Outdoor Indoor

Some of my most treasured experiences in Africa are ones involving the interconnectedness between wild animals and human beings.

I moved to South Africa for two years in the mid-90s. My very first morning in my own bedroom in my little cottage in Cresta (residential section of Johannesburg), my eyes popped open to see a large, iridescent rose/teal/blue/green lizard being very still on the ceiling, right above my head. Not being a morning person, I figured I was dreaming. It blinked, I blinked. Then it seemed to say, “Welcome to Africa.” Paradigm shift required.

Night before last, as I was leaving Wendy Bouman’s home in the heart of Durban North, a troop of monkeys were dangling from trees, sitting on the ledge of a wall that was eye-level to me, and generally cavorting around. I quickly called Wendy and told her that I had left my windows wide open, and would she please shut them. Monkeys regularly make their way into kitchens here. They eat fruit and every other food stuff they can find. They've learned to open Rubbermaid containers and generally ransack rooms. People here know that, live with it, and are, by turns, exasperated, entertained, and delighted.

Kaz and Andrew Pike were telling me about a bush baby that had gotten into their home a few days ago. It was attempting to climb their curtain to get out of the way. Curtains are more slippery than trees, so the little bush baby wasn’t being very successful.

Living here means sudden interface with wild animals. It’s the norm. And to me, it’s exotic and wondrous.

PS  That's a pic of a bush baby, a very small primate, about the size of a squirrel. Cute, eh?