Tacugama

Last week saw a very special moment for all of us at Tacugama when we were finally able to release Solo back into one of our enclosures.

Solo’s first moment outside after three years

Solo is a very intelligent chimp with excellent civil engineering skills who was becoming too adept at finding ways to defeat the electric fencing that surrounds the enclosures.  You can read more about his story here.  As he was rapidly becoming a full grown adult it unfortunately was no longer safe for him, our staff and visitors for him to remain in the outdoor enclosures.  We had no choice but for him to stay inside the dens normally used just as overnight accommodation until we could raise sufficient funds to build a more secure enclosure. Initial plans for a roofed enclosure proved extremely expensive and after talking to several other sanctuaries we settled on an alternative design that we implemented with the help of Paul Hammond of Captive Wildlife Solutions.

Paul and Pastor installing the new fencing

The enclosure takes shape

It’s taken three years from when we first confined Solo to the dens to being finally able to release him back outside. The construction of his enclosure is part of an overall enclosure expansion programme that we’ve desperately needed as our chimps grow in size and number but it’s not been easy to raise the funds required. We were finally able to place an order for the specialist fencing materials earlier this year – they all had to be imported into Sierra Leone – and the hard work of building the enclosures and night dens has been taking place since the materials arrived from South Africa.

Solo is the first chimp to benefit but very soon we’ll be able to move two more groups into improved forested areas, freeing up space for all of our younger chimps to move into bigger enclosures. All of us at Tacugama are extremely happy to see Solo outside once again, it was never an easy decision to confine him. We would like to say an enormous thank you to all our donors who’ve helped raise funds for the enclosures, and especially to Lyndal Davies from Rockwallaby Productions; without her generosity Solo would still be inside.  We’ve also received great support from Cape Wire in South Africa and Bernd Eckhardt.

We hope you enjoy these photographs of Solo enjoying his new enclosure.

It’s been a tough month at Tacugama as we try to recover from April’s fire.  We’re also busy erecting fencing for new enclosures which is tough physical work and fighting to keep our vehicles on the road as we hit a spate of breakdowns. We’re also suffering from a massive caterpillar invasion from Achaea catocaloides which caused significant problems in Liberia a couple of years ago – we’ve enlisted the help of the Ministry of Agriculture and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation as we’ve never seen so many of these destructive insects at the sanctuary.

The caterpillars seem unaffected by the recent heavy rains

Despite all the challenges the chimps are doing a great job of reminding us all that the hard graft is worth while! The first rains of the season have arrived and earlier this week we had a lot of fun taking 10 minutes out to watch Joko’s group enjoying playing in the rain.

Kouze chilling in the rain

Gorilla tries to escape the downpour!

Jimmy enjoys licking the water from his hair!

Hope you enjoy this video as much as we enjoyed taking it!

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At the end of last week a fire started in one of our two staff quarter buildings in the late evening  Although the alarm was raised quickly and with a tough battle we were able to stop the fire spreading to neighbouring buildings, we were unable to save Tacugama’s very first base at the sanctuary.  Very fortunately nobody was hurt during the incident while the team battled hard to save what they could.  After 4 hours the fire finally burned itself out having completely destroyed the historic building.

The building before the fire

The following morning brought the true realisation of what we had lost. Twelve solar panels that powered the fences for some of the chimpanzee enclosures together with the energisers and electronic control equipment and batteries.  Three of our staff lost all their possessions. The store in the building also contained spare wheels/tyres for our vehicles, construction timber and maintenance tools for the sanctuary.  We estimate that the total cost of replacing what was lost and re-constructing the staff accommodation will reach almost US$30,000 – it’s a major blow for us at Tacugama.

The fire left little behind

The immediate need was to ensure the security of the chimps – luckily we are in the process of constructing a new enclosure set and had already taken delivery of solar panels and control equipment. We were able to rapidly deploy these to ensure that the chimps could stay in the enclosures, then came the big clean up.

Cleaning up after the fire

We’ve been unable to identify the cause of the fire.  Again we can only be thankful that nobody was hurt.  The whole team at camp worked incredibly hard to clear up – we had been due to receive a large group of guests throughout the day from a rare cruise boat visit to Sierra Leone – this time from a National Geographic Expedition – and had to cancel all but the last group when we were finally able to reopen “as normal” at 4pm.

