Not knowing when I might be in Africa again I wanted to indulge myself in the beautiful city of Cape Town and the stunning Garden Route before I completely left the continent. I spent 2 weeks in Cape Town and one week on the Garden Route with a small tour, driving up to Addo Elephant Reserve. This gave me plenty of time to fully relax into Cape Town, with all of the touristic sites, and also to enjoy the local cultural scenes.
The photos will speak for themselves!
Robben Island Prison
SCENES FROM THE GARDEN ROUTE TOUR
Suiting up for the zip line
It is almost hard to take in so much beautiful scenery. South Africa seems to have everything - beaches and penguins, whales and dolphins, vineyards and mountains, lovely backpackers spots, canyons and caves, zip-lines and elephants galore. Our Gang of 6 had a great time together and we are filled with marvelous memories.
After a long flight from Cape Town to Douala, Cameroon, I had 24 hours of rest before taking the next 30 hours to fly three different flights home to San Diego. I am now in happy reunion with dog Bodhi, and brother Steve and sis-in-law Trisha. All is well.
I am spending one month as a volunteer in the forest/jungle outside of Yaounde, Cameroon with 300 primates. This is a 1044 hectare reserve housing rescued gorillas, chimps and a variety of monkeys. I have been assigned to work with the “nursery” chimps which means the 2-5 year olds. There are 14 of them and the job involves cleaning their sleeping enclosure, feeding them 3 times/day, and observing their behaviors while they wrestle, climb and tumble around their miniature jungle space. I have been trying to distinguish them and learn their names. Some have very distinct body types and faces and noticeable personality styles- such as Muma who has longer hair and is the dominant (bully) male, and Ndele who has a little scar on her forehead, and Vicky who has a lighter complexion and usually walks standing up. Then there is Samburu who had meningitis as an infant so now walks like he has had a stroke on his right side - he reminds me of the hunchback of Notre Dame, but he plays and participates with the others as if there is no handicap. I am told by the vet that he is one of their miracle stories as he was very ill and nearly died.
Aysha and Mack
Two doors away from my room are the hand-reared infants (one year old). Mack, the little boy is healthy and looks like the perfect little chimp doll. Aysha has been very sick with meningitis and pneumonia but seems to be flourishing in the company of Mack and a consistent care-taker. The care that these animals receive is so impressive. There are four vets on staff and nothing is withheld to save the life of an animal if it looks like there is hope. (As an aside, I am aware that these animals receive better health care than most Cameroonians who are unable to afford medications and hospitalizations.)
Spending time with these guys reminds me of watching an unsupervised pre-school class. As I watch them swing around on the highest tree limb, or pound a smaller chimp, or steal something from their neighbor, I can hear the mothers yelling “Be Careful”, “Don’t Hit”, or “You mustn’t take things that don’t belong to you”. They do seem to work it out without too much adult intervention. Occasionally the care-taker will yell (in chimp hoo-hoo language) for the fighting to stop. There are two babies (2 year olds) in the group and the chimps take turns caring for them. Sometimes they get picked on by the bullies and the others will intervene to protect the babies. They provide each other protection, nurturing and companionship. They also enjoy attention from the humans and when I stand at the door (that doesn’t have the electric fencing) they rush to it for some tactile interaction. We slap hands, I groom and tickle them (they have a distinct chimp laugh), and dodge them as they grab for my hair- one pair of sunglasses has bit the dust when grabbed off of my head.
I also care for four young monkeys who are in their own small cage. They are beautiful and remind me of the amazing thing mother-nature has done with colors- Button-nose, Moustache (with a lovely purple and yellow face) , and Patos monkies. The older female likes to jump on me and give me harmless bites when I enter the cage for feeding. It takes a little getting used to…
Today is an unusual day of being confined to my room, along with all of the other animals remaining in their confines; the reason being that 11 adult chimps escaped from their forested enclosure last night and are wandering the forest. These guys are wild and dangerous. Two of them were found and tranquilized but 12 hours later, 9 of them are still on the loose. A few months ago, one of the gorillas escaped and walked into the kitchen where a female volunteer was and beat her up. So not only do I have to stay in my room, but I have to keep the door locked as these animals are adept at opening doors. Story to be continued.
