Critters

Critters are on my mind this week, so I thought I'd give you a rundown on the local wildlife. I've categorized them for no other reason than that I like organization. If you're squeamish, you might want to move right on to another entry!

BITING TYPE

Two weeks ago, we returned from a week at the coast, where we attended BGC meetings, saw fellow missionaries, spent Benjamin's October break with him, and ... were bitten. In fact, the bites are just now healing, and I'm planning a trip to Yaounde in two weeks to visit Benjamin again (we try to visit every 4-6 weeks.) The offenders? "Moot-moots" or "no-see-ums" take your pick; it's the same insect. It looks like a gnat, if you are fortunate enough to get a glimpse. I know, because I squished one on my meeting agenda, and there was a red smudge. Most people have never seen one because they are so elusive! Yeah! They don't live in Ndu.

I DID use insect repellent! They seemed to rather like it: 50 bites. What they don't care for is Philemon.

Mosquitos. The altitude in Ndu is over 7,000 feet, and it is too cold for them! In Bamenda, where we go for home school co-op and for our annual January missionary get together, there are plenty of the little malaria-carriers. So whenever we go to Bamenda or the coast or anywhere lower than Ndu (which is pretty much anywhere) we take anti-malarial medicine. So far none of us has had malaria.

Snakes. Most missionaries have snake stories, but we don't have any yet. Some of our workers saw a long thin black one crawl up the wall behind our house once, but we never could find it, and never saw it again.


BURNING TYPE

It is the end of the rainy season, which means creechies. These are bugs about half an inch long, with alternating red and black segments. They fly, and are attracted to fluorescent lights, i.e. all the lights both in- and outside our house. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. Unfortunately, we've found them in our beds, on the toilet seat, on the walls and floor, and in the bathtub. They secrete an acid which leaves a painful burn. So far, we've found them before they found us, except for Benjamin. One fell on the nape of his neck about a year ago. If you see one on you, you should flick it off, rather than brush it off. Element of surprise, you know, before he can leave a signature.

Jelly fish. Carry vinegar with you when you go to the ocean. It is supposed to alleviate the sting. No Yong victims yet.




INFESTATION TYPE

We had quite a bout of larva migrans a year ago, but none since. It is the hookworm of dogs and cats, picked up on the beach when barefoot (maybe we just shouldn't vacation!) One critter book we consulted in our bid to rid the boys of them, said quite truly that "the urticaria (itching) has been known to cause dementia." Fortunately we found the right medicine before that happened. They leave little white tracks just under the skin, and you can feel them move, especially at night. Thiabendazole finally killed 'em. We also tried some locally recommended remedies for symptomatic relief. We dripped hot candle wax on them, and we also tried a Chinese salve sold here, named "No Be Sick." These last two remedies made the worms wiggle a lot, but didn't seem to put a dent in their nightly travels.

"Rats." Actually they are mice, but are called rats here. Makes them sound even more loathsome than they are. Our cat Pericope is an outside cat, and is supposed to patrol the perimeters, but lately she has let many of these pests pass through. We have seen her in action. You can set her down right next to a plant concealing a mouse beneath. She looks at the plant, then questioningly at you. Then she moseys on. If the mouse makes a dash for it, she looks mildly curious, THEN moseys on. Not a mouser. We've been using traps, then putting the remains into the cat dish.

At elevations lower than Ndu, there are tumboh flies. These lay eggs on your wet clothes as they are drying on the line. If the clothes are thoroughly dry, the eggs die and there is no problem. But, if you take the clothes down before they are completely dry (as often you must do in the rainy season) and then wear them, the eggs recognize a healthy host immediately, and larvae hatch and burrow in, usually at the waistband where they are nice and cozy. It looks and feels like a very itchy mosquito bite, but as days go on, the lesion looks more and more like a pimple. The only way to get rid of it is to squeeze it and the worm pops out. (Do not say I did not warn you not to read this if you are squeamish.)

This infestation category is turning out to be the largest! Jiggers, also known as chiggers or sand fleas. Anna had a run-in with one of these last week. They burrow into your feet and lay their eggs there. At first bite, you may feel a pinch if you are sensitive. After that, you will feel intense itching, and see a little black spot. You wisest course of action is to beg an experienced Cameroonian to get it out for you. One of our house helpers is an expert with a razor blade, a toothpick, and a piece of toilet tissue. Anna didn't even whimper, Macceline is so good at it!



EDIBLES

Both Samuel and Anna have developed a liking for fried grasshoppers. During dry season, the elementary kids go crazy making grasshopper sticks, and trying to catch them. (Any long branch with some foliage at the end will work.) After you catch them, you keep them in your pocket or a plastic bag til you can get to a frying pan. Philemon used to eat them, but has refined his palate. Linda ate one once just to say she had done it. They taste like bacon-flavored snack crackers--really! The green ones are reportedly tastier than the brown ones. Last night, Samuel went hunting with his friends (easier to catch at night) and they rapped on his window at 6 am today with 4 hot ones for breakfast!



FUN WITH CRITTERS

Yesterday, Anna and Linda got together with our next door neighbors, the Runduses, and had a day at the zoo. We read zoo books, saw a video of the San Diego Zoo, ate a picnic lunch on a red-checked tablecloth on the parlour floor (complete with cutout ants), made animal masks with rubber bands to hold them on our ears, and took a walk to see how many animals we could find. We were just as tired after our "trip" as if we had been to a real zoo.