African Wildlife

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Africa; elephants, hippos, cheetahs, giraffes, and amazing wildlife? Did you grow up thinking there are animals running all over Africa? Or that missionary kids ride elephants to school instead of a school bus and that everyone has a pet monkey? We all know geography and natural history were never my strong points in school. Therefore, I grew up thinking Africa was one huge country where animals rule the land and people live in huts trying not to get eaten by the animals. I was totally shocked to arrive in Liberia and learn that there are no wild animals here! I was hoping to jump off the airplane and see some of God’s amazing creatures roaming the land. As many of you know, I do not give up easily and if I have an idea in my mind, I do everything I can to make it reality. Over the past few months, I have heard whispers about the location of some monkeys in the area, therefore I have made it my side mission to find these little creatures and count observing them as my viewing of the African wildlife. I am proud to announce, that I found monkeys! I recently visited a place called the Wulki Farm. It is a privately owned farm, zoo of sorts. The owner has ostriches, crocodiles, and two monkeys. Everyone that visits is guaranteed to see the ostriches and crocodiles because they are caged, but it is only a few persistent visitors that find the monkeys because they roam a large plot of land and jungle freely. Our group checked out the ostrich family and crocodiles, but then we jumped in our land rover and drove back and forth on the road in pursuit of the monkeys. Now, of course, I have been to a zoo and I have seen monkeys, but never in the wild. We drove around forever and were about to give up when, in the distant trees, we saw movement and… MONKEYS! I was so excited. We got out of the vehicle and attempted to befriend the little creatures. Friendship was made and we proceeded to play for about 1.5 hours with the monkeys. We laughed and laughed as we watched them run around chasing each other and some of the guys in our group. One of the monkeys walked directly up to our group and put his hands up, like a small child wanting to be held. It was precious. Everyone took turns holding the “nice” monkey. One of them was mean and just chased people and stuck his tongue out at us, but the other one loved to be held. It was funny to watch the “nice” monkey with my friends. If the monkey approached a female, he would act like a baby wanting to be held. But if he approached a male, he would try to chew on their ankles and use their body like a jungle gym, jumping around, and climbing on them. I was afraid to hold the monkey and as many of you know, I do not even pet or hold, dogs, cats, hamsters. The only pets I play with are fish! Despite, my fear/dislike of hairy animals, I decided this opportunity may only come once and I picked up the little hairy monkey and I have pictures to prove it. Enjoy! God bless!