News
Shufai gets a pain-free future
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Shufai, one of our most beloved gorillas, underwent surgery this month to correct a serious deformity in his left arm. When he was rescued as a baby, Shufai had multiple bullet wounds and pellets lodged in his wrist. causing damage to his bone. As he has grown, the injury has started to cause him pain, affecting his ability to climb and play.
Late last year Sharon Redrobe, one of our trustees and also Director of Life Sciences at Twycross Zoo and Clinical Associate Professor at Nottinghan University, made a special trip from the UK to assess Shufai’s condition. Back at home, she engaged the support of two other specialist veterinary orthopaedic surgeons, Sandra Corr from Nottingham University and Damian Chase from Scarsdale Vets in Derby. The team travelled to Cameroon this month to carry out a special operation to correct the problem in Shufai's wrist. With them was Lucy Ray, a photo journalist from UK newspaper the Daily Mail, who has delivered this exclusive story, along with some great images and footage.
Shufai is now recovering under the watchful eye of caregivers Apollinaire and Romain. They are keeping him happy with plenty of food treats until he can rejoin his family and enjoy a future without pain.
Ape Action Africa and Shufai would like to say a massive thank you to the great vet team and their respective employers for the time and resources that they donated to Shufai's successful surgery. And of course thank you to our vet team in Cameroon led by Bibila Tafon, who continue to care for Shufai and all our other residents.
Chimp-orilla playtime in the forest
Sunday, February 26, 2012
What do you do when you have three baby chimps and two baby gorillas, but only one area of forest to put them in? Introduce them of course! Chimps and gorillas occasionally meet in the wild when their ranges overlap and display similar behaviour as infants. Our orphaned gorillas Luci and Chickaboo and resident chimps Mac, Ayisha and Mbia have outgrown their separate, infant play areas so have been coming together each day to play in the trees. The babies love their new arrangement and their carers are seing the benefits too.
When she arrived last October, Chickaboo was thin and depressed and bore a deep, snare injury on her right wrist that meant she couldn’t move her hand or walk properly. Our vet team feared she would need surgery but we are pleased to report that her wound has healed and she is able to use her hand again. Having four friends has inspired a burst of confidence in Chickaboo and she now runs, chases, wrestles and climbs with her once injured hand. She is the largest of the babies and has a big laugh and a cheeky personality. Lately she has been discovering her inner gorilla and loves to beat her chest whenever she’s feeling excited or assertive.
Little Luci is younger than Chickaboo, so has a greater dependence on her human carers, but she is starting to come out of her shell. Now, instead of watching the others play, she joins in around the fringes of their games and loves climbing trees with Chickaboo. Luci is still waking 3 times a night for bottles and is only just becoming interested in food, but her interest in chewing (especially on her carer’s bedroom door) signals that the rest of her teeth are on the way.
Mac arrived at the sanctuary last August, wounded by bullets and very depressed. Six months later he has grown into a healthy, happy two year old who loves a game. Mac is very sweet natured and will do anything for a tickle. He was thrilled to meet the boisterous Chickaboo whose size and energy levels are a great match for his own.
After suffering a serious bout of meningitis late last year, Ayisha has been slowly recovering and finding her feet again. She has gained weight and developed more body hair and instead of waking five times a night for milk, is now sleeping well and eating solid food. Ayisha is a sensitive chimp and usually doesn’t allow anyone except her carer to touch her. Now, buoyed by the games going on around her, she is joining in the chase and approaching others for a tickle and some attention. Her eyesight has never fully recovered so she is a little less steady on her feet than the others, but this doesn’t stop her from being very stubborn and just a little bit naughty – always trying to get away with doing what she isn’t supposed to.
Mbia has been going from strength to strength since her long journey to Cameroon last year. She has made firm friends with Mac and although she is a bit frightened of Chickaboo’s strength, she plays happily with her new friends in the forest. A great climber, Mbia is often found up a tree but will go wherever the action is. Inventive and energetic, Mbia will create a game out of whatever is on hand, particularly if the item is forbidden and belongs to someone else!
As the babies get older, they will separate in order to join larger groups of their own kind, but for now, they are just happy to have extra playmates. See more photos of the babies in the forest at our photo gallery
Ronnie's story
Thursday, January 5, 2012
It has been a quiet couple of weeks at Mefou Primate Park, with members of our team enjoying a well earned rest with family and friends over the holiday period. During this time, our youngest infants have been flourishing, but the hunting continues and they have have been joined by our latest arrival – infant chimpanzee Ronnie, who was confiscated in early December from the nearby town of Mbalmayo
We don’t know much about Ronnie’s past as his owner refused to give any information to the Cameroon authorities. We do know that he is around 10 months old and was kept in a tiny cage that was just big enough for him to turn around. His confinement and isolation caused him terrible stress. When he arrived at the sanctuary he was a bundle of nerves, jumping and reacting in fear whenever he was touched.
He was immediately placed with two full-time carers and clung hard to both of them, climbing to the highest parts of their bodies and refusing to let go, even at night. Having been fed on junk food and table scraps, he only recognized coke and spaghetti and had to be coaxed into adopting a chimp diet, including milk formula. Like most rescued babies he was thin and dehydrated, but had also contracted an infection in his throat sac which caused it to bloat with fluid. Whenever he swallowed he made a tiny sound like a frog and suffered from reflux, often throwing up his milk formula at night.
With quiet, persistent care, Ronnie now understands he is safe and he is venturing away from his carers to explore his surroundings. This week he has started displaying chimp behavior like nest-building, even using one for his daytime nap. After a course of antibiotics his throat condition has improved significantly and he has gained almost a kilo in weight. He now has the strength to climb and hang by his arms and is using his newfound energy to patrol the front of his carers’ house, slapping his feet on the tiled surface to assert himself when visitors arrive. It won’t be long before this little boy is ready to meet others of his own kind and learn to live like a chimp again.
See more photos of Ronnie's early weeks in our photo gallery.
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