During the second month of my fieldwork, I carried out forest inventories in the communities of Bubango and Chankele. As usual, I met with village leaders to introduce myself before beginning fieldwork in these villages.
As usual, I met with village leaders to introduce myself before beginning fieldwork in these villages.
We made the decision to set up camp at Chankele village after the discussions since it was simpler to conduct the fieldwork in Bubango and Chankele communities. These two villages are located on the eastern side of the park.
After taking an early breakfast, I checked the closest location of the vegetation plot on the map and feed it to the GPS to determine the distance from the camp.
I realized that the distance was not far from where we camped, it was about 2.6 km. Therefore, after a little walk, we will begin data gathering, which made me glad. We were too exhausted to talk about our plans for the previous day.
So, with joy, I inquired about the day’s plans with Chankele and Bubango, the forest monitors. Surprisingly, they informed me that we would need to go over 2 km with slippers because the first place I inquired about would require passing through valleys with several streams
To go to the initial place of our data gathering, it took us close to three hours. Along the journey, there was a lot of lighting and minimal rain. I even considered calling off the fieldwork that day, but the forest monitors persuaded us all to go. The brief period of rain gave us additional time to carry out the day’s agenda. Out of the four scheduled plots, we were able to get data from three of them on this day.
Two of these plots were located close to the park boundary. Gombe has recently donated beehives to promote the conservation of the village forest reserves by stimulating the implementation of compatible and environmentally friendly income-generating activities in areas close to park boundary.
On the way home, we came across a tree species that appeared to have been cut and left to fall but was still standing. The forest monitors of Chankele and Bubango said the tree is well-recognized by the villagers. Mr. Kohoye who is the forest monitor of Bubango, further said that in the 1980s the two villagers were fighting for the same tree, each claiming ownership of it. Due to this argument, one of these two villagers made the decision to cut it down using various tools, including a chainsaw. However, the tree remained standing until today. Mr. Kohoye informed me that these villagers no longer reside in the village and he is unsure of their whereabouts when I expressed an interest in speaking with them.
This tree’s name in the local language is Mbula, although it is also known as Mnazi. Parinari curatellifolia is the name of the tree in its scientific name. Chimpanzees and humans both eat the fruit that is produced by the tree. In western Tanzania, the Mbula tree is typically one of the most significant food sources for chimpanzees.
We far away from this odd tree ate our late packed lunch and then had a little break.
We eventually set off on our return trip to the camp. We were exhausted, so it was great to pass by the forest’s natural stream, which the locals had figured out how to use for drinking and cooking. I believe that this water is harmless. Because none of the research team members, including myself, experience any gastrointestinal issues.
Watch this space for another tale.