Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project & Neighbor Ape non-profit organization

2013-04-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

The dry season is pretty brutal this year at Fongoli, with March temperatures being hotter than any month during the past 2 years! It is usually even hotter in April & May, so we will have to see what is in store for Fongoli chimps (and researchers) over the next couple of months, before the rains start.

Young adult male Luthor has officially been added to the roster of adult male subjects, as he is now integrated into the dominance hierarchy. Luthor is already larger than many of the adult males and has yet to "fill out", so his climb up the social ladder will be interesting.

Orphan Aimee has not been seen for a month, along with former alpha male Lupin, whom she was traveling with. We think they are spending time at the Djendji water source, probably along with Lucille and her daughters Sounkaro (about Aimee's age) and Luna, since these are the only individuals that haven't been seen lately with the rest of the 33-member community.

Aimee's younger brother Toto, whom researchers rescued after the death of his mother when no other chimpanzees found him, is doing well. He has been under the care of researchers with the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project initially (Stacy Lindshield, Ulises Villa-Lobos, and Michel Sadiakho) and then with Janis Carter and her team from the West African Chimpanzee Foundation more recently. We are working towards coming up with the best solution of for Toto's future. Our options include returning him to his natal group, introducing him to a sanctuary in Africa or working towards the establishment of a new sanctuary for Toto and other captive chimpanzees in Senegal. We initiated a new project on our Global Giving website for this cause:

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/care-for-orphan-chimpanzee-in-senegal/

We have also initiated a T-shirt campaign to raise money for Toto's care:

http://teespring.com/NeighborApe4Toto

Fongoli chimps' 2012 year in review!

2012-12-29T19:17:00.000-08:00

A lot of things happened at Fongoli in 2012, but here are some highlights. New female transfer Eva arrived about the middle of the year, and other arrivals included Nickel's new baby boy Vincent, early in 2012, and Tia's son later on in the year. Lily (transferred in over a year ago to Fongoli!) also had a male infant late in 2012. Vincent, Toto and Louis, respectively, are doing fine although with the tragic loss of Tia to snakebite late in the year, Toto is no longer with his group. Toto was only 2 months old when his mother died, and he would not have lived without being nursed by a lactating female. The chance that a female that already had an infant would also adopt Toto was so slim that we chose to rescue him and are currently involved in his care. We have several options in mind for Toto and are hopeful that all will go well for him.

(Photo of Toto courtesy Stacy Lindshield)

Toto's sister Aimee was weaned when her mother died, but she was only five and a half and would have still stuck close to Tia for several years. She seems to have been adopted by the former alpha male Lupin. Older males Bandit and Siberut also look out for Aimee, waiting for her when she lags during long-distance travel. These males as well as others allow Aimee to take food from them sometimes, as she would have done from her mother. Aimee was taken from Tia in 2009 but confiscated by our team and returned to her within 5 days. She was able to spend 3 more years with her mom until Tia met her unfortunate fate.

(Photo of new alpha male David)

In other news, young male David supplanted alpha male Lupin early in 2012. David was able to do so because he had support from his brother, second-ranking male Mamadou. Exiled former alpha male Foudouko was seen quite a few times following David's rise and Lupin's fall. He is no longer habituated to human observers, after being peripheralized for several years, so the dynamics of what is going on with Foudouko and the rest of the community remain to be teased out over time. The chimps racked up over 35 more tool-assisted hunting cases, and we have a total of well over 200 cases overall and hope to examine individual differences in tool-assisted hunting behavior in new analyses.

In Neighbor Ape (our non-profit organization) news, we have made great progress on the OBRAR dormitory project and were once again able to fund schoolchildren of different ages in Kedougou and Tambacounda, as well as a nursing student in Dakar. We donated a year's worth of school supplies to the village of Djendji again, and we are embarking on a new collaborative healthcare project with the Senegalese OBRAR organization. Neighbor Ape also earned a permanent spot on the Global Giving website after a successful fund-raising campaign! Thank you again to all of you who have given us support!

All in all, even though there were definitely some sad events, 2012 was a pretty good year for the Fongoli chimps and for Neighbor Ape too. Let's hope 2013 is prosperous as well!

