More than forty parents and children enjoyed a special holiday visit to Mefou Primate Park this week, courtesy of Air France. The airline’s District Manager, Pascal Chouraqui planned the event for his staff and their families to celebrate the New Year and chose Ape Action Africa to host it in the heart of our forest sanctuary.

The families were treated to a tour of the park with our Head of Education Jetta James and enjoyed meeting our chimps and gorillas as well as learning about the special plants and trees that grow in the forest. Afterwards, both young and old joined in with some traditional dancing, courtesy of the Mefou Dance Group – an exciting new project that we have been developing to benefit the local communities.

As the heat of the day drew in, the families retreated to the shade of our education centre, made over for the day with a cool, forest-style terrace and enjoyed drinks and a three-course meal.

Air France is a valued supporter of Ape Action Africa and our Director finished the day with a speech of thanks and well wishes to all the families for 2012.

See more photos of the forest event at our photo gallery

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.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas

And very best wishes for 2012

from all of us at Ape Action Africa

2011 has been one of our most challenging years and we are proud to have been able to keep our doors open to even more orphaned monkeys, chimps and gorillas. In addition we've built new housing for our animals and their caregivers, improved our facilities to welcome visitors and kept our vet team stocked with essential supplies for the health and wellbeing of our beloved residents. We couldn't have done any of this without your help and support.

Thank you to our dedicated team of caregivers who work day and night to give our orphans the best possible life. Thanks to our growing number of volunteers, many of whom return year after year to support our team. Thank you to our generous donors who have given so freely to help continue our work. Thanks to our friends who have offered words of strength and support though difficult times.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year with your loved ones and look forward to seeing you in 2012!

An impressive new building opened its doors at Mefou Primate Park this week - new living quarters for our workers. The structure has been built on the site of our old gorilla nursery and features five bedrooms and bathrooms and a shared TV and games room.

It is built in Quonset Hut style - a popular type of prefab housing used around the world.

The building went up quickly and easily from a kit of parts set on a solid concrete foundation. Doors and windows were simply cut out of the metal with an electric buzz saw, and frames fitted. The building is much larger and stronger than the previous wooden structure and will better protect our team from the scourges of the forest - mosquitoes and army ants!

Our Director Rachel Hogan opened the building in an official ceremony this week, with celebratory drinks and and a speech of thanks to our team of workers. She encouraged everyone to keep working in the positive spirit of our late Director Avi Sivan, after whom the house has been named. A memorial statue in the form of a carved lion has been relocated from its original place in the park, to stand guard outside the new building.

It is a reminder of the generosity of Avi & Talila Sivan who donated the materials before Avi passed away. Our team are now in the process of moving in and enjoying their new home. 

With just a few hours to go, it’s our final countdown to the Big Give Christmas challenge, starting Monday at 10:00am.

The Christmas Challenge is a fantastic initiative created by The Big Give, which rewards our supporters for their generosity by doubling all donations made to us online.

With so many new orphans in our care, our dearest wish for the Christmas Challenge is to raise £5,500 – enough to feed our littlest babies for one year. If you would like to take action and double your impact, just follow these easy steps:

1. Set your alarm for 10:00am GMT (UK time), Monday 5th December
2. At 10:00am, go to http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/milk4gorillas
3. Click “Donate online now”
4. Enter your donation amount (+ Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer)
5. Pay using your credit or debit card
6. Watch your donation double!

The fund for doubling donations is staggered over 5 days, so if you miss out on having your donation doubled on Monday, you’ll have another chance at 10:00 on Tuesday, and each day after that.

Thanks for your support and best wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Christmas.

The team at Ape Action Africa

x

October was a huge month for Ape Action Africa. Whilst taking care of two confiscated gorillas in Cameroon, we were also managing the final stages of a chimp rescue in the neighboring country of Equatorial Guinea.

The hunting, sale, consumption and possession of primate species has been illegal in Equatorial Guinea since 2007, but until now the law has never been enforced. It is not unusual to find orphaned primates being kept for amusement purposes in restaurants and bars.

In September this year, the EG government heard reports of a hunter selling two infant gorillas and decided to initiate their first confiscation of a live primate. Unfortunately the hunter evaded them by selling the babies on to a restaurateur in the city of Bata. Not long before, the same restaurant owner had also purchased a tiny infant chimpanzee as a present for his daughter. The chimp was seen by customers wearing clothes with perfume, painted nails and a dummy.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Wildlife refocussed their attention on the restaurant owner, issuing a demand for the return of the animals, but the slow formality of the process compromised the result. When the confiscation finally took place on 4th October, a single, older chimp was carried into the ministry by a small child accompanied by the restaurant owner’s brother. Due to fear of repercussions, those involved in the confiscation did not pursue the matter further. No one knows what happened to the two gorillas and the first chimp who had been seen in baby clothes.

No facilities exist in EG to care for confiscated animals and this poses a serious challenge to the enforcement of wildlife laws. In this instance a conservation group working in EG agreed to assist the government by contacting us to find sanctuary for the chimp. When our Director Rachel Hogan received a call describing the little female as weak, withdrawn and suffering respiratory problems she knew she had limited time to save her and immediately began the process of obtaining a permit to bring her to Cameroon.

In EG, the biggest challenge was finding someone to care for the baby until the permits arrived. Just at the right moment, Juliet Wright, a conservation worker and ex-volunteer of Ape Action Africa arrived back into EG from a short break and offered to care for the infant. Juliet named the baby Mbia after a river in EG and began communicating via email with our Manager and Head Vet, Babs, to provide life saving medication for the baby. Sick and terrified, Mbia refused all human contact at first, huddling face down and as far away as possible. She bore scars on her waist from being tied with a rope and recognised only two food types - bread and canned drinks.

As Mbia began to recover and realised that Juliet was her protector, her personality started to shine through. She happily took over Juliet’s bedroom as her jungle gym, started eating fruits and vegetables and developed a fascination with the cat whose tail she loved to grab.

With presidential elections going in on Cameroon, the permits to move Mbia were terribly slow to arrive. Rachel virtually camped out at the ministry to ensure the paperwork was signed and finally, a month after her confiscation, permission was granted to bring Mbia to sanctuary. An epic 14 hour journey was undertaken to transport Juliet and Mbia overland across the border. A team from Hess, as US oil company operating in EG and sympathetic to the plight of chimpanzees organised the transport and negotiated over 20 police checks to reach Mefou Park safely.

