A Golden Silk Spider - their silk really is that strong
Though most large game animals such as elephants have been hunted to extinction a long time ago hippos can still be found in the protected area of the River Gambia National Park. Only last week a hippo was sadly shot when it entered the town of Basse during floods. The country has a diverse bird population which is unusual for its size. Over 560 species of birds have been recorded including a family of swallows that life above my front door. The mammals which are most often seen are baboons and monkeys. The species of monkey to be found are the western red colobus, patas and the callithrix. There are also small antelopes such as the Maxwell's duiker, sitatunga and bushbucks. Other animals to be found in The Gambia include aardvarks, hyena, nile crocodiles, warthogs, bushpigs, monitor lizards, chameleons, geckos (many in my latrine), puff adders, spitting cobras and green mambas. Bottle nose dolphins can be seen near the entrance to the river from the Atlantic Ocean on the Barra ferry. Spotting any of these is a major event - most creatures maintain a sensible low profile.
You do see a large number of domestic animals in and around Soma. Goats, sheep, chickens, pigs (something of a surprise), donkeys, packs of stray dogs (which don't actually look too badly off) and cats will be seen most days. We're heading towards the major Muslim festival of Tobaski (also known as Eid) - the tradition being that all family heads will slaughter a ram outside their compound - less goats/sheep in December I suspect! The sound of a donkey's bray first thing in the morning was one of biggest surprises and most alarming - the noise fruit bats make in the evening is one of the eeriest!
Apart from birds The Gambia also excels with the number of species of insect - this country really is bug central! If you're outside around or after dusk (or first thing which doesn't happen to me!) without 50% deet then you'll be eaten alive. We're all concerned about mosquitoes and the risks of catching malaria, but the majority of bites appear to be from other flying nasties. We rarely hear the tale-tale Mosquito high pitch shrill - but we will always know where we forgot to spray! Any food that is left out will be consumed by ants within minutes - usually by a miniature species - they also have large biting soldier ants, but these appear rarely. Large grasshoppers/crickets frequently jump out of the groundnut (peanut) field in front of my house and force entry under the front door. A gang of geckos/lizards patrol my latrine area so things aren't too bad - I do find quite a few Praying Mantises on my mesh screen though. The fly situation surprisingly isn't too bad - we're all looking forward to the dry season (which is starting now) when the temperatures drop and the number of insects declines dramatically.
Though most large game animals such as elephants have been hunted to extinction a long time ago hippos can still be found in the protected area of the River Gambia National Park. Only last week a hippo was sadly shot when it entered the town of Basse during floods. The country has a diverse bird population which is unusual for its size. Over 560 species of birds have been recorded including a family of swallows that life above my front door. The mammals which are most often seen are baboons and monkeys. The species of monkey to be found are the western red colobus, patas and the callithrix. There are also small antelopes such as the Maxwell's duiker, sitatunga and bushbucks. Other animals to be found in The Gambia include aardvarks, hyena, nile crocodiles, warthogs, bushpigs, monitor lizards, chameleons, geckos (many in my latrine), puff adders, spitting cobras and green mambas. Bottle nose dolphins can be seen near the entrance to the river from the Atlantic Ocean on the Barra ferry. Spotting any of these is a major event - most creatures maintain a sensible low profile.
You do see a large number of domestic animals in and around Soma. Goats, sheep, chickens, pigs (something of a surprise), donkeys, packs of stray dogs (which don't actually look too badly off) and cats will be seen most days. We're heading towards the major Muslim festival of Tobaski (also known as Eid) - the tradition being that all family heads will slaughter a ram outside their compound - less goats/sheep in December I suspect! The sound of a donkey's bray first thing in the morning was one of biggest surprises and most alarming - the noise fruit bats make in the evening is one of the eeriest!
Apart from birds The Gambia also excels with the number of species of insect - this country really is bug central! If you're outside around or after dusk (or first thing which doesn't happen to me!) without 50% deet then you'll be eaten alive. We're all concerned about mosquitoes and the risks of catching malaria, but the majority of bites appear to be from other flying nasties. We rarely hear the tale-tale Mosquito high pitch shrill - but we will always know where we forgot to spray! Any food that is left out will be consumed by ants within minutes - usually by a miniature species - they also have large biting soldier ants, but these appear rarely. Large grasshoppers/crickets frequently jump out of the groundnut (peanut) field in front of my house and force entry under the front door. A gang of geckos/lizards patrol my latrine area so things aren't too bad - I do find quite a few Praying Mantises on my mesh screen though. The fly situation surprisingly isn't too bad - we're all looking forward to the dry season (which is starting now) when the temperatures drop and the number of insects declines dramatically.
Was that some sort of pub quiz to see how many species you could mention in a couple of paragraphs!!!
ReplyDeleteYes it was - I forgot to mention the lesser spotted Scouser (quite rare in these parts)!
ReplyDelete