A Primate's Memoir

A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons by Robert M Sapolsky (NEW READ)

I love me some nonfiction on occasion, and this book came recommended on the Tor.com blog so I elected to give it a shot. As a graduate student, Robert Sapolsky traveled to Kenya to observe a troop of baboons and observe how social interactions affect health. (This leads to a great chapter on just how difficult it is to drug a baboon using darts and a blowgun.) Living in a tent eating canned spaghetti and fish, dealing with corrupt government officials and local tribes, Sapolsky's book is fascinating as a portrait or early-80s Africa in addition to his wildlife observation.

The first thing that happens when R.S. gets off the plane is that he is scammed by no less than 3 people. He's not angry about this- in fact, he recounts that he still sees the same scammers working over newbies on his later trips. Bribes are a way of life, but he never seems frustrated with this custom. R.S. names all the apes in the troop after Biblical figures and accounts their unique personalities and his personal favorites (Benjamin). It sounds like the baboons are all acclimated to having people around, as R.S. hangs out with them on rocks and some even climb into his Jeep!

Another interesting point in the narration is the dealings with the local Masai village. In the US we seem to have a romanticized view of the Masai as a herder/warrior culture, but while he cares for them personally R.S. definitely sees the downsides to their culture. Other local tribes are raided, education is not initially regarded as important and warriors kidnap schoolboys to raise them in the bush away from their families. Despite this the Masai are close to local researchers and they help each other in times of need (especially when it comes to transportation). There's a hilarious anecdote where R.S. tries to convince to warriors that a baboon is his cousin, with angry angry results.

Sapolsky also traveled to several other African countries outside of Kenya and the conditions he describes are pretty horrific. On a raft for a week with everyone (people and goats crapping on the deck), crammed into a truck with dozens of other people driving through the desert and several politically-fraught situations, you can see why maybe people in Kenya like to stay close to home. Meanwhile, tourists are staying in expensive resorts that encroach upon the national parks.

It is one of these resorts that brings disaster to Sapolsky's baboons. A local butcher cutting corners leads to an outbreak of tuberculosis among the baboons near the resort. Despite all his efforts, many of the baboons succumb (though a few recover). The end of the book leaves the reader wondering about the effect US tourists have on the local environment, and makes you think about whether the trip of a lifetime is worth the life of hundreds of animals.