We’ve had a welcome visit from the British Navy; HMS Albion called into Freetown last week and crew members paid a visit to Tacugama with a few spare hours on their hands. The list of maintenance jobs is always growing and it was great to have the sailors working on our to-do list! With kind permission from Captain Wayne Keble and Commander Richard Murrison the crew set to work replacing ropes and repairing footbridges despite attempts from local ant populations to stop them in their tracks! Planning operations The crew did a great job working with our team here and we made a lot of progress on some of the big tasks where many hands really make light work. On the ropes Not surprisingly, Gaura made a big impression and yet again we had to make sure we was still with us at the end of the day! Fortunately it won’t be long before he’s big enough to join the rest of the babies. We’d like to say a big thank you to the sailors who visited and especially the working crew: Lee, Andrew, Ronnie, Natallie, Russ, Shaz, Chris C, Michael, Mick Beale, Jason, Gemma, Dean, Amie M, Amie J, Mark and Chris P. HMS Albion Helpers This latest visit continues the kind support we’ve received from the British Navy when they call at Freetown. Previous visits from HMS Southampton and Endeavour have provided us with ropes and marine buoys that are much enjoyed by our chimpanzees. Once again thanks. We are also really pleased to be able to say that Junior is making a fantastic recovery and we’re expecting he’ll be fit enough to join his group again before the end of July.
We’re busy at the moment with Boyze, the other adult from Augusta’s group, who is being introduced to Phillip and his adult group. Boyze is a renowned bully and has no regard for anyone younger than him. Ideally, he should have gone with Gorilla and Solo to join the youngsters but it is a huge risk to take and we have decided instead to integrate him with the adult group. It will be a difficult task and we have to exercise a lot of patience to get it right. BOYZE When we first heard about Boyze in early 2000, he was in the custody of some Nigerian soldiers serving with the West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG). The civil war was still raging and it was difficult to reason with anyone with guns to part with his pet. Besides, confiscating a chimp from the war-front was farfetched and too dangerous. But we did not lose hope; we kept monitoring their movement. It paid off when the Nigerians were ending their term of duty and Boyze ended up in a camp with some South African officers. By then the word had gone around and these officers were happy to handover Boyze to Tacugama. Boyze had problems socializing with other chimps. He was very disturbed. What do you expect from him after living under constant gunfire and fear for a long period moving around the country with a fighting force? He would pick up fights with the older ones and bully anyone smaller or younger than him. At last it worked out with Augusta and Gorilla but not without problems. He was bitten and beaten badly by Augusta twice but he overcame all this and ended up dominating Gorilla and Augusta. Sadly Augusta is no more, Gorilla has moved on and we have to give Boyze a chance too! Phillip’s story was quite different! A German couple rescued him from an animal dealer. The couple did not have any children and Phillip took center stage in their life. Phillip had his room (not a cage!), his own cot, toys and television! He only ate Quaker oats, cornflakes, chocolate and muffins. He was one spoilt brat! Phillip was passed on to me in 1992 when his foster parents were leaving the country. They had tried to turn him into a human child and he was a clingy crybaby, complaining about everything. Even a fly could not sit on him. His own poop next to him was a huge problem for him and if he accidentally stepped on it…..that was the end of the world! He would scream and worse wipe till the skin peeled! PHILLIP With time he got to meet other chimps at my house and slowly learnt to live and behave like a chimp again. Phillip is one of the founders of Tacugama and is presently the alpha male after Bruno’s great escape. Phil is a big boy and everyone respects his strength and impressive charging displays but he is selfish, not too good with his social skills and not liked by everyone in his group. Lately he has been working (rather faking) hard to sustain his rank. As a start to the introduction process, Boyze has been meeting Phillip’s group through the grills for the past few days. Phillip is looking for a new alliance to stay ahead of the other would be contenders for the alpha male position and Boyze could be the one for him. Boyze may be keen to get into Phillip’s good books to gain quick acceptance from the rest of the group. Ole is second in line to Phillip, and Boyze is already having some issues with him as Boyze is doing okay with the girls and Ole is currently the lady’s man in the group. Last week, Phillip and Boyze met for the first time without any bars between them! What followed was mind blowing! Both were screaming with excitement, then the hugs, touch, grunts and grooming. It was total submission and trust from Boyze to have his whole face in Phillip’s mouth. Knowing these guys, it could be all part of their politics and may not be all love. Both of them are looking for a firm alliance to go up the ladder and only time will tell. We like to share that kiss with you…. It did go too far!