2012-12-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Dondo "Johnny" Kante on being Educator of the Month!

Dondo Kante serves as the Conservation Steward for the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project, as well as the Project Manager for the FSCP. He has worked for the FSCP since 2001, and he also helped initiate the OBRAR project, an organization based in Senegal that works to provide opportunities for the minority Beudick group. You can read more about Dondo's amazing work to help people as well as chimpanzees on the Primate Education Network's website. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Boyer of the Faleme Chimpanzee Conservation project in Senegal, with whom Dondo collaborates).

http://www.primateeducationnetwork.org/2012/12/16/educator-of-the-month-dondo-kante/

Bandafassi Area Chimpanzee Conservation Project in Senegal

2012-11-08T19:47:00.001-08:00

Dr. Maja Gaspersic reports on her research as part of the Bandafassi Area Chimpanzee Project, which stemmed from the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project as part of a comparative database of chimpanzees living in southeastern Senegal. The project is also part of Neighbor Ape organization's objective to conserve chimpanzees in Senegal as well as providing for the welfare of people living alongside them.

The Bandafassi area project covers a wide geographical area in Senegal (>500 km²) including at least 5 chimpanzee communities in rare forest patches. Due to intense habitat degradation savanna apes are more endangered than ever. However, preliminary estimates from surveys undertaken by Souleye Ndiaye (Director of Senegal's National Parks Service) in May 2011 are encouraging and indicate the Senegalese population may number up to 500 chimpanzees. Additionally, 2 of our main study areas (Angafou & Nathia) were recognized as priority sites for chimpanzee conservation at one of the USAID/Wula Nafaa meetings on chimpanzee conservation in Senegal based on Director Ndiaye's report.

We established a surveillance system based on Janis Carter’s chimpanzee conservation projects in Guinea and further east in Senegal. Identified forest-guardians or eco- rangers monitor the ranging behavior of chimpanzees and at the same time prevent crop-raiding and attacks on domestic animals. Conflict between people and chimpanzees over the latter's predation on goats and mango fruits was partly resolved. These activities depend on continuous funding so that local residents can help protect their natural resources, and more scientific support for research projects would be beneficial as well. We continue to monitor sites at the periphery zones to better understand the relation between humans and apes in a seasonally disturbed habitat. The study area is at the border with Guinea and should be included in collaboration between neighbor countries.

The foundations for the sustainable community-based chimpanzee conservation in Bandafassi area have been laid, but funding is being sought for the long-term support of the project. Besides ecotourism as a conservation incentive I would suggest sustainable harvesting of wild resources (particularly Saba and baobab) and include the products in international fair-trade, organize workshops on bio-horticulture (eco-gardening, seed-bank) and use of traditional medicinal plants. Chimpanzees at Bandafassi live in small isolated communities along increased population of humans, who are vital for their protection. Along with the involvement of local authorities, there is a need collaboration with international agencies to ensure the project's success.

Photo of people of the village of Nathia.

Neighbor Ape donates school supplies to Djendji village

2012-11-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project researcher and Iowa State University Ph.D student Stacy Lindshield sent this report about our organization Neighbor Ape's conservation & education efforts:

On Tuesday, October 30th, Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project manager Dondo "Johnny" Kante, Fongoli village chief & retired head field assistant Mboule Camara, research assistant Ulises Villa-Lobos and Stacy went to Djendji village to donate a year's worth of school supplies to Djendji students.

Photo by Stacy Lindshield of Mboule Camara with donated book supplies and Djendji chief & schoolchildren. October 2012, Djendji, Senegal.

They presented two boxes of school supplies courtesy of our Neighbor Ape nonprofit organization to the chief of the village, and sat with him and few other gentlemen at his place to discuss the project. The chief was grateful for this gift. He thanked us, said that the project is very good for the community, and hopes that the project continues to be successful for many more years to come. He and the other gentlemen then said a prayer for us and the project. Afterwards, he said that he prays for us and for the project so that we will continue to work here.

