Sorry, I was lost in the rainforest...

Ok so I wasn't literally lost in the jungle but I took off for a week to a place with no internet access. It was the best decision I have made on this trip to head further north to see the wild chimpanzees and other amazing wildlife. Right now I am at the JGI house in Entebbe and in 2 hours I will be off the Ngamba for two weeks. However we do have internet access out there so I will be able to update the blog regularly and will try and write more today...

My First Days in Chimp Heaven

Hello Readers,

So you have probably noticed that there will be multiple posts today...Unfortunately, I fell ill with what I think was the flu (not malaria thankfully!!) after being on Ngamba Island only three days and I had to leave. Chimpanzees are very susceptible to human viruses. I was very disappointed but I am getting better now and hope to update all of you with what has been happening....

Monday, March 2nd was my first day of work on the island. The staff start work at 6:30 am so I got up with them to see what running a sanctuary is all about. Wow, do the staff ever work hard to keep that place running and the chimpanzees healthy. First a group of the staff check to make sure the electric fence is secure. There is an electric fence that runs the width of the island separating the forest from the staff/visitor camp. Then another group cuts up an array of produce for the 45 chimpanzees. There is a schedule of different foods that they get to adhere to. I helped with cutting the produce this morning. They eat things like porridge, sweet potato, avocado, mango, pineapple, jackfruit, carrots and of course lots of bananas. As soon as we bring the food around the holding facility the chimps go crazy pant hooting and screaming. The staff feed them through the bars and the infants get cups of milk. After they are fed they are released into the forest. All of them go out except for those that have managed to escape daily (by jumping over the fence) and the infants and and adults involved in integration. I will explain more about this later. From there we clean the holding facility which is a bit of a process. Then the staff get ready for the first group of visitors and the 11:00am feeding in the field. That day I helped in the 11:00 am feeding. We take all the cut up fruit in buckets up to the viewing platform and throw the food to the chimps. I loved doing this because it is the first time the chimps made eye contact and gestured at me, the intelligence is really reflected in their eyes.e did this again at 2:30 pm and in the meantime I helped with some building maintenance. The chimps know the routine like clockwork and in the evening around 6 or 7 they start coming in to the holding facility for dinner. It was my job to stand at the side and count them that night as they came in. Most of them come in but they do have a choice, they can stay in the forest in they want and forage for food and make a nest. By the end of the first day I was exhausted but it was such a great experience.

The next day I woke up with the staff again but I noticed I had a sore throat...oh no I was getting sick....I hadn't even thought of that as a possible issue but it was. I continue to help out anyways, we cleaned the holding facilities again and prepared the food. However when I notified them that I still was not feeling well there was not much I could help with. I spent most of Tuesday chatting with the staff on their breaks...to be continued...

Off to Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary!

Hi Everyone! Sorry there has been so much space between blog entries again, there is very limited internet on the island so I may not be able to post as often. Saturday night we did not end up going out in Kampala but stayed in Entebbe as I was to leave on the 9:00 am boat the next morning. I had a great last night with Jacque and Beth, and the other local I have gotten to know. The next morning I packed my things and headed off on the boat to Ngamba. Lake Victoria was sparkling and it was a beautiful morning. I felt like I was exploding with excitement inside. The actual trip only took about 40 minutes, not very long. I could see Ngamba in the distance, it appeared larger than I thought and the majority of it was a dense, green jungle. The staff appeared on the boat dock and were very welcoming. They directed me and the other visitors off to the visitor's centre where they did a presentation about the island's projects and the chimpanzees. The staff then each introduces themselves in turn to me and they were all very kind (it was then that I realised however that they were all men!) They showed me to my room and let me unpack...as they were directing me to the resource centre where my room was I noticed that it was right next to the chimpanzee holding facility...and there was Mack, Africa and Baron climbing ropes, doing somersaults and playing just as babies do. I had seen their photos many times before but it was quite special to see them for the first time, they were beautiful...

My room is quite nice, lots of space but I will not be there long before I am moving to the tented camp section of the island. Then we went up to the viewing platform because it was feeding time...I was in heaven as I watched 40 chimps emerge from the forest calling with pant-hoots at the top of their lungs! I could watch them forever, their behaviour is fascinating and I am hooked. The complexity of their emotions becomes very clear. Each chimp knows their name and when you call them they look up and reach out to catch a piece of fruit. Sometimes conflict ensues over the food but it is usually resolved quickly with an embrace or grooming. They all seem to be well aware of their place in the social hierarchy. It is truly amazing to watch the whole thing play out. After I unpacked I went and met more of the staff and Gerald the sanctuary manager took me for a tour of the island. One thing I really really love is that the island is designed to be completely environmentally friendly. The whole island is solar powered and there is minimum waste generated. They have compost toilets and use rainwater for washing and bathing. They compost anything organic. Gerald explained all the "green" components of the island as we went along. The veterinary clinic is nice, perfect for the island and I immediately recognised a lot of the drugs, tools etc... They have really made an effort to inform everyone on chimpanzee social behaviour and the threats to chimpanzee survival. There are signs and information boards all over the island. They get on average 8 visitors a day. I also got a tour of the tented camp...it is actually quite luxurious and I am excited to stay there! The rest of the day I talked to the staff some more and watched the chimps in the holding facility. That night I fell asleep exhausted but content to finally be living with the chimps.