Hello everyone, quick greetings from me as I’m still busy with mending camp facilities, chimp integrations and some health issues. We almost lost Junior, a 5 year old from Baba’s group, last week. Thanks immensely to Drs Sorn and Andrew Routh for saving his life and helping out with other health problems in the absence of our resident vet, Dr Rosa. These volunteer vets are a god-send for our poor chimps at Tacugama and we are indebted to them. Dr Sorn’s kindly written a blog about their experiences here….. (the photos of Junior are not for the faint-hearted….) Dr Rosa had a well-earned home visit and holiday due so an email advert went around the world looking for a vet to provide voluntary cover for the Tacugama chimpanzees and I replied. I’m Dr Sorn Routh, a Thai veterinary graduate living in the UK. Coincidentally Dr Rosa and I had worked together some years ago in Kalimantan, Indonesia taking care of orangutans. After a few more emails I left a cold and miserable UK in early April for my first ever trip to Sierra Leone and Africa. After a week’s quarantine I took on more of the veterinary work and quickly got to know many of the Sanctuary’s residents and their characters - Dr Rosa was free to go! In mid-May my husband arrived to spend 3 weeks at the sanctuary. Andrew is Chief Veterinary Officer with the Zoological Society of London and a bit of a wildlife nut. He happily split his week’s quarantine between watching the chimpanzees from a safe distance and wandering in the reserve watching wildlife (usually from a greater distance as the arrival of the rains had moved on many of the birds). Andrew’s stay saw him settling into the routine, helping out when needed and trekking into the forest. On the Wednesday of his final week a torrential thunderstorm sent him back to the Sanctuary at lunchtime – a lucky thing. Junior, 16kg of lively youngster, fell from a rope and landed on the point of a broken sapling in the enclosure. Willie had seen the fall and within minutes had him in a den. It was obvious that he had been severely injured, a loop of intestine was hanging from the wound at the top of his thigh. Everyone rushed into action. Emergency surgery was carried out with Andrew and I assisted by Bala and Willie. Junior was in shock but with aftercare from staff, including Moses and Mamma Posseh, he survived the first night and slowly started to improve. He is now making a good recovery from a horrible injury. Even having survived this critical period there may be complications ahead but it has been great to see him already up and about, eating and, best of all, passing faeces (indicating that the replaced bowel is still working). Junior in surgery.. It has been a great experience for us both. What we have seen of Sierra Leone we have found fascinating and the area around the Sanctuary is truly beautiful. We have been lucky to work with some very kind, caring and generous people and privileged to work with the resident chimpanzees, all with their own stories and personalities. We will take back from our time here many memories and many photographs. It would though be wise for the staff here to search me as I leave just to check young Gaura has not joined me as a more tangible souvenir of my stay at Tacugama!
The rains are here and I’ve been really busy with lots of maintenance work at the sanctuary and some new introductions. Sorry for not giving you as much regular news recently but thanks for your comments and donations. We appreciate them very much. Little Gaura is fine. Gorilla is doing well in Baba’s group. Boyze, another adult male is being introduced to Phillip’s group as he was previously with Gorilla and Augusta. It started well but we’ve had some hic-ups and are progressing slowly. It is not easy to introduce an adult male into a well established adult group! Fortunately the introduction of Mr Solo to Gorilla and eventually into Baba’s group is going very well and it is my pleasure to introduce all of you to Tacugama’s famous dancer - Mr. Solo. He is about 12-13 years old and was rescued from a cultural dance troop based in Kenema, a provincial town some 300 km south-east from Freetown. Solo was trained and forced to dance for the African drums. Poor Solo was dragged around by the dance troop chained from his waist wherever they were hired to go and perform. The whole town knew him and this unfortunately worked against him. He used to escape from the dance troop and try to hitchhike using the local taxis thinking he could get away but everyone knew him and they would simply hand him back to the dance troop. Solo in a reflective mood We were fortunate to confiscate him during one of our sensitization campaigns over the local radio in Kenema. It was a phone-in programme and many concerned citizens called to complain about Solo’s plight and directed us to his location. It was a difficult rescue but with the help of the police we confiscated Solo. On arrival at Tacugama he was introduced into Bruno’s group. He was very timid and it took a while for him to settle in. The younger ones loved him, as he would entertain them with his moves and rhythm. He also taught himself to become an escape artist once more! He became an expert in gathering sticks and attempting to use them like ladders to scale the 3 meter fence, trying to avoid the “hot” wires. This attempted escape thing became a habit and we were getting worried. For Solo it is like a game and a matter of proving to us that he is smarter than all of us at camp. We had no alternative but to separate him from his group and introduce him to Gorilla and the little ones who are using another set of enclosures where the fence is taller and wired differently. At first he protested! Loads of whimpering and screams and lots of dancing in the dens to get his frustration out but he is a lot better now and we haven’t seen him trying to meddle with the fences yet!
