the world and about 100 of them live right here in Khau Ca.  Unfortunately, we did not see them this time.  We did see lots of evidence of human presence in the forest, though (it’s technically illegal for people to enter without permission).  We saw food wrappers and soda cans deep in the forest and also saw lots of livestock (goats and water buffalo) free-grazing there.  It makes me sad to see these things, but motivates me to continue the challenging work of identifying the primary threats to these critically endangered monkeys so we can apply that information to our conservation action plans.

April 25, 2011 I’m still a bit sore from climbing thousands of feet each day in Khau Ca.  Today’s highlight was spending a total of six hours as a passenger on a small motorbike.  Hoang and I traveled on winding mountain roads (most of which were paved) to reach the headquarters of Bac Me District so that we could acquire permissions to deliver the forest walk program this coming July.  We are hoping that by teaching local children and their families about the connections that exist among all living things (including people, monkeys and forests), we can inspire them to take action to help us save the Tonkin snub nosed monkeys.  So I would do just about anything to get approvals for this kind of conservation education program.  I have to say, though, I’m not sure which is more grueling: three days in Khau Ca or six hours on the motorbike.  At least it didn’t rain – motorbikes in the rain are no fun at all!