Anyway, with the New Year in Ethiopia always comes the close of the rainy season. This means we still get to enjoy the lush greenery left by the rains, but no longer have to live like drenched cats in our tents anymore and the sun comes out to brighten our lives. The area is absolutely breathtaking:
As with any good New Year, we have some changes going on at Filoha. First, Sam Patterson has joined the team! Sam, yet another member of our University of Michigan alumni group at Filoha, came out in August and settled in quite quickly. She brought with her some mad problem-solving skills, a hilariously dry sense of humor, and huge passion for primates. So lucky to have another rockstar!
We also got a new scout (here on the left). Esmale is a happy addition to the Filoha Family!
We've also seen some changes in baboon behavior - these baboons (not ours) have taken to sleeping on towers like this one far away from cliffs. It doesn't look comfortable, but it's pretty safe from lions and leopards!
Our little baby warthogs are getting all grown up, here the kids are putting on their own muddy sunblock. What big kids!
Despite the large number of snakes we've seen this year, this is the largest live snake we have come across. This guy was over 2m long and happy to get out of our way when we drove by it on the road.
This very handsome waterbuck has been hanging around Filoha for about a month now. He is the most majestic old guy we've seen in the area.
To celebrate New Year's and my leaving for Kenya we went for a special dinner to the Awash Falls Lodge across the way. Before a delicious feast we went for a stroll down to the actual falls, it was gorgeous!
We hadn't seen the baboons in a while, but of course they showed up right next to the road on my way out of Filoha. This was my last peek at them for the next 2 months:
I'm going to miss my Filoha baboon, and non-baboon, buddies while I'm here in Kenya,
but I'll be back there soon!
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