Since then, Mbia has been transferred to a new carer and is settling in well. The toy monkey she adopted when first rescued, accompanies her everywhere and her confidence is growing. She is starting to practice chimp skills like nest building and is running rings around the sanctuary cats! As soon she has completed her quarantine period, Mbia will be able to join Mac and Ayisha and spend her days playing with them in the forest. Special thanks go to all those who worked so hard over the past two months to give Mbia this chance for a new life.

For more photos of Mbia, visit our photo gallery. 

Just a week and a half to go until The Big Give Christmas Challenge - a fantastic chance to take action and feed our smallest babies for one whole year!

For 5 days, starting 5th December, The Big Give will double any donations made online to Ape Action Africa. That means your donation of £50 will actually be worth £100. If you are a UK taxpayer, your donation will also attract Gift Aid, upping the total to £110!

Donations can be made online from within the UK or abroad with an accepted debit or credit card - Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, Switch, Solo, Delta or American Express.

All donations made during the Christmas Challenge will be used to purchase milk for our five hungry young orphans; Mac, Ayisha, Luci, Chickaboo and now Mbia. With your help we can set them up for a happy, healthy adulthood.

Today is one of sadness and one of joy for everyone at Ape Action Africa; sadness because it is one year ago since our Director, Avi Sivan, was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Cameroon and joy because we are celebrating his life.

Avi touched many people in his life and he was a great inspiration to all of us at Ape Action Africa. Rachel Hogan said, “He was the biggest inspiration in my life and he taught all us many things. His attitude was that there was never such a word as a problem and he never gave up, there was always a way. This attitude has helped hugely to get the project through the last year without him”.

Avi was a very charismatic man, his energy filled the room and the generosity and support of Avi and his wife Talila will never be forgotten by all of us in Cameroon. Avi and Talila brought an unrivalled passion to primate conservation in Cameroon and their impact will endure for many years to come at Mefou Primate Park.

We are celebrating Avi’s life in Cameroon today with a football match which we expect to be very competitive because the winning team will be awarded the Colonel Avi Sivan trophy!

We miss them both enormously; our hearts and thoughts are with Talila and their daughters Achinoam and Avishag at this difficult time.

Good news! Mbia - the little chimpanzee we have been working for weeks to rescue - has arrived at our sanctuary.

The rescue team travelled for 14 hours to bring her from neighbouring Equatorial Guinea where she was confiscated, to safety in Cameroon. We are now busy helping her to settle in, but will bring more news soon...

Ape Action Africa is excited to be part of this year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge, where donations made to us online through the Big Give will be doubled!

The Christmas Challenge is a fantastic initiative created by The Big Give and supported by a range of sponsors. It is a unique opportunity for our supporters to be rewarded for their generosity by having their donations doubled, allowing us to make twice the impact through our work.

The Challenge starts at 10am (GMT) on 5th December and runs for just 5 days. To make sure your donations are doubled and help us make the most of this fantastic opportunity, save the 5th December in your diaries. Don’t worry if you forget though - we’ll be counting down to donation day on our website and Facebook.

The Big Give is UK based, so donations made during the Christmas Challenge are in pounds sterling. Donations can be made online from any country as long as you use one of the accepted debit or credit cards - Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, Switch, Solo, Delta and American Express.

The donations you make as part of the Christmas Challenge will go directly towards the support of our sanctuary’s youngest orphans, including our newest arrivals - gorillas Luci and Chickaboo. It costs £20 a week to feed one baby gorilla – if you can help us to reach our Big Give challenge target, we’ll be able to feed our five babies for a whole year!

It’s all hands on deck at Mefou Primate Park this month, with the surprise arrival of not one, but two baby gorillas. It is rare for baby gorillas to arrive at our sanctuary – not because they aren’t being hunted, but because so many die of stress before we can reach them. We were very relieved therefore to be involved in the rescue of two gorilla infants last week who have not only survived, but are doing well.

Little Luci, a 10 month old gorilla, was being held in a village inside a logging concession after her family were killed by hunters. The men running the concession learned of Luci’s fate and rescued her, taking her back to their headquarters to be cared for. After hearing of our work, the Concession Manager called us to report the confiscation and we immediately organised a mission to collect the infant, headed up by our Manager Tafon Babila (Babs). The difficult journey took three days through dense forest and rough terrain and was almost compromised when our vehicle suffered a serious breakdown. Thanks to the skill of our mechanic Kenneth, the team got back on the road and arrived safely.

Like most gorillas who have lost their mothers, Luci was depressed and frightened, but the care given by the workers at the logging concession went a long way towards saving her life. By the time our team arrived she was taking milk from a bottle and allowed Babs to hold her. She even showed the first signs of boldness - tentatively exploring the front seat of the car before settling into Babs’ arms for the long journey to her new home. During her first few days with us, Luci went from sad orphan to small hooligan, showing an enthusiasm for life rarely seen in such a young rescue. We have already been able to transfer her to our forest sanctuary where she will spend the remainder of her quarantine period with Jeanne – an experienced carer who helped raise two of our other gorilla babies.

Within two days of Luci’s arrival, we received a call about a second gorilla - this time from Ofir Dori at the Last Great Ape organisation (LAGA), a Cameroonian wildlife law enforcement group. With some swift re-organisation, our Director Rachel Hogan stepped in to care for the two-year old infant, supported by our long-time gorilla keeper Apollinaire. She named the baby ‘Chickaboo’ after a toy monkey that was popular in the UK during the 1970s. Chickaboo was gifted to Rachel as a child and so began her life-long love for and commitment to primates.

 
The Chickaboo doll inspires fond memories for large numbers of British people and our Chickaboo has already won the hearts of our team. Although she is a healthy weight at 18kg, she arrived in a shocked and withdrawn state, unable to eat or drink. With round the clock care, Rachel finally persuaded her to begin feeding but she is suffering from a nasty injury, inflicted by a hunter's forest snare. Before she arrived we hoped that she and Luci could be companions, but Chickaboo will have a longer road to recovery. The snare has caused a deep, painful wound on her wrist and our vet team suspect she has severed tendons and possibly broken bones as she can’t move her hand or her fingers. She will need surgery and a skin graft to help heal her wound.

Although she has trouble walking because of her injury, Chickaboo is gaining confidence and will soon be able to transfer to her new carer Marius at our forest sanctuary and in time, she will be with Luci. In the meantime, we are seeking sponsorship for specialist wildlife vet Sharon Redrobe to travel to Cameroon from the UK to perform the much needed surgery. If you would like to take action by donating funds for Chickaboo’s treatment, please visit our online donation page.

For more photos of Luci and Chickaboo, visit our photo gallery.

Thanks for your support!

We are very proud to announce that our Keeper Zanga Germaine has been recognised as a Disney Conservation Hero for 2011. Zanga was nominated for the award by the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA). it recognises his commitment to the conservation of great apes through his tireless work at Ape Action Africa’s Mefou Primate Park in Cameroon.