Destroyed energisers for the solar enclosure fencing

The staff who have lost their accommodation are now sharing space in our other staff quarters and we’ll try to replace what possessions and clothes that they’ve lost as soon as possible.  The bigger job is to raise the funds to rebuild the accommodation and store, replace the solar fence equipment and everything else that has been lost as soon as we possibly can.

We appeal to you all to please help in any way that you can so that we can recover from this significant loss.  We’ve been fundraising hard to get the equipment in place for our new enclosures for the chimps and having finally been able to get that work underway we face another massive challenge as a result of the fire.  Your support is much needed and much appreciated.

One piece of good news is that Ewa and Frankie both safely completed the Paris Marathon on 15 April.  Their fundraising page is still open and another way that you can send in donations to help our fire appeal:

• http://www.justgiving.com/TacugamaMarathon – we can claim an additional 25% on top of what you donate through Giftaid if you’re a UK taxpayer
• http://www.tacugama.com/donate.html – you can use our paypal account to donate through the links on this page and there’s also the details of a Euro bank account that you can transfer directly to.

Frankie and Ewa at the end of the marathon

Thank you for your support

This Sunday – 15 April – sees Ewa O’Neill and Anita (Frankie) McKenna running in the Paris marathon.  It’ll be the first time that either of them have run this distance and they’ve been training hard to prepare for the big day.  We’d like to ask you to sponsor their run to raise funds for Tacugama’s running costs and community outreach programme.

Many of you will have seen the result of Ewa’s support for Tacugama – our calendars, postcards, posters, leaflets, stationery and many other items are all thanks to her creative talent.  Based in Sierra Leone for two years and now living in Nepal, Ewa and husband Dominic are very good friends and supporters of Tacugama. Ewa’s been thinking about running a marathon for some time and was persuaded by friends last November that it was time to change thoughts to action in time for Paris.  Frankie has been volunteering as Tacugama’s programme and fundraising manager for almost four years and when Ewa mentioned Paris, she thought that it sounded like a good idea to join in despite not having run seriously for a very long time!!

Ewa training in Kathmandu

The 5 months since clicking an “enter” button on a website from the comfort of a chair have flown by and seen Ewa and Frankie hit the road and put in some significant miles in preparation for Sunday’s run.  They were due to be joined in the run by Chris and Teresa Allewell who also became friends and supporters of  Tacugama while in Sierra Leone.  Very sadly Chris was forced to drop out with a very serious back injury in March, we wish him a speedy and full recovery.

Chris and Teresa helping to rescue Benita

We’d like to thank Air France KLM who have generously supported Frankie’s participation be providing a return flight on their service that runs from Freetown to Paris.  The photo below shows Jack Urlus and Toyin Alaran presenting Frankie with her ticket.

Frankie receives her free ticket from Air France KLM

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We’d also like to thank IMATT (International Military Advisory and Training Team) in Sierra Leone for giving Frankie access to their facilities to support her training.

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We wish Ewa and Frankie lots of luck for Sunday and hope that you’ll be able to support them also.  If you would like to sponsor them there are several options:

• http://www.justgiving.com/TacugamaMarathon – we can claim an additional 25% on top of what you donate through Giftaid if you’re a UK taxpayer
• http://www.tacugama.com/donate.html – you can use our paypal account to donate through the links on this page and there’s also the details of a Euro bank account that you can transfer directly to.

Thank you – we’ll let you know how they get on!

The third in our recent introductions of chimps. – time for Perry to meet Molly.  Even very young chimps can become set in their ways and while Molly was very excited to meet her new playmate, Perry was not quite so sure……   See how their story evolves with these fun pictures. Enjoy!

Molly says: "Hi Perry!"

Perry: "Don't you dare touch me!"

Mama Posseh takes them to the forest, a neutral territory

Perry:"who does Molly think she is?"

"hmm... how can i get my mama back?"

Molly: "C'mon Perry let's be friends!"

Perry: "I said no touching!"

Molly: "Up to you...I will play with Mama Posseh's hair!"

Mama Posseh tries another venue

Perry: "I am not going to fall for you..."

Perry: "Need to think of a plan to get Molly off mama"

"Maybe if I pretend I am not interested and move away, I will have a chance"

Perry: "Right, I got her, now it is time to run fast!"

Molly: "Get out Perry, this is my spot"

Mama Posseh takes them to Perry's place to try again

Perry: "Now that I am in my quarters, I feel happy!"

"Sooo, let's play!"

Molly:"Who can understand boys?"

Perry: "Catch me if you can!"

Molly:"This is fun, you see!"

