DANTAisms

For the first 22 years of my life, I spent the holiday season with family in Michigan. Last year, the holidays were a bit out of the ordinary for me. I spent it with the CABS (Comparative Analysis of Baboon Sociality) research crew in Ethiopia. We took a break from work and travelled around the country.

The first two legs of our journey were work-related. CABS is a comparative project, which involves a collaboration among scientists who study different old world monkey species. Two of the species involved in the CABS project are studied in Ethiopia: Gelada monkeys and hamadryas baboons. We visited these two species for the holidays.

 

First, we travelled up to the Simien Mountains National Park to observe the geladas.

The geladas are very unique. I am thankful that I was able to spend time with them!

After Christmas, we headed to Filoha, Awash National Park to hang out with the hamadryas baboons.

I had been living at Filoha so this was an opportunity for me to host the other researchers.

For the next leg of our trip, we headed south for the non-work portion of vacation. We spent several days in Arba Minch and one night in Awassa. These areas are known for their lakes, and fishing is a big part of life in these regions.

There were many fishermen in the area. The man above was very successful – he caught a huge fish!

We saw a lot of crocs and hippos. A scary thought with so many fiserhermen in the water. But the men were not concerned!

 On our way back to the capital, we spent a night in Awassa.

Ethiopia has a diverse range of habitats and cultures. I was fortunate to experience some of this diversity throughout my travels. It is nice to be home for the holidays this year. But last year’s vacation was unforgettable.