Primates Safari: Uganda & Rwanda - Day 4

Overcast with afternoon clearing. 86F at noon, humidity 94%

Following the same schedule as yesterday, we started our day with a 0500 breakfast putting us at the Research HQ around 0630. After ranger and porter assignment, we were off for our second full day of chimpanzee trekking. The chimps were fairly close to our drop point making our trekking even more enjoyable, despite the somewhat wet conditions, which was good news!

Last night, a major weather front moved through the area dumping rain on the forest. As a result, all of the chimps were high up in the trees for the first part of the day making our photography efforts challenging. So we took some time to focus on managing the highlights and shadows when shooting in these difficult conditions.

As soon as the temperature increased, the chimps dropped to the ground and we had the remaining day filled with exciting and wonderful photographic opportunities. Numerous high-energy conflicts between members of the group generated a very vocal afternoon. It was unbelievable to be in their presence, especially as the calls intensified. At times we just put our cameras down to take it all in.

Blogging live from Uganda near the Rwenzori Mountains