So much excitement...time for a milk break!

To be continued…..and if you want to read more about how Perry and Molly met Tacugama, check these blogs: Perry & Molly

Some of you may have already heard the very sad news of the sudden death this weekend of Kalie Ibrahim Bangura or KI as he was known to most.  KI was the Senior Game Superintendent in Sierra Leone’s Conservation and Wildlife Management Unit (part of the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security).

Since the concept for establishing Tacugama began, KI was a supporter and shared his broad experience. He was a true friend of the sanctuary and was always there to offer advice through good times and bad.  More recently he was an active participant in our chimpanzee population and habitat viability assessment workshop that took place last year and from where the photo below was taken.

KI at the centre of the photo with John Oates to his right and Bala Amarasekaran to his left

Genuinely concerned for the conservation of Sierra Leone’s flora and fauna, KI touched and inspired many both inside and outside the country and he will be sorely missed both for his knowledge and his kindness. We remain shocked and saddened at his untimely loss. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues at this very difficult time, may he rest in peace.

Kalie Ibrahim Bangura

Photo courtesy of the Born Free Foundation – you can read their obituary here.

Slowly but steadily, Nico’s machete wounds are healing. As for his fractured bone, we had to do a new cast (he chewed part of the first one). We were lucky to have the help from an experienced orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Michael Ford, who kindly agreed to come to the sanctuary to check on Nico’s broken arm. Dr. Ford accumulates over 45 years of medical practise in Sierra Leone and as he was telling us during his visit, he has seen many broken bones during the 10-year brutal civil war but he was very excited as this was his first chimp patient!

Dr. Michael Ford setting a new cast on Nico's arm

Nico getting all the help

It was very reassuring to see his expert hands evaluating the fracture, feeling the new bone callous that is being formed and making a new cast to keep the bone in place. We really appreciate his help. Nico is one lucky guy to get so much attention!

As Nico continues to feel better, he is less tolerant and is busier trying to get rid of the cast….let’s hope he keeps it on for at least the next 10 days! We will keep you updated.

Nico's new cast being slowly chewed off

We received an urgent call last week from Addax Bioenergy to say that a young, injured chimpanzee had been seen at a village close to their operations and that they were enlisting the help of the police to have the chimp confiscated and brought to Tacugama. After lengthy discussions with the community and the police, Addax were finally able to take possession of the chimp and arrange to bring him to the sanctuary. Named Nico, after the security manager who was heavily involved in securing his namesake’s transfer from the community, he urgently needed medical attention.

An exhausted Nico on arrival at Tacugama

Not surprisingly after his ordeal, Nico was not too happy with people – we could see three machete wounds on his back and his right arm was roughly bandaged. One of the Addax team had previously visited Tacugama and remembered some chimpanzee; he’d managed to cajole Nico into eating and drinking a little before the journey and get him into the vehicle but after a three-hour journey the youngster wanted nothing more to do with anyone.

Nico was not even willing to listen to Willie as we tried to cajole him out of the car

We decided to anaesthetise him immediately to ensure that we could give him the treatment he needed. Our major concern was for his upper arm and, on removing the bandage that must have been applied by a community member, we discovered a badly infected machete wound open to the bone, with maggots in his tissue and that the bone was broken. As we cleaned him and examined him closer, we also found gun shot embedded in his leg and hand.

The machete wound on his arm after cleaning

Two of the wounds on his back - he has a third at the base of his spine

We were going to need an x-ray to see how bad the break to Nico’s arm was and to determine whether the infection had spread into the bone. It was going to be another two days before we could get the x-ray done so in the meantime our priority was to give him a thorough clean up, make him as comfortable as possible and start fighting the infection with antibiotics. [Luckily Nico has arrived as Rupak, our current vet, has extra support from Dr Rosa - back at Tacugama for two months after having been our resident vet for 5 years.]

Trying to immobilize Nico's arm as much as possible

Willie makes him comfortable as he comes round from the anaesthesia

He continued to sleep for several hours, an important part of his recovery from the ordeal he's suffered

On Monday this week we were helped by a local hospital to take the x-ray and the good news was that there were no signs that the infection had spread into his bone and the break was not as bad as we feared with just a single break point and no loose bone shards. However it revealed yet another shotgun pellet.

