The two primates one can reasonably expect to come across here at Pamuzinda Safari Lodge are Baboons and Vervet Monkeys. We have already covered Vervets in an earlier Blog entry but their perennial  mischievousness and antics make them almost a continuous “work in progress”. I see them every day and the local troop has my room earmarked as a never-ending source of fruit, which forms a large part of my own diet. In effect it means that ventilation, by way of open windows, and complete habitat destruction, by way of room wrecking, will never make ideal bedfellows. All that apart, however, I still cannot resist the odd shot of these persistent Prima donnas and my latest two favourites are attached here.

Vervet Monkeys

Baboons

The other Simian delight in the area is our local troop of baboons. Unfortunately for them, they seem to favour the same stretch of riverbed that I frequent when taking out a Guided Photographic Foray. In the early days of this activity they were very vocal in their disapproval of me. Their Lord and Master used words towards me that, if I could have understood them, would, I am sure, have shocked my sensitive soul to the core. However, as is often the case, familiarity has not exactly bred contempt. Rather it has led to a degree of tolerance that could probably be more aptly described as a state of “armed truce” between us.

As you can see from the accompanying image he is certainly not a shy boy. I always love to see the mothers carrying their young and so have attached an image that, admittedly, did not come from Pamuzinda. In fact I took it on one of Zambezi Cruise Safaris tours to Mana Pools. However it serves to highlight the photographic opportunities that await you if you only take the time to “wait and see what happens next”. Even with species as ubiquitous as baboons.