Editing Gerald Durrell (section)

=== Cameroons 1947–1948: Bakebe, Mamfe and Eshobi ===

Durrell planned to visit the [[British Cameroons]] in West Africa. He teamed up with [[John Yealland]], an ornithologist with some collecting experience, and several British zoos expressed interest in seeing whatever they were able to bring back.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 104–105.</ref>  The planning took over a year, and during that time Durrell met and fell in love with a woman in London that he refers to in his writings only as "Juliet".  Durrell considered marrying her, but she ended the affair after a couple of years.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 106–107.</ref>{{Multiple image
| image2            = Angwantibo 1963.jpg
| alt2              = Black and white photograph of an animal like a small monkey
| image1            = ArctocebusCalabarensisWolf.jpg
| alt1              = Colour painting of an animal like a small monkey
| footer            = The angwantibo: an 1864 painting ''(left)'' and a 1963 photograph
}}
Durrell and Yealland left from Liverpool on 14 December 1947.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 109–111, 115.</ref>  The ship broke down three times, but eventually reached the coast of the Cameroons at about the turn of the year.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 115–116.</ref>  The two men stayed in [[Limbé, Cameroon|Victoria]], on the coast, buying supplies, planning trips to the interior, and learning [[Cameroonian Pidgin English|Cameroonian pidgin]].<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 117–119.</ref>  In early January they stopped in [[Bakebe]] for three days, acquiring a [[hairy frog]] and a baby [[Drill (animal)|drill]], among other creatures, and then went on to [[Mamfe]], where they spent a week.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 120–123.</ref>  In mid-January Yealland returned to Bakebe to establish a base, and Durrell went on to Eshobi, with people carrying his equipment as there was nothing resembling a road.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 125–127.</ref>  He spent months there, collecting hundreds of animals, and the return to Mamfe required him to hire sixty people to carry them all, with Durrell suffering from [[Pappataci fever|sandfly fever]] during the trip.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 133–135.</ref>  He rested at Bakebe for a few days to recover, and while he was there a hunter brought in an [[angwantibo]], one of the animals Durrell was keenest to obtain, as he knew [[London Zoo]] were looking to acquire them.  [[Cecil Webb]], a well-established animal collector, arrived in the Cameroons intending to catch angwantibos shortly afterwards; he considered Durrell and Yealland to be inexperienced and amateurish, and Durrell was delighted to be able to tell him when they met that the angwantibo was prospering.  Durrell gave Webb a chimpanzee, named Cholmondely, to take back to London Zoo.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 136–137.</ref>

In July, as they began making arrangements to return, Durrell realised they did not have enough money.  He wired home for a loan; Leslie's girlfriend, Doris Hall, sent £250 (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|250|1948|r=-2}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}) immediately.  Durrell came down with [[malaria]] just before the return home.  He was told by a doctor that he would die if he insisted on travelling to the coast and boarding the ship, rather than resting.  Durrell ignored the advice, and sailed from [[Tiko]] with the animals on 25 July, recovering on the voyage.  They arrived in Liverpool on 10 August, with nearly two hundred animals, which were dispersed to various English zoos.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 138–139.</ref>