I today will update on one of the little chimps of our Refuge: Kimo.

Not so long ago, baby Kimo was with us at home because of severe bronchiolitis.

Back at the Refuge, Kimo settled in slowly as his friend PASA had gain in strength and had in some way become the “boss” of the baby group during his absence…

Last Sunday, however, we noticed Kimo wasn’t as playful as usual, cried many times to stay in the arms and…something on his nose started swelling.

At first, we thought he had had a blow. We also believed the bump was due to the larvae of the horrible tumbu flies ….

But, no! Once vet Jean-Claude arrived and had sedated little Kimo, we understood one of his upper teeth was completely rotten and broken and had surely caused an infection higher up in the cheek.

When trying to get a sample of the liquid inside the bump, some blood and infection came out.

We decided therefore to wait a few more days to see the evolution of the infection. The vet gave Kimo antibiotic injection and  it is clear the tooth will have to be pulled out soon.

After sedation, Kimo needed extra attention and love and we stayed together for a long time. I’ll let you know more about Kimo and the others,

Thank you!

Roxane

Yes, dear Friends, J.A.C.K. has welcomed 3 new babies in nearly 3 weeks time and this represents a lot!

Joma had been seen in Lubumbashi some days ago by local authorities. His cage was high above the wall of his owner’s house and any person passing by could see the young male on top of his enclosure. 

Joma is a young male of about 3 to 4 years old. According to the Ministry of Environment inspector who seizes all the chimps, this baby is one of the babies J.A.C.K. had heard about in 2006 and that had disappeared from the city shortly after investigation. It very often occurs that some animals are seen but immediately moved once inspectors start investigating and do their paperwork…

Joma’s seizure is also the first one JACK has been allowed to film.

Joma is in good condition although quite thin. He eats everything, seeks contact at any time but isn’t as playfull as Eliawho arived a few days ago.

One thing though we are worrying about is his eyes. Joma had no roof on top of his big cage and since his arrival at the refuge his eyes have been crying a lot. Eye drop training has started in case he needs further treatment.

Thank you for reading us and for helping us - especially Theresa S, Brigitta S, Kevin C and Oliver T who kindly donate every month! Our Refuge now looks after 26 orphan chimpanzees and  our NGO J.A.C.K. can’t work without your donations…

Roxane

Yes, not good news, again!

Elia is a young female chimpanzee that arrived at JACK a few hours ago.

She was kept in a small parrot cage. The owner had bought her here in Lubumbashi and was trying to sell her at a higher price.

We had recently heard about a chimp in that area of the city of Lubumbashi and yesterday the Inspectors of Environment assisted by police officers went to seize the young chimp.

Elia was scared but ready to leave the small parrot cage full of dirt.

Getting her in our crate was extremely easy as she didn’t show any resistance …

At J.A.C.K, no problem at all. Elia seemed a bit nervous but was apparently  glad to have a bigger cage where she could play, jump, hang onto the bars, etc.

Elia is very thin but very active. We estimate she is about 3 to 4 years old. She eats, drinks and plays all the time and always asks for contact. She is very cute and doesn’t show any signs of aggressiveness.

Maybe, if all the analyses are ok, Elia will have the opportunity to stay with Rosie. Both will thus feel less lonely during their isolation period.

But first we want Elia to adjust and to understand that she’s in good hands now!

Thank you,

Roxane

Romeo arrived two days ago at J.A.C.K. But Romeo isn’t a chimpanzee. Romeo is a galago.

A Congolese farmer had found a very small bushbaby on his field and came to us for help. He had heard there was a project at the Lubumbashi Zoo taking care of seized galagos.

Franck was very surprised to be handed such young animal and knew from the early beginning this case wouldn’t be easy at all. So, at home, we gave the baby his first diluted milk (70% boiled water and 30% milk)and it was obvious the little bushbaby had been separated for too long from his mum and that he hadn’t had food for several hours.

The baby drank easily with a sterile syringe. Because of the severe dehydration of the little one, our vet Jean-Claude cautiously administrated him subcutaneous fluids.

