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Bill Wallauer (Ferdinand)
Gombe National Park,
Tanzania
Gigapans: 17
Snapshots: 40
Bookmarks: 0
Last Visited: August 01, 2009
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I have spent most of the past 15 years in Gombe National Park studying and documenting chimpanzee behavior for the Jane Goodall Institute.
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SD 800; Canon G9 |
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I was lucky to get this shot. Chimpanzees are often in thick vegetation and in the dark areas of the forest. Tarzan built this little day nest and took a siesta right off one of the main paths in Gombe. Tarzan is an independent young chimp, and a bit of a trouble-maker. Though orphaned a few years ago, he seems to be doing extremely well for himself.
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This shot is just over 180 degrees looking west from The Clove Hotel in Stonetown.
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This is a view from the fourth floor balcony of The Clove Hotel in Stonetown looking south towards St. Joseph's Cathedral, the Bagh Muharmi Mosque, and the House of Wonders. I thought the cross section of the nearby crumbling building was particularly interesting.
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This shot illustrates an extreme example of deforestation just at the edge of Gombe National Park.
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This shot was taken from the top of the rift escarpment looking west into the park. The elevation changes from 2500' to 4500' from the lake to the point the shot was taken.
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Before my arrival to Gombe in 1992, chimpanzees used to use the area in the bottom half of this image. Due to habitat destruction immediately around the park there are no longer chimpanzees using this area.
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This shot was taken from fourth floor of the Clove Hotel in Zanzibar's Stone Town. Staying in Stone Town is a bit like going back in time. While tourism has had it's impact, the back streets, the Mosques, the Hindu Temples, the Persian baths, and the fantastic array of doors have changed very little.
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This shot was taken from the very point Jane Goodall spend months and months observing chimpanzee behavior in the early 1960's before the chimps were habituated to humans. From this point she observed chimps fishing with a tool for termites and chimps hunting colobus monkeys. Occasionally, Jane spent the night here so that she could listen to the chimps at night, and to be sure she did not miss anything in the early morning hours.
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Typical scene of baboons on the beach in Gombe National Park, Tanznaia. These baboons have been studied by researchers and Tanzanian field assistants for decades, and are very habituated to the presence of humans.
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I didn't know when I took this panorama that Google Earth had done an incredibly detailed series of shots of this very spot. If you zoom into the Google earth point, you will see the cement circle (which is a water pump) where we ate lunch as the Gigapan robot did it's thing. I took this shot while on safari with my wife, my sister and her family en route to the Jane Goodall Institute's Misitu Ugalla conservation area (http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=3805).
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St. Joseph's Cathedral
Created: March 26, 2008
Taken From: Zanzibar Rooftops 2
Comments: none - add a comment
Total Views: 4
This beautiful Cathedral can be seen from any high position in Stonetown. It is remarkable inside and out. St. Joseoh's was built in the late 1800's.
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Another Chimp
Created: March 26, 2008
Taken From: Tarzan hangs out
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Total Views: 20
There was a large group of chimps in a nearby tree. Most were hidden by leaves. I am not sure who this is, possibly Apollo.
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TARZAN IN NEST
Created: March 26, 2008
Taken From: Tarzan hangs out
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Total Views: 30
Tarzan built a little day nest for himself in the fork of this tree. Not the most comfortable nest I have ever seen, but what he lacks in style, he makes up in location. His view overlooking Mkenke Valley was spectacular.
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Channel Erosion
Created: March 25, 2008
Taken From: Deforestation near Gombe NP
Comments: none - add a comment
Total Views: 16
Channel Erosion is caused by a combination of heavy rain, steep slopes and removal of vegetation. In the forests of Gombe, the tree canopy slows the force of the rain and the ground cover and roots hold the soil in place. With erosion like this, the site potential is decreased drastically because the topsoil flows away with the rainwater.
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