of things but the reality is things
have just been swamped here as I get integrated. Although hopefully you
will note from my pictures that I have managed to get a "bit" of time
off to do relaxing things :)
Things on the
island are GREAT. I am so enjoying this place, the culture and the
experience. So far I think I have jumped through the majority of the
hoops and come out on the other side with lots of friends and people to help me
with both the biology work and the cultural implications/bridging the cultural
gaps. It is so nice to have a complete stranger (yes there are those on
the island as I don't KNOW all 3,000 people..............YET!) come up to me in
the store and say something along the lines of, "Hey aren't you the new
island biologist? I would really love to set a time and sit down with you
to talk about some of the things I know or have seen" From a
systemic perspective this is HUGE. I have kids coming up and talking
about what they are learning in school and how they would like to do some
interning with our programs (yet to be developed!) to get "out in
nature". Etc etc. The kicker is going to be if I can get all this
amazing work translated in such a way that the higher-ups can see the value (it
is hard to explain and quantify from a funding perspective) and keep the
communication lines going. Course that is simply the nature of the work
and the challenge of blending biology and systemic thinking.
Interestingly enough I had my first young person come up to "Ahmen"
(the sign of respect they give to someone else by placing their forehead on
your right hand and asking for a blessing)...........THIS time I knew what to
do :) It was actually quite humbling and honoring to be accepted on that
level.
As you can see
from the pictures I spend quite a bit of time in rugged beauty with my
co-workers Robert (a local technician who has been INVALUABLE in showing me the
ropes and getting me in and OUT of the jungle safely!) and Molly who has been
instrumental in helping to bridge the communication gaps between the cultural
"system" and the conservation "system-she is a
trained sociologist and RAWKS at her job. The terrain is rugged
and craggy, most of our work is done on cliffs.........seems that is were all
the wildlife likes to hang out! LOL Not to worry though we are all VERY
safe and trained to say away from the edge :) The view of seeing the
ocean crashing on the rocks from hundreds of meters up always takes my breath
away. Unfortunately I have yet to figure out a way to get a good picture
that can really convey the majesty of the scene. I'll keep trying.
In addition to counting bats to ensure the colonies are maintaining, we also do
sea and shore bird surveys (thus the Brown and Red Footed Booby pictures).
This trip we actually saw a Abbott's Booby which is INCREDIBLY rare as they are
an endangered bird only known to breed on Christmas Island. We turned
around and there she was, about 5 feet from us saying "What's
up?". Sadly she flew away before we could get a picture. But
we all verified that it was definitely that species and have recorded it, this
is actually the third time she has been seen in the last few years.
Course we are making the assumption it is the same bird and not another one.
Either way, pretty neat from a biological perspective. I know I DO have
my geeky moments :)
In addition to
all the work I have been doing I have managed to get out for a hike up
Telong. I went with Molly, G, Donald and Flea (Molly's booney dog).
It was loads fun and a unique experience. I think the bamboo forest was
my favorite part. I could have stayed there for HOURS! One thing to
note about doing work or hiking in the jungle are the Jungle Warriors; the
locals call them Ha'Ting (I think the species is Odontomachus simullimus).
These lovely aggressive black ants and known for their painful bites and did I
mention AGGRESSIVE??? Sooooooooooo the rest of the story............at
the end of the hike I am trying to set my camera up on the timer for a group
shot and made the mistake of sitting down to relax and try
and stabilize the camera better............I'm sure you can fill in
the gaps. Yup, right on a nest that I had been stepping on for about 2
minutes. Suffice it to say the "little darlings" were NOT happy
NOR shy about expressing there displeasure. Suddenly, I have ants in
my pants making me do the ant dance! So
I do what ANY sane person would;stomp around to dislodge them (please note the
large pincers in the picture!) and yelling
"AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG!" over and over again. I think I was
doing my best not to cuss as the Chamorro do NOT use profanity and I did not
want to offend our two friends who went with us. Friends, whom I must
point out were LAUGHING at me without reservation. The bad part of the
Ha'Ting bite is it continues to burn for several minutes. So, I could not
tell if they were still in my shorts and continuing to bite me on my buttock
(which had gone relatively numb by that time but not enough that I could not
still FEEL it sadly!) so I stripped off my shorts and turned them inside out
while frantically smacking my own derriere
Significantly MORE laughter AND some rolling on the ground at that
point (brave people if you ask me...........I mean we all KNEW at this point
there were VICIOUS Ha'Ting in the area). I'm still yelling
AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG and squinting one eye (so says Molly); and before
you ask I have NO idea why I channel an angry pirate when in pain. This
is definitely a new phenomenon as far as I know. In
the end, all was well. Nothing was injured except for my pride.......AND
I now have GREAT respect for
the Ha'Ting!
Okay, since
today is a relatively nice day and I have sufficiently embarrassed myself (and
most likely left you with a very distrubing mental image!) I will sign off and
maybe try to go for a swim :)
I hope all is
well and you enjoy the pictures :)
