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

Baby chimpanzee arrive at Lwiro, CRPL

I have to tell you a beautiful story. One day we met a Canadian who works at the mines in Namoya. We have a discussion about the impact of mines in the east Congo...A week later he called us to tell us that there was a baby chimp with a poacher. ICCN told us that there was no way to go over there and do the confiscation but they did the permit to transfer the baby by plane.

The Canadian works for a Banro concession (a Canadian gold mine company, the biggest here in Sud Kivu)...he tried hard to involve Banro to take out the baby. He called us telling that there were other chimps and other animals....So we went to speak with Banro here in Bukavu. The discussions were too long and only one baby chimp was left (the other chimps were eaten). After several meetings they agree to take out the chimp as an urgency and yesterday finally, by plane, "Banro" arrived into the CRPL. She is a one year old baby in very very good health. Cos this rescue was successful maybe Banro will help us with confiscations. Also they want us to do sensibilization into their camps...this can be a very good opportunity!!!
Banro (the chimp) is now settling in to CRPL. She will have a one month quarantine periode, and volunteer Andrea from Australia will be looking after him. After she has finished his quarantine she will move in with the other little ones in the nursery group.

Lorena

Pictures are from Banro arriving at the airport. Balume which are the manager of the workers at CRPL met him at the airport to bring her to CRPL.

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

New baboon enclosure

A new baboon enclosure is almost finished at Lwiro. It is sponsored by POPOF through MONUCs quick inpact projects. It's much needed as there now is 8 baboons at CRPL.

Baboon baby born at CRPL

A baboon baby has been born at Lwiro primate rehabilitation centre. Becky the baboon is her mama. It's a very healthy female baboon and Becky is doing a great job as a mum. Her name is Afrikia. We don't try to breed our primates, but implants are very expensive, and we so far don't have enough for everyone. But the positive side is that a baby is very good for the structure of a group of primates and the best form of enrichement. And now when little Afrikia is born, we will ensure that she the best possible care, and hopefully a good life.

Today construction has begun on a new cage for the baboons. The sanctuary currently houses 8 baboons (both yellow and olive species) of various ages. This cage will be attached to the existing monkey cages; with the current cages acting as the night quarters and the new cage being an out door space. Although, all areas will be available to the baboons at all times, except during cleaning. This cage will be in a semi-circle shape, to allow the baboons to have the ability to move away from each other easily.
Also, the dormitory by the forest is progressing well. Ituri and Uvira are both doing well. Both have been a little unwell with colds, but are recovering now.
Andrea

Uvira

Another baby Chimpanzee has arrived today. We have been expecting him for some time, and finally had word last night that he would arrive this morning. He was confiscated from a region to the south of the sanctuary. He has been named Uvira, after the area of his confiscation. He has been very quiet today, which is to be expected, but has eaten well all day. He appears to be around 18 months old, with the canines already present. He also has prominent wounds around his waste from where a cord was tied. Uvira will spend his one months quarantine with Ituri, and both of them will be introduced to the nursery group at the same time.

Brandi

A female Yellow Baboon (Papio cynocephalus) arrived this afternoon. She was transported from Rwanda, where she had been confiscated. Originally she was caught illegally in DRC. This is the reason for her return to a sanctuary located in DRC. She has come with the name Brandi. Brandi will also undergo a period of one month in quarantine, before being introduced to the baboons currently housed at the sanctuary.

Education and new arrival

Recently CRPL started education sessions for the communities around the sanctuary. These are planned to be quite informal to begin with, before a more organized structure can be put into place. The sanctuary staff have completed two presentations, one to the chiefs of the local area and the second to the wives, husbands and fiancés of the staff of CRPL. The idea is to let the local people know what it is that CRPL is doing so they can involve them in the process. The next planned session is for the priests of local churches.

Today we have been informed by the manager of the workers that the wives have formed a ‘wives of CRPL committee’ and are planning on becoming involved with the sanctuary and its running. This is a wonderful outcome of the session. More meetings will be planned with them to discuss how they would like to be involved.

This afternoon a new baby Chimpanzee has arrived to Lwiro Sanctuary. Her very long journey including a boat, small airplane and road travel. It’s estimated that she is between 18 months to 2 years old. She is small and thin, but appears to be in good health. She is also very independent and confident. Her name is Ituri, named after the area from which she was confiscated. Ituri will pass a time of one month in quarantine, before she is introduced to the current nursery group.

La Roche

Today a male Grey-Cheeked Mangabey (Lophocebus albigena) has been collected from Bukavu, he was confiscated from a house in the village of La Roche. Therefore he has been named ‘La Roche’. He does not yet have canines and appears to be in reasonable condition. The area around his waste is void of hair due to the cord which was used to control him. There is one female Grey-Cheeked Mangabey at the sanctuary currently, so when the quarantine period is over they will be housed together, along with other monkeys also. The new quarantine cage in the yard is almost finished, with just a small amount of welding to be done when electricity is next available in the area.