A chimpanzee that survives the physical and emotional trauma of capture can take years to recover

A new study, published in the International Journal of Primatology, examines 11 Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) member facilities, predicting their carrying capacity for chimpanzees and provides a roadmap for long term resource, infrastructure and financial planning.

Lead author Lisa Faust, PhD a research biologist with Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo said, "The most sobering part of this study is realizing that most of these institutions already report being at capacity or close to capacity, and yet on average the group of sanctuaries are collectively faced with accepting 56 new chimpanzee arrivals every year, most of them under the age of two to three years old. Because chimpanzees are long-lived, this means that most of the sanctuaries will need to sustain or increase their current size, because they will continue to accept new arrivals as part of their commitment to chimpanzee welfare and law enforcement."

Chimpanzees are an endangered species, and while poaching is illegal it remains a major problem threatening their continued survival.
"PASA sanctuaries play a vital role in helping rescue and rehabilitate chimpanzees and other endangered primates, and that is our main objective," said Doug Cress, executive director of PASA. "But it's easy to get caught up in the day to day fight for survival and lose perspective. This study is so important because it allows us to step back and see where we'll be in the coming years and decades and to plan accordingly. Population modeling on this level is a wonderful tool."

A chimpanzee that survives the physical and emotional trauma of capture can take years to recover. But PASA member sanctuaries accept that long-term commitment, even if the only possible alternative to lifetime care -- reintroduction, the physical return of the chimpanzees back to the forest -- is a difficult and relatively new endeavor.

Chimpanzee reintroduction projects currently underway at PASA sanctuaries in Congo and Guinea have put more than 50 chimpanzees back into the wild, and three Cameroon sanctuaries are preparing to double that number through reintroduction programs in the next few years. But the cost, which can easily double a sanctuary's budget, is just one of the many obstacles to more widespread reintroduction.
Story Credit Here

Blankets for the Chimpanzees

Chimpanzees love blankets. Most of the sanctuaries welcome blankets for their Chimpanzees as a donation. For those that know of me, and those that don't, I once made the mistake of owning 2 Chimpanzees, Mikey and Louie. While they were still very young I decided to place them so that they could be with others of their own kind. Last weekend we went to Garden Ridge and bought 32 blankets to send to where Mikey and Louie are for all of the Apes that they have. There are Garden Ridges in about every state. We only paid $3.00 a blanket! They are soft and large enough for the chimps to play with and snuggle with. Before we bought at Garden Ridge we would buy them from IKEA which also were only $3.00.

The picture above is at the UPS store after the blankets were packed. I believe the shipping for these were less than 40.00. As you can see it isn't expensive to help the Chimpanzees and to make them happy.

Pick your favorite Sanctuary and send them some blankets, it really does make you feel good.

What is a Bonobo Ape?

It is difficult to answer the question: "What is a Bonobo?" Bonobos are complex beings with profound intelligence, emotionality, and sensitivity. It's like asking the question: "What is a human?" And, how do you answer? Philosophers, scientists, and mystics have been trying to figure it out for thousands of years!

Biologically speaking, bonobos are the closest you can get to being human without being human. Bonobos look more like humans than other apes, and display many behavioral similarities as well. Bonobos and people share more than 98% of the same genetic make-up (DNA). Bonobos and their cousins the chimpanzees, are more closely related genetically to us than they are to gorillas! But, like gorillas, they dwell only in the equatorial forests of central Africa, the cradle of humanity itself.

Bonobos are great apes, along with chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas. Because we share so many characteristics with these simian species, some scientists contend that humans should be classified as apes too. Indigenous people who have dwelled among bonobos in the Congo forest have many legends about how bonobos and man were brothers in the distant past. They tell stories about how bonobos showed people what foods to eat in the forest, how a bonobo saved a man who needed help, how bonobos themselves are trying to become human.
These apes have fascinated indigenous people of Africa for hundreds, even thousands of years, yet to most of the world's population, they have been known to exist only for the span of one lifetime. Bonobos were not discovered by scientists until 1933, and even then, not alive, but in the Tervuren Museum in Belgium, identified by means of a skull. Classified as Pan paniscus, bonobos have been studied in the wild and in captivity for about 30 years, since the mid-1970s. They dwell in the tropical forests of the Congo Basin south of the Congo River. Bonobos are found in only one country: the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire), a resource-rich region ravaged by years of war.
Although more research is needed to determine current populations, we do know that that their numbers have been decimated during the war. Urgent help is needed.

A Different Breed of Ape

Bonobos stand apart from the other great apes in fascinating and important ways.

