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Here we are in Africa, land
of wild animals...
...or so they say.
Actually, Burkina Faso is not known for wild animals. The eastern part
of the huge African continent (countries such as Kenya and Uganda) is much better
for finding exotic animals. But there are places
in Burkina Faso where
one can allegedly see elephants, crocodiles, monkeys or hippos. As for me, I had to wait two years to see 'wild'
animals--about five elephants! I also saw a few small crocs, but too far away to photograph, and had a near miss on
sighting hippos. Those will have to wait for my next trip to Burkina Faso.
Meanwhile, check out the elephant pictures, as well as my other photos of Burkina
"wildlife."
Click on a thumbnail
image to see the larger photo.
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The elephants I finally saw after two years of
living, working and traveling in Burkina Faso were near the town of
Boromo, about halfway between the capital city of Ouagadougou and the
second-largest city, Bobo-Dioulasso. I had often heard you could see
elephants there, but I had never been lucky enough on my previous trips
between the two cities. This time, the bus driver started driving very slowly through the area (which was on the main road), and he finally
stopped. The passengers couldn't figure out why until we noticed the elephants just a
few feet off of the road ! Fortunately, I always have my camera ready. But
the driver got nervous when one of the elephants started running toward
the bus, so he drove away rather quickly. I don't really think the
elephant would have run into the bus, but I am not very experienced
in elephant encounters.
September 2001 |
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Many lizards called "margouillats" run all over
Burkina Faso.
This is the underside of a margouillat on a screen in Ouagadougou. |
Sankara
enjoys eating margouillats, much to the
chagrin of my Burkinabè friends. Sankara is black, except during the dusty season when he
turns the color of the red-brown dust that blows everywhere. |
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Camels
lounge in the parking lot at the
Peace Corps office in Ouagadougou
March 2000 |
Sheep
come to school (Lycée Yamwaya)
January
2000 |
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My next-door neighbor in
Ouahigouya enjoys having his photo taken. January 2000 |
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All photos and essays are copyright
Cathy Seeley. All rights reserved. No photo
or text may be reproduced without
permission except for small group educational purposes (thanks for giving
appropriate credit).
For other uses, please contact Cathy
Seeley.
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