Although exhausted, Romeo seemed full of life, made a lot of baby galago noises once hungry.

Franck had organised a puppet in which he had put a clock to simulate the regular heartbeats of Romeo’s mum and the baby loved the cling to the puppet.

Both Franck and I had hope and to be sure we would work in the perfect way to save Romeo, I managed to be in touch with two wonderful people of the Duke Lemur Centre (North Carolina), Julie and Bobby.

Bobby is a veterinarian and gave us tons of interesting details and we learned a lot! His advice was most welcome: it was the first time we had to deal with such young baby…

But from the beginning, Bobby had also mentioned this rescue would be difficult and that the baby might not make it.  Franck put extra attention on the baby and fed Romeo every 2 to 3 hours day and night.

Yesterday, all went well except in the evening. Romeo didn’t want to drink. We were worried. Even at night, he refused his milk and hardly ever made galago noises.

Romeo left us at 4 o’clock this morning and must be with his mummy now who has surely been killed and eaten up. Congolese people like galago meat. That’s the reason why this species is also considered as endangered species in the DRC and this is also the reason why we started this project: to stop the slaughter and to teach people how to preserve and respect their environment!

Thank you Bobby/Julie for all this energy spent in helping us so hard!

Good bye little Romeo… we are so sorry

Roxane

Masika, the baby that arrived about two weeks ago is doing fine. It took her just a few days to adjust to her new environment and she now knows everyone of the Refuge.

She really likes Papa Augustin’s company.  He is the first one who comes to greet her in the mornings with some food.

Masika’s name has been changed into “Rosie” as to keep in mind the name of Rosmarie Ruf who rescued the baby female after it had been seized by ICCN authorities.

Although Rosie is in very good condition, she can’t join the goup of the Kivu’s. Quarantine is very important and we can’t take the risk of losing chimps.

Rosie can already hear, smell and see others of her own kind and unlike any newcomers will be introduced once isolation period is finished.  So, everyone of the project takes good care of her so that she doesn’t feel that lonely…

I’ll post more pictures later on,

Roxane

In my former post, we had a happy rescue story. But also as mentioned, saving wildlife doesn’t always have happy ends. Today, I’ll talk about Ikia, a baby chimpanzee, who unlike so many others, had lost her family and hope…

End of June 2009- Julius, a Congolese man working in the city of Kalemie (Eastern DRC), saved a baby chimpanzee he had seen stranded in a bag.

The baby female surely was meant to head for Lubumbashi on the Kalemie-Lubumbashi train,

but Julius got really interested in the content of the bag…

 That’s how Ikia entered in Julius’life…

Early July 2009 - Not knowing exactly how to look after a young traumatised chimp, Julius managed to get in touch with our Refuge in Lubumbashi. He wanted the best for the little one and needed advice and help.

Franck and I were in Europe, so it was Chantal who first had contacts with Julius. She was running the project and sent me Julius’ email address so that I could correspond and help the young man of  Kalemie…

Ikia was in a bad condition. She needed medical assistance and a lot of love and attention. Julius did a wonderful job and was assisted by other friends when he had to travel.

July 16, 2009 - Once all the paperwork had been done, transfer to Lubumbashi took place thanks to people wishing to help the baby.

Chantal welcomed Ikia at the airport with the ICCN authorities and the representatives of the Ministry of Environment.

At the Refuge, our team welcomed a traumatised, weak and extremely stressed baby.

Ikia was lethargic, remained at the bottom of the box.

Carefully, Ikia was set into quarantine for observation and care. 

Assisted by the vet and a young man from France volunteering at the Zoo of Lubumbashi (Cyril), Chantal did all she could to help the new baby. But Papa Augustin and the others were extremely worried as it was clear the baby had had enough….

July 17, 2009- Ikia’s last day. Early in the morning, Papa Augustin took Ikia to feed her and to give her love and care…

Although  the team knew something was going wrong,  everyone wanted to keep on believing Ikia was going to recover soon…. But Ikia had gone already. Papa Augustin held her in his arms when Ikia decided to give up the fight and to let herself die of desperateness.