Physically, their anatomy most closely resembles Australopithecus, our early human ancestor. Bonobos walk bipedally, on two feet, more easily and for longer periods of time than the other apes. They are highly intelligent. Some bonobos in captivity have even learned to use human language! But perhaps the most compelling feature of bonobos is their society.

Peaceful and powered by females
... In contrast to the competitive, male-dominated culture of their close relative the chimpanzee, bonobo society is peaceful, matriarchal and more egalitarian. Bonobos live in large groups where harmonious coexistence is the norm. While in many ways, males and females have "separate but equal" roles, females carry the highest rank, and the sons of ranking females are the leaders among males. Females form close bonds and alliances, which is another way they maintain their power among males, who are larger and stronger physically.

Like chimps, bonobo society is "male philopatric," meaning that the females migrate to other groups when they reach puberty. This eliminates the chance of incest and increases genetic diversity. However, the wild bonobo population is so fragmented now in the Congo, with small groups living in isolated pockets, that the sustainability of the species is severely threatened. It will be critical for us to establish protected areas and corridors to provide for genetic viability of the species. However, bonobos share a human landscape, and our work with indigenous Congolese people is an important aspect of bonobo conservation. Learn about BCI's programs to protect bonobos.

"Make Love, Not War"

Bonobos seem to ascribe to the 1960s hippie credo, "make love, not war." They make a lot of love, and do so in every conceivable fashion. Beyond that, they are very loving too, showing care and compassion for each other in many ways. Sex in bonobo society transcends reproduction, as it does in humans. It serves as a way of bonding, exchanging energy and sharing pleasure.

Bonobos have been described as "pansexual" by psychologist Frans de Waal. Sex permeates the fabric of bonobo society, weaving through all aspects of daily life. It serves an important function in keeping the society together, maintaining peaceful, cooperative relations. Besides heterosexual contact, both male and female bonobos engage in same-sex encounters, and even group sex occurs. Female-female contact, or "GG-rubbing," is actually the most common. Unlike other apes, bonobos frequently copulate face-to-face, looking into each others eyes. When bonobo groups meet in the forest, they greet each other, bond sexually, and share food instead of fighting. Likewise, almost any conflict between bonobos is eased by sexual activity, grooming, or sharing food.
Like humans, bonobo females are sexually receptive throughout most of their estrus cycle. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), on the other hand, only mate during the few days when a female is fertile. Generally, the ranking males in chimp society "get the girls." Male chimps make macho displays to impress females and can be quite vehement in their demands. Consequently, chimp females do not have much control over who they mate with. Bonobo males tend to be a bit more polite. They ask first, by displaying themselves in a persuasive but non-aggressive manner, offering food or making other propositions - and bonobo females have the right to refuse.
The sexual aspect of bonobo behavior is best understood in the context of bonobo culture. Sex does not necessarily mean the same thing to a bonobo that it does to a human. However, it raises compelling questions about the roots of human nature, and is particularly striking in contrast to chimpanzee society. Scholars continue to study this unique phenomenon and debate its implications.

Swingin' in the Trees ... Singin' in the Breeze

What's it like to come upon a group of bonobos in the forest? First of all, you'd better look up! Bonobos spend a lot of time high in the rainforest canopy. These acrobatic apes move through the trees swiftly and gracefully, maneuvering through the forest to forage on fruit and other foods. They also travel on the ground, often single file along their own sort of trail system. They tend to like swampy areas, where sometimes they dig for grubs or small crustaceons. Bonobos have complex mind maps of the forest and coordinate travel through vocalizations and other forms of communication people do not yet understand.
Bonobos live in groups of up to 100, breaking up into foraging groups by day and gathering to nest at night, in a fission-fusion modality. When bonobos gather in the trees to make their night nests, they fill the twilight with a symphony of soprano squeals. Their high-pitched vocalizations sound like a flock of exotic birds, compared to the more gutteral hoots of chimpanzees.
Bonobos eat a variety of foods, including fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouts, vegetation, and mushrooms. They eat various parts of plants, including the leaves, flowers, bark, stems, pith, and roots. They also eat small mammals, insect larvae, earthworms, honey, eggs, and soil. Unlike chimpanzees who form hunting parties to capture monkeys, bonobos do not aggressively hunt mammals. On rare occasions, they have been observed to capture duikers (small antelope) or flying squirrels, but this seems to be circumstantial.

Bonobos do forage for "mbindjos," or caterpillars, the larvae of various butterfly species. Mbindjos are also collected and eaten by local villagers who share the forest with bonobos. In fact, indigenous people of the Congo Basin and bonobos eat many of the same foods.

Life Stage Age (years)
Nursing Period 0-5
First Genital swelling 7
Begins to wander between groups 8
Settles into new group 9-13
Menarche and first-sized swelling 10
Growth-cessation 14-16
First offspring 13-15
Cessation of ovulation 40
Longevity 50-55
Number of offspring possible in lifetime: 5-6

Information Credit Here, photos and to donate to the BCI

Participate in the Congo Challenge to help the Bonobos

Australian researcher Vanessa Woods studies the co-operative nature of bonobos in a wildlife sanctuary in the DRC

Bonobos are humankind's closest relatives -- so much so that humans may be classified asanother kind of great ape except for the fact that we we are defining the classification -- yet most people do not know they exist! Bonobos were last great ape species to be discovered. And they could be the first to go extinct if we do not act quickly to save them and their rainforest home.

They only live in one country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire). Bonobos stand apart from the other great apes in fascinating and important ways. But perhaps the most compelling aspect of bonobos is their society based on sex rather than war...
Make Love, Not War

“Bonobos share 99 percent of their DNA with humans, more than any other primate, and bonobos are much nearer to us in physiognomy than chimpanzees. Unlike chimps, bonobos have broad shoulders and torsos that are proportioned much like humans. Bonobos can and often do walk upright with a human-like gait.”

“There are less than 150 bonobos in zoos and 10,000 at most in the wild. Due to the civil war and breakdown of communications in the large area of jungle between the Congo and Kasai rivers that the bonobos inhabit, their actual numbers are not known, but it is feared that their numbers have been greatly reduced by the trade in ‘bush meat’...”

“Bonobos also have other human attributes... Unlike other primates, humans and bonobos have separated sex from its reproductive function, and use it as a medium of exchange. Sexual transactions in humans are to obtain something for the individual who grants the favor, whereas bonobos use sex to defuse social tensions, to maintain a peaceful community.”

“Bonobos not only want peace within their communities, they want peace with other bonobo communities and with all the world. Humans, like chimpanzees, murder their neighbors to expand their territory, kill females and infants in genocide, batter their own females into submission, and commit rape. Chimpanzees hunt for meat and even commit cannibalism within their own social group.”

“Bonobos [do] the exact opposite, live in female managed societies where violence is not tolerated, where rape and infanticide do not exist, where other species are not killed, and where a wide variety of enjoyable sexual activities are used to enhance friendships and to resolve conflicts.”

“[N]otice that female bonobos, like human women, have large breasts that are not functionally necessary for nursing, but serve for sexual attraction. Like human females, the genitalia of female bonobos are in the front, for face to face copulation, which makes humans and bonobos unique among the primates.”

Conservation Saves Lives

The Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI) is dedicated to ensuring the survival of the bonobo (Pan paniscus) and its tropical forest habitat in the Congo Basin. By working nationally, internationally, and with indigenous Congolese people through cooperative conservation and community development programs, BCI is establishing new protected areas and leading efforts to safeguard bonobos wherever they are found.

•BCI has a new brochure filled with information and photos about work in the Congo.

•Adopt a Bonobo. Make a difference by giving the gift of bonobo conservation today. Adoption, for yourself or as a gift, will help BCI continue its work to save the bonobos. Adoption directly supports efforts to create new protected areas, rescuing bonobos that have been orphaned or captured, and supporting dedicated rangers and monitoring teams.

•Congo Challenge Grant: Double the impact of gifts to BCI by participating in the Congo Challenge, a dollar-for-dollar
Story Credit here
The Bonobo Conservation Initiative website here and to donate

Tell Pizza Hut to stop slicing up the rainforest. It is killing our Apes

Pizza Hut's headquarters in Dallas, T.X. recently got a visit from a live orangutan. OK, so it wasn't a real ape — it was a guy sporting an orangutan costume. The fake ape provided a very real message, though: Pizza Hut's use of unsustainable palm oil is killing Indonesia's rainforests and the animals that call these regions home.
The "orangutan" and his human accomplice showed up at Pizza Hut's headquarters courtesy of Greenpeace. The non-profit has been running a campaign for the past several months asking major food providers to switch from rainforest-killing palm oil to certified sustainable oils. The pressure pushed Nestle, Burger King, Kraft, and other major purveyors to ditch Sinar Mas, an unsustainable palm oil provider, and start sourcing their oils from eco-friendly operations. Pizza Hut, however, seems to be sticking to the status quo.

The orangutan and his Greenpeace buddy didn't make it any further than Pizza Hut's lobby before they were stopped by security. The two hoped to deliver — in pizza boxes — more than 7,000 signed petitions from folks who want the pizza purveyor to switch to sustainable palm oil. The two were even asked to stop filming the event, but you can check out the duo's unsuccessful attempts at petition delivery here.

The real issue here is Pizza Hut's reliance on Sinar Mas, an unscrupulous supplier that dominