Wildlife

I wasn't much of a naturalist when I was in Karamoja (no field guides to identify species, no notes about interesting plants or animals), and I didn't see much of the kind of animal we typically identify with Africa. But I did see lots of little things that are a pretty satisfying taste of the wild, after all.

For starters, there were reptiles. I didn't actually see a single live snake either time, except for the one in a tree before Sunday school last year (it was stoned down by the schoolboys, completely making their day). I would actually have liked to see the baby python that was found one day, and for some reason the thought of cobras and mambas doesn't scare me too much. But after Martha told me about puff adders, whose bite can literally kill you before you take two steps, my eyes were glued to the path whenever I walked anywhere. They're rare, though.

No luck with snakes, but you can't walk anywhere on a sunny day without tiny lizards rocketing by you. They were brown with a few narrow stripes down their back - I never saw more than that because they were too quick! There were also a couple chameleons. One I took a picture of changed color and held still, thinking we wouldn't notice them that way. Those were the coolest...

Then there were bugs. Biting ants on the cement floor of the Wrights' floor, huge black ants by the schoolhouse, many species of colorful butterflies, the baby scorpion that I woke up to on the inside of my mosquito netting one morning, a gorgeous silver beetle I brought home (dead) to my brother, and dung beetles which are rather fascinating to watch. Spiders I've already mentioned...ugh.

During preparations for the goat roast, someone came by selling baby bunnies. They were too cute. Of course we had to buy them; I think Rachel and I paid 1000 shillings each. (about $1 total - way too much.) They were so tiny they could fit in the palm of your hand. Sadly, they died a few days later. They were sickly anyway, but it can't have helped that I accidentally kicked their bucket home as I was getting into bed (at a sleepover at the Wrights) one night. I still hope it didn't give them a fatal heart attack.

There were also hedgehogs - the most unbelievably cute creatures, and I never expected to find them in Uganda of all places - and tiny bright-colored birds in blue, red, and yellow.

No monkeys, elephants, or giraffes, but a lot of variety just the same.