Day 15

No surveys during the night. We all needed the rest and a full night’s sleep was necessary. No galagos heard, except the odd Garnett's galago and perhaps a Mountain Dwarf Galago (Galagoides orinus). No Zanzibar galago. We decide to make surveys tonight down by the village and see if we can find them there. If so, we move camp there, if not, we have to move forest.

Canopy picture from our camp at Mtai Forest Reserve
(Photo by Simon Bearder).

Evening started to come so we prepared for the evening surveys. Simon went up the hill and I and Andy and local guide went down to scout the forests between the villages following the road. Down by the foot of the mountain we heard or saw nothing, at first. Then Andy spotted something. A small galago. We like small galagos. The observation was too brief to reveal the species but I went in and spotted it again. Size wise, I thought it was a litter bit bigger than the Zanzibar galago, the one we expected to see. When saw its face it had dark eye-rings and more dark in its face not found in Zanzibar galago. I asked Andy and he said that the Kenya Coast Galago (Galagoides cocos) has that kind of facial marking. So perhaps we have gotten to the most southern limit of this species instead of the most northern limit of the Zanzibar galago.

Said's preparing food at the camp in Mtai Forest Reserve
(Photo by Andrew Perkin).

Back late at camp, Simon hadn't returned. Andy and local guide went to see if they could find him. After 20 minutes or so they returned with Simon, he had gotten lost. Not by much but still. He had heard and recorded the calls of the Mountain Dwarf Galago and was very pleased.

Fruits of the forest
(Photo by Simon Bearder).

Tomorrow we move camp. Probably just to the foot of the hill. Now one of the rare full night’s sleep await.