Zanga has worked for Ape Action Africa since 2006 when he joined the team as a construction worker. Our Director, Rachel Hogan, observed Zanga’s strong work ethic and offered him a three month trial as a chimpanzee keeper. He began working with a group of thirteen young chimps under the supervision of our Head Keeper, but it wasn’t long before Zanga proved his natural talent for conservation and animal care.

Now a fully fledged Keeper, Zanga is a vital member of our team and contributes directly to the success of the sanctuary with his quiet and absolute commitment. He walks almost 15km a day to work in the park where he cleans, feeds and watches over 20 chimps. With no running water or power at the sanctuary, his job is challenging but Zanga is uncomplaining. “It is sometimes tiring, but I enjoy all aspects of working with the chimps” he says. “I like watching them playing and laughing just like people. I treat them like my brothers”.

Zanga will receive a plaque and cash prize from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund in a ceremony in Cameroon. Congratulations Zanga and thanks to PASA for their support!
 

After sharing the story of baby Ayisha earlier this week, we have some new pictures showing her happily reunited with her friend Mac! After a long battle with pneumonia and meningitis, Ayisha continues to do well, although we had cause for concern recently when she contracted a bacterial illness. Thankfully it was minor and after a couple of days of lost appetite, Ayisha is healthy again.

The best news for Ayisha is that she has been bonding with her fantastic new carer - Jeanne. Jeanne worked with us 9 years ago, helping to raise gorillas Jasmine, Geri & Avishag when they were still youngsters living in the Mvog Betsi Zoo. She left to raise a family of her own but remained passionate about the sanctuary and now that her children are at school, has returned to us to care full time for Ayisha. The two have bonded well and Jeanne will care for Ayisha for another year or so until she is old enough to join other young chimps and form a permanent social group.

Visit our photo gallery to see more recent images of Ayisha.   

This is a story that came close to having a tragic ending. We have delayed bringing it to you because as events unfolded, we couldn’t be sure how it would end. After many anxious weeks and sleepless nights, we are very happy to be able to call this a story of survival.

Several months ago, we received a tiny chimp who was confiscated from a woman trying to sell her as a pet. Just a few months old, weighing 2.5kg and still suckling, the baby girl had only recently been removed from her mother but had been amongst humans long enough to contract pneumonia – an illness that is often fatal in small babies.

By the time Ayisha arrived in our care, her health was in serious decline. Our vet team made a swift diagnosis and began immediate treatment with antibiotics, but her condition was poor. We watched helplessly as she was gripped by long coughing fits that left her glassy-eyed and exhausted. Her symptoms were worse at night and Ayisha slept upright on her caregiver’s chest night after night to ease her breathing. We waited anxiously for the medication to work, but Ayisha was so small and vulnerable that it took several weeks before we could breathe a sigh of relief when we knew she was over the worst.

Found mainly in the East of Cameroon, Agile Mangabeys live in areas of swamp forest and are increasingly becoming victims of the bushmeat trade. Our Agile residents are all orphans or abandoned pets that were surrendered to the zoo and introduced to each other to form a new social group.

Agiles love to spend time on the ground as well as in the trees and in their new enclosure they can explore the dense undergrowth and dig for insects to supplement their fruit-based diet. The younger monkeys have been having lots of fun chasing each other in and out of clearings and we recently discovered further evidence that the group is thriving – the birth of a baby. The little Agile has been named Mvog-Betsi in recognition of its parent’s old home. Mother and baby are doing well.

Visit our photo gallery to see more images of the Agiles' return to the forest.

Mefou Park has welcomed another new resident – a one year old chimpanzee named Mac.  The little chimp was discovered by the Cameroonian authorities when they raided a hunters' camp and found him alive and probably bound for the pet trade.  Mac’s mother had been killed and butchered for her meat, which was being smoked to sell in the markets when Mac was found.

The full details of his journey out of the camp and into safety is unclear, but we do know that he was transported over a 3 day period on the back of a truck, packed inside a crate of ripe bananas. When he finally arrived into our care he still smelled of smoke from the hunters' campfire and was covered in sticky banana residue, but the fruit had probably helped him survive the journey.  Mac’s condition couldn’t be assessed until our vet team started cleaning his matted hair and as they worked, they uncovered some terrible injuries.  He had bullet wounds in his elbow, mouth, hand, foot and chest and a pellet still lodged behind his ear.

At the moment, Mac is too weak to undergo surgery, so his wounds are being treated with antibiotics and painkillers.  When he is stronger, we will need to remove the pellets to prevent long-term infection.  After drinking an astounding 3 litres of water on arrival, the little chimp has been adapting to a diet of juicy fruits like mango.  He is sweet natured, but very sad and seems to be remembering the loss of his family.  During his first days he was very sensitive to the noises of the forest, running anxiously from his human caregiver towards the calls of the other chimps whom he could hear nearby.

He has improved significantly following his recent introduction to Ayisha – a female chimp of similar age.  We hope that their bond will enable both to adapt to their new situation and compensate in some way for the chimpanzee families they have lost.

Children at the tiny village school in Metet, Cameroon got the surprise of their lives recently when a gorilla arrived in their classroom!

The visitor - a gorilla sculpture - was given to the children to decorate and keep by Bristol Zoo Gardens as part of its ‘Wow! Gorillas’ public art event. The zoo, a key supporter of Ape Action Africa, has launched the program as part of the celebrations in its 175th birthday this year.

Metet school is close to the Mefou Primate Sanctuary and was built by Ape Action Africa 3 years ago to improve education for the local children. Normal classes were suspended infavour of art when our Education Officer Elvis Chefor brought the statue into the classroom and asked each of the 63 students to put forwardtheir ideas for decorating the gorilla.

Art is not normally taught at the school, so the prospect of using paper and pencils to express their ideas created huge excitement amongst the children. The finished artwork was displayed around the classroom and the children voted to chose their favourite.

Whilst little Eteme Atangana won the vote, he had plenty of help to bring his design to life. Each child was given the chance to paint a part of the gorilla, with support from their teacher, our education officers, Dave Naish from Bristol Zoo and an Ape Action Africa volunteer who was on hand to help mix the colours.

The gorilla decorating programme was aimed at celebrating the importance of gorillas with the local children says Elvis. “We had some very impressive artwork and the children left for home with smiles on their faces”.

‘Gando’, as the children have named him, will be put on display in the sanctuary for the next year where thousands of visitors will be able to admire him. After that he will visit each of the other village schools every year, so all the children in the area around the sanctuary will
have a chance to decide how he is decorated.