The chief asked how many new babies were born in the Fongoli group over the past year. He thinks that there are more chimpanzees here now than there were before, because prior to the project, people would come here from time to time to kill a chimpanzee for medicine. Now, with the project seeking to conserve this group, future generations will know about chimpanzees and continue to live alongside them. He said that, overall, the chimpanzees are very good, but that they steal honey too often from people. He didn’t seem upset about the honey issue, but perhaps mentioned this as a way to say that living alongside chimps is sometimes difficult.

It's hunting season yet again at Fongoli!

2012-06-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

Back at Fongoli again – June 10, 2012

The first day back is always exciting, but the fact that the whole community of 32 Fongoli chimpanzees was together near Sakoto ravine, the site of their soaking pool and cave, was an extra treat! There were several hard rains in May, but there had been a dry spell for almost two weeks, so the chimps were localized around the pool, drinking and doing some soaking daily. The water level was not very high in the pool, and the water was pretty dirty, as the leaves and other detritus that gathered there since the pool was full of water some 6 months previously had not yet been washed out. Still, a few die-hard water babies like Bandit sat in the pool for up to 20 minutes at a time, vacating only when a dominant individual came to get a drink and cool off.

Tool-assisted or “spear” hunting coincides with the onset of the rainy season, and my main field assistant Michel Sahdiako has noted that adolescent female Sonja has already tried her hand a couple of times. No bushbabies yet, although she received an unhappy surprise when she roused a genet during one bout! I expect the genet gave her a shock because it was so much larger than a bushbaby and would have had to run out past her, unlike a bushbaby, which would have hopped off, had it been so lucky to escape. The Fongoli chimps don’t eat genets, a catlike creature that is related to the mongoose family. I imagine this is the case because of their unpleasant scent glands, but we have observed a few of the chimps capture and play with young genets – a scenario that ultimately did not end well for the genets!

At any rate, the first day I was back with the Fongoli chimps, adolescent female Fanta was indeed so kind as to give me a glimpse of bushbaby hunting! Before the chimps got very far from Sakoto in the morning, she fashioned a tool from a live tree branch, trimmed off the side branches and leaves and modified the tip with her teeth. No luck for Fanta yet either, but she is the most prolific Fongoli chimpanzee hunter, accumulating over 23 bouts now – at least according to our records. She supplanted adult female Tumbo from the top position, but Tumbo is still the most successful hunter, capturing a bushbaby in over one-third of her hunts.

The next day, true to form, Sonja decided to hunt again. She spent quite a lot of time, making, using and discarding four different tools, before she abandoned the cavity. From her behavior, I deduced that she did not detect bushbaby presence, which is what I believe accounts for most failed hunts, although there have been times when it appeared clear that a bushbaby was present but could not be captured. In one case, I was able to climb up and search inside the cavity myself, after Lucille and two other chimps were so obviously vigorous in their attempts that I was sure a bushbaby must be there. There was indeed a very angry and slightly injured bushbaby – it had cuts on its head from the “spear”. I assume it survived, as these cuts seemed somewhat superficial. The bushbaby was not very far down in its cavity, but it appeared to have a side area that it could squeeze back into, avoiding the full effort of the chimps’ jabbing and stabbing.

On my third day back with the chimps, a hard rain and windstorm swept up. Bushbaby hunting is sure to start up again with a vengeance now. We normally record between 40 and 50 hunts per year during this season and have over 200 cases now. With this sample size, I hope to be able to discern individual chimpanzee differences, and we can begin to see patterns of learning in the offspring of the female hunters. My field assistant Waly Camara also reported that, about 10 days before I arrived back at Fongoli, he witnessed adult male Bandit and adult female Farafa using the same type of “spear” tools to stab at a leopard hiding in a small cave near their dry season water source! The leopard escaped in that instance.

Finally, an interesting incident also occurred on my first day back, involving adolescent male Lex and a chameleon! The Fongoli chimps are averse to most reptiles – we’ve recorded over 20 such encounters, most with potentially lethal snakes – and the chameleon seems no exception. Lex was intent on following and harassing the little lizard and even tossed it by its tail at one point. Of course, a number of other immature chimps had to come investigate, but juvenile Sounkaro, Lex’s younger sister, was too frightened of the chameleon to do much with it after it tried to bit her. Sonja chased it away, and I’m happy to report it seemed to escape – unhappy, judging from its mottled black and green color, but hopefully none the worse for wear!