Everyone cried and felt guilty of not having done more… This was the first time the team went through such sad experience….

Our team and some friends of J.A.C.K. organised a small burial ceremony.

Ikia now lies in piece at the Refuge. This has been a painful event to everyone and it was even more frustrating for Franck and myself who weren’t  in the DRC at that time…

Rescuing animals can be very tough and each time a new confiscated baby arrives, it is a challenge to us. Sometimes, we struggle very hard to give the newcomer hope and confidence. And sometimes, it doesn’t work…

Julius did a great job although he had never worked with Great Apes before. He started blogging about Ikia and you can read her story and see more pictures of her on the following link:

http://ikia1962.spaces.live.com/?_c11_BlogPart_pagedir=Previous&_c11_BlogPart_handle=cns!3A28F4683963E719!180&_c11_BlogPart_BlogPart=blogview&_c=BlogPart

Thank you Julius for your help and for all you did!

Thank you Chantal for all that energy spent in giving Ikia the best!

And great thanks to all the people who were involved in this rescue!

Your assistance was precious!

Ikia, I have never met you, but you’ll stay forever in my heart!

Roxane

Let me introduce you Masika (picture below) a baby chimpanzee now at J.A.C.K.

Masika arrived a few days ago on the 29th of September.  Rosmarie of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (Epulu,DRC) actually contacted us on September 13th asking if J.A.C.K. could take the baby chimpanzee she had rescued. 

Masika belonged to a soldier and was confiscated by ICCN authorities of Epulu. The baby female was transferred at Rosmarie’s place and she accepted to take care of the little one. But feeling the best place for Masika was to be among others of her own kind and knowing about our NGO, Rosmarie decided to contact J.A.C.K.  That’s how Masika came into our lives!

But how to transfer Masika to Lubumbashi? The Okapi Reserve is so far ?

There were several people who made the transfer possible. First we need to mention MAF CONGO which accepted to take baby Masika from Epulu to Goma. If Rosmarie hadn’t had this flying opportunity, she would have travelled by road (Epulu-Beni = minimum 6hours driving!) and spent 1 night in Beni before continuing on the next day to Goma. That’s why the MAF CONGO air company was so important: it made the journey shorter to Goma! 
 
In Goma, Rosmarie had already contacted different people. Serge in charge of FZS logistics did a wonderful job and so did Lucy Faveau and Robert Muir who agreed to help with the procedure. We won’t forget the participation of the ICCN in Goma nor Dr Emmanuel de Merode who was aware of this transfer.

Also, Patricia played an important role too. Manager of a local airline company, ITAB, she accepted to take Masika on board to cover the last stretch between Goma and Lubumbashi. It isn’t the first time Patricia, her husband and her team assist us because the Kivu 4 arrived last February in Lubumbashi thanks to their kindness.

Without the intervention of all these helpful people, transfer of Massika from Epulu to Lubumbashi wouldn’t have taken place and we are all grateful for their participation and kindness. Again, this action shows that different NGO’s and institutions can work as a team! Thank you to all of you and thank you too, Rosmarie, for having saved baby Masika!!

In Lubumbashi, Franck and the inspectors of the Ministry of Environment welcomed baby Masika. 

Franck drove her to the Refuge where the JACK team was eagerly waiting for her!

Papa Bukasa (left) and Papa Augustin (right)

Papa Augustin took Masika immediately in his arms and cheerily welcomed her with chimp noises…

Because of her young age and because Masika was too thin and could pass through the bars of our quarantine cages, I took her home where she is now looked after by Carole.  

Masika is now the 24th chimp of our J.A.C.K. Refuge and is the 27th to be rescued by us.

