Creatures of Côte d’Ivoire

From June 19th to December 23rd (with a short break in Ghana from October 1st – 9th) I was in Côte d’Ivoire working as a logistician for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). As usual, I took loads of photos of the little and not-so-little critters I saw. My Ivorian staff sometimes thought I was strange to be so interested in the little bugs around me, but when I explained that many of these guys don’t exist where I come from, my hobby of creature photography immediately became completely normal and acceptable. In fact, staff sometimes excitedly came to tell me about some little bug or animal I should see. Twice, friends of staff even came by to show me their pet monitor lizards (photos of one of the ornate monitor lizards below), and in both Daloa and Tabou we had neighbours ask if we wanted to see their crocodiles (photo of the Tabou crocs below). The descriptions are based on my observations for the most part, not on actual researched names, so when it says “woodchip moth” for instance, it’s my description for an insect, the name of which I don’t know, rather than the actual name. If you have a correction for me, please let me know! So here, organised very roughly from slightly less interesting to more interesting, are 59 photos of the wildlife I encountered over six months in Côte d’Ivoire:

Wasps starting a new nest in our garage

Wasps starting a new nest in our garage

Wasps working on their nest in a health centre

Wasps working on their nest in a health centre

A spider 3 inches across, but very flat

A spider 3 inches across, but very flat

Cows outside the MSF Daloa office

Cows outside the MSF Daloa office

Cows on the Guiglo garbage heap

Cows on the Guiglo garbage heap

Land Cruiser fishing

Land Cruiser fishing

Centipede in Zokoguhue health centre

Centipede in Zokoguhue health centre

Weird leaf bug

Weird leaf bug

Big snail cruising on our terrace at night

Big snail cruising on our terrace at night

Leaf bug

Leaf bug

Leaf bug

Leaf bug

Praying mantis at Para health centre

Praying mantis at Para health centre

The mango beetle climbs out of my mango

The mango beetle climbs out of my mango

Yellow Power Rangers beetle

Yellow Power Rangers beetle

Rhino beetle

Rhino beetle

Rhino beetle on Daniel’s shirt

Rhino beetle on Daniel

Rhino beetles in a sac, to be sold as food

Rhino beetles in a sac, to be sold as food

Pretty little moth

Pretty little moth

Triangular moth

Triangular moth

Green fat moth

Green fat moth

Big brown moth

Big brown moth

Blue-eyed big brown moth

Blue-eyed big brown moth

Woodchip moth, side view

Woodchip moth, side view

Woodchip moth, top view

Woodchip moth, top view

Six inch maroon moth

Six inch maroon moth

Six inch brown moth

Six inch brown moth

Tiny mosquito moth

Tiny mosquito moth

House fly

House fly

House dragon fly

House dragon fly

Curious green fly

Curious green fly

Tiny fly with antennae

Tiny fly with antennae

House gecko

House gecko

Male agama lizard

Male agama lizard

Female agama lizard eating a grape

Female agama lizard eating a grape

Little lizard caught on a shoe

Little lizard caught on a shoe

Baby skink caught on my hand

Baby skink caught on my hand

Baby gecko caught on my arm

Baby gecko caught on my arm

Lizard on the window screen

Lizard on the window screen

Black skink sidewinding along the baseboard

Black skink sidewinding along the baseboard

A lizard’s final breaths

A lizard

A lizard’s final breaths

A lizard

Ornate monitor lizard

Ornate monitor lizard

Ornate monitor lizard

Ornate monitor lizard

Ornate monitor lizard

Ornate monitor lizard

Crocodiles in Tabou

Crocodiles in Tabou

Chameleon skin at a mystic’s shop in Daloa

Chameleon skin at a mystic

Leon the chameleon in Tabou

Leon the chameleon in Tabou

Leon the chameleon in Tabou

Leon the chameleon in Tabou

Vervet monkeys, Taï

Vervet monkeys, Taï

Diana monkey, Daloa

Diana monkey, Daloa

Astrophe, our pet cat, sleeping on a book in Tabou

Astrophe, our pet cat, sleeping on a book in Tabou

Astrophe sleeping in our bin of documents to be burned

Astrophe, our pet cat, sleeping in our bin of documents to be burned

Astrophe showing his wild side

Astrophe showing his wild side

Rainbow Shield Bug in Daloa

Rainbow Shield Bug in Daloa

Two flies taken hostage by ants

Two flies taken hostage by ants

Flies guarded by ants

Flies guarded by ants

Flies guarded by ants

Flies guarded by ants

Variegated grasshopper in Zoukpangbeu

Variegated grasshopper in Zoukpangbeu

Male forest elephant, near Sapia

Male forest elephant, near Sapia

3 thoughts on “Creatures of Côte d’Ivoire

  1. Hi, random question. Any idea how old the Diana Monkey was in that picture?

    (Also, what’s the deal with the crocs in that pit?)
    :/

  2. Sorry, I have no idea how old it was! The crocs were kept as pets by the owner, who seemed to have them mostly as a gimmick. The staff were able to go in among them barefoot to feed them without being attacked so I guess they were quite domesticated.

  3. Thanks for the answers. Poor crocs, saw one in a similar pit in bangkok but at least he had room to move away from his own poop… not that I’d want one running freely through my garden particularly.

Comments are closed.