P.S. Since I wrote this about 2 weeks ago, we've seen more hunts, so that we now have over 20 so far this year! Sonja and Fanta are in the lead, but subadult female Lily and young adult male Bo are the only successful hunts we've seen so far. K.L. also snagged a bushbaby, but I was unable to detect how he obtained it, so he doesn't make the official list, and he didn't share what appeared to be a younger bushbaby either! On another day, both Lupin and Siberut were seen with captured vervet monkeys, and there was some sharing on that day, however. The chimps also had another interesting reptile encounter - this time with a python! They found it in a small water hole after a big rain, and it was about 2 meters long. They filed by and screamed at it but left without doing much more to it. A lot of excitement during my first 2 weeks back at Fongoli!

The photo above is of some of the 25 or so hunting tools used by the Fongoli chimps so far this year...the one on the bottom of the photo was the tool used by adult male Bandit to try and stab at the leopard!

Watch the Fongoli chimps in the full-length BBC documentary now available!

2012-06-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

Watch the full-length BBC documentary that features the Fongoli chimpanzees. The grasslands episode of "How to Grow a Planet", which is called "The Challenger" can now be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMUJy5QmMDg&feature=related

Fongoli chimps featured in BBC documentary

2012-05-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

The Fongoli chimpanzees were recently featured in a BBC documentary series called "How to Grow a Planet". Episode 3 is entitled "The Challenger" and is all about grasses. Since the Fongoli chimpanzees live in a savanna habitat where the predominant vegetation is grass, they are featured in this episode that talks about the influence that grasslands had on the evolution of our own species. You can see a film clip from the documentary, which aired in the U.K. in April here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3845rTBBEyw&feature=youtu.be

(Image of Fongoli female chimpanzee 'Nickel' courtesy of the BBC)

Neighbor Ape earns permanent spot on Global Giving website!

2012-05-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Neighbor Ape organization rose to the challenge and - with your help! - raised enough money to meet Global Giving's April Challenge! We raised over $4,000 ($4,230 to be exact!) from over 50 unique donors (62 actually!) to earn the right to partner with Global Giving! The amount we raised in the April Challenge will allow us to pay for expenses for conservation education workshops in 14 different villages, to fund 18 village children for one school year in Kedougou or Tambacounda and to fund a nursing student in Dakar for one full year! Global Giving works with grassroots organizations to do good around the world! Please check out our page on their site! (Photo above of children of Djendji village in their classroom. Neighbor Ape has been able to donate a year's worth of school supplies to Djendji for two years now!) http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/conserving-senegals-chimpanzees-through-education/

Photo of Fongoli chimpanzee female "Tumbo", courtesy of Joshua Marshack.

Dormitory is going up!

2012-01-02T10:47:00.001-08:00

Neighbor Ape and OBRAR (Senegalese organization) have begun construction on the dormitory that will allow Beudick children in outlying villages to live in and attend school in Kedougou. This video shows the first step in the process (following land purchase, of course!): brick making! Over 10,000 bricks were made. Volunteers from OBRAR assisted the brick-makers. The bricks are now being "cooked", and construction will begin shortly. This particular project is made possible by the kind donations of Drs. Harold Marder and Jewel Slesnick! More videos soon! (and chimps news coming soon also!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FDKGE5LXok&list=UU1p_ebHTaACo_nNbCkiaDQQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video

New article on food and tool "sharing" in Fongoli chimps

2011-11-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

Our new publication is now available online at the journal Primates. Iowa State University Ph.D. student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Anthropology, home department), Stacy Lindshield, and I published an article on 'Plant Food and Tool Transfer in Savanna Chimpanzees'. There is a link to the paper from the news article that Iowa State University put out, below.