Visit our gallery for more photos

Many thanks to Bristol Zoo for helping to make this a fun event for the children in Cameroon!

Two of our primates recovering from severe illnesses received a very special visitor recently - British Neurophysiotherapist Kirsty Godwin-Pearson.

At home, Kirsty works with people with stroke, multiple sclerosis, head injuries and other neurological conditions, using physiotherapy to aid their recovery and help them regain function. She travelled to Cameroon to work closely with Samburu, a young chimpanzee recovering from meningitis and Maggie, a mandrill who suffers severe fits.

In her two weeks at Mefou, Kirsty took Samburu from his group twice a day for physiotherapy sessions and trained his carer Franklin on techniques that help Samburu use his paralysed arm. The little chimp thoroughly enjoyed the attention, worked really well with the exercises and has made excellent progress. He is now using his right arm and hand to feed himself and even to climb.

Kirsty also worked with Maggie, a gentle, two-year-old female Mandrill, who suffers from serious fits, poor balance and sensory problems. Maggie’s frequent fitting made it difficult for Kirsty to treat her, but she spent several hours a day in Maggie’s cage, gaining her trust through grooming. She encouraged her to use her hands to eat (rather than lying on her stomach), by passing her pieces of her favourite food – hardboiled egg.

Due to the severity of Maggie’s disability, she cannot be integrated into the Mandrill group, so she gets very lonely. To counteract her depression, Maggie’s carer Nixon sets aside time each day to sit with Maggie, groom her and feed her pieces of egg. Our vet team are also looking into medicines that can keep Maggie’s fitting under control.

While in Cameroon, Kirsty also travelled to the Sanaga Yong Rescue Centre run by IDA Africa, an organisation with whom we frequently share resources. There she worked with Arvid, a young chimp who had suffered from meningitis and become almost completely paralysed from the neck down. For the last year, Kirsty has been treating Arvid remotely and was finally able to meet him and train his carers in an ongoing, daily physio regime. By the end of the week, Arvid was able to sit by himself for the first time since his illness.

Kirsty is passionate about primate conservation, saying “for a while now I have felt that primates with neurological problems would benefit from neurophysiotherapy in the same way humans do. Physiologically they are very similar to us. They’re emotionally similar too - just as with humans, they get very frustrated from not being able to move around and use their limbs normally. Before going out to Cameroon I couldn’t be certain how effective therapy with these individuals would be but they have all shown such fantastic progress that I’m really keen to continue working with chimpanzees and other primates as much as possible. It was an absolute privilege to be able to work so closely with such incredible animals and I’m already planning my next trip to Cameroon.”

As far as we know Kirsty is the first specialist Neurophysiotherapist in the world to have worked with primates and we thank her for the huge improvements she has made in the lives of Samburu and Maggie. With meningitis and other illnesses so prevalent in Africa, we look forward to seeing more of her positive work in this field.

Photographs courtesy of Graham and Kirsty Godwin-Pearson - see more photos in our gallery

Avi and Talila Sivan have been at the heart of Ape Action Africa since its inception 14 years ago. Their drive and passion for wildlife has enabled the charity to become what it is today, one of the largest primate sanctuaries in Africa.

In 2002, following the sudden departure of the director of the project, Avi stepped in as director and with Talila at his side, they became the most significant supporters of the project. Their support enabled the charity to survive and grow, not only by working tirelessly for us, but also by providing an enormous amount of financial support.

Avi donated significant amounts of personal money to the project to enable us to meet our running costs. He also gave us significant gifts in kind, all of which provided a solid foundation to allow us to provide excellent care for the animals living in Mefou National Park.

The tragic loss of Avi in a helicopter crash in Cameroon has had an enormous impact on many people. We are not alone in missing his charismatic presence and leadership.

We are also missing the wise, calm driving force of Talila Sivan in Cameroon. The project will always have a special place in Talila’s heart, as we have in our hearts for Talila. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, her daughters and grandchildren at this very difficult time.

The project has come a long way under the guidance of the Sivans as we work hard to protect endangered primates in Cameroon, work that we are determined to continue in Avi’s memory.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support during this difficult time. We have not only lost our Director but also our friend. It is extremely important for Talila that we continue with our work here in Cameroon. All the staff of Ape Action Africa, Babs and myself will continue the great work that both Avi and Talila accomplished here. Many thanks to everyone and much love to Talila and her daughters.

Rachel Hogan

Little Lola the chimpanzee has been able to rejoin her family after six long weeks recovering from a broken leg.

No one witnessed the accident leading to the injury, but Lola’s carer became concerned after she and a few other chimps failed to respond when they were called in for the night from their forest enclosure. After much coaxing, the small group emerged from the trees but Lola was lagging behind. It wasn’t until she returned to the cage that it became obvious she was dragging her leg and in pain. Photos taken by a volunteer later showed that the other chimps had tried to help Lola back to the cage, particularly Janet who carried her on her back.

Lola was immediately isolated and kept warm and quiet, but unfortunately treatment was not available straight away. It is very difficult to find human doctors willing to treat primate injuries, but we were lucky enough to secure an appointment early the next morning in a Yaounde clinic, which opened their doors to us before their patients began arriving. The doctor and our vet team were very worried when they saw the x-ray  - the break was a complete fracture of the femur, high up near the hip.

In a chimpanzee, this kind of break is serious because it’s almost impossible to immobilize the leg effectively. Lola emerged from her anaesthetic with a bright blue cast from thigh to ankle and sought immediate comfort for her strange new situation in the arms of two volunteers who were assigned to care for her over the coming weeks.

Lola was kept as a pet for the first three years of her life, and although she is happy in her rough and tumble chimp group, she still loves the company of humans, particularly women. The novelty of boundless hugs went a long way to distract her from her pain, but it wasn’t long before boredom set in. Even with treats, games and constant company she longed to be free of her cast and began pulling at the lining and slowly unravelling its layers.

It was a relief for everyone when the cast was finally removed, revealing a well-healed bone. To help the introduction back to her family, Lola was moved to an adjacent cage so she could see and interact with the other chimps whilst she regained proper movement in her leg. She was overjoyed to be able to join her group back in the enclosure and was enthusiastically welcomed, particularly by special friend Miko who didn’t leave her side all day.

During Lola’s absence, the other members of her family had begun an introduction to two adult females, Toby and Billie Jean. Lola will now take some time to get to know these adults before the next stage of their introduction begins with adult male chimp Dixon.

Visit our photo gallery to see more photos of Lola's recovery.

