Beni and Mbandaka Settle In

The 2 smallest chimpanzees at the CRPL have settled in well with the nursery group, now totalling 13.  They are very popular with the bigger infants and there were fights over who got to hold the newest babies!  Lulinga in particular has proved a wonderful mother figure and is always with one of the youngsters and sleeps with Mbandaka every night.  Beni is sweet and timid, however she is playing more and more and growing quickly.  Mbandaka is highly intelligent and not afraid of anything, she will be a real power house when she grows up! 

Photo 1.  Beni with Lulinga and being groomed by Lugushwa.

 

 

Photo 2.  Beni with Lulinga

 Photo 3.  Mbandaka with Lulinga

Photo 4.  Mbandaka with Lugushwa 

Photo 5.  Mbandaka with Butembo 

Photo 6.  Beni catching a ride with Lulinga

Water Pipe

At the end of November the CRPL had a big problem with a main water pipe bursting in the new facility.  Unknown to us when the land was donated and we built the Chimpanzee Habitat, the main water pipe that supplies the whole Lwiro village runs directly through the middle of the Chimpanzee Forest.  This pipe burst and left the whole village without water.  Maintenance staff did emergency repairs on the pipe, however it was evident that it needed replacing.

Photo 1.  Workers dig down to the pipe.

Photo 2.  Scooping out water from the hole.

Photo 3.  Emergency repair number 2 holding.

 It was vital for us to act quickly during these times of war in the Kivu region, so we could maintain our good relationship with the village and not be the object of any release of tensions.  Thankfully, the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) stepped in, granting the CRPL emergency funding to complete the replacement of the section of pipe.  It was decided to re-route the pipe outside the sanctuary at the same time, to avoid the sanctuary being involved in any similar problems in the future.

Photo 4.  Repair leaking so had to go in again the next day!

Photo 5.  Emergency repair number 3, this one should hold!

Work is almost completed on the new pipe; it is already working and there just remain the finishing touches to fill in the trench.

Photo 6.  Digging the trench for the new pipe, outside the sanctuary boundary.

Photo 7.  The old pipe which you can see running directly in to the sanctuary and the chimpanzee forest and the new trench heading to the left around the outside of the sanctuary.

Photo 8.  The trench for the new pipe.

Photo 9.  The new pipe.

Photo 10.  Filling in the trench and covering the new pipe.

 

Photo 11.  Finishing touches, showing the new pipe course outside the sanctuary and the forest.  The building on the right is part of the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles, one of our partners and donators of the land for the sanctuary.

 

Again, we would like to express a huge thank you to PASA for their continuing support of the CRPL.

Hello Friends!

The CRPL is proud to announce the launch of their new shop.  There is lots of CRPL merchandise available to purchase and just in time for Christmas too!
So if you like to share Christmas gifts that give twice, follow the link at the top of the blog, on the right hand side.  All profits from the shop go towards the work we do at the sanctuary, so you are helping the primates as well as purchasing great items your friends and family will love.

Thanks!

Nursery Chimp Construction

Work is progressing on the habitat for the 13 Nursery Chimpanzees.  The dormitory where the youngsters sleep at night with their keeper is almost complete with the roof due to go on shortly.  The fence is coming along as well; it is surrounding the quarter hectare area of vegetation that will become the habitat enclosure.  We hope to have the Nursery group moved in before Christmas.

Everyone at CRPL would like to send a huge thank you to Fondation Ensemble for funding the Nursery Chimpanzee Habitat.

 

 

 

Raincoats campaign - Thank you!!

In September the running cost campaign went towards buying new raincoats for the staff of CRPL. 350$ dollars was donated and a big thank you goes to:

Marcia D, Amelia S, James T, Tracey B, Brenton H, Joseph M, Melanie K

 

Thank you!!!

 

 

 

 

PEACE DAY!

On the 23^rd September, 20 children from Roots and Shoots Lwiro went to Bukavu to visit Roots and Shoots at Heri Kweto to celebrate the International Day of Peace. 

We met at 8am to load into the bus for the 1 hour drive to Bukavu.  For a lot of the children, it was their first time in a vehicle and the first time they left Lwiro!

A very warm welcome was waiting for us at Heri Kweto, which is an orphanage and centre for helping people with disabilities.  The children from Lwiro joined them and the festivities began.  There was a lot of singing and dancing and the children had prepared a banner with a message of peace and all our names on it.  The Bukavu Roots and Shoots had prepared some songs, skits and memorised some plays.  Then the children from Lwiro also shared some songs and skits.

After all the festivities, all the children were given lunch and time to meet each other. 

Overall it was a fantastic day for all the children.  In a country so affected by wars and unrest it is important to give the children a message of hope and peace for the future.

The CRPL would like to send a big thank you to JGI Spain for their assistance with getting the children to Bukavu to celebrate the day.

 

Ropes for monkeys!

Octobers running cost campaign is for rope for the monkey enlcosures. Rope is required for tying up new perches and hanging browse for enrichment. It costs $2 a metre. Please consider donating with the button on the right! Thank you!

 

 

 

Dontions in August!

A big thank you to everyone that donated towards running cost in August!! The money will go towards buying food for the animals and paying local caregivers! 625$ dollars were raised!

A big thank you to Holly C, Laura L, William B and Brenton H!!

 

 

Kitoko says Thank You!!

A friend for Mbandaka

On the 20^th July, exactly one month after the arrival of Mbandaka, the CRPL received their 3^rd chimpanzee confiscation for 2012.  A female named “Beni” arrived at CRPL having been confiscated by the ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) in the town of Beni from a family that had kept her as a pet for 2 years.  We estimate Beni as being just over 2 years of age, meaning that she must have been taken from the wild at a very young age, her mother and family probably killed for bushmeat. 

The CRPL had assistance from UN-GRASP (United Nations Great Apes Survival Partnership) who worked in conjunction with local MONUSCO peacekeeping forces in the DRC and provided transport from Beni to the nearby airport on a scheduled UN helicopter flight.  The CRPL also had assistance from ZSL researchers working in Beni who helped with logistics.  This fantastic effort between UN-GRASP, ICCN, ZSL and CRPL shows how the collaboration of many organisations can work together in the fight against the illegal wildlife trades in the DRC.

Beni has settled in well to life here at CRPL with Mbandaka.  They spend the day playing together; they comfort each other and have formed a strong relationship.  Hopefully they will be able to join the rest of the nursery group in the not too distant future.

 

 

 

September Operational Costs

 

Well, the rainy season has kicked off here in the DRC and we have had lots of rain this past week at CRPL.

Our keeping staff are in desperate need of new raincoats to keep them dry whilst working out in the rain. Therefore all donations made in September to the operational costs will be spent on purchasing 32 new raincoats.

If you would like to donate towards our raincoat campaign, you can do so through the donate button to the right.

Thank you!