Jane

Data Collection at Diani Reef

Colobus Conservation is collaborating with a local resort, Diani Reef, to learn more about the presence and behavior of monkeys on the hotel grounds. The data from Colobus’ studies will serve as the foundation for developing mitigation initiatives responsive to rich understandings of where human-monkey interactions are most prevalent/problematic. The hope is their research will create better solutions for people and monkeys to coexist harmoniously.

The Colobus team was very generous in letting us tag along during their days conducting this research at Diani Reef. I was super grateful to get to learn from Henry and Evelyn who follow troops of monkeys around the resort recording their behavior (from 6am to 6pm, five days a week for the past couple of months). You don’t have to crunch the numbers to know that they have a true wealth of knowledge and experience to share! Working with Henry and Evelyn, I felt like I was learning something every minute - be it about primate research methods, monkey identification techniques, or even the rivalries between Henry's team and other Kenyan soccer clubs). Here’s a bit more about what I learned:

Primate Research Methods - I had little idea of how intensive tracking an animals’ behavior can be! The days collecting data were broken down minute by minute: 5 minute data collection period, 15 minutes of pause from data collection - while still following the monkeys, repeating. The five minute data collection period was a whirlwind of keen, fast observations and deft recording! With the aid of a form on a mobile phone, the Colobus researchers would record every monkey in the area visible during those five minutes. For each monkey observed, their species, age, active behavior, and general location on the resort premises was recorded. Evelyn and Henry cruised through these five minute data collection periods with grace and ease; however, being a newbie to this process, it felt very chaotic for me trying to capture all the necessary information. Henry and Evelyn were incredibly supportive and helpful to me. They had plenty of tips and tricks to share making the data collection process feel much smoother for me over time.

Tip #1: Teamwork is essential. Henry was adamant that you cannot expect to be able to do everything alone (and especially when you are first learning). He lived out this ethos by devising a collaborative data collection system wherein I would call out the monkeys I observed (including their age classification and current behavior) and he would record the observations while serving as an additional resource for the classification process. With practice, this can become a one-person process. Yet, Henry’s message remains important: collaboration is essential for effective, accurate, and enjoyable data collection.

Tip #2: Keep your eyes open. Staying focused (especially during long and hot days) can be a challenge, but is a critical part of this work. For example, within a few minutes of waning attention, the troop of monkeys are capable of traveling completely out of sight! Even during the period of pause between data collection times, it’s important to be noting the monkey’s moves. Additionally, Henry shared this tip of “keeping your eyes open” to mean remaining open to awe and wonder of what you’re doing. Sometimes when working so closely and for so long on the same subject, one can slip into a numbness to their subject of study. But Henry stressed the importance of finding ways to keep your eyes open to the wondrous, curious, beautiful parts of what you do.

Tip #3: Do your best to avoid the observer's paradox. The observer’s paradox is a prickly phenomenon in research that describes how simply recording behavior can change the nature of that behavior. In the context of primate research, monkeys will often change their behavior if they sense an external threat, becoming more watchful and vigilant of their surroundings. To avoid this, we did our best to keep a reasonable distance (balancing not disrupting the monkeys while also still being able to see them) and to avoid eye contact. By maintaining these practices, we were able to collect more “natural” data about the monkey’s behavior.

Tip #4: No “Uhhhs”’ At the start of my experience working with Henry and Evelyn at Diani Reef, I felt unsteady in my ability to consistently identify/categorize the monkeys accurately. This was evident in the way I spoke. When communicating the age/sex of the vervet I had just seen, I would make libral use of filler words and insecure mummlings (ex “ummm…. I think it could be…uh…but I don’t know…”). However, Henry was quick to point this out and tell me that confidence is key. He explained how everybody is new at some point, and the only way you move forward from novice-ness is to keep learning with confidence. Trust yourself (and trust that if you are wrong about something, the people around you will correct you kindly). This was an incredibly salient tip, and one that I’ll carry with me into my next primate research adventure…as well as really any new experience.

This leads me to the next bucket of learnings from my experiences at Diani Reef…monkey identification.

fact, I don't think I will ever forget how to differentiate between male and female vervets…just look for the bright blue balls!! Seriously, it's a striking characteristic. But I also practiced more subtle approaches, like using relative size as a factor in an estimate of age, and noting facial coloring to reveal a vervet’s infant or juvenile stage. It was really empowering to reflect on how much I learned. I went from embarrassingly mischaracterizing a sykes as a colobus on the drive from Mombasa airport, to being able to accurately describe a vervet as a “sub-adult male engaging in positive social behavior” in a mere glance (and to do so with confidence, omitting the insecure “uhhhs” Henry talked about!)

About People: Lastly, I want to emphasize that I not only learned from Henry and Evelyn, but was so grateful to get to learn about them as well! It was awesome to get to chat with Henry and Evelyn during the days at Diani Reef. I feel really lucky to have developed some new friendships there and to have shared some fun experiences with them. Whether we were cracking jokes, sharing about our families, watching funny tiktoks, or talking about our favorite soccer teams, it was a real joy getting to know each other! I hope we will have the chance to meet again sometime, but in the meantime I will appreciate the occasional WhatsApp check-in and will really cherish the experiences we shared!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have worked with Colobus at Diani Reef. I could go on and on about what the experience taught me personally; but more importantly, their data will teach us all so much more about primate behavior in human populated areas like the Diani Reef Resort. From Colobus’ efforts here, we can learn how to structure environments that promote a positive way of life for both monkeys and humans.