Word: fayed
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That night, with Fay interpreting, I ask the Pygmies how they would feel if a road were built through the Ndoki and led to the destruction of the forest and animals. At first they scoff, saying there is no way anyone can kill off the forest -- it is just too big. Then they get excited. "So that's what you are doing here," says Samory, "building a road. Great! Pay us well, and we'll build it for you." Joachine chimes in, "But you've got to build it in a straight line, not that zigzag path you took today...
Listening, Fay shakes his head sadly. The forests have always yielded food and wood during the millenniums Pygmies have hunted in central Africa. They cannot conceive of the devastation that roads and logging have wrought upon tropical woodlands beyond their charmed world...
While we are exploring, Seraphin goes off with two Pygmies and discovers the remains of an elephant. Fay worries that this may be the work of poachers, but Seraphin points out that the elephant has its tusks. The Pygmies can find no sign that any humans have been in the area. The elephant could have died of natural causes, or it could have been wounded outside the Ndoki and then run inside for refuge...
Exploring this rich, fecund world is the high point of the expedition. In camp we eat pasta flavored with dried soups and sausages, but Fay uncovers more exotic treats on the forest floor. He likes to pick up half-eaten fruits left by the animals and to sample the untouched parts. I try the juicy kernels of a Myrianthus arboreus fruit and decide that gorillas know a good taste when they find...
...Fay's attitude toward the question of what foods people might take from the Ndoki has changed over the years. During his first ventures into the forest, he allowed the Pygmies to catch a duiker every two days, arguing that such brief hunts would in no way affect the forest. Since then, however, he has realized that conservationists should not introduce hunting where animals have never learned to fear humans. Moreover, only if there is a total ban on hunting will the Pygmies resist the temptation to exploit this immensely productive ecosystem...