Day in the Life Part 4

Distracted by the fur-rubbing frenzy, we have missed Drogon’s departure. But although he has not brought Pelon group on his heels this time, trouble is not far away. At 2:18 pm, the monkeys suddenly tense again, and the females crouch down to invite their babies onto their backs. Mikumi stands on his hind legs, looking warily into the distance. He purses his lips in a “duck face”—the expression used both to court females and to negotiate with rivals. We wait expectantly for an enemy male to appear. Finally a monkey does emerge from the trees in front of us—but it is only Celeste, striding confidently back towards the group as if nothing is wrong. Could the group have mistaken their own alpha female for an enemy male? It is all very strange.

Bedlam (standing upright) and a mother and baby scan for pursuers. Photo: K. Perry.

At 2:47, as Susan is starting a focal follow of Celeste, the same thing happens again: everyone tenses, mothers retrieve their babies, and most of the group drops to the ground and begins to flee back in the direction from which we’ve come. Occasionally the males pause to stand upright and look back over their shoulders to see what is pursuing them. We hear alarm calls, and then an enemy male bursts into view, chasing Siberia, who is carrying Dersu on her back. He draws level and pounces on her, and she emits a piercing scream. The male bites Dersu (or perhaps Siberia; it is hard to tell, everything is happening so quickly!). There is a chorus of intense vocal threats from the surrounding Celeste’s monkeys, and chaos ensues. More enemy males appear and give chase. We have just reached the edge of a lagoon, and the pursuers succeed in splitting up Celeste’s, sending five females and juveniles running along one edge of the water while the others flee in the other direction.  

Siberia and Dersu flee. Photo: K. Perry.

“I think I see Twilo,” Susan says, as we hurry after the larger of the two subgroups. Twilo is the alpha male of Rafiki’s group, Celeste’s neighbor to the west. They don’t usually come this far along the pasture line. We know what group this is now, but we still don’t know the identity of Siberia’s attacker, who is still in our line of sight but rapidly retreating. Susan and I scramble after him, pausing to crawl under a barbed wire fence, while Fiona and Jamie run off after the rest of the group. At last, we catch up to the male, and I begin snapping pictures. It takes us a while to identify him, because he has grown so much since we last saw him. This is Iago, a seven-year-old from Rafiki’s who has just reached the age at which males tend to emigrate from their natal groups. Monkeys grow a lot at this age, and they tend to test their strength by bullying members of neighboring groups. Iago doesn’t seem at all scared, just excited. Gambit and Karl, who is riding on her back, watch him anxiously from afar.

Iago, a young male from Rafiki's group. Photo: K. Perry.

Iago scans his surroundings for his next victim. Photo: K. Perry.

Suddenly, we hear snake alarm calls from nearby. Iago stands bipedally to get a better look and then runs over to investigate. More excitement! Buddha, who has been doing the majority of the alarm calling, screams in panic and flees when she sees Iago approaching. He chases her briefly, but then wavers: what would be more fun, chasing Buddha, seeing a snake, or harassing other monkeys? For a while, he attempts to do all three, rampaging wildly through the leaf litter, and then he notices Gambit, separated from the rest of the group and trying to slip away unnoticed. She looks terrified when he meets her gaze and alarm calls. This seems to make up his mind, and he chases after her as she continues to scream and alarm call, occasionally turning and standing on her hind legs to see how much distance he has gained. Karl, riding on her back, looks calm and collected, as if confident that mom has everything under control. Susan and I crawl through two rusty barbwire fences in pursuit of them, but finally lose them.

Iago chases Gambit and Karl. Photo: K. Perry.

In a small clearing, we find Mikumi and Avocado, both standing vigilant on a large fallen log. They lost call, but no other Celeste’s monkeys appear—the group is now scattered in every direction. Soon, Mikumi and Avocado move off again, and a few fence crossings later we lose them too. It is hard to keep pace with cat-sized monkeys, particularly when you are following only two of them and they are fleeing headlong through the undergrowth.

Avocado and Mikumi search for the rest of their group. Photo: K. Perry.

 We radio to Jamie and Fiona, who have also lost their monkeys, and we meet up to discuss what we’ve seen.