An impromptu inquiry to Ashanti African Tours concerning the availability of a trip to Ghana resulted in us booking the tour we had to cancel in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. We flew from Phoenix to Washington, DC. From DC, it was a mere 8 and a half hours to Accra, and just like that we were back in Africa! After clearing formalities and picking up our bags, we were met by our guide Jackson and driver Johnson for the long drive to Ankasa Reserve.
We stopped for lunch at the Cape Coast Castle, an imposing fortress and a grim reminder of Ghana’s dark past. The original trading post was established by the Portuguese in 1555 and later taken over by the Swedes in 1653 as a center for the trade in timber and gold. Sadly, it was also one of about forty “slave castles” used in the Atlantic slave trade.
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| Cape Coast Castle |
Young boys were on the beach presumably digging for gold, a reminder that Ghana was formally a British colony dubbed the Gold Coast.
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| Digging for Gold |
We continued our drive west toward the border with the Ivory Coast arriving at our final destination, Ankasa Lodge. It had been a long journey but now we had 3 nights here to explore the reserve. We wasted no time and 40 minutes later we were on our first excursion into the rainforest. Jackson managed to find 6 roosting Nkulengu Rails in a tree not far from the road.
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| Nkulengu Rails |
The only mammal seen was a Bosman’s or Western Potto high up in the canopy. We returned to the lodge for dinner and turned in after a VERY long travel day.
We were up early the next morning to continue our exploration of the reserve. A stunning pink moth was just outside our chalet. One of the Emperor Moths (Eudaemonia argus), it has no common name.
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| Emperor Moth |
Mammals eluded us during our daytime search but we found an African Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) in a tiny pond along the forest track. These vulnerable crocodiles are the world’s smallest and are rarely seen. They spend most of their time in the water and seldom come on land to bask in the sun.
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| African Dwarf Crocodile |
Smaller, nocturnal mammals were “easier” to find. Jackson spotted this Beecroft’s Anomulure (Anomalurus beecrofti) on the trunk of a tree during our night drive. These flying squirrels are largely nocturnal and use membranes extending from their forelimbs to their tails to glide from tree to tree. They also have large scales on the underside of their tails to presumably slow them down when landing from a glide hence their other common name Beecroft’s Scaley-tailed Squirrel.
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| Beecroft’s Anomulure |
Hanging from tree limbs high in the rainforest canopy were Hammer-headed Fruit Bats, the largest bat species in Africa. Males differ greatly in appearance from females making Hammer-headed Fruit Bats the most sexually dimorphic bat species in the world! Males are twice as heavy as females and have large resonating chambers on their faces. Marc managed to photograph a female with a more foxlike face.
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| Hammer-headed Fruit Bat |
The biggest surprise of the night was a turtle spotted by our alert driver Abbott on the road. I did a bit of research a few days later and discovered that it was an Ivory Coast Mud Turtle, one of the most recently described turtle species! I contacted Jerome Maran, president of the Association du Refuge des Tortues in France and he confirmed the identification.
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| Ivory Coast Mud Turtle |
On our final morning in the reserve, we finally got a great view and a photo of a Small Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus punctatus). It posed nicely on a tree right outside our chalet.
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| Small Sun Squirrel |
The cooks had also found a chameleon near the kitchen and we rushed off to see it. It was later identified as a Senegal Chameleon (Chamaeleo senegalensis).
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| Senegal Chameleon |
After lunch, we started the drive back to Cape Coast. Here we said goodbye to Jackson and welcomed our new guide, Phillip. We continued on to our next destination Kakum National Park and checked into the Rainforest Hotel, our accommodation for the next 4 nights. After dinner, we did a night walk outside the park. No mammals were seen but we heard plenty of Tree Hyraxes. Their blood-curdling shrieks resonate through the rainforest. You think such vocal creatures would be easy to spot but they’re not. We did manage to spot this handsome Fraiser’s Eagle Owl.
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| Fraiser’s Eagle Owl |
The following morning we made our first foray into the park and walked to the world-famous canopy walkway. At this early hour, we were hoping to see monkeys but the walkway was surprisingly quiet. It’s still an exhilarating experience to be suspended 100 feet off the ground in the rainforest canopy.
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| Kakum Canopy Walkway |
We headed back to the canopy walkway in the afternoon to give the monkeys a second try. They did show up but after sunset, unusual for a diurnal species. We did get a distant look at Lowe’s Monkeys in the fading light and Phillip saw a Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey. On our walk back we heard Olive Colobus but could not see them in the near darkness. At the visitors center a Forest Giant Pouched Rat (Cricetomys emini) was raiding the trash cans and made off with a piece of avocado.
