Monkey Business (part the second)

We all have to be afraid of some kind of animal (or at least one), right?  For me it is definitely monkeys and snakes.  I will touch a snake (if it is not poisonous and does not look like it wants to consume me head first), but monkeys I just do not trust.  They are too much like people, I think, for my liking.  Their brains are too developed and I cannot tell what they are thinking, whereas I can usually outsmart my cats or turtles, or the average fish.

Having spent a week in Africa, I have also had several up close and personal monkey encounters that scared the bejeesus out of me!  Unlike the interactions of many americans with our monkey cousins (sorry if I have offended any creationists, but I have to say what I think), there were no zoo enclosures or bars involved in these encounters.  The scariest of these events I detailed in the previous posting.  This one is much more tame, but still gives me nightmares......

borrowed from http://www.awf.org/content/gallery?media=image&wildlife=987

Since we are not completely unpacked here, I could not find the picture of the exact perpetrator, I have posted the picture above, which is most likely a close relative.  This fellow is a black colobus monkey.  My nemesis did not have the long white fringe on his sides, but the coloring is similar.  My monkey, let's call him Spike, was about the size of a small german shepherd, but MUCH faster and more sneaky!

Spike and I met while I was visiting my friend Caroline in Kenya.  

Most evenings during our stay in the Masai Mara game reserve, we ate outside at the pool.  Our first night it must have been raining, as we ate inside.  The landscape outside was much more interesting to me as the sun was setting, and I kept peeking outside.  Taking one break from conversing with my fellow photo safari travelers, I noticed a large monkey sitting on the balcony railing outside the window, watching the humans eat.  I went back to my delicious meal, but every time I looked back at the window, there was Spike, watching us.  I am sure that he was salivating at all the yummy veggies and fruits we were eating, while he could only watch.  If he could have gotten inside he would have, but I think he realized (probably from experience) that the employees would have shooed him out just as he tried to open a door and gain access.

After dinner we decided to spend a little time at the pool before heading to our luxurious tent, and there was Spike, still sitting on the railing.  I really did not want to pass by him, but Caroline assured me it would be fine.  Yeah, right!

I followed her toward the pool, and just as Caroline passed him, Spike jumped between us and touched her shoe.  Not sure why that was, but I think he just wanted to prove that he could, before he ran away as she shouted at him and stamped her feet.

YIKES!!

The next afternoon, we were sitting out by the pool before lunch was served.  I had a roll left over from breakfast that I was breaking into small pieces and feeding them to the very colorful birds which were hanging out to get a free lunch.  I saw Spike lurking about 20 yards away on the 10 foot wall that enclosed the compound.  I pointed him out to Caroline, and she just laughed at my uneasiness with poor old Spike's presence.

I want back to feeding and photographing the birds, and forgot about Spike for a while.  A few minutes later he had scaled down the wall and was sitting on the ground, now INSIDE the compound.  I tried to play it cool, but he started loping towards our location.

I mentioned this to Caroline, who replied something like, "don't worry about it, you don't have anything he wants, so he won't,"  she broke off her comment, as Spike was now charging towards us at full speed.

Turns out that Spike thought he needed some grains and carbs at that moment, and he was making a move for my roll fragment.  I started to grab for the remnants of the roll, but Spike's little furry hand was grabbing for it at the same time, and I did not think I would win the struggle for the roll, so I withdrew.

At this point the staff saw the theft in progress, and they started whooping and heaving stones at Spike so that he would leave the compound.  Case closed.