O Madagascar: Sacred Beach Lemurs 2010

[Lavabe]

I'd become drinking buddies with the base commander's boss and convince him that lemurs should be respected and left along, rather than be shot, so word would get to the soldiers that shooting them was a big no-no.

The first problem here is that you are assuming the military did it. The fact is that there was a military vehicle. If the military did do it, the gunfire would have to match that of a semi-automatic or a machine gun, which the sound was not. The other thing is that the military need not respond to anything that I say. For that matter, they could simply blame local people for killing lemurs. The big problem, however, is that if I was wrong and falsely accused a military person, I could basically be kicked out of the country. If I accuse someone in the military, and he's found guilty, what would be the long-term effects on my own personal safety in the region? You can be assured of the fact that the individual would still be in the region. Another thing to consider is that if it was a military person, you'd still want to work with the military to find out where the individual had been pulling this off, and where. For that matter, what makes you think they (the military) don't already believe that killing lemurs is a big no-no? Finally, and most importantly, since when does one assume that the military is bad?

[Lavabe]

So the fact of the matter is that last year, I found this one site where I had both species of lemurs that are of interest to me, crowned lemurs and Sanford's lemurs. I found a number of groups of both species, and they seemed remarkably easy to habituate (get them used to my presence). The site is a very dry deciduous forest, full of small trees (usually 15 feet or less in height), but also full of slightly larger tamarind trees, which the lemurs LOVE to eat. The forest is also protected informally by a number of local beliefs and traditions. From conversations in one of two neighboring towns, it was clear to me that these informal traditions, combined with the lack of prized hardwoods, made this site one that probably would be sustainable for research over a long time. The big problem was the lack of potable water on the site. On the other hand, the site was on a beach on the Mozambique Channel side of Madagascar, picturesque, and full of wildlife.

This year I set my sights on studying whether the lemurs behavior was any different in such a sacred forest.

We got to one of the nearby towns on Saturday evening, pitched tents, and met with local people on Sunday. After an hourlong discussion with a group of villagers who monitor the forest, we took a motorboat ride to the beach lemur site from 2009, set up camp, and listened for lemurs. Listening is more effective than just walking through the forest, as both species give distinct dusk calls. Lo and behold, LOADS of crowned lemurs, some even within meters of camp.

Not a single Sanford's lemur.

We (my assistant, a grad student, and I) spent much of the next day searching the 2km-long peninsula looking for Sanford's. Still no luck. Definitely not good.

My guide did some reconnaissance, and found one group on the southern end of the forest, closer to a small village. The trouble was, he said they acted very scared and frightened (they have characteristic behavior if they see a threat), and they ran off pretty quickly.

So Tuesday came around, and my guide had to leave for a couple of days while he took the student back to our city of operations, Antsiranana. I surveyed the morning where the guide found them. No luck. I surveyed the evening as well; still no luck. As light was getting scarce at about 545PM, I heard two short, but loud POPs about 300 meters away.

Gunfire. I quickly gathered my wits, abandoned the survey, and headed back to camp 1.3 km away. Now THAT would explain the lack of Sanford's lemurs. Gunfire.

Trouble is, the local towns don't have guns, and resupplying guns would be impossible in these towns. The only option would be for someone to have come into town with guns, assuming they could get a vehicle through some pretty sketchy roads that are essentially impassable at this time of year.

As the night began, at about 730PM, I heard from camp maybe 3km away, a car pull up to the region where I heard the gunfire. I then heard 2 honks of the horn. That was the last of anything I heard from that region that night.

When my guide came back two days later, he told me the following:
1) A military vehicle passed by the towns of the region maybe a week or so BEFORE we arrived at the site.
2) The same vehicle passed by when I did my survey.
3) Villagers reported that the people in the vehicle had been routinely during that time been hunting lemurs, killing them by using rifles. The sport hunters shot the lemurs and gave people the carcasses so that people could eat the meat. Sort of a "gift" before Malagasy independence day. In some cases, kids reported that some people were given lemurs to keep as pets. Most of the lemurs shot were Sanford's lemurs.
4) It also became apparent that the local people we had seen the other day were pretty reticent about talking with people from the city, including me. These people are unarmed, and were generally untrusting city folks, as their experiences with city folks included these people who routinely visited and used guns to shoot wildlife.