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| Forest Giant Pouched Rat |
After dinner at the hotel, we returned to the park for a night walk. As we neared the canopy walkway, I half-seriously suggested we check it out for nocturnal animals. Phillip agreed and we proceeded with the light from our headlamps. It was a bit daunting being so high above the ground in darkness but at least we couldn’t see the ground far below. Amazingly we got great views of two Pel’s Anomalures (Anomalurus pelii) our second species of flying squirrel. They were now at eye level and Marc got some great photos.
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| Pel’s Anomalure |
We were also at eye level with a Bosman’s or Western Potto (Perodicticus potto) and now got a great look at this cute nocturnal primate.
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| Bosman’s or Western Potto |
The following morning we visited the Abrafo Forest to search for my most sought-after mammal, a Black-bellied Pangolin. This patch of forest used to be a reliable place to find these heavily trafficked animals. Sadly, during the pandemic, a large swath of forest was cleared for agriculture. We didn’t find any animals in the forest except for a family of Red-legged Sun Squirrels encountered at the beginning of our walk.
That afternoon we returned to the Kakum canopy walkway hoping to get a better view of the monkeys. Once again they eluded us by staying away from the walkway but we did catch a glimpse of Green Bush Squirrels and a Small Sun Squirrel. On the walk back to the visitor center we did encounter the same troop of Olive Colobus but again it was too dark to get a good view or photo. After dinner, we returned to the canopy walkway to search for more nocturnal mammals. We saw the same Pel’s Anomalures and Bosman’s Pottos but nothing new. On the way back the Tree Hyraxes were screaming and we could hear Demidoff’s Galagos close to the trail but frustratingly we could not see them in the dense understory. The highlight of the night was a great view of an Akun Eagle-owl in the parking lot.
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| Akun Eagle-owl |
We returned to the walkway for our final morning search for monkeys. Finally, Phillip spotted a Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey in the distant canopy. This is the eastern subspecies (Cercopithecus petaurista ssp. petauristra). I’m not sure why this monkey species evolved to have a white spot on its nose. Can you think of a good reason? It did pause long enough in the open for a proper view and photo.
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| Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey |
We explored some new trails in the park not seeing any mammals but got a nice view of a Chocolate-backed Kingfisher and an African Dwarf Kingfisher.
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| Chocolate-backed Kingfisher |
As we neared the visitors center, I could hear quite a ruckus. As we drew closer a massive group (maybe 200) of school kids were coming in! I was happy that we were on our way out.
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| School Kids at Kakum |
By now I was desperate to get a better view of the monkeys so we returned to the canopy walkway for our 7th and final visit. Marc and I chose to stay on the 1st platform since we had seen monkeys near here on two previous occasions. Philip went off to check out the 3rd platform. We should have followed him. There were Lesser Spot-nosed Monkeys feeding in a nearby tree! Philip scared them away trying to get our attention. They actually ran down the canopy walkway cable to escape. By the time we arrived, they were long gone, curses! We made our way to the 5th platform where we got brief/distant views. As on the previous two evenings, we encountered Lowe’s Monkeys and Olive Colobus on the walk back. We’ve never experienced diurnal monkeys remaining active after dark. Could it be a new adaption to increased human visitation on the canopy walkway?
The following morning, with new driver Richard at the wheel, we made the long drive to the Picathartes Guesthouse near the village of Bonkro. After settling into our cabin, we decided to walk to the picathartes nest site in the early afternoon. Up until 2003 the White-necked Rockfowl or Yellow-headed Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus) was thought to be extinct in Ghana, Today it is the most sought-after bird in Ghana and possibly all of Africa by birders. Benches had been set up at the nesting site where we sat and waited for the birds to return. The White-necked Rockfowl build nests with mud on the roofs of caves or under rock overhangs in a cliff as was the case here. We knew we were early but we were excited to see these unusual birds. Surprisingly, the first pair showed up around 3:30 giving us great views with ample light. With their sizeable black beak, yellow coloration on the head, and piercing black eyes they reminded us of King Penguins. They had a curious method of locomotion, hopping or bounding along the forest floor. They had absolutely no fear of us and approached closely giving us a great show before flying off. Around 4:00 the birds returned along with a second pair giving us another show. What an amazing experience to witness these White-necked Rockfowls at their nesting site completely unfazed by our presence!
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| White-necked Rockfowl |
We were now halfway through our trip to Ghana and I had yet to see my most sought-after mammal, the Black-bellied Pangolin. Stay tuned to see if we’re successful in finding this near-mythical creature!
We hope all is well with everyone,
Peggy and Marc
Our route map:
