The porcupines are coming!

Last week, around midnight on another restless night in the forest I could not sleep. I thought I might climb down from my house and pee, when I saw a cicada half-hatched from its shell. I got my camera and was taking some pictures when I heard something noticably large coming down the path towards camp. It was a porcupine, and the first that I have seen since coming to Canguk. I took off after it and tried, very unsuccessfully, to take pictures in the dark. After he ran into the thick vegetation behind camp I headed back to my house and put up the camera. Then, I heard the second porcupine coming, took my camera back out and pursued out-of-focus porcupines again. The third showed up and again I failed at getting a convincing picture of the porcupine. When the second returned to the area around my house I finally managed to get a decent-enough picture and gave up the chase. Hot, sweaty, and excited by my experience, I went to bed. I love these encounters that only insomnia can provide.

A spontaneous rescue

Three days ago I was walking down the road from Pak Yasir (the house where WCS parks its car, just outside the forest) when a car started beeping its horn behind me. I figured it was just another person desparate to "hello mister" me (yes it is a verb now), but it was actually WCS conflict guys headed to Krui to deal with a tiger. They were driving me to the ojek (motorbike) place when I saw a primate walking around in someone's front yard just next to the road. At first it took me a few seconds to register that this was a siamang. I am more used to seeing macaques, and not being able to do much since they are not endangered. I first thought "that is an ape, it is black like a chimp, wait that is a siamang." Then I said "we have to stop; that is a siamang," and I am pretty sure the WCS guys would have just driven by without me pushing me to do their job. We talked with the woman, who seemed pretty strange, and after some difficulties, convinced her to let us take the siamang to Kota Agung. I have friends that run an animal rescue and rehabilitation organization in Jakarta (Jakarta Animal Aid Network) and have lots of experience with siamangs, so I called them to arrange things. They left Jakarta first thing in the morning while I waited in Kota Agung. Unfortunately, the transport and handling of the siamang has not been a simple, straight-forward thing. The truth is I really felt like a bitch and questioned the point of the whole thing. The poor siamang was pretty traumatized by the ride down the mountain, sitting curled up in this sad ball. She was also terrified when one of the guys carried her to the car, and promptly shat everywhere. The greatest trauma, however, was yet to come. When we got to Kota Agung I wanted to give her time to relax and get out of the car slowly with a banana as a reward. But one of the WCS guys did not feel like waiting for fruit, so he grabbed her in a bag and then let her climb out on the ground outside. Being a siamang and all, she then immediately ran away and climbed on the roof of WCS. A chase ensued that eventually swelled to something like 20 guys running around on hot tile roofs, searching between rafters, and climbing surrounding trees. I am sure that you are not surprised to hear that a two year old siamang is both smarter and faster than 20 men. It took over two hours to recapture her. We are just the best conservationists ever. During the chase operation I was really questioning my motivations and the good in all of this. So I "rescued" the siamang, but then I submitted her to a afternoon of torture and stress. She is better now and had plenty of water and bananas to get her through the night. But she is so human in her postures and responses to imprisonment, and yet I cannot really communicate with her to say I know this situation sucks and please tell me what I can do to help. She just sits in the sad, shy ball with a somehow ageless expression of stoicism on her face. People in concentration camps probably had similar reactions. At least it will not be long before people with at least proper enclosures and equipment can take care of her. She does seem to trust me a little bit more than some of the others, and actually ran to me and put her arm around me when frightened of louder big folk. Still I feel like a bitch.

The rescue saga continued the next morning. My animal rescue friends came very quickly (they left at 1 am the morning after the confiscation) and helped out. They are the best, most dedicated conservation guys I know. They run their own organization out of Jakarta and have experience with all sorts of wildlife (from orangutans to bears to birds and snakes) and animal trade. They have a really great program for rapture rehabilitation on one of the Pulau Seribu islands. Luca and I went there for last New Year's. We brought the juvenile (she is about two years old; maybe 2 1/2) siamang (now named Alice, but not by my choice; although I find it flattering seeing as she is a rather pretty siamang) to Bandar Lampung to the center run by forestry. The place unfortunately is in really bad shape and the current boss continues to refuse help in the form of money, staff, and supplies simply on the principle that he wants to be in charge. My friends' organization has offered to staff the center and oversee everything, but because they would then be taking the power away from this one jerkoff boss he keeps saying no. What an asshole. Apparently the last two guys with the same position were really happy to work together, and then the current guy came in and everything changed. There will be another meeting tomorrow, so we will see if they can come to a new agreement. Right now nobody is keeping the place clean and there is not enough food for the animals. They have 7 siamangs, including "Alice," one pig-tailed macaque, one long-tailed macaque, and a leopard cat with new-born kittens. The primates are basically living off of the papaya trees that grow a the center. This weekend we worked on cleaning things up, making new enrichments, and moving one of the adult siamangs to a slightly larger cage. But these are only tiny improvements. I mean the animals were not even being provided with water. I am determined to keep track of things and bring the primates fruit even if I have to smuggle it in. In the past WCS along with my friends' organization would provide food for all the animals, but now they are not even allowed to do that. It is a freaking ridiculous situation and all because of one jerk that cannot accept having some of his power taken away. I will let you know how things progress. Please take a look at the pictures of "Alice" and the other inmates of the "rescue" center. The pictures were taken by my new friend Rachel, so please credit her camera.