Group 4 is probably my favorite group of chimps here. These guys range in age from 4 to 8ish so they are just old enough to be devilish and pretty smart, but not quite big enough to kill me yet. at least not in one swift blow. The cool thing about this group is that the sanctuary does a lot to prep them to be independent again. Every day they depart the dorms and head through the fields into nearby patches of forest where they spend the day finding food, playing, and doing normal chimp things. Here they are coming back at night.
Group 4 is also the home of one of my closest friends at tchimpounga, Ulengue. Last year Ulengue and I spent a lot of time together at the nursery which was good and bad. Good cause we got to know each other, and I really enjoyed it...but not great because he wasn't spending enough time with other chimps. He is the kind of chimp who became very human focused in the early years when he should have been with his mother.
As we were leaving last year, ulengue made the big move from the nursery to group 4. I was pretty worried about him because he wasn't getting along with the other chimps well and didn't make any friends too quickly. But in the last year he has made lots and lots of progress and has actually become pretty popular in his cohort.
Good as it is to be here...I'm also ready to come home. There are always certain signs that you've been in congo too long. #1. a beard...its gone now though...promise.
# 2, this is pretty self explanatory right....pathetic.
Group 4 is probably my favorite group of chimps here. These guys range in age from 4 to 8ish so they are just old enough to be devilish and pretty smart, but not quite big enough to kill me yet. at least not in one swift blow. The cool thing about this group is that the sanctuary does a lot to prep them to be independent again. Every day they depart the dorms and head through the fields into nearby patches of forest where they spend the day finding food, playing, and doing normal chimp things. Here they are coming back at night.
Group 4 is also the home of one of my closest friends at tchimpounga, Ulengue. Last year Ulengue and I spent a lot of time together at the nursery which was good and bad. Good cause we got to know each other, and I really enjoyed it...but not great because he wasn't spending enough time with other chimps. He is the kind of chimp who became very human focused in the early years when he should have been with his mother.
As we were leaving last year, ulengue made the big move from the nursery to group 4. I was pretty worried about him because he wasn't getting along with the other chimps well and didn't make any friends too quickly. But in the last year he has made lots and lots of progress and has actually become pretty popular in his cohort.
Good as it is to be here...I'm also ready to come home. There are always certain signs that you've been in congo too long. #1. a beard...its gone now though...promise.
# 2, this is pretty self explanatory right....pathetic.
1 comment:
omg beard
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