Written by Laurie Gütman, Sarah Olson, and Anika Petersen-Deeprose
After 12 days spent watching monkeys and analyzing the ecosystem in the rainforest of Kibale National Park, we left with much excitement for Lake Nabugabo, a satellite lake of lake Victoria. Upon arrival, some 8 hours away, we were warned of the site’s biggest dangers: biting snakes, adorable but sneaky vervet monkeys, and the camp’s overly friendly dogs. Finalizing the second session of the program with exams and research project presentations, our stay at the lake was a stressful time, but the beautiful view of the lake we had from our rooms appeased us all. We wouldn’t have been able to choose a better setting for writing an exam. Fortunately, we got to experience the wide range of Uganda’s early wet season weather! On our first full day at the site, as we prepared to visit the small town nearby, a swift and intense rainstorm swept in, forcing us to change plans. Instead, we bundled up in our warmest raincoats and toques for class and in the afternoon, when the sun returned, we ventured into the village. Our boat captain, Jackson Mutebe, showed us around his farm: he had a very impressive jackfruit tree, tobacco plants and his two pigs. We also came across a pair of googly-eyed and magnificently coloured chameleons!
One really interesting sight we came across was a colony of Army Ants. Although they crawl all over and bite pretty hard when you accidentally step on them, they are very cool to watch! A perfect trail of ants appeared across the path near our bunks. The border was formed of the soldiers who held up their pincers in defense and allowed the smaller ants to pass through. They were in constant movement, an endless train, seemingly coming from nowhere. The trail was there for 4 days and every day as we passed we would stop to observe their progress. Finally, the train curled around and connected with itself and holes began to appear. The ants had begun burrowing down and after less than one day, they were completely gone, leaving absolutely no trace that they had ever been there.
The primatology class had the incredible chance to see a group of Angolan Black and White Colobus, a sub-species of Black-and-white Colobus that very few people get to see, due to their limited range. Indeed, this endangered species is found in only two locations in Uganda. We even saw a female holding her infant, which we could tell was less than a week old since he hadn’t lost his white colour.
The Conservation Ecology class finally got to show off how good we look in waders during our visit to a couple of swamps on the edge of the wetland. We sampled the swamp fish and bugs, and even caught a very derpy mormyrid fish! Quick fact: mormyrids communicate electrically and have the largest brain to body ratio of any fish. When we got back, the dogs that had followed us there were exhausted from a long day of running around and chasing giant saddle-billed storks.
On the last day we had the opportunity to go on a boat ride and visit the surrounding wetlands. Those of us who went didn’t regret it: we contemplated the sun’s reflection over the lake, admired the formation of the wetlands and the miscanthidium and hippo grass that covered them, saw fishers setting their nets on the boats, and spotted several kingfishers and other bird species.
The sunset during our last evening at Lake Nabugabo was the most beautiful. The camp’s breathtaking scenery, friendly dogs and adorable pregnant cat will be sorely missed, but we are all looking forward to our next destination, Jinja, and to finally have internet access!
Canadian Field Studies in Africa - 2015 Edition 