Let me stress that I am not against hunters, hunting, etc... I AM against the hunting of rare and endangered wildlife, which ALL species of lemurs really are.

The fact of the matter is that the study site is an UNPROTECTED forest, at least to authorities. I'll leave this story at this point so that you can think what the appropriate response should be. I'll then discuss what happened today in a series of meetings, and what were my ultimate actions on the matter.

In this case, there's no happy ending, as one of the rare species was effectively extirpated from the field site. And since the neighboring forest was largely deforested within the last 10 years, the situation is even more tragic.

What would you do in my shoes? Remember, I also have to think about conducting my study. And I am a guest in this country (but I have full authorization to work in this forest).

The second bit of info that surfaced after the story was when we confronted our local guide about not telling us about the hunter having been in the forest a week before we actually got there. He said that our story was wrong; the hunter was there 10 days before.

I am NOT kidding with any of this.

[CameronBornAndBred]

In this case, there's no happy ending, as one of the rare species was effectively extirpated from the field site. And since the neighboring forest was largely deforested within the last 10 years, the situation is even more tragic.

What would you do in my shoes? Remember, I also have to think about conducting my study. And I am a guest in this country (but I have full authorization to work in this forest).

Wow...that really, really sucks. I have no idea what I would do, it's very hard to change a culture, especially as only one person. I'd do my best to work with local government and educators to see what sort of programs could be established to raise the attention of not only the locals but of surrounding cities and other countries. Only from some sort of outside pressure and local education can change on that scale be made. Best of luck. Vibes to the Sanford's.

[CathyCA]

What would you do in my shoes? Remember, I also have to think about conducting my study. And I am a guest in this country (but I have full authorization to work in this forest).

I would try to talk to as many people as I could about the situation, and remind them that they have an economic stake in protecting the lemurs. Folks from all over the world come to Madagascar to see the lemurs, and they spend money to do so. Therefore, it is in their best economic interests to protect, preserve and promote the lemurs.

Ecotourism could be really good for the Malagasy. Remind them that their economic survival depends on the lemurs.

[Lavabe]

What would you do in my shoes? Remember, I also have to think about conducting my study. And I am a guest in this country (but I have full authorization to work in this forest).

I would try to talk to as many people as I could about the situation, and remind them that they have an economic stake in protecting the lemurs. Folks from all over the world come to Madagascar to see the lemurs, and they spend money to do so. Therefore, it is in their best economic interests to protect, preserve and promote the lemurs.

Ecotourism could be really good for the Malagasy. Remind them that their economic survival depends on the lemurs.

You are sort of on the right track.

First, neither of these towns has EVER had an ecotourist. They're only available by 4-wheel drive maybe three months out of the year. In terms of infrastructure, a road was constructed by a logging firm some 30 years ago, but it was never maintained, and erosion patterns are such that it fell into disrepair within only a few years. The only access would be by boat, but the beach is hard to maintain, versus other beaches in the area. So tourism (in any form) is not established. Remember, there's also a lack of drinking water on the peninsula.

In short, their economic lives do NOT depend on lemurs. The folks there do not hunt the lemurs, and traditional Antankarana beliefs help protect the lemurs from hunting in the two nearby towns. What traditions do is protect the lemurs interiorly; they can't do squat against a city-based, gun-toting yahoo. The local folks depend on RICE farming, zebu cattle raising, and fishing. There is a saying in Madagascar... RICE AND I ARE ONE.