We note that the frequency of non-meat transfer appears high at Fongoli relative to the sharing of wild plants and other foods and tools by chimpanzees elsewhere, and we talk about why that may be. (We'll eventually examine meat-sharing as well, in a separate paper). We also point out that we think this is a tendency for West African chimps to fall closer to bonobos in terms of this and other behaviors along a continuum that includes all Pan species and subspecies.

In large part, adult males allowed adult females to take resources from them. Adult male Karamoko, pictured in the photos above (Courtesy National Geographic) was one of the adult males that shared termite-fishing tools with females.

http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/nov/sharingchimps

Neighbor Ape Dormitory Project Update, Faleme Chimpanzee Conservation and Other News

2011-11-24T14:03:00.001-08:00

Received some good news on Thanksgiving from Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project Manager and Director of Conservation, Dondo Kante (pictured above with wife, Nene, and daughter, Nadege).

The Neighbor Ape/OBRAR project that entails construction of a dormitory so village children can attend school in the regional capitol of Kedougou is moving along, and the mayor of Kedougou DONATED 2 plots of land to match the 2 purchased with the generous gift of Neighbor Ape donors Jewel Slesnick and Harold Marder (see previous posts).

Dondo has been filming stages of construction, and I will post these when I arrive in Senegal in late December.

In chimpanzee news, Iowa State University graduate Anna Olson, who is assisting ISU PhD student Stacy Lindshield with her dissertation research, informed me that the Fongoli chimps have moved back closer to Fongoli village, where they can be heard at night. Can't wait to hear that again!

Finally, ISU PhD student Kelly Boyer just had her own Faleme Chimpanzee Conservation project branded by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Congratulations Kelly! Here is a link to her project:

http://www.waza.org/en/site/conservation/waza-conservation-projects/overview/faleme-chimpanzee-conservation-project

School Supplies for Djendji Village School and Announcing Luna!

2011-11-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

The crew in Senegal recently presented the village of Djendji a year's supply of school equipment. In this photo, Josh (see below) is pictured with the chief of Djendji and the boxes of school supplies. In the photo above, some of the men at Djendji prepare their drums for the dance after the presentation (top photo).

In chimp news, Lucille's newest infant, a daughter, has been given the name "Luna" by one of the graduate students working at Fongoli this year. Josh Marshack, of Washington University-St. Louis, did the honor. Josh is studying aggression and affiliation in the Fongoli chimpanzees. Luna is the fourth offspring and second daughter (that we know of) of adult female Lucille. Luthor, Lex and Sounkaro are Luna's siblings.

And, finally, the OBRAR project is progressing. The first stage is buying the land in Kedougou and building the dormitories for the children living in and around Thiobo village. Videos will be posted on the progress here in the future.

New Baby and New Neighbor Ape Project!

2011-10-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Some very exciting news Senegal is that Lucille had an infant in late August, and researchers were finally able to confirm that it is a girl!! Congrats Lucille - one of the most energetic moms (considering her interbirth intervals are relatively short at less than 4 years!). Name for new daughter coming soon. This is Lucille's fourth infant, behind Luthor, Lex and Sounkaro. (Photo above - courtesy of the National Geographic Society - is of Lucille & Sounkaro several years ago, relaxing in Sakoto pool).

Other very exciting news is that our non-profit organization, Neighbor Ape, has been able to move forward with our plans to construct a dormitory for village children from southeastern Senegal. This would enable these children to live in Kedougou and attend school there. Two very generous donors made this project possible - thank you Harold Marder and Jewel Slesnick! Updates on this project soon - including some video of the progress!

New faces, new names...lots of hunting!

2011-08-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

An update on some of the happenings around Fongoli includes a little bit about some of the new faces, along with their new names (that we use anyway!) and, finally, an update on galago hunting!

Natasha's infant son is now about 3 months old, and he is quite active. He has been given a name courtesy of a generous donor, Carolyn Farris, to the Leakey Foundation, which auctioned off the name of Natasha's infant to raise funds for that organization (they have also kindly funded the research at Fongoli!). They also recently posted a blog entry that I wrote about an exciting day at Fongoli.

