david korte photographs

5:30pm, Lisa and I are walking Elle, our little bundle-of-energy papillon.  It is the last hour of daylight, the time when elephants start showing up in Yenzi.  Andrew has joined our walk with Angel, a cocker spaniel.  We can see Phil’s guests, his mother Faye and cousin Deslie, standing by the side of the road ahead of us, staring into the jungle.  Standing in an odd location is indication that something unusual is happening, and we soon hear a rustling in the jungle vegetation across the road.  A troop of mangabeys has worked its way to the roadside.  They are staring back at Faye and Deslie while grazing on fruits and leaves.  As we approach, the monkeys shift their attention to the two little dogs, completely ignoring the humans present.  One little monkey in particular crawls out to a limb by the side of the road and sits staring, while absent-mindedly (if monkeys can possess human traits) turning some fruit-pit over and over in its mouth.  Another monkey climbs down close to the roadside to pick at ferns in the ditch while keeping an eye on Angel.  I suggest we unhitch Elle and let her join in with the troop for some playtime.  This goes over like a lead balloon.  Having dogs among us appears to disarm the monkeys, a look of curiosity evident on their little monkey faces.