Alittle more on Evaro

Sorry, my posting was cut short yesterday because I had to leave Libreville and catch a plane down the coast to Iguela, which I’ll write about shortly. I wanted to share a few more images from Evaro:

Fresh manatee feeding sign in a cove off Lake Evaro. The grass is matted down where the manatees push it down and feed further in. We returned to this spot at night and spooked an animal here (we didn’t mean to spook it, they are just incredibly shy and flee). In other parts of Africa manatee feeding sign is twisted grass stems, but I’m not seeing that here and none of the former manatee hunters I’ve spoken with have ever seen such a thing.

A young female Situtunga. This one is part of a captive breeding program at Evaro.

This is Steve (the person) with Chemaine (the gorilla) having breakfast. Steve spends everyday with the orphan gorillas, caring for them and taking them into the forest to learn how to eat native plants. Once the gorillas are older they will move to their own island in the lake. There is also a chimp island in the lake with 2 adults who are former orphans/pets.

Chemaine (aged 3 years) and Charlemagne (chimp, not sure of age). Spending time with these guys momentarily made me want to give up marine mammals and devote my life to working with gorillas! They are absolutely incredible.

Dejeuner (lunch). Robert and Jean-Marc manage Evaro Lodge and are dedicated to protecting the area’s wildlife, as well as providing an income for the local people by providing jobs and purchasing local products (which in turn helps reduce hunting pressure). The meals were all incredible, and the food is locally grown or caught (fish). Jean-Marc is working to try to raise some funds for wildlife research projects there including manatee work (keep your fingers crossed). I highly recommend Evaro as a vacation destination for fantastic wildlife viewing!