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These two photographs were taken a number of months ago from the window in front of my desk at the gallery. We have been the exceptionally lucky hosts of a little family of five Colobus monkeys for a number of years. First there was one and then very quickly there were two. After that we seem to have had a tiny addition to the family at regular intervals. The Colobus family are a delight to have on our property not least because they are outstanding night guards; they roar if anyone passes near their 'sleeping tree'. They are also priceless entertainers, putting on mini acrobatic displays for visitors and inevitably swinging down to the Eucalyptus trees to check out any clients visiting the gallery.
And then almost the moment I took these photographs, they disappeared. I became increasingly worried that with all the ongoing development around us, they had become inconvenient for someone, but then two weeks ago a single male Colobus started to make regular visits to our trees and this amounted to even bigger worry for us. We wondered if he was somehow the sole survivor of some nasty incident? What on earth could have happened to 'our family'?
Then yesterday, the perfect Christmas gift; I looked into the trees at dawn and the whole family were diving from branch to branch. What a joy to have everyone back!
And then almost the moment I took these photographs, they disappeared. I became increasingly worried that with all the ongoing development around us, they had become inconvenient for someone, but then two weeks ago a single male Colobus started to make regular visits to our trees and this amounted to even bigger worry for us. We wondered if he was somehow the sole survivor of some nasty incident? What on earth could have happened to 'our family'?
Then yesterday, the perfect Christmas gift; I looked into the trees at dawn and the whole family were diving from branch to branch. What a joy to have everyone back!