The Search for Cousteau in Senegal and Gambia – Chapter 2

-URDAIBAI RESERVE- Cousteau, el águila pescadora que partió en Setiembre de Urdaibai, sigue emitiendo desde Casamance en el sur de Senegal.

El director del proyecto, Aitor Galarza, realizó el pasado otoño un viaje hasta esa región del África subsahariana, con el objetivo de recabar información sobre las águilas pescadoras en su zona de invernada e intentar tomar fotografías y grabaciones de vídeo del propio Cousteau. Proseguimos la crónica de su viaje.

Wednesday 23rd November

I woke up before dawn, excited about the prospect of finding Cousteau. I had analysed the Google Earth data on his location, and was confident about the day ahead. I couldn´t imagine having any difficulties in my search for our osprey. The information I had was a couple of days old but it indicated that Cousteau was still in the same place.I left Bignona on the Trans-Gambia Highway but it wasn´t long before I came across a checkpoint. It was manned by a heavily armed group of soldiers who were leaning against a small tank. As luck would have it, they waved me on without the slightest bit of interest in seeing my passport or searching my vehicle. The same thing happened at the next checkpoint twenty kilometres down the road so I had an uneventful trip to Mampalago, a small village near Cousteau´s favourite roosting spot.

Having witnessed a family of Tota monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) crossing the road in front of me, I finally arrived in the village. My next task was to find the river and an old man was kind enough to help me. The track he indicated was in terrible condition and there wasn´t a straight stretch on it.

However, I eventually parked the car on a bank between some rice fields and a forest.

It was still early but the place was busy; two men were fishing from a canoe, children were walking to school, a cart carrying grass trundled past only to be overtaken by a couple of motorbikes. All this was good sign. If Cousteau was already used to the hustle and bustle of such a place, it would be easier for me to approach him and take some photos.250 metres ahead of me, I could see the group of dry trees which had provided a resting place for Cousteau over the previous months.

Since his arrival in September he had spent a great deal of time on these perches overlooking the marsh formed by the Casamance River. The dense baobab and palm forests on its banks provided me with a secluded place from which to take photos, as did the rice and mango plantations. I had found the perfect spot. I was very close to Cousteau´s favourite resting place and was well camouflaged. What´s more, the sun was behind me.I settled down to wait and took a moment to enjoy the beautiful birds all around me. Blue-bellied rollers (Corracias cyanogaster) and green wood hoopoes (Phoeniculus purpureus) were fluttering about in the trees.  The Senegalese thick-knee (Burhinus senegalesis) and the lapwings (Vanellus spinosus) were gathered in flocks on the riverbank and I could even see a palm-nut vulture (Gypoheirax angoloensis) in the distance. However, there was no sign of Cousteau.

As I approached, two startled ospreys suddenly flew overhead. Camera at the ready, I pressed button and heard the rapid shutter fire. Excitedly I looked at the screen to see if either of the birds was ringed. To my dismay, neither of them was. Feeling disappointed, I started heading back to the car but I was quickly surrounded by a group of curious young boys. They wanted to know what I was up to. In my rudimentary French I managed to explain the story of my search for Cousteau and one of the boys replied that he had often seen a ringed osprey perched on the dry trees. When I asked him what colour the ring was he told me it was yellow. I felt my spirits rising. I was on the right track.

Feeling optimistic once again, I headed to another location favoured by our osprey. It was very close to the Trans-Gambia Highway. Having ventured 500 metres down a dirt track, I walked to the edge of the marsh and immediately spotted what was surely Cousteau´s roosting spot. In the distance there was a huge baobab tree with bare branches. I could just picture him spending the night there. I was pleased and took a moment to enjoy the diverse species of birds in the area. Amongst others I saw a flock of white faced whistling ducks, a pair of spur-winged geese, several great egret and a hamerkop. However, there was neither sight nor sound of an osprey.
Before trying my luck again, I had to sort out some accommodation. I booked a room in a nearby hotel, La Palmeraie en Badioure, which turned out to be excellent and then took up my search again. I revisited Cousteau´s customary trees in the hope that he would return to sleep but it was not to be so. Sadly, he did not grace me with his presence.

Thursday 24th November

It would be another 3 days before there were any updates from the satellite and trying to find Cousteau without this information would be nigh on impossible. I decided to move on to Ziguinchor as I wanted to get to know the area and take photos and videos for use in the project. Situated on the banks of the Casamance River, the area was colonized by the Portuguese and later the French. It became part of Senegal after independence.

Ziguinchor, the capital of the region, is a friendly town with wide streets along which baobabs grow. They are home to yellow billed storks. Ziguinchor has a population of 100 000, which is relatively large compared to other Senegalese towns. The main inhabitants are the Diolas, who speak their own language and Wolof, the most widely used language in Senegal. In some areas there is also a local version of Portuguese Creole. In terms of politics, the current situation in the area is relatively calm. However, there is a strong military presence. This is due to the fact that has been a struggle between government forces and a guerrilla movement since the end of the eighties.Having left Ziguinchor, I continued my journey down to Elinkine, a small place at the mouth of the Casamance River.

On the way I was able to admire enormous trees in the villages and I was also struck by views of churches and mosques standing side by side. Their close proximity was a clear sign that the two religions coexist in harmony with each other. Both Christianity and Islam are relatively recent in the region and that they are still mixed with the more traditional animist beliefs.

I drove across huge areas of mangroves and flood plains which were almost dried out. Although I could see birds in the distance, observation was difficult as the air was shimmering in the heat. However, there was hardly any traffic so if I did manage to spot something of interest, I could pull over and get the camera out. I was lucky enough to be able to photograph a very beautiful Senegal chameleon (Chamaeleo senegalensis) which was crossing the road. I also caught a group of vultures on film. They were feasting on the corpse of a donkey and I identified three species in the group: the hooded vulture, (Nechrosyrtes monachus) the white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) and Rϋpells vulture (Gyps rueppellii).

Returning to Ziguinchor that evening, I booked into Le Perroquet, a hotel which had been recommended to me. I was delighted to see that not only was it on the shores of the Casamance, but that it was also home to an enormous baobab tree. Among its branches were stork and cormorant nests. When I saw them, I knew that I would be witness to a spectacular dawn.