However, I agree completely that the folks have an economic interest in keeping researchers on the peninsula. Whenever I do research, I am sure not to bring in food from the outside... I buy nearly all my food from local folks, I hire local folks for work (e.g., guiding, laundry, and portering), and I pay well. For example, most folks in one of the towns are rice farmers. They grow the rice they need for their own food, and sell off the excess. Most also own cattle, and many fish as well. In a typical year, they may make some $300, plus they subsist on their own food. The local guide I hired for one week's worth of work received $30, in one week. Had I stayed the whole time (5 weeks), he'd have gained over HALF is annual income in just one month (assuming that he'd be able to gain some more income from assorted extra tasks).

Now because I suddenly had to stop my research, that economic engine that I provided is gone, along with all the technical expertise that I could provide the region. At this point, my goal is to make the site secure for a grad student who wants to research there for three months next year.

There's another dimension to ecotourism. The folks there regard the land as special. They do not want to see foreigners buying the land for tourism, so that only foreigners may benefit from the land. To many, that's sort of like colonialism.

[Lavabe]

In this case, there's no happy ending, as one of the rare species was effectively extirpated from the field site. And since the neighboring forest was largely deforested within the last 10 years, the situation is even more tragic.

What would you do in my shoes? Remember, I also have to think about conducting my study. And I am a guest in this country (but I have full authorization to work in this forest).

Wow...that really, really sucks. I have no idea what I would do, it's very hard to change a culture, especially as only one person. I'd do my best to work with local government and educators to see what sort of programs could be established to raise the attention of not only the locals but of surrounding cities and other countries. Only from some sort of outside pressure and local education can change on that scale be made. Best of luck. Vibes to the Sanford's.

Trust me. I went through this sort of phase early on upon realizing what happened. But I simply can not just lament about this.

Conservation education works on a certain audience assuming one thing... that everyone attends school. That's an incorrect assumption. Also incorrect is assuming that such education would suddenly change gun-toting sport hunters. I've never heard of a program like that working in the West; why assume it would work here? Besides, I think the need here isn't for conservation education, but rather for EDUCATION period.

The position I'm in isn't one that demands that I implement a managerial system that lets folks establish programs. I would have to come up with the concrete programs themselves. I AM, essentially, the technical expert.

Remember, the issue isn't necessarily with the local people. The outside people caused the problem. Which begs the question: if you support education targeting the gun-toting hunters, you're in essence providing them with money and support, even though THEY ARE THE BAD GUYS. The local people would receive no education, because THEY ARE ALREADY GUARDING THE FOREST. Essentially, they'd gain nothing, even though they're the good guys.

And here is the BIG question that remains: to what extent over the last five years has hunting occurred throughout the region, not just in this one forest?

I'll provide you later today with what I did on Monday about this.

[Lavabe]

Passed by the dentist this morning. I have a gingival infection surrounding my upper rear left molar. I'm now on an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory drug, along with some sort of special gingival paste.

The office was pretty similar to what you'd see in the US, just devoid of the extras that are now so common in many places in the US.

My tooth still hurts, but I trust the medicine will work.

[Miles]

Passed by the dentist this morning. I have a gingival infection surrounding my upper rear left molar. I'm now on an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory drug, along with some sort of special gingival paste.

The office was pretty similar to what you'd see in the US, just devoid of the extras that are now so common in many places in the US.

My tooth still hurts, but I trust the medicine will work.

Bummer, no Highlights magazine?
Hope you're mouth is feeling better soon.

[Lavabe]

Passed by the dentist this morning. I have a gingival infection surrounding my upper rear left molar. I'm now on an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory drug, along with some sort of special gingival paste.

The office was pretty similar to what you'd see in the US, just devoid of the extras that are now so common in many places in the US.

My tooth still hurts, but I trust the medicine will work.

Bummer, no Highlights magazine?
Hope you're mouth is feeling better soon.