The small bright sphere is yet another shotgun pellet embedded in Nico's body

With a clear picture of the damage, Rupak and Rosa could now plan to set the bone. They did a first cast in the middle of the week and it was then off for another x-ray to check the setting. They’ve had to leave a hole in the cast so that we can keep cleaning the machete wound. It finally looks as though the infection is starting to recede and the tissue is showing first signs of healing. The cast will need replacing again next week as this first one is a temporary one while we treat the infection.

Given the weak and exhausted state that Nico arrived in, we’re pleased so far with the progress that he’s been able to make. He’s building up a healthy appetite and loves the mangos that are now in season. Unfortunately the nature of his wounds means that he’s having to be regularly anaesthetised for treatment and this means his negative view of people continues. We have no real idea how Nico came to be captured but the gunshot pellets make us suspect that members of his family must have been killed, perhaps by bushmeat hunters, perhaps by farmers protecting their crops, even though gun possession is illegal in Sierra Leone. Addax have gone back to the community involved and sensitised people there as to the protected status of chimpanzees – one silver lining of Nico’s story is that we hope to increase the sensitisation of the local communities around his home with their support.

Enjoying some mango....

... and yet more mango!

We’ll keep you in touch with Nico’s progress – he’s still very vulnerable but so far… so good…

After Bingo’s successful introduction to Chippie’s group that we mentioned to you in our last post we’re very happy to report another successful introduction! The case of Sunny and Blama has been much tougher; these two females were rescued by us over two years ago, they were being kept in terrible conditions as our original post about their rescue shows. As a result of their captive conditions these two girls had become extremely dependant on each other and our attempt to introduce them to Philip’s group, where we felt they would best fit, was unsuccessful. Despite us having spent many, many months carefully increasing their exposure to the dominant females in that group it was not to be; Sunny’s over-protectiveness of Blama thwarted our efforts and finally meant that we had to look for an alternative option.

The sad events of  last year, where we suspect EMCV claimed the lives of three chimps in Gorilla’s group, it became a group of just 3 males and so a new opportunity for Sunny and Blama emerged.  Over the last few months they’ve been gradually meeting Gorilla, Zack and Salva through separate dens so that they’ve had the chance to get to know and groom each other but with the safety of a separating grille.  Eventually Sunny seemed to accept the boys as posing no substantial threat to her relationship with Blama and we judged that it was time to remove the physical barriers.  It’s always a nerve-wracking process introducing older chimps but our patience was finally rewarded when all 5 chimps finally came face to face; it was just over a week ago that they joined forces and they’ve not looked back since!  We hope you enjoy the photos below of their first day together in the enclosure!

Sunny and Blama (centre) explore their new home with their new family - Gorilla on the far left, Zack on the right

Salva (left) leads them to explore further

Gorilla and Blama enjoy being up close

Time for some group fun!

.. and a bit of leg pulling

Gorilla shows he's still the boss!

Blama agrees!

Zack (left) and Sunny have a chat

Some more leg-pulling!

... come play some more

Zack and Blama

Whenever we accept a new chimpanzee at Tacugama we observe a minimum quarantine period of three months. Very often rescued chimps have spent some time living with people and so are exposed to additional disease risks; it’s essential for the health of the almost 100 chimpanzees at the sanctuary that we ensure newcomers don’t introduce illnesses to our existing residents. Chimps are very social and it’s tough having to impose the quarantine period.  We always look forward to when we can finally start to integrate a newcomer to their new “family”.  The start of 2012 has seen us introducing Bingo to Chippie’s young group of 7 infants under the age of 5.

Bingo ready to meet his new friends

Generally the younger the chimp, the easier it is to introduce them into their new group but we still have to take time to make sure that the first meetings go well.  Bingo’s been staying in a cage close to his new playmates and spent a few days meeting them through the protection of a gate while we observed who was making the best efforts to make friends with who.  Finally Chippie, Benita and Tompey seemed to be the best candidates for the initial introductions so last week they had the first opportunity to play together and we’re very happy to say that it went really well as these fun photos show!

Chippie is the first to make an approach

Benita joins in the introductions

Bingo puts on his best play face, happy to finally have some play mates

Time for some tumbling together...

Chippie tests Bingo's stretchiness!

... and again!

Tompey comes to say hello while Samson, Delila and Kangari look on from a distance!

Benita gives Bingo a loving hug

After lots of vigorous play it's time for some refreshments...

... all the better for being shared !

The next stage is for Bingo to meet up with the rest of the group – Samson, Delila, Kangari and Eglo and he’ll then move out with them into their small enclosure for hopefully a much happier 2012!