Photos courtesy of Ian Bickerstaff and Chefor Elvis 

The sad pattern of destruction in Cameroon's rainforests continues with the arrival of yet another orphaned chimpanzee from the Dja Faunal Reserve in East Cameroon. After being taken by bushmeat hunters, Kwene was seized by government officials on a train bound for the capital, Yaounde, where he was intended to be sold illegally as a pet. Rachel and her Mefou team were busy managing our biggest ever re-housing project when they received word of the confiscation and temporarily shelved their plans in order to welcome him.

Happily, the little two-year old male was in good health. He bore familiar rope scars around his waist from being held captive, but his teeth were still stained brown from a diet of forest leaves and he had a healthy coat of hair. Named after a friend of the project, Kwene was delivered into the care of long-term volunteers at our sanctuary. He tolerated their company but was very wary and showed his mistrust by scratching, biting and boxing with his feet. His independence was a good sign for future integrations, but in the short term it was important to allay his fears. The volunteers spent two days with him in a quiet, comfortable satellite cage and gradually, Kwene relaxed and learned to trust them.

Routine medical tests were negative so Kwene was able to begin his quarantine with our youngest group of chimps who are also in quarantine: Kazi, Captain Song, Boubalay and Mboke. He is bigger and stronger than the babies so they met first through the bars of adjoining nursery cages. Song and Kazi showed immediate interest in the new arrival, poking their fingers through the gaps and putting their lips up to the bars, but were met with scratches from the suspicious Kwene.

Eventually, he softened and reciprocated their touch and when a full introduction took place, Kwene was overjoyed to have new chimps to play with. After months of rehabilitative care with volunteers, Song and Kazi’s own development took a great leap forward. They began copying Kwene with extensive climbing and self-feeding. They transferred from sleeping alongside their human carer at night to sleeping in the satellite cage with Kwene. The girls, Boubalay and Mboke, are several months younger so they still required overnight care but they also began showing more independence, which is great news.

Our team used this period of change to transfer the care of the group of 5 young chimps to Jean-Jacques; their permanent Cameroonian carer who will give them the consistency they need to grow into a strong family unit. Jean-Jacques was one of the lion keepers at Mvog Betsi Zoo and he joined us to work at Mefou with our adult chimps.  He is now thrilled to be caring for this group of youngsters:  “I really like to work with chimps” he says “because they are such intelligent creatures”.

The youngsters have bonded so well with Jean-Jacques that they have been included in our re-housing project and now spend their days in an open forest area once occupied by Miel’s group. At night they sleep together in a warm satellite cage, with Jean-Jacques just next door. Miel and her group have graduated to the nursery, where they are busy learning not to touch the electric fence! More updates on their progress are coming soon.

You can see more photos of Kwene's arrival on our photo gallery.

We have had an influx of baby chimps this year and they drink a lot of milk so inevitably, our milk bills are soaring.  If you are able to help us, please donate what you can on our donation page - every little helps us to keep the milk flowing!  

Donations from US taxpayers are tax deductible....just click on the USA button on our donation page and we will send you a tax receipt when required.

Thank you for your support.

Photos courtesy of Ian Bickerstaff, Chefor Elvis and Angela Mather 

The Ape Action Africa team is proud to have completed key stages of a complex re-housing project this month, the largest ever undertaken at Mefou Sanctuary. When finished, the project will move more than 50 chimps and gorillas to new enclosures within the park and 5 individual chimp groups will be merged into one. The objectives are to ease a housing crisis brought about by an influx of new arrivals and improve conditions for many of our current residents by integrating them into social groups.

The first phase of the move began in late June when adult chimps Billie Jean, Toby & Dixon exchanged living quarters with our eleven sub-adult gorillas. The moves were carried out over two days with impressive efficiency by our vet team. Moving primates is a difficult task as a balance must be struck between using light sedation to minimise stress, and having sufficient time to carry out thorough heath checks. In under four hours our vets sedated, blood tested, weighed and checked fourteen animals, transporting them carefully to their new cages where they woke under supervision on a bed of fresh leaves.

Tests showed that all of the chimps and gorillas were healthy and highlighted just how much some have developed under our care. Nine-year-old gorilla Nkan Daniel weighed in at 92 kgs - a far cry from his arrival as a two week old infant, small enough to be carried in his carer’s hands. The gorilla group have settled quickly into their new enclosure which was completed just three months ago. They love spending their afternoons in an enormous hardwood tree, chasing each other along its broad boughs and boldly throwing branches down at onlookers.

The second round of moves occurred two weeks later and saw our 15 young nursery chimps follow Billie Jean, Toby & Dixon to the area vacated by the gorillas. They now reside in the largest area of forest in the park, with some of its tallest trees. When released into their new enclosure, the youngsters ran in all directions screaming with excitement. Minutes later they re-grouped under alpha female Achi to explore the fence line and establish their boundaries. They were stunned to discover a group of Olive Baboons in an adjacent enclosure and spent much of their time establishing dominance by barking at their new neighbours.

Once the chimps were comfortable in their new environment, the next potentially difficult phase began - an introduction to adult female chimps Billie Jean and Toby. The young chimps have not lived with adults since being orphaned when they were infants so it was a challenge for Miko and Dbamba when they were placed in a cage neighbouring the females to establish visual contact. Dbamba screamed for a full minute, seeking refuge in Miko’s arms and it was several days before the two youngsters were brave enough to meet their neighbours. Billie Jean and Toby have spent most of their lives alone in captivity but they showed wonderful patience towards the youngsters, allowing them to approach and interact at their own pace. Over the past two weeks, they have been joined by Lissy, Loko, Djoum, Pipo and Ba’aka, and all are playing happily together. Next to be introduced is Daniel, Aidan and Janet. Once the whole group has met they will spend two weeks together in the enclosure before being joined by their final member.....adult male Dixon.

The next phase of moves will involve our infant chimps, followed by more introductions that will see Billie Jean’s group increase to 23 members.Check out our YouTube channel for footage of the moves and stay tuned for more updates next month....sign up for e-news at the top right of this page and we'll deliver short bulletins straight to your inbox!

Charlos, our ousted alpha male chimpanzee, has started a new life at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Centre in the East of Cameroon. Aged in his mid twenties, Charlos is still relatively young, but lost his place as head of his group when it was contested by Wazak late last year. The takeover was not achieved easily. Charlos suffered repeated attacks that left him so injured and stressed he had to be removed from the group.

