Ugh, so for the past few days we hadn’t gotten any sign whatsoever. Today is our last day on Tiwai Island, and Kenewa called us to say a hippo had ALMOST fallen in the trap. We all go up there to look at it, and find that the hippo has almost slipped in. Then we find out that the guys, when they rebuilt the trap after some rain a week ago, never made the sticks weak enough or the mat weak enough. The hippo broke the first sticks, but the mat held firm. Michele could actually put her full weight on the trap and walk across. I know the guys felt bad, and they didn’t make the mistake maliciously. However, when we went and opened the trap (so we could start to close all the traps), we were shocked to see 5 feet of water inside. It had rained the past couple days fairly heavily, and the rain just accumulated. If the hippo had actually fallen in, it would have been either in trouble from so much water, or would have been able to get out. Regardless we could not have anesthetized it. However, it was of course very disappointing to have yet another close call, and on the day we were leaving no less.

We had a going away party last night. There was granat soup involved and some drinks. We started to dance, and I just wanted to forget the whole past month for a little while. Then I see Michele and Annika over by themselves outside, and I go out there and they were crying. They both said they were not in a party mood, and I started to feel guilty for having acted carefree. It wasn’t so much that I was celebrating anything, it was that I was spending the last night with my field assistants, who I may or may not see again. I know how things in Sierra Leone go, and I made a mistake of leaving one friend on a bad note in 2009, and he died 2 weeks later without  me ever getting the chance of making things right. So I can’t leave people on a bad note again!!