For the moment he is keeping himself busy getting to know his new family. Gorilla is happy to have an entertainer who shares his workload with the kids. Playing with a dozen kids for the whole day isn’t easy. As for the youngsters, they are quite happy to have two uncles to play with and learn some dancing. With the rains and muddy pools Solo is busy showing off his moves and we are having our own “dirty dancing”! He’s such a fast mover it’s hard to catch a good photo of him!
Cheeta managed to nick the two way radio from Willie and was happily going around, showing off her new toy to the rest of her gang. We tried all sorts of ways to get it back but she was proving to be much smarter than us. She was getting excited hearing her name coming out of the radio and all the attention from the chimps and staff as everyone was following her. The entire Tacugama team was having a good laugh. I wanted to join in….but just the thought of buying another radio for $400 did not permit me. 48 hours gone, the battery has gone flat and the chances of finding the bloody radio in this thick forest is very slim! Cheeta wins! You can bet we’ll be looking at how to secure those radios better…. Cheetah holding her prize aloft, safely out or reach…. Gorilla is having a wonderful time. He is rather busy these days trying to choose his best buddy. But…sadly it is not working out! They all appeal to him! Thanks to all of you for sharing your sentiments and comments on Gorilla and his new family. Gorrilla, Tico and Jeti Salleh had to through a routine health-check last week. You can see her enjoying some extra cuddles and grooming from Willie as she came around from the anaesthetic.
Little Gaura is doing very well. Thanks to all for your prayers and good wishes. You always see him with his play-face! He is busy these days, really mastering his climbing and jumping skills. The Tacugama Kids Program is growing……more and more kids are visiting these days. It’s so much fun to have them in our midst for the whole day engaging them in all sorts of activities and bringing smiles to their faces. Hopefully we can make sure that the education programme is here to stay. We are participating in WildlifeDirect’s business strategy. Please help us by taking their user survey, click on the link on the right hand side panel of our page, thank you
When Augusta died two months ago, we were very concerned about her companion and best friend, Gorilla (one must be sick to name a chimp- Gorilla!) They have lived together for the past 11 years and Gorilla was the only chimp Augusta would trust and share her life with. I first met Gorri in 1993 in a deplorable condition sharing his cage with a smaller chimp-Cheeta, both owned by a dubious Austrian Doctor who was dealing in exotic birds and other wildlife. He was rarely in the country and the chimps were left in the care of his care taker who could only afford to feed them sporadically. I was told on many occasions they would go without food and water for days. They learnt to eat their own excrement! The Doctor also owned another chimp called Fatu, who lived in an old toilet next to Gorilla and Cheeta. Fatu’s “toilet” was over 1.5 meters deep in rotting food and her own excrement.
Poor little Gaura….he has gone through his first knock down! Despite his tolerant nature towards medical procedures, he had to be sedated as we all know dental surgery can be very painful.
The Eco-lodges at Tacugama Bernie, one of our long-time friends here at Tacugama stayed in our eco-lodges for a while and wrote this evocative blog entry for us, detailing his encounter with Congo the wild chimp we see here occasionally.
With a heavy heart we announce the death of Augusta. Augie as we fondly call her, was the oldest resident at TCS. She was about 25 years old.
A thousand apologies for not being in touch but this has been a very hectic and exciting week for us. We had the honor of hosting the 2008 PASA management meeting and the last participants left today.
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Bala Amarasekaran abandoned his original career as an accountant to establish Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in 1995. Together with the Government of Sierra Leone, he is working to secure the welfare and future of chimpanzees in Sierra Leone. 