Now, Charlos has been given a second chance. Alongside one of our adult females, Katie, he will ‘parent’ a young, boisterous chimp group at Sanaga Yong, living with them in a large, forest enclosure. The move is great news for Charlos, but our team will miss him very much. Charlos has been with Ape Action Africa for over a decade and is much loved, but his relationship with others was not always positive. Brought up as a pet by a restaurant-owning family in Yaounde, he grew up alongside their son until he became too difficult to handle. They donated him to the Mvog Betsi Zoo where he shared a small cage with a little female chimp called Chinois and quickly learned to dominate her. In the restrictive, concrete surrounds he became frustrated and aggressive, grabbing at staff through the bars of his cage. He had to be fed through a small opening and keepers cleaned his cage in pairs for safety, even when he was locked away on one side.

Ape Action Africa finally persuaded the government to transfer Charlos and Chinois to our new forest sanctuary site and here he found peace. In a spacious, natural environment, affection replaced aggression and despite his short stature, the other chimps respected Charlos’ superior age. He soon settled in as head of the group, impressing staff with his firm but gentle approach.

Manager Rachel Hogan and Tafon Babila and his vet team accompanied Charlos and Katie on their long journey East, setting off in the early hours of 10th June. Both chimps were anaesthetised and health checks were carried out by our vet team before they were made as comfortable as possible in transport crates. Their bumpy, eight hour drive was broken up with plenty of rest stops to ensure they were traveling well. Arriving after dark in heavy rain, the team ensured the chimps were transferred to a dry, comfortable cage before heading off to bed themselves.

Since their arrival, both Charlos and Katie have settled in well but must spend three months in quarantine before being introduced to their new family. Rachel will travel back to Sanaga Yong in September to bring news of their introduction, so stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks!

Visit our photo gallery to see more photos of Charlos and Katie's departure

Ape Action Africa is home to more than 150 monkeys but there are two youngsters in particular who stole our hearts this year. Bitsy and Junior are Agile and Grey Cheeked Mangabey’s respectively and arrived in sad circumstances last November. They were both dumped anonymously inside the grounds of Mvog Betsi zoo in Yaounde, where they remained until discovered by zoo staff, clinging to each other and looking terrified.

Both babies were transferred immediately to our forest sanctuary where they were hand-reared and cared for 24 hours a day by a volunteer. This included 2 hourly feeds and careful regulation of their body temperature, which they were too young to do themselves. Bitsy was found to have a piece missing from her ear and was a quiet, docile infant who loved to suck her own thumb for comfort. Junior arrived with a swollen face and black eye and was prone to excessive vocalizations and attachment.

Over the past six months these two infants have thrived in our care and developed a lovely bond – preferring to play, eat and sleep together.

Their alliance proved useful when they were recently introduced to a group of older monkeys, helping them to settle in faster and come to terms with a new, unfamiliar hierarchy. Both have done well in the group and Bitsy in particular has made friends with the two other Agile Mangabeys.

Both are growing up fast, with Bitsy (left) developing the darker, leaner face of an Agile and Junior the striking upright brows typical of Grey Cheeked Mangabeys.  

Bitsy has made friends with two other Agiles in the group, but at the moment, Junior is the only one of her species in the park. It may be possible to integrate her in future with the small group of Grey Cheeks that live in the Zoo, but for now she is busy enjoying her new mixed family.  We are proud of both babies and look forward to the day when they are old enough to graduate to a large forest enclosure.  

Little Kazi is a two year old chimpanzee, discovered by Ministry of Forest and Wildlife (MINFOF) officers in a village house on the edge of the reserve. His parents had been killed and he was transferred to a back room, tied down with a length of rope and largely ignored.

Luckily for Kazi the authorities discovered him early and still in good health. However the rope that restrained him had cut deep into his groin and the wound was badly infected. Our vet team got to work quickly with a course of antibiotics and stitches. De-worming treatment also took care of his swollen belly.

Quiet and confused, Kazi transferred calmly to our Director Talila Sivan who cared for him round the clock during his first two weeks and named him after a friend from the North of Cameroon. After settling in he proved to be a lively little boy and was soon able to join another of our recent arrivals, Captain Song. The two chimps are the same age and size and have loved being in each other’s company. They are also very attached to their new carer Zanga, who supervises their day-time play and stays with them throughout the night.

We hoped to be able to offer the boys a chimpanzee mother in Rocky - a 12 year old female who arrived earlier this year. She is gentle by nature but has never been with other chimps before, so we didn’t know how she might react. In their first introduction she showed little understanding of the boys’ infancy and no desire to protect them. Unfortunately she played with them as she would a much older chimp and became too rough.

The boys are now back to spending time with Zanga whilst we consider other options for their future.....keep watching for more news of their progress! 

Arriving more than a decade ago as an adolescent rescued from the pet trade, Charlos was introduced to a group of orphaned chimps that steadily grew in number to more than 20 individuals.

A strong but fair leader, Charlos kept his boisterous family in check for 9 years.  As its members became more mature, arguments were more frequent but were always swiftly dealt with.  The family dynamic became noticeably more relaxed after the birth of 5 infants in 2007.

It is normal for younger males to challenge the alpha in the wild and in recent months, Charlos began to experience attacks from four of the more developed chimps.  Our sanctuary staff watched helplessly as the attacks escalated and Charlos began showing signs of significant stress.  When the attacks became more violent and Charlos stopped eating, they had to make the difficult decision to move him out of the group and allow a power shift to occur.

Charlos’ defeat was a somber moment for those who have known and respected him, and marks the first leadership change to occur in any of the seven family groups in the park.  After several weeks of politicking amongst the remaining males, Wazak (pictured right)  has finally risen to take control.

After recovering from his attacks, Charlos has been moved to a satellite cage next to Billie Jean and her family, Katie, Toby and Dixon.  Katie showed an immediate preference for Charlos and spent so many hours sitting next to him through the wall of the cage that the two were finally introduced.  Not yet thirty years old, it is hoped that Charlos will have another chance to be part of a group and lend his wisdom and experience to other chimps who have spent much of their lives in human company, denied the chance to grow up amongst their own kind in the wild. 

Max was loved by his new family and spent his days playing with their children and two dogs. A good diet helped him develop thick hair and solid body weight and at night he slept securely in his own box with a blanket. His owner realised that despite their good intentions, they couldn’t provide all that he needed, in particular a forest environment in a family group of chimpanzees. The father of the family therefore asked us to take Max into our care to ensure he would have a future with other chimpanzees.

Free from the fear and inhibitions that grow from mistreatment, Max was quick to adjust to his new sanctuary environment. He has responded well to our 24-hour, one-to-one care and unlike some more neglected chimps, Max recognizes his name, so he is now ‘Petit Max’ to distinguish him from our resident adult male of the same name. It also suits his small, but solid (and very hairy) stature. Petit Max is already very confident, and one of our most vocal residents. He doesn’t hesitate to shout back at the noisy, teenage male chimps who live nearby and makes some of the loudest happy noises we’ve ever heard when food arrives! Very soon he will be ready to join our infant chimp group, and we can’t wait for him to meet his seven new friends.

