Monkey Business

We have two troops of resident primates at Lamai.  The naughty vervet monkeys and the gangster baboons.  The baboons run things and the vervets’ are allowed to forage as long as they don’t encroach too much on gangster turf.  For the most part they keep to themselves, but still manage to provide us with endless entertainment.  

The vervets’ tend to hang out at the pool, lounging around on the sun loungers, seemingly waiting for margaritas.  Play and mischief is at the fore of their agenda and they never seem to tire.  The baboons are more sedate and hang around like bodyguards, keeping watch for intruders and alerting each other of any potential threat with the odd bark echoing through camp every now and again.  Where the vervets’ are quite amicable amongst the troop the gangsters seem to squabble quite often over turf, which is accompanied by squeals of dismay and some rough and tumble. 

We enjoy having them around, especially when the baboons join us for sundowners, like us a beautiful sunset is appreciated and it seems they never miss one, staring out over the Serengeti like philosophers deep in thought.  That said, we have lost quite a few cushions and a bottle of gin went missing the other day….. you never know.