Ms. Farris noted, "I would like to name Natasha’s baby “Pistache” (French for pistachio nut), after my long hair Chihuahua. I adopted her from the Helen Woodward Animal Center and she was named after a character in a book. The chain of events that led to her adoption started on Bastille Day, so I thought a French name would be appropriate for her. The name is pronounced Pee-stash. My little dog is popular with everyone she meets, as she is loving, cuddly and playful. She is also tall for a Chihuahua, just as Natasha and her son are tall."

Pistache the Fongoli chimp is indeed tall for his age - and quite precocious! Natasha is careful to keep others away from him at his young age, but infant Aimee sometimes can sneak in and touch him. The other new group member, adolescent female immigrant Lily is often close by as well and sometimes seems to "accidentally" groom Pistache for a second before resuming to groom Natasha. Lily has been a member of the Fongoli community for several months now and has integrated well. She is quite outgoing, tends to challenge the resident females, likes to spend time with the alpha male (who doesn't?!), and still plays extensively with the youngsters. Hopefully, pictures of Pistache and Lily will be posted here soon (I've had technical difficulties this summer!).

Finally, we have already racked up 45 tool-assisted "spearing" hunting bouts this year! This ties our record, which was set last year. Although hunting peaks in the early rainy season, chances are a few more observations will trickle in, and we'll set a new record this year! Young female Fanta is currently the most prolific hunter, although adult female Tumbo (seen above in photo with infant Cy, courtesy National Geographic Society) still holds the record for the highest success rate. Well done Fongoli chimps!

10 years of the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project

2011-07-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

This past week we had a party to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project. Thanks to everyone (and there are many!) who helped along the way!

People from the villages of Fongoli, Djendji, Petit Oubadji, Tenkoto, Seekoto, Ngari, Bantako and probably a few others came, as well as some folks from Kedougou and beyond! There was much dancing (traditional, as in the video I've posted a link to here, as well as more of the modern style once the DJ got started!) and feasting!

Chimps were given a day to party on their own too - without ANY observers! They were nice enough to let me find them quickly the next day and, to my surprise, Bo was back after being gone for about two and a half weeks. That made the community complete - 31 together - except for a couple of peripheral males we see once or twice a year...

Also, the day before our 10th anniversary fete, I saw, heard or found evidence for TEN different hunts. I saw 7 cases of tool-assisted galago hunting, another case where I heard the hunt and saw the adolescent female leaving and found the tool, a case where an adult female examined a hunting tool that had recently been made and, finally, I witnessed a vervet monkey hunt (with Lily, the newly transferred subadult female in the lead)! I'm sad to say no one I observed got lucky (except for the prey!).

Here is a link to the fantastic Bassari dancers from the village of Petit Oubadji who danced most of the day for us at the anniversary party:

http://youtu.be/gSLCVx2PRhU

Fongoli update!

2011-05-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

The first rains at Fongoli brought out a couple of tool-assisted "spearing" hunting bouts! The first of the season - by adult female Tumbo and juvenile female Fanta (although the latter was only seen making a tool, which was then retrieved, so we can't add a score to Fanta's tally!). No success but exciting nonetheless!

Fongoli chimps seem to be doing well. Natasha had an infant last month - probably a male although we still need to double check on that when we can get a good look. She is quite protective still and holds the baby very close. Farafa's female infant, Vivienne, who was born in October of 2010, is spending time away from Mom - not too far yet, though. The chimps were in a group of 28 yesterday, which includes everyone except Nickel, Teva and Dawson, who have been seen fairly recently though.

A small gold mine has erupted within the Fongoli chimps' home range, but it may subside as did one that appeared several years ago. These are mines dug by local people, which consist of a series of small but deep holes. They are much less problematic for chimps compared to the large-scale, corporate mines that will be increasing in southeastern Senegal...

Still hot here - usually over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Both humans and chimps looking forward to the rains really starting!

Photo of Tumbo and her infant Cy, who apparently loves to ride "jockey style" by Dr. Maja Gaspersic, May 2011.

