Animals are seen as part of the workforce or as a financial investment: donkeys cart goods and people from town to town, and goats are raised so they can be sold and eaten. Cows and horses are also used for farm labor, though they are more expensive to keep than donkeys, so not many folks have them. There are also packs of wild monkeys outside of my village. Farmers consider them rodents since they like to steal crops in the fields. P.S. In case you were wondering, yes: there is animal poop absolutely everywhere.
Besides the animals, I’m a big fan of the mix of trees we have out in “the bush.” We have baobab, palm trees and mango trees. I love seeing how the families in my village operate deeply in tandem with nature. Each compound (group of houses where extended family members live together) in my village is centered around one or two large trees that provide shade for the family to do their work and spend time at home. As it's so hot here, this is a very important part of spatial planning when someone is building a new house or creating a new compound. As Senegal is increasingly becoming affected by climate change, the Senegalese government has created a branch of government solely for the protection and preservation of its trees.
I must mention the beautiful birds that exist here. I’ve been unable so far to capture adequate photos of them, but we have the most gorgeous, brightly colored birds. Senegal and the Gambia are a birder's paradise, and people travel here specifically to find and photograph certain species.
