In memory of Banro

Banro was so special and unique, as all great apes are. Every one is so different in looks, temperament and personality. When she arrived, she was understandably withdrawn and clingy with me, her assigned carer. It took two days before she responded to games and began to play. But it took her about a week before her real personality shone through. She was a little adventurer. She loved to climb the trees in the garden and run over the clean laundry Mama Guillemine had laid out to dry. Although confident, she would often run back for reassurance when she felt unsure of something. When her months quarantine came to an end, it was time for her to be integrated into the baby nursery. It took a few days, but once she felt comfortable she loved having the other babies to play with. After all, no human can play as well as a chimpanzee! She found particular comfort with Julius, who she slept with often during nights. Banro will be sadly missed by all. Rest in peace little angel.

Andrea

Sad times in Lwiro

It's been some very sad and trying times for everyone working with Lwiro. It started a bit over a month ago, when some of the chimps in the nursery group got sick. First we thought it was a normal flu. But soon they all got very sick, and wouldn't eat just sleep. We were very scared for all of them, Maiko, Osso, Julius, Fizi, Banro, Uvira, Ituri and Okapi (Monique Epulu). They were moved to the quarantine by the sanctuary house as soon as they got sick to prevent spreading to all the primates, they developed a rash and we think the disease was in fact measels. In the beginning of march we got the first sad news. Banro had died and just a few days later we got the message that also Osso had had to give up. Very sad to loose them both for everyone working in and is involved with the sanctuary. Luckily the rest of the babies recovered, but the disease spread to the sanctuary and several chimps and monkeys had sympthoms, only Pablo got very sick, but luckily recovered. We are very relived it is over and hope it will never happen again.

Hilde

Sick babies with their keeper

Lwiro update

People may have heard about the unrest in DRC over the past week or two. I want everyone to know the animals and the staff and their families are all safe. Everything seems to have settled down for the time being and it is business as usual. The volunteers were housed at the UN camp near by for safety reasons during four days of the trouble. We returned on the 2nd of November to Lwiro to find the sanctuary and staff well.
Shumbi – the olive baboon - has been moved from his small quarantine cage into a larger cage which neighbors Kashusha (another male baboon) and a group of other baboons. As soon as he woke from the anesthetic he climbed up on the branches with no problems at all. The staff were originally concerned that he would not be able to move about properly (due to the fact that he has one arm missing and the other is injured from a gun wound). His wound has healed very well.

Muhungu - a young male chimpanzee broke his on the 2nd of November. He has been isolated from the group to allow recovery. He still has visual contact with the group however, and can touch them through the wire. He is recovering well.

Banro is now very happy in the cage with the other babies. She has bonded with both the keepers and all of the babies very well. Every night, Banro and Julius cuddle up in their tub to sleep together. Below are photo of all of the babies in the nursery group. They are all strong, healthy and happy.

Update on what's been happening the last couple of weeks

A week ago we started to integrate Banro into the nursery group cage. Her quarantine was finished, and it was time for her to meet the other babies. The days went relatively smoothly with Banro playing with both of the keepers who are in the cage on alternate days. Fizi and Maiko both asserted their dominance over Banro in the cage, which is a normal part of the introduction. She has spent her time playing mostly with Osso and Ituri, and in the last days has also found Uvira to be a good playmate.

Shumbi the Baboon is doing well also. His injured arm continues to heal and he is moving his hand now also. He eats and takes his medication very well. We have found out since the rescue that Shumbi is a celebrity in the area. A taxi driver who was driving the sanctuary manager to Bukavu over heard her conversation with some people from an NGO regarding Shumbi. After she returned to the taxi, the taxi driver inquired as to weather she was talking about Shumbi the baboon. Apparently, everyone knows him. He used to sit on the side of the road and demand food from people walking past. He would then pass this food back to the female and two young baboons who were always with him. Apparently this has been Shumbi’s practice in the park for years, and although demanding, he has never been aggressive.

The sanctuary had a visit from some local school children from Katana. These children had taken up a collection and purchased a bag of carrots to donate to the sanctuary. It was a wonderful surprise for all working at CRPL.

The wives of the CRPL workers called a meeting with the sanctuary manager on the 23rd of September. They presented the sanctuary with a very large sack of colcase and many bananas. It is fantastic to have the local community behind the sanctuary in such an incredible way.



The new baboon cage is finished! The baboons had a wonderful time exploring it for the first time.

LYNX – the keeper driven conservation group from Melbourne Zoo in Australia has again donated $300 to CRPL to purchase enrichment items for the chimpanzees. Thank-you very much.

Andrea

Second operation for Shumbi the baboon

Shumbi had his second surgery today to clean up the wound and have a closer look. The veterinarian bandaged the wound thoroughly, however a few hours later (with only his feet), Shumbi managed to free himself of the bandage. He is doing well at present and eating well. We now have to wait and see how he recovers.

Ituri and Uvira have integrated well into the cage with the four other babies, Maiko, Osso, Fizi and Julius. They have become very independent and all of the babies interact and play well with each other.

Banro is also doing well, and plays and runs around in the garden non stop. She is forever trying to escape into the area with the other babies. Her quarantine period will be over on the 20th of September, she will then be introduced into the nursery group also.

Andrea

Update on Ituri, Uvira, Banro and the baboons

Everything is going well with the introduction of Ituri and Uvira to the four other babies (Maiko, Osso, Fizi and Julius). Last night they also slept in the dormitory with the babies and Papy, the keeper. They all slept well.

Today Banro began to play for the first time since her arrival. She is doing well, and eating very well. She is very quiet, but also likes to explore the garden on her own.



The new baboon cage is coming along nicely. However, in the past two weeks we have seen some aggression between them which has resulted in leg injuries to both Yoda and Kalonge. This new cage we hope will allow them more room to move and hence we hope to see less aggression.



Andrea

Today Ituri and Uvira finished their quarantine period. We also had word that a new baby would arrive at the airport in one hour. We therefore introduced Ituri and Uvira into the four babies in the cage in the yard, prepared them to sleep with Mama Dorcas, who they spend the days with and prepared ourselves for the arrival of yet another baby chimpanzee. This baby’s family was killed by poachers and sold as bush meat. The babies, being too small to eat are sold for pets. Luckily this infant was confiscated before this could happen.

Banro arrived at 2 pm in the afternoon and ate well immediately. She is full of intestinal parasites and lice, but otherwise in ok condition. As she has both sets of her canine teeth, she is possibly around 18 months to two years old. She arrived with the cord still around her waste that the poachers had used to control her; it was very tight and had to be cut off. She also arrived with a huge amount of dried faeces on her bottom, restricting her ability to defecate. Below are some photos of her.

Andrea