Sergine enjoying some lunch
Today
Biega, Chantal, Kitoko and Sergine were released into their new forest home.
There are now 23 chimpanzees in the forest!
Of
all of the chimpanzees in the forest so far, these four adult females are the
ones who have spent the most time away from a forest environment. Having been
removed from the forest as babies by poachers, they were confiscated by the
government and arrived in Lwiro. The facilities were quickly full and they
found themselves in a small concrete cage. The government and CRPL team have
been fighting to get them out of this enclosure – and we have now succeeded.
As
you can imagine, it is very scary to be outside in such a large space after such
a long time, and to also be confronted with new chimpanzees as well. Their caregivers were inside with them though,
so this was a comfort. They did well on this first day – however they walked
around a lot and never quite relaxed, which is to be expected. In the days to
follow they will become settled in this new home.
Thankfully,
all of the chimpanzees got on well on this first day. Kitoko and Chantal spent
some time with the rest of the group, while Biega and Sergine had enough to do
with contemplating the huge space available to them now!
We
will keep you updated about their development, but are happy with their
progress on this first day.
Biega
Bolungwa, Julius and Maiko
Chantal exploring
Django
Let's all go for a walk!!!
Relaxing together
Julius, Kitoto and Chantal
Kitoko
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