Neighbor Ape officially 501(c)3 Non-Profit

2011-04-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Great news that Neighbor Ape has been given official non-profit [501(c)3] status by the IRS! Although we've been incorporated since 2008, I just received the good news on the non-profit status yesterday! This means that anyone who donates to Neighbor Ape is making a TAX DEDUCTIBLE contribution, and this status is retroactive to the date on which we were incorporated in 2008. Soon, I'll provide more information on how you can easily donate to our organization. For now, I'll probably arrange something via the National Geographic Action Atlas website:

http://www.actionatlas.org/conservation/animals-plants/neighbor-ape/summary/paaB0E8E461B66A688C0

This year, we continue to focus on education but also hope to start our eco-ranger program.

Photo above of Tia and Aimee (who is doing very well more than two years after her "chimp-napping" from the Fongoli community but with successful return)courtesy of Kelly Boyer.

Termites, termites, termites!

2011-01-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

Check out the article available online at the American Journal of Physical Anthropology on Dr. Stephanie Bogart's dissertation work at Fongoli. Male Fongoli chimps appear to spend more time termite-fishing than chimps at any other site (we don't yet have data on females' time spent fishing).

All termites, all of the time!
(Photo above of Frito termite-fishing at Fongoli, Senegal, courtesy of National Geographic Society).

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.21452/abstract

Meet Vivienne!

2010-12-13T04:31:00.000-08:00

It took only a couple of months, but Farafa was finally somewhat cooperative so that I was able to get a shot of her newest infant. Turns out it's a girl! She can be seen here bouncing around on her mother's belly as Farafa is preoccupied with grooming, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGGqWpm6shQ

2010-11-08T07:47:00.000-08:00

Just published online - an article I wrote about Mike's (photo of Mike above courtesy of National Geographic Society) care of infant Aimee when we returned her to the Fongoli chimps after she was taken by poachers. This is a link to the Journal of Ethology

http://www.springerlink.com/content/423r8363412015p4/

New infant at Fongoli!

2010-10-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

Big news at Fongoli is that female Farafa had a new baby! She is also mother of Fanta, David and Frito (deceased). New baby seems to be doing well - very hardy in his clinging ability - and the rest of the chimp community is very interested in him (we think it's a boy but need to get a better view to be sure!).

In other news, we recently had a paper published in the American Journal of Primatology. First author is Michaela Howells, a 2005 graduate of Iowa State University in Anthroplogy. The paper stems from her Master's research on parasites at Fongoli and includes data on baboons as well as the Fongoli chimps. Here is a link to the journal:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1098-2345

New journal articles about Fongoli

2010-09-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

The newest issue of the journal African Primates is online and access is free! Two articles stem from events at Fongoli. One details our work in returning Fongoli infant chimp Aimee to her mother Tia after she was taken by poachers in January 2009. The other notes a rare sighting of a guenon (monkey) not normally found as far north as Fongoli. Here is the link to the journal:

http://journals.sfu.ca/afrprims

Tool-assisted hunting at Fongoli surpasses the century mark

2010-06-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

So far this year, we've recorded 40 tool-assisted ("spear") hunts by Fongoli chimps, and the hunting "season" (i.e., the rainy season) has barely started... That brings the grand total of tool-assisted hunts by Fongoli chimps to over 130 recorded bouts since they were first habituated in 2005. Females continue to hunt more than expected, with males hunting less than expected - but with several adult males exhibiting the behavior (and one more than once!) since we first reported tool-assisted hunting in the 2007 Current Biology paper.

Below is a link to a short video showing Fongoli chimpanzee female Nickel's "spear" tool, which is included in the Smithsonian Institution's new Human Origins exhibit.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JillPruetz

Farewell to Frito

2010-06-01T14:25:00.001-07:00

Sadly, I was able to confirm this week upon my return to Fongoli that the chimpanzee my research team found dead in April was indeed Frito. He died at the age of 10 (or thereabouts), and you can see him in this video I took a month or so before he died. We don't know how he died, but he was found along a chimp trail between two distant water sources. Ultimately, he will be buried near Sakoto ravine where I think he found some of his happiest moments - especially in Sakoto pool. I don't believe I've ever seen a chimpanzee as happy-go-lucky as Frito. Fortunately, he is immortalized in the documentary films, 'Ape Genius' and 'Chimps: Next of Kin'. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK8ucPhAS4g