I ground my teeth but kept on going. Gently securing the camera on my back, and making sure more dirt doesn’t get in, I plowed through the swamp and cursed under my breath when sharp serrated grass blades cut me deep enough to draw blood. By now, I looked like I’ve been whipped. “Think about it as of an exfoliating treatment,” said my husband walking behind me. I could hear him smile. I turned around, a cynical grimace on my face, and he was quick to sweep me off my feet and steal a kiss.
I’ve been tracking mandrills in the dense undergrowth of Lekedi Reserve for two days now, and still couldn’t find the animals. Sloshing through the marshes and mud around the river, climbing the steep slippery valley walls, grabbing for balance onto meaty stems and tree trunks overrun with ants, I found countless insects, bush pigs, even noticed a few young chimps playing in the brush, but not the monkeys I was looking for. I was about to give up and was taking my final stroll through the jungle when the mandrills simply showed up on their own. Whoever thought these guys up probably had a lot of fun with silly putty (and some pot) the day before. It was as if they knew I had spent hours tearing through the bush, marking it with my blood and sweat, only to find them, and snobbishly ignored me while I played the giddy paparazzi.
Madrill in Lekedl, Gabon by Sarit Reizin
Location: Lekedi, Gabon
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Born in Ukraine, raised in Israel, and acquiring her higher education in the US, Sarit Reizin is proud to call herself a citizen of the world. However, to stay worthy of the title, she felt a nomadic lifestyle was in order, and in November 2005 left the comforts of the first world with no desire of coming back any time soon. http://HopStopTravel.com
An outstanding photo and writeup; you earned it !