Why 27th? We have lost JAK and TOUZO(remember!). But in my next post, I’ll talk about Ikia, a baby female who arrived at J.A.C.K. last July but who didn’t make it…. Unfortunately, rescues haven’t always happy ends,…

I’ll update soon on Masika’s settling in,

Thank you

Roxane

No longer sick, Santa, Kimo and Maïka were ready to return with their chimp mates of the Refuge. They had been at my house for nearly one month and last Monday we decided to move them back to J.A.C.K.

A friend Carole with Santa and Papa Augustin with Maïka and Kimo

I really thought it would be fast and easy for the 3 little ones to meet their Kivu friends after such a long time… But, these were only my thoughts!

The Kivus had taken over Kimo’s and Santa’s territory and Pasa is now imposing himself as the ‘boss’. Bully and … furry, Pasa has become extremely strong and taller than all the others!!!

Which means that Kimo, Santa and Maïka weren’t welcomed with open arms  and that they had to use their strength (and teeth!) during their first meeting/confrontation with the Kivus…

Maïka, despite her very young age, adjusted immediately. Africa grabbed her at once and in a few minutes Maïka had become member of the (female) group again.

Bully, Pasa wanted to push and tease little Maïka

who stood up, attacked him, and….

 submitted herself to the young male…

Santa had a different story. She was chased away by Africa. Upset, noticing that Maïka had abandoned her, little Santa decided to go by herself.

When Pasa approached to bother her, she attacked him and bit him to show she wasn’t intimidated.

Santa seems fragile but she can really defend herself. When she isn’t happy or if there’s something wrong, let me tell you, she has very sharp canines!!!

But Kimo… Kimo didn’t adjust at all at the beginning. When he arrived, he could feel things were going to happen and he really didn’t feel confident at all.

When the Kivu girls came closer, he tried to intimidate them, which didn’t work as Africa has become bossy too!

Then, when it was Pasa’s turn to approach him, Kimo was scared, sought for Papa Augustin’s protection.

Kimo doesn’t like fights, confrontations. He prefers to run away….

Pasa running behind Kimo

It took them all a few hours of hide and seek to adjust themselves and to settle the young group again. That day, they had a lot of fun climbing up trees and playing with one another.

Pasa has actually very strong attitudes and sometimes is unpredictable. The pictures below will show you Pasa gave Papa Augustin a hard time too! (lol)

Although presentations were tough, it is a good thing Kimo, Santa and Maïka are now back in the little group. The best place for them actually is at the Refuge with the other chimpanzees and not in my garden, nor in my house…

Roxane

Last Monday should have been D-Day for the little ones of my place to be moved back to the Refuge.

Unfortunately, Kimo started slight fever again Sunday evening and temperatures have been between 38° and 38°9 since then.

Kimo playing with water

The climate is changing as days become hotter now without any breeze of fresh air(yesterday 37° in the shadow). It has been so dry  for the last 3 months and Kimo has horrible cracks on his feet which are bleeding. In addition, Kimo pulls out any piece of dry skin which makes it soar and obliges him to walk with closed fists!

Kimo walking with his toes closed because of the pain

Kimo’s fever, according to our vet, is caused by the adjusting of his body to the new climate but also because of the pain of his cracks. Pain can provoke stress and stress can give slight fever.

So, Kimo and his mates are still staying with us: Papa Augustin is taking care of the 3 of them and so does Carole, a friend from France who has come to visit us.

Carole

Santa, Maïka are fine and no new sick chimps have been found in our main group at the Refuge. The ‘Kivu 4′ have recovered too and are again playful and full of energy!

Maïka

The chimps are now enjoying the first warm days of our Summer.

Hope this year won’t be too hot as last year the group and our team really suffered of the heat!

Thank you all for reading and for helping us,

Roxane

http://jack.wildlifedirect.org/2008/01/13/jack-a-refuge-centre-for-seized-chimpanzee-babies/

JAK (top) died on post because of the fumes and the flames and TOUZO (below) died one week later. Not funny pictures, but this is what really took place!!

We miss you JAK.

We miss you TOUZO.

You’ll always be in our hearts.

Forever!

The J.A.C.K. team