Night-time cuddling
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Marshall the handicapped Spot-Nosed Monkey
MEFOU – WEEK 2
Bedtime for the Nursery babies
In my three years living in Africa, this is the first time I have become ill from the things they always warn you about – food and water.So, besides spending the week recovering from fever, etc etc (read between the etcs.) there has been the saga of the escaped chimps.It took 5 days to get them all back into the enclosure.And after one mother and her baby were returned, she found a way out over the fence and is still on the “most wanted” list this week.
I almost have all of the 14 babies ID’d now.One rascal zipped through an unlocked door two days ago – not on my watch, Thank God – and he had 6 people chasing him around as he gleefully swung through the trees, climbed on roof tops, tore down damp laundry, and disconnected our generator-run electricity (two days later still waiting for repair).After an hour, he was scared back into the enclosure – Whew!Two of these babies had been living with humans before coming to the reserve.These are also the two that are always around, hanging on the fence waiting for a tickle, or just watching and attending to the humans. One of them looks just like Gollum (Lord of the Rings) and the other has become my new boyfriend.I was delighted to meet the Who from Whoville (Dr.Seuss’character) in the beautiful adult monkey enclosure.This HAS to be the inspiration for the character.He stands up straight when he walks and looks like a funny little bearded man.
The Presidential election results were just announced.Biya, who is around 80 years old and has been President nearly 30 years was – surprise, surprise- reelected with 79% of the vote.There was great anticipation of demonstrations but nothing came of it.I think many people feel some combination of disappointment and patience, knowing that eventually he will be gone.But the people with power and influence in Cameroon haven’t demonstrated that they have the common man’s interests at heart.The population is not apathetic or apolitical – just seemingly powerless.
There is a faction of the military known as the BIR.They are the Presidential security force and they basically strike terror into the hearts of the common man.If you are grabbed by one of these guys (possibly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time) you surely will be beaten and tortured. (I heard plenty of these stories first hand from people I met in prison.) These are also the men, assigned by the government, guarding this reserve….nice, polite, attractive young men.In fact, I was wondering if one of the qualifications for entry was to be devastatingly handsome.The head of the BIR was an Israeli Colonel who was killed last year in a helicopter crash.He was also the director of the Mefou reserve.He and his wife were greatly admired by the staff here.The couple loved animals to the extent that they cared for numerous ones in their home in Yaounde.Once again, I am reminded of the many facets of being a human….the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Gorilla Baby Lucy
MEFOU- WEEK 3
Two orphaned baby gorillas have come to the reserve this week.Both mothers, it is suspected, were killed by poachers.One (Lucy) came from the border of Central African Republic and the other (Chickaboo) from deep in the Eastern Cameroonian forests.Chickaboo’s hand was caught in a snare and is now unusable, although they are hoping that an orthopedic surgeon will come to operate on it.There is a stateside organization, PASA (Pan African Sanctuary Alliance), which funds and provides specialized care to African primate sanctuaries.Regarding poachers, there are strict laws and fines if one is actually caught, but this is the difficult part.
The last escaped adult chimp and her baby were finally captured.She returned to the area of the reserve where her fellow companions lived, so the staff was able to dart tranquilize her and return her safely to the enclosure.