Petit Max is yet another reminder that chimps and gorillas are orphaned every day in Cameroon as a result of the ilegal bushmeat trade. If you would like to help us to continue to work to help conserve his cousins in the wild, and to care for the 94 chimps and 18 gorillas in our sanctuary, please take a moment to visit our donation page...thank you!

It is six months since baby chimp Vicky arrived at Ape Action Africa and look at her now!

  
Kept as a pet by a family in a small village, Vicky arrived at the sanctuary in poor condition. It is not known how old she was when her mother was killed, or how long she spent in captivity, but she showed typical signs of stress and poor treatment.

Thin and puffy-eyed with dehydration, Vicky , had an oversized belly, swollen with malnutrition and intestinal worms. Her owner had restrained her with a very tight leather belt, which had cut through Vicky’s thin, hairless skin to expose part of her hip bone.

On arrival, she was treated for her wounds and intestinal worms and thankfully, began responding quickly. Around people, Vicky showed the all too familiar signs of trauma – panic, mistrust and a fear of being touched. Thanks to round the clock, dedicated care, she began to understand she was in a safe place and her spirit quickly returned. After only a few days she reacted with laughter to a small scratch of her belly and was soon demanding non-stop games and tickles from her carers. She even grew confident enough to bark at the male chimps nearby when they displayed and called to each other.

When the time finally came to be introduced to other infant chimps however, Vicky’s confidence was shaken. Although she enjoyed being with the 5 other youngsters, their behaviour unnerved her and she responded by being outwardly aggressive, biting and hitting the others before they could turn on her. Over time, Vicky has learned how to respond to the others and she has settled happily into life within the group, particularly with the help of little Ndele who has acted as her ‘big sister’.

 
Although still a very petite chimp, Vicky is now a healthy weight and her hair is growing thicker. Each day she leaves her night cage and takes a short walk into the forest with her new family and carers. Her days are spent in the forest, climbing, playing and exploring in a natural environment and little by little, learning how to be a chimp again.

If you would like to take action to help us care for Vicky and many others like her, and also help us to fight for the survival of her cousins in the wild, why not adopt an ape, a great Christmas gift!

Ape Action Africa has welcomed a new chimp to our sanctuary in Cameroon; an adult female all the way from neighbouring Equatorial Guinea.

We first learned of Billie Jean in July when a representative of Hess, a US oil company with a base in EG contacted us to tell her of her plight. Several days earlier, a grown chimpanzee had jumped into their compound and caused quite a stir amongst the staff. Nobody knew where she had come from, but Hess’ Country Manager told us it was clear she “was unafraid of people and was in fact quite sociable”. Later that day she left the compound and went to a nearby village, where she was greeted with harassment and stone throwing. She quickly retreated to the Hess camp where the staff, fearing for her safety, took her into their care.

A special cage was built to house Billie Jean, whilst options were considered for her future. The Hess staff recognised that her best hope was to find sanctuary at a wildlife facility, but with nothing available in Billie Jean’s home country, investigations led them to Ape Action Africa in Cameroon. Meanwhile, staff in the compound took a deep personal interest in Billie Jean and gave her plenty of attention. They were particularly impressed by her intelligence, declaring her “a very clever girl!” after she managed to escape her confines on several occasions to reclaim her freedom. This personal interest also led Country Manager David Kennedy to discover her history from a local expat businessman who admitted to having been her owner.

He revealed that Billie Jean was captured as a baby and sold illegally to a beach restaurant owner as a pet. During these years she was fed beer and cigarettes and used as entertainment for the restaurant owner and customers, but over time she became less cute and harder to handle. The expat businessman purchased her from the restaurant owner when it became clear that he planned to dispose of the chimp.

No longer forced to perform, Billie Jean enjoyed relative freedom in her new home and was treated with care. In this environment, she grew into adulthood, but as she reached full maturity, began to cause problems. Like most adult chimps she became physically strong and more insistent and began to express her newfound frustrations by breaking things and occasionally biting. Ignorant of the danger he was putting her in, the business owner decided to set Billie Jean free. She was released in the bush several kilometres away, but, being ill-prepared for living in the wild, wandered back toward populated areas, eventually finding her way into the Hess compound.

Thanks to the co-operation and timely approval of the Ministry of Fisheries and Environment in EG and their counterpart in Cameroon, permission was granted for Billie Jean to travel to Cameroon on a private flight funded by Hess. Met by Sanctuary Manager Rachel and vet Babs, Billie Jean was brought directly to our forest sanctuary, where she was given a health check and settled immediately into a large quarantine cage.

At around 10 years old, Billie Jean is friendly and gentle but very quiet, and will take some time to adjust to being separated from her human family. She has been slow to adapt to a chimp diet but is being offered a range of different food and treats and is showing a preference for yoghurt and guava fruits. During her quarantine period she is living near a small group of adolescent male chimps, giving her the opportunity to see others of her kind for the first time in many years.

Hess’ relationship with Billie Jean continues as staff keenly await updates on her progress and one staff member has made a personal donation in support of her new life in Cameroon. We have no doubt that without their intervention; Billie Jean would be facing a very bleak future indeed.

If you would like to help us care for Billie Jean, please visit our online donations page ....thank you!

And don't forget to visit our photo gallery to see the story of Billie Jean's arrival unfold in the photos of Ian Bickerstaff.
 

Our senior primate keeper, Ernest Bongmoyong,  has had a three week training visit to Bristol Zoo Gardens.

Ernest’s trip to Bristol is the first time he has been out of Cameroon. The trip has been funded by an ex-volunteer  who believed Ernest deserved the opportunity to visit Bristol Zoo and gain knowledge and skills to benefit the project in Cameroon. As part of his visit Ernest also spent 3 days at Monkey World in Dorset.

Ernest, who has worked with primates for 11 years, said the trip has taught him a great deal. He said: “I only work with young primates, including tiny babies, so seeing Bristol Zoo’s family group, including the adult gorillas, is fascinating for me – it’s a whole new experience. Jock the silverback male is a very impressive creature.”

He added: “I’ve been shadowing Bristol Zoo’s keepers and learning all about gorilla behavior, diet and animal husbandry techniques, as well as gorilla enclosure design. It’s all important information that I can take back to Cameroon to benefit the primates we look after over there.”

Up to 80 per cent of the chimpanzee population throughout Africa has already been lost due to illegal hunting and the destruction of the forest for logging. It is feared that without major conservation effort all the chimpanzees and other apes in Cameroon could soon be wiped out.