Unfortunately, after a full day of this medicine, I haven't felt ANY improvement. If I don't have any improvement by tomorrow morning, I'm going back to the dentist. You don't want to fool around with this sort of infection; camping would be a no-no. The real trouble is that I may soon face a bad question: if it takes me a week to heal, will I have enough time to finish my work before I leave for the US? If the answer is no, then I may have to consider heading home early. At this point, however, I just want to heal; sans Advil, this thing hurts like hell. On a scale of 0-10, with 0 being no pain AND 10 being EXTREME amounts of pain, this is about a 35. If I don't see any improvement, then it's a no-brainer... I head home.
Ycch!

[DukieInKansas]

Healing vibes heading your way. Not being able to finish what you planned on accomplishing is a major bummer.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Passed by the dentist this morning. I have a gingival infection surrounding my upper rear left molar. I'm now on an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory drug, along with some sort of special gingival paste.

If the infection isn't clearing with the antibiotics, would you/have you considered having the tooth pulled? Is there anything actually wrong with the tooth or is the infection "just" in the gum? Would pulling the tooth actually solve the problem?

My wife, the nurse, classmate of Mrs. DD, thinks you should give the antibiotic a couple of more days to work.

[Lavabe]

Passed by the dentist this morning. I have a gingival infection surrounding my upper rear left molar. I'm now on an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory drug, along with some sort of special gingival paste.

If the infection isn't clearing with the antibiotics, would you/have you considered having the tooth pulled? Is there anything actually wrong with the tooth or is the infection "just" in the gum? Would pulling the tooth actually solve the problem?

My wife, the nurse, classmate of Mrs. DD, thinks you should give the antibiotic a couple of more days to work.

It's not the tooth, but rather, the gums surrounding it. And now it appears to be throbbing on the lower gums as well on the same side.

For that matter, all of my upper left premolars and molars have been root canaled (if there is such a word). It's not the teeth.

Give it a FEW days? Oh boy ... what fun! About as much fun as being in a stadium filled with blaring vuvuzelas.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Gummy vibes.

[lawgrad91]

Man, Lavabe, bummers all around. Vibes and prayers for you, and also for the situation there.

[captmojo]

Can you get any painkillers at all? If not, can you get peppermint oil? It works.

[ArkieDukie]

I'm pulling out all the stops and sending major-ass vibes! Tooth be healed!

[Lavabe]

I'm pulling out all the stops and sending major-ass vibes! Tooth be healed!

Keeping in mind the discussion I posted with Tilly about traditional use of medicinal plants (and given what mojo just posted about peppermint oil), I am all up for a chemist to synthesize the active chemical in some medicinal plants used to treat this. At this stage, I would GLADLY take any medicinal plant that would help kill the pain, reduce the swelling, and remove the infection. Hey, at this stage, keeping in mind a previous EarlJam thread, I would gladly insert a few firecrackers between my cheek and gum and set them off. THAT would be better than this pain.

[shereec]

Bless your heart! I'm sending piles o' vibes! I think it was Earl Jam who asked why people said to feel better soon, so following his sentiments, I'm saying to feel better NOW!

[Lavabe]

Bless your heart! I'm sending piles o' vibes! I think it was Earl Jam who asked why people said to feel better soon, so following his sentiments, I'm saying to feel better NOW!

I met with the dentist again. He took some xrays, and will have results tomorrow. Looks like the pain in the lower gums is reflected from the pain in the uppers. The lower gums are fine. He suspects the infection is under my upper rear crown. Pending xray results, tomorrow he'll pop off the crown, clean, sterilize, and reattach the crown. In the meantime, he says, pretty much as Ozzie's wife said, give the antibiotics some time. It's a 5-day course, so we'll see. However, the best news is that...

HE PRESCRIBED ME CODEINE!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT helps.

[TillyGalore]

HE PRESCRIBED ME CODEINE!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT helps.

Dude! You should not have let that cat out of the bag as EarlJam will be all over you for whatever you don't use. ;) ;)

Hope this new course helps you feel better sooner rather than later. Hugs and major ass vibes coming your way.