I have been enjoying settling into a rhythm with the 14 Nursery baby chimps…although it is easy to forget that they are babies as they function so independently, are so athletic, and do so much care-taking of each other.But as the Director said, they are babies taking care of babies, and sadly they have missed the mothering that they would normally still be receiving in their natural state.There is a new plan to introduce the newest one year old babies to adult female chimps who could adopt these babies as their own and give them the mothering and care that they deserve.This “introduction” is a lengthy and carefully orchestrated process, possibly taking months to accomplish.First, a baby would meet, through wired protection, the alpha female of the established adult group. Acceptance by the alpha female is essential as no one would be safe if she didn’t approve. (Infanticide is known in the chimp world, as documented by Jane Goodall)Over time there would be more contact allowed.Once the baby is accepted by the alpha female, the “prospective” mother chimp would be introduced to the baby through the same careful process.Once it is determined that mother and baby have bonded and that the baby is safe, they would be allowed to join the group.This is a delicate process and will require time and expertise by the staff.
Shia entering the surgery room
One of the really fun activities for the chimps and the caretakers is allowing them to view themselves in a mirror.They seem to love seeing themselves; they bob up and down, jump up and down in front of it, posture, look behind it, make noises at themselves, and generally seem excited and delighted. I believe that some great apes, dolphins, elephants, and even some birds are able to recognize themselves in reflection…it is a higher order cognitive function.
I had the privilege to observe the head vet perform surgery on one of the 11 year old male gorillas.His caretaker could see that Shai was looking ragged when he came in at the end of the day.One of his testicles was torn and exposed so it was decided that surgery would be performed the next morning by the head vet, Babs.The gorilla was tranquilized and hauled by wheel-barrow to the vet’s office.He was then shaved and prepped for the required stitching that was performed. They also discovered that he had a broken rib which is basically untreatable, the hope being that it will mend itself over time.They suspect that the injuries were sustained from a hard fall.Shia will be kept in his own enclosure for some time, limiting his activity and giving him a chance to heal.It was quite impressive for me to be inches away from this magnificent creature, to touch him, photograph him and feel compassion for what he was going through.
MEFOU- WEEK 4
Baby Mbia has arrived.She is a 16 month old female chimp, having been rescued from Equatorial Guinea. To make a long story short, an amazing young British woman (Juliet) is living and working in Equatorial Guinea to educate the people on the Bush meat problem.While she was there, it was discovered that some baby gorillas were on the market to be sold.The EG government was informed but didn’t take appropriate actions, so those baby gorillas disappeared but a baby chimp was turned-over to authorities instead.Juliet took baby Mbia into her care for a month while trying to get the paperwork to bring her to the Mefou Reserve.After a 14 hour car-ride and many check-points baby and mama arrived to stay in my room.Mbia was extremely attached to Juliet and we imagined that Juliet’s departure would be dramatic and difficult.Through experience, the staff has found that slipping out in the night when the baby is sleeping is the less traumatic way to make the transition.So Juliet and Mbia and I all slept on a mattress on the floor the final night and Juliet managed to slip out from Mbia’s grip.When Mbia arose in the morning, I had a bottle ready for her and although she looked a little dazed, she grabbed on to me and allowed me to be her new comforter.What a relief!We had a mellow and pleasant 24 hours together, bottle feeding, diaper changing, sharing food, and playing.It was an experience I had been yearning for as long as I can remember.
This relationship suddenly changed when my new roommate, a volunteer from France, arrived and Mbia instantly decided that she preferred Natalie to me.Very quickly, I was on the outs with Mbia and became the default caretaker only when Natalie was absent for brief periods.It was perplexing how quickly that occurred and how definite the chimp’s preferences were, but it was a good choice for her as it meant one less loss in her life with my departure eminent in the next few days. Ahhh, but rejection by a baby chimp can strike deep into one’s heart!I even have a few bite wounds to prove it!
My final day was spent visiting all the animals in the reserve one last time.I had to say good-by to the four darling baby monkeys that had been under my care and then there were the good-byes to the 14 baby chimps.By now, I had developed affection for certain chimps and I had one, Max, that I called my boyfriend.So when we arranged for me to be inside the enclosure with some selected (read mild-mannered) chimps, Max and I got to hug and snuggle with each other.They all are so hungry for attention and holding, it makes my want to have gigantic arms to hold them all. So another dream was met in this opportunity to be with these babies in their environment.
I can’t say enough good things about this organization (ApeActionAfrica.org) and its dedicated staff.These people work very hard on a shoestring budget providing excellent care for the animals that come under their care.They have no government funding, so are relying completely on donations.Cameroon is home to 9 endangered primates and Mefou is doing an excellent job in keeping these beautiful beings alive and well.I will forever be grateful for this opportunity to live with and learn from the primates.
Bamenda has been in a spin over the death of one of its leading pastors.The story reads like an exciting and tragic mystery novel.The Presbyterian minister of the largest church in Bamenda was shot and killed outside of his home one morning by about 5 young men.Initially it appeared that it was an attempted robbery gone bad.But as time and investigation proceeded, suspicions began arising that there was more motive than this; that possibly these young men had been up for hire.No money was taken and the pastor was shot a number of times to include once in the head. He lived for several days, but died on his way to a larger hospital for more surgery. After several days the men were rounded-up and captured but then most suspiciously and embarrassingly for the police, four of them managed to escape from the jail cells. Shockingly, after they were captured and being transported to another prison, the vehicle they were in was in an accident and one of the prisoners died. We all know that these prisoners were likely under severe torture and beatings to reveal their story.So within days, more information began leaking out.The former pastor, who had quit about 7 years previously, became a hot topic of suspicion.He had overseen the fund-raising of a large building project for the church.Rumors were that he had come under some allegations of stealing money from the project (Large Amounts of Money!) so he quit and joined Elecam (the committee responsible for counting election votes in Cameroon-just the right place for corrupt individuals!). A new pastor was assigned to this church, but the new pastor was asked to look into the finances of the building project to determine what had happened to the money. So after some years in this role, the new pastor is said to have found some damning evidence pointing to the former pastor.This is where the corruption and evil become very dark.Rumors say that the former pastor and his son, with their stolen money, hired some thugs to murder the new pastor in the hopes of burying the evidence against them.And possibly some of this money also went to buying off some police officers to help the men escape.
The final story has not been verified nor has anyone gone to trial.I know from my personal experience in the Cameroonian prisons, that justice can be extremely slow – that torture is not uncommon when it comes to making interrogations and that people in influential and high positions can be bought and sold. Time will tell what kind of justice this pastor and his family will receive.The funeral was attended by people from all over Cameroon and this beloved pastor will be missed by his congregation.
GOOD-BY BAMENDA
Art by Damien Blue
I really do dislike “good-bys” but I also know they are important.So after great ambivalence, I decided to host a final party at my “perfect party” home for 30 of my “closest friends”- Cameroonians and ex-pats.It was too wet for a bonfire but we had our great dance music and dance teacher.We also had the walls filled with the art of one of the more talented Bamenda painters, adding a lovely ambiance to the rooms. Little stories were told, sweet gifts exchanged and many hugs and words of appreciation were shared.
My Bamenda Family
The night before my departure, the electricity went out in the neighborhood.This was also the night that a number of people were coming over to collect the items that they had purchased from me.So I had no less than ten people running around my house in the dark, me with my headlamp, trying to pack up the kitchen, collect food items, get the right stuff to the right people, and get my sweet cat, Cammie, into her new owner’s arms.(We succeeded in doing that, although she peed all over me in the process.)The following morning, all of the furniture and the bed went to its new owners, piled high on top of their flatbed truck- an African version of the Beverly Hillbillys.
I seem to be easing my way out of Cameroon, which is making it all a little less traumatic.I am now in the capital, Yaounde, to complete some training for my organization with the staff here.After finishing this, and joining the ranks of the unemployed, I will spend a month at the Mefou Primate Reserve just outside of Yaounde (ApeActionAfrica.org) living and working with the baby chimps and gorillas.This is going to be a real change of pace and also will fulfill a long-time dream of mine to get up-close and personal with the chimps. Stay tuned for plenty of photos of chimps!
Suiting up for the zip line