Dr Bryan Carroll added: “Most of the primates at the Mefou National Park have had a difficult start in life, with many having been rescued by Park staff just days old and hours from death, after their parents have been killed by poachers. It’s a very different start in life to our gorillas and monkeys here in Bristol. Ernest’s visit is a great opportunity for him to find out more about how we look after our primates, and it is also a chance for us to learn from him.”

Bristol Zoo’s 11 year support for Ape Action Africa includes providing a UK base for the charity as well as funding, education programme and veterinary services support and advice on animal husbandry.

This has been a great opportunity for Ernest and Ape Action Africa would like to say a big thank you to everyone at Bristol Zoo and Monkey World who made the trip successful and welcomed Ernest to their teams.

Rachel Hogan, Ape Action Africa’s Manager had vowed to her small charge that she would not rest until he was living in a large, safe forest setting that would replace the one he lost, along with his family. Last month, Nkan Daniel and ten juvenile gorillas woke up to find that the promise had been fulfilled.

The new enclosure is the largest ever built in the park and took almost two years to complete, with all work being carried out by hand. Our hard working construction team, led by Aloundo Obama laboured through good weather and bad to bring the project to completion, joined in the final stages by keepers and volunteers who painted and prepared the satellite cages. Vigorous testing (and re-testing) was then carried out to ensure the cages were safe and ready for ten very strong and enthusiastic young inhabitants.

Moving ten young gorillas is no easy task, and required careful planning and a very early start. On a single morning, each of the youngsters was sedated and given a thorough health check by vet nurse Babs and visiting Bristol Zoo vet Sharon Redrobe. The two carried out blood, EKG, ultrasound, and TB testing, before each individual was transported to their new cage. Rachel and keeper Thierry awaited each arrival and helped to settle them as they awoke in their new home. By early afternoon all ten were enthusiastically exploring their new and unfamiliar space, monitored closely by their carers. You can see them exploring the satellite cage in the picture to the right.

Three days later, a set of clear test results was received and it was finally time for the eager youngsters to experience their new forest home. With some ceremony, Rachel and keeper Apollinaire opened the doors and ten young gorillas knuckle walked their way to a new freedom. The group had been living in a small, enclosure that was one of the park’s original structures. Over the years it had become very degraded and due to its proximity to human habitation, had contributed to several serious illnesses. Leaving it behind was a significant and long awaited moment for everyone.

The enclosure was officially opened to the public by the US Embassy, whose generous funding made the construction possible. The entrance was decorated with flowers and palms and the ribbon was cut by Janet Garvey, U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon, before a group of guests that included several of the Embassy staff, the American military attaché, Cameroonian officials and the head of the U.S. Peace Corps program for Cameroon. The gorillas, excited about their new space and the crowds, watched from their side of the fence and guests celebrated at a reception held in our environmental education center.

The gorillas have wasted no time exploring and making use of their new home. After an initial investigation of the perimeter, they now regularly disappear into the cool, thick foliage. In the quieter hours of the early evening, just before dark, the air is filled with the wonderful sound of low, contented rumbling.

Visit our gallery  to see the gorilla move in the photos of Jo McArthur.

Above photos courtesy of Ian Bickerstaff, Jo McArthur and Pip Hughes.

At the start of December, the project received an early Christmas present in the shape of a one and a half year old chimp, who was renamed Bix upon arrival. Although perhaps a little small for his age and sparsely-haired on his head and belly, Bix was otherwise in reasonable physical condition. There were some open wounds around his hips where a cord had been tied around him, along with healed scars in the same area, suggesting that little Bix had been restrained in this way at least twice in his young life.

Bix was recently introduced to the infant chimp group. He was an immediate hit with the existing twelve chimps and was often seen being carried around by some of the larger ones. As the attentions of the other chimps occasionally became tiring for Bix, he was accompanied in the enclosure at all times by a volunteer, who would provide him with some respite whenever he needed it.

For the first few weeks of his introduction Bix still slept in the chimp box, but has recently progressed to sleeping with his new family instead. Bix' bright personality suggests that he will be one of the characters of the infant group, so keep an eye out for future updates about his progress.

Tommy

Adult chimps often suffer terribly as long term pets in Cameroon and Tommy is no exception. Rescued in December from a family who claimed to have owned him for over 12 years, Tommy was brought to the forest with an ear infection, open wound on his back and with poor teeth and an emaciated body.

Despite obvious neglect, Tommy is a sweet natured chimp and after a few days of medication and enthusiastic eating under the supervision of volunteer Paula, he became much livelier. He has now undergone hotwire training and is able to spend his days in an enclosure, climbing trees whilst he completes his quarantine period. It is hoped that Tommy will be able to join an existing chimp group in a few months time, when he will be stronger and there is adequate space to managed an introduction process.

Lissy has been part of the infant chimp group for several months now and continues to be very happy in her new home. It is clearer that Lissy probably spent only a short time in human company after her family was killed, as her chimp skills are very finely tuned. She is an accomplished climber and was seen building a very fine nest at the top of a tree about a month after her introduction. She is sensitive to the social structure of her group and gets along well amongst the others. She doesn’t seek human company like some of the other infants that were kept as pets and has made special friends with Mico. They spend hours together, relaxing in the shade and indulging their mutual dislike of water by avoiding the swimming pool recently installed in their enclosure.

Avishag & Eto'o

CWAF's first gorilla baby was born last May to Avishag and was named Eto'o after Cameroon's favourite footballing son. Though Avishag was a young mother at 9 years, she showed herself to be a natural and Eto'o has been flourishing. Although still small and wide eyed, he is growing fast and is becoming more adventurous eating solid food. His relationship with the other members of the group was positive from the outset and when he was a few months old, Avishag allowed Jasmine to babysit him for short intervals. He now leaves his mum for longer periods and has been brave enough to start playing with the boys, who all love him and patiently tolerate his (occasionally rough) games.

New chimp mums

CWAF's new chimp mums continue to do well and their babies are growing fast. Some infants suffered a skin infection at the end of the wet season last year; however after treatment they are all recovering their lost hair. Some of the babies are now almost a year old and spend time playing away from their mothers and forming bonds with the other members of the group. They have proved to be a positive influence on some of the large males who enjoy spending time grooming them and even carrying them on their backs.

Mums are babies are as follows:

• Laurence and Zawadee
• Leanna and YaYa
• Amber and Jakiri
• Yaourt and Samburu
• Talila and Bali
• TamTam and Hausa
• Marie Jeanne and Tupuri
• Dr Sherri and Olive