Lola ya Bonobo

No, no, Eve isn’t the only one who likes to eat apples! Making the most of a student, momentarily distracted, who uses apples for treats to reward the bonobos in the study that she is undertaking, our little Kasaï discreetly snuck over to a piece of apple meant for someone else. She grabbed it and ran off with her precious loot… to quietly eat it safely out of sight!

Kasaï may be the smallest of all our little orphans, but she is by no means the least mischievous…

Kasaï checking out the situation…

No harm, no foul…

Well worth it… there’s a good reason the students use apples as a reward!

Enclosure 1 has yet again had the joy of a new birth. Lisala recently gave birth to a little female called Nyota (star in Lingala), both mother and baby are doing just fine. Nyota is Lisala’s first baby and she is very caring and affectionate with her precious offspring.

Nyota was born with a little pink mouth and a mass of black hairs on her head, but “bonobo fashion” obliging… it didn’t resist long to the plucking by her mother, a real shame, she was so pretty…

Mother and daughter on the day Nyota was born

Just look how much she looks like her mother!

Maman Henriette, the first ever substitute mother at Lola, has left the nursery to take on the position of head keeper of enclosure 3 where she was overjoyed and proud to find her past babies grown so big and strong.
But the needs for mamas in the nursery are the same so we have welcomed Hortense who started working with the little ones several months ago now. She received a warm welcome from our happy little babies, excited to be able to play and cuddle a brand new and kind mama. Of course others, such as Shibo and Kodoro, tried and tested the limits, little tearaways that they are…

One from Basankusu, the other from Mbandaka, they both arrived at Lola on the 9th of January, in the same tiny cage. The transfer was organised by Chacal, one of our men at Ekolo ya Bonobo. The two little males are probably around the same age, Bombo however, weighed nearly twice as much as his frail little companion who, on arrival, was severely emaciated and completely dehydrated… a real sorry sight!

In the weeks that followed, we were to have our share of frights. First off, Bombo stopped eating and drinking and seemed to be suffering from abdominal pains, then Kwilu suffered from severe pain throughout his tiny body along with a very high fever. We soon found out that he was infected with the chikungunya virus (the two mamas looking after them also caught the infection, transmitted by mosquitoes)
Luckily, with the right treatment, lots of love and time dedicated to them, the two little orphans and now in great shape and are currently being introduced into the nursery.

Kwilu, the day he arrived, unbearably thin… and terrified by any sudden sound or movement.

Bombo, on arrival, in much better physical condition than Kwilu, at least from the outside… the little guy is full of tenderness!

Kwilu, six weeks later, gaining weight and getting stronger day by day… Behind him is Tess, his bodyguard, no more harm will come to him… she is watching!!!

The young pupils of the Fatuma Primary school in Selembao, Kinshasa recently came to visit Lola and observed the bonobos drinking from plastic bottles, be it the babies in the nursery of those in the adult groups. Some share their bottle with others, whilst others prefer to have their very own bottle to be able to savour the delicious drink wherever they wish to. This is particularly true of the alpha females, no bonobo would be unwise enough as to try to steal it!

And so, very proudly, alongside their headmaster, they handed over no less than 250 empty plastic bottles which they had collected from their friends and family. Thank you to the children for their mobilisation!

The Mama’s at the sanctuary, very attentive to their little ones, noticed that Shibo was avoiding the use of his right arm as he played with the others. A rapid warning and Fanny the vet was on her way. She brought him out of the nursery enclosure to examine him, under the watchful eye of Espérance and Micheline.

Luckily, the exam showed nothing serious and after a big hug, little Shibo joined his friends again in their endless roly-polys!

Kole, one of our more recent arrivals, has no reason to be jealous of the experience of the bigger bonobos… especially when it comes to nest making skills! As soon as his hand was healed enough following his operation he began climbing up into the trees and crossing branches over one another to make a bouncy nest… just great for a little nap!

It’s really encouraging to see how well he has kept this instinctive behaviour so important to these forest dwellers!

Who said our lucky start doesn’t exist? Certainly not our little Kole! This time round it was shining over him…

When he arrived at Lola he had a very severe wound to the first three fingers of his right hand, a wound most likely suffered when his mother was being slaughtered.

Doctor Paypay, renowned in Kinshasa for his talent in orthopaedic surgery came to visit Lola with several friends and French colleagues on mission in the Congo; an opportunity not to be missed! Fanny, the Lola vet hurried to show them Kole’s wounds and to plead his cause. Without hesitation one of the surgeons, Dr Marc Anzalone offered to carry out an operation that would at least improve Kole’s handicap and give him partial use of his fingers back.

The operation took place the very next day with the help of the great veterinary team we have at Lola. Everything went really well and Kole was quite happy to accept the post-surgery care needed.

We’ll let you know how he progresses!

At Lola, dental hygiene is no joke: Kasai, one of our more recent arrivals, was very curious on arrival at Lola and enjoyed imitating her substitution mother. During her quarantine period she got into practising the use of a toothbrush, not a bad effort!! No mention of her favourite brand of toothpaste though…