Wednesday, October 31, 2007

New chimp keeper

Kaleshe has been sentinel for the house for many months and has proven to be a good worker. When Kongo and Lume arrived to the garden he proved to love the chimps and they loved him. So today he was promoted and started his career as chimp keeper in the quarantine cage with Kongo and Lume.

Friday, October 19, 2007

New home

Today we let Kongo and Lume out in the quarantine cage. Kongo was the happiest chimp you have ever seen swinging around on the ropes. But Lume was very nervous and scared… Kongo wanted to play with him, but Lume was not in the mood. He was staring out into this strange new world he had come to, and he got very stressed every time someone was yelling on the road.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Kongo and Lume to Lwiro


Yesterday we spent the day getting to know Kongo and Lume. Kongo did not brake out of his cage he’s got a bad cold, but has a good appetite and is generally quite happy. Lume don’t eat as much and is very stressed.
This morning we finally started the move to Lwiro. Early in the morning a pick up from ICCN came and got the chimps and us and drove us down to the boat. We got them loaded on to our little space, which was not very big as they had also put a car in the space we were suppose to have… We hung a tarp in front of us and sat on top of the cages. There were a lot of people outside and they kept pulling the tarp down to se what was behind, very annoying. After about an hour the boat departed and things calmed down a bit. Kongo and Lume were coping incredible well with all the noise and movement. After about 7 hours we finally arrived in Bukavu. The car that the ICCN had sent to transport us to Lwiro turned out to be way too small, and we had to hire another one. Luckily there was a truck in the area that we could hire, and finally off we went to Lwiro. We arrived very tired, and a lot poorer, late in the afternoon, and decided to wait until the morning with moving them in to the quarantine cage.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Kongo and Lume




We’ve been hearing about some chimps near Beni, which is a town far north of Goma for a while now. First it was one, then it was two, then it was three, then back down to one… But they finally got two of them confiscated and got them driven down to Goma, we paid for the transport… But one of them managed to brake out of his cage so they could bring them no further, and we had to come and get them in Goma. All along we had heard that they were about 1 and 2 years old. But then the night before me and Carmen was leaving for Goma, they called again and this time said that one of them was 20kg! We left the next morning for Bukavu and the boat for Goma. We had booked tickets for the fast boat and hoped to be there in the afternoon the same day, but no… They sold our tickets to someone else... We found one that was going in the afternoon and would take all night to get to Goma. No choice so we bought some first class tickets, which was still a lot cheaper than the fast boat. It was a nice cabin on the top of the boat, but as time went on it filled up with quite a lot of people. And it was over filled by the time we left Bukavu… Incredibly we managed to get some sleep though. And the next morning after 13 hours on the boat we arrived in Goma. People from the ICCN met us and we drove straight to DFGF International where the chimps were kept.
The two chimps were Kongo and Lume. Kongo was chained to a cement post, and he was big, but the nicest personality. He gave both me and Carmen big hugs and was very happy to meet us. We guess he’s about 8 years old, maybe older and closer to 30kg!
Lume was in a cage, very traumatised and scared, and he bites. We think he’s about 5-6 years old. Carmen managed to find a cage and reinforced it so that it hopefully will keep Kongo inside, and she anesthetized him and we put him in the cage.
We managed to find a boat that will take us with the chimps, but it leaves the day after tomorrow, so we have to spend tomorrow here. At least then they will get to know us a bit, and we’ll see if the cage will hold Kongo inside!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Baby Lwiro


First baby ever, was born at Lwiro today. A baby vervet monkey. He is of course going to be called Lwiro. Don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet. Mummy is very proud, and got better and better at handeling him throughout the day.


Friday, October 12, 2007

No new arrivals yet



Everything happens slowly here in Congo... The two chimps that are coming have now become three and they might come next weekend, maybe... hopefully, poor things...

Everything is well here, the monkeyenclosure is as good as finished so hopefully next week we can move some monkeyes in there. The nursery cage, originally for gorillas, is almost finished only missing a little roof, and we have to build an other one as soon as possible, as the gorillas might be coming soon as well as the chimps...

The kids are all doing well, cheeky as ever :)

Thursday, October 4, 2007

New arrivals



A little update again here from Lwiro. We have once again braved the internet, because it may be very long until next time. There is two baby chimps coming in probably a couple of days which will need a lot of care. We've seen photos of one of them and it does look in bad condition. They are already confiscated in North Kivu so it's just a question of getting them here... Which is not just that easy in Congo... But hopefully in a few days...

The monkey cage is not quite finished yet, maybe next week, we hope. And the nursery cage in the garden will also finish next week, and will be needed!!