Stories from the Field: Julia and the Colobus – part 2

Harry the Monkey Chaser
*modified blog entry first posted in April 2010

Harry waiting to make his move...

Today I got chased by Harry, the alpha male of group Wawa … yet again! Harry and I have a history of playing cat and mouse (he’s always the cat and I’m always the scared little mouse). The first time he chased me I was an undergraduate student on a primatology field school two years ago. This was one of my first encounters with monkeys. At the time I wasn’t as monkey-wary as I am now and I managed to walk right smack in the middle of Harry’s group when they were all feeding on the ground. He got angry, started open-mouth and stiff-leg threatening me (pseudo-scary colobus behaviors that mean “back off”), and began to come after me. I freaked out, started running, and just like in a bad horror movie, I tripped and fell! At this point Harry had the decency to give me a few moments to try stumbling back up. I wasn’t very good at it though, and even with the help of another student friend on the field school, who literally dragged my spastic body away from the fury that was Harry, I was still not capable of getting my proper footing. We escaped unharmed but just barely, and only because Constance (Ghanaian field assistant) had the brilliant idea of grabbing a stick that she proceeded to wave around threateningly in Harry’s face.

A group of male colobus monkeys sans Harry the monkey chaser. Since most of the time spent with Harry is running away, it is difficult to get a nice picture of him.

Since this time, I have played several other chasing games with Harry. Somehow he always manages to pop out of nowhere and get me! I think he enjoys it. Honestly, I think he does it for some monkey laughs or to show off to his girlfriends. Today’s chase was a bit different though. I was actually near him for two or three hours, peacefully watching the group and trying hard not to appear threatening in any way. He actually didn’t seem to care one bit about my presence as he gorged on leaves the entire time. Once he ate his fill though, without the least bit of warning this time (i.e. no threats or warning grunts or direct glances in my direction) he jumped down from his tree and began galloping towards me. For once, I kept my footing and I did not fall but I ran into a group of tourists who were also coming to see colobus group Wawa. At the sight of me running towards them as any desperate crazy woman would (yes I was squealing like a little girl) while being chased by a huge colobus male the size of my German Shepherd dog, the tourists and the Ghanaian guide Henry also proceeded to run with me away from Harry. All the while, we were all squealing for our lives!

Once again, Harry didn’t actually catch me but I wonder if he ever really tries or if he just enjoys the sight of my behind giggling desperately as I try to get away… Maybe next time I will stop to ask him what his problem is before I run away. Oh Harry … you monkey chaser!

Monkeys crossing the road going from one area of their home range to another. They like to take turns and are usually very catious with the infants. Crossing boundaries like this is dangerous because it exposes them to predators and humans.