The animal research experience

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The Lese of the Ituri Forest raise food in gardens, and they exchange various things for wild animal meat hunted by the Efe (Pygmy) foragers with whom they live in close economic and social association. But the Lese also hunt and gather, to varying degrees, with some individuals never doing it, others often engaged in the process, and among those who are, some degree of speciality. One Lese man I knew hunted only elephants, another mainly fished, and one of the men I most often worked with trapped small forest antelopes using snares. I will call him Marque.

As part of my research I "followed" Marque when he trapped. I observed how the traps were made, what factors influenced their exact location on the landscape, what worked and didn't work, and mainly (because it interfaced with my own research) where on the larger scale the "trapline" was arranged.

Marque was a very successful trapper. This meant that I saw a fair number of trapped small forest antelopes. The first time this happened, I noticed that the antelope was not dead. Marque checked the snare on the animal's leg and determined that it was secure. The leg was broken with a compound fracture that probably happened from the animals' thrashing around after being trapped. The animal, alive, stared listlessly at us as Marque examined the trap, and as I took notes. Then, surprisingly, we left the animal in place, alive, and moved on to the next trap.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To check the rest of the traps," Marque said.

So I kept my mouth shut and waited,