Not being a full time researcher I only go out on observations around once a week unless needed. That one night is like unplugging yourself and leaving any unfinished jobs, questions, deadlines, emails, data entry etc at the door for that next six hours. So over the last three weeks/month of being ill and not going out on observations I’ve really missed that little bit of escapism.
After one failed attempt at getting back in the field this week and returning home after sickness struck again, last night I finally got a full follow, and it turned out to be quite the little treat. We arrived to find Ena wondering along the edge of some bamboo, low down, right by the path so I immediately started filming. We played hide and seek with her for most of the night as Ena would hide between thick branches or behind tree trunks until we found her again for just seconds, before jumping into the next seemingly pre-prepared spot that was totally out of site to us.
However illusive she was, the night was full of great moments and luckily we managed to get a lot of these on video too; Ena popping her head through a Labu frame and walking like Spiderman across roof of the plantation just a few meters away, Ena gouging for gum (something we have been trying to catch clearly on film for a while), being stalked by a leopard cat and discovering that actually, they are pretty scary, and finding Enas newly named baby Endor wide eyed perched on a little branch looking around expectantly for her mum to come home, and watching Ena and Endor settle down to bed together for the night.
I came back from the shift at 5.30am feeling totally refreshed as the night was the perfect reminder of why all of us come here in the first place, why we put up with being ill for weeks or months at a time, or spend months applying for permits before even arriving (as other blogs have mentioned recently)..; to ensure that lorises like Ena and Endor can continue to choose their favorite tree and go to sleep together at the end of the night.
- Laura Beasley, Field Station Coordinator