Critters

These are a few of the animals we have around our home here in Musoma, Tanzania. There are others, to be sure, but I managed to get pics of these in the past few weeks, so they are the lucky 3 to appear on the blog.

1. Mongooses. Yes, it is actually monGOOSES not monGEESE, contrary to popular belief. And they travel in a group that is called a troop (not a gaggle) of 15-20. These little guys make a giggling sort of sound and sort of migrate through our yard from time to time. I don't mind them a bit as they are scared of people and eat snakes and lizards! Karibu kwetu!
2. Geckos. If you only knew how many of these we see on a daily basis... inside, outside, everywhere! They eat spiders and other small bugs, so I don't mind them too much. The only downside is the droppings they leave. FYI, we don't usually see them when they're shedding their skin.
3. Lake Flies. Ok, I realize that you can't actually see the flies in this first picture. But if you look at the tree in the middle, remember that its not Christmas and those spots aren't lights-- they're a swarm of tiny flies! Closest I've ever come to understanding a plague of flies, that's for sure! They come up from the lake when it rains and are attracted to lights. The second picture is all the dead lake flies below our outside light. They don't live very long and the sheer volume makes a huge mess!
So there you go. A glimpse into some of the strange creatures we see from time to time around here.

JLR