Tools for the forest campaign!

Over the month of June we are running a “Tools for the Forest” campaign.  With our new forest enclosure full of chimpanzees the keepers will need some tools to take care of the enclosure and dormitory.  Money donated this month towards running costs will be used to purchase shovels, rakes, machetes, scrubbing brushes, a wheelbarrow and materials to build a tool rack. Donate in June to help us with this and you will receive a nice photo of Shege, one of the chimps that just moved into the new enclosure! Shege is a gentel and funny adult female, everyone that meets her fall in love! She is absolutely loving the forest :) Thank you for your support :)

Shege

The big boys join the forest group!

On Saturday finally the last chimpanzees joined the forest group. These are 4 adult males Kongo and his three friends Lume, Goma and Lubutu. Kongo is a big, playfull and gentel chimpanzee and was the leader of his group of 7 chimps. We are now hoping he will take over the leadership of the forest group. So far it's looking good, he is playing with the small ones and hanging out with the rest of the group a lot. But at the same time it's all quite scary for him, so it will take time for him to adjust and take control. Lume, Goma and Lubutu have been even more scared than Kongo of their new environment and all the new chimpanzees! But we hope and think they will adjust with time. All the moves are finished and there is 35 chimpanzees in the forest! Now it's time for the group to settle down, and hopefully build lots of new friendships! We will keep you updated on their progress! Thank you for all your support in this exiting time for Lwiro, we are all so happy and it has truely been the best month in CRPLs history :)



Kongo followed by Goma

Kongo exploring

Kongo tickeling Fizi

Lume

Lubutu

Kongo

Lubutu hugging old friend Flora

Kongo with the others

Kongo saying hello to Uvira

Itebero and Walikale

Walikale and Itebero are doing well! They are getting bigger every day and are enjoying eachothers company! Here are some photos of them.

Itebero

Walikale

Enrichement!

Keeping the monkeys and chimps active and happy is a constant challange! Here are some photos from the last couple of weeks of the monkeys and the Goma-group enjoying some enrichement!

Shumbi the baboon, enjoying his banana tree stem

Bamboo with her fire-hose filled with goodies

Monkeys rooting through gras

Irangi with a big banan tree stem

The Goma group enjoyed their stems of banan threes

Rambo joining the nursery group

Finally the day for Rambo Rungu to join the others came last week! Lugushwa, Grace and Aketi was the chosen ones to meet him first, while the others were locked in their dormitory. It was quite a scary and intense experience for him, but he did well! The next day Uvira and Aketi was already grooming him, and he has now integrated well with the others! Well done Rambo Rungu, one step closer to becoming a real chimpanzee again!

A last check up from manager and vet Carmen Vidal

Aketi, Lugushwa and Grace are waiting for Rambo

Chimp enclosure update!

The work on the new chimpanzee enclosure is coming close to finishing! We now estimate we will start moving chimps into the enclosure around 1. of May! It's looking good and all the parts needed to finish it is now in Lwiro! Here are some photos of the finishing touches :-)


Finishing the cement

The tunnel going out from the dormitory is finised!

The access door is finished!

New arrival: Rambo

Yesterday another chimpanzee arrived in Lwiro. He is around 3 years old, is called Rambo and arrived after a very long journey. He came all the way from Orientale in Central Congo and his journey included a flight from Kisangani to Goma and a car journey from Goma to Lwiro. Both a very long and very expensive trip!

JGI Italy, JGI Switzerland and JGI Germany did a huge effort to fundraise enough money for Rambos transport to Lwiro. They did a great job and even fundraised enough to support his care in CRPL for a while! Thank you for your big effort to save Rambo!

UGADEC, JGI Congo and ICCN did a great job in coordinate the transfer. This was a huge coordination effort and everyone was working together to get Rambo safely to Lwiro!

A big thank you to everyone involved with this rescue, Rambo has better days ahead!

He was in relatively good health on arrival a bit thin and his hair is a bit patchy, but otherwise good and he quickly bonded with the keeper. He will now spend one month in quarantine with the best possible care before he will be introduced to his new friends!

Please consider helping us care for Rambo and the other 51 chimpanzees in Lwiro, donate towards our running cost for 2012. Running cost covers food and medicines for the chimps and monkey, salary for our Congolese workers, repairs, etc... Running cost of CRPL is now about 6000$ a month.

Rambo arrived in a car from Goma

Rambo on arrival with the chain around his waist.

Welcome Rambo!

Suena and Poppy making nests :)

After more than one month together at the CRPL…

Poppy and Suena have become very close friends. They spend the whole day together and love to play tickling and chasing each other showing a big smile.
It is hard to think they were kept separated in different cages for so many years in Goma. But luckly now they are in Lwiro enjoying their friendship and been treated with lot of care and love.

Having a sunbath together...

Poopy groomig Suena's belly

Suena eating and Poppy smiling

Poppy keeping busy...she really loves to groom him!

We wish to see them climbing in the trees of the new forested enclosure soon. Please, join our urgent appeal and donate...each dollar counts!

Some enrichment for the chimps!

At the CRPL we try to give new objects to the chimps to provide some enrichment. Yesterday we prepared some pieces of hose pipe with jam and sweet treats inside and we gave them to the younger chimps...and they had a really nice time!

Uvira

Loia

Lulinga

Mangue

Also Suena and Poppy (as we fondly call Poplap) enjoyed themselves a lot!

Suena

Poplap

Poplap and Suena

An update on Kalume

Kalume was a tiny baby when he was captured and bad injured by poachers (you can read more about him in older posts). Now he is a big and gentle boy about 11 years old. However he has reduced mobility in his legs, he is pretty active and he loves to play with Mama Dorcas who spend the whole day with him.

These last days we fixed in the bars of his den a plastic tube with some holes. Inside the tube we put honey and some other sweet treats to keep him busy for a while. At first he explored the new stuff in the grill…

…and the he used a stick to get the nice food inside…

Every evening his keepers leave dried banana leaves inside his indoor bedroom…Sometimes Kalume sleeps in this room but some evenings he decides to take all the leaves outside and he builds a huge nest in a different point!

Then he lies down watching the keepers tidying and cleaning the surroundings at the end of the day…and during the night he can watch the moon and the stars...
’Good night, Kalume’…