Of flora and fauna

One of the things I'm asked most by people aux Etats-Unis: is there wildlife around where you live?  Not exactly.  Kandi is a large town along one of the (five or so) major highways in Benin.  As much as I'd like to thing I'm roughing it out in the African bush, I'm not really in the bush at all.  (Although ask people in Cotonou - even Peace Corps staff - and yes, they'd say, you live in the bush.)   Even so, we have thousands and thousands of chickens, goats, and sheep that wander freely.  Clearly people are able to keep tabs on them, although I have no idea how.  Sometimes people tie scraps of fabric around goats' and sheeps' necks for identification because they really get around.  Across the highway, into the market, up on the porches of school buildings, on the steps of mosques, through the yard at the health center, everywhere. Kandi also, like most of Benin (and much more so than Niger, certainly), has its fair share of dogs, who are sometimes fed and sometimes most definitely not.  About seventy percent are candidates for another Human Society commercial featuring Sarah McLachlan's song "Angel" in the background.  You know, the one that would make Michael Vick cry?  Neutering does actually exist, if you were wondering, but no one does it, and sans anesthesia, it certainly is a huge risk for the dog.  We just adopted two puppies for our workstation, as my concession dog, Pipo, just had three.  Their names are Sasha and Malia, and they are the best-fed dogs in the Alibori, I'm pretty sure.

In terms of actual wildlife?  We have scores of bushrats (which people sometimes eat), regular rats, and snakes.  I've never actually seen one of these non-poisonous snakes, but sometimes the guards at the workstations get all excited because they got to hack one with their coup-coups.  They make a point of telling us every time; they're always super proud.   About forty kilometers to the north, there are elephants!  The town of Alfa-Koara is one of the entrances to Parc W, a game reserve.  Occasionally elephants will wander out and into surrounding villages.  There are even elephant-crossing signs on the highway.  Back in May or June, a young elephant wandered down to Kandi, or so I was told.  Unfortunately this is not something I saw myself, but I have it on good word from a co-worker.  Apparently a Fulani (semi-nomadic herder) saw it and tried to cut it with his coup-coup (sword).  The elephant was all, "hell-to-the-no, sir," and stomped on him.  Does it make me a terrible person if I kind of side with the elephant on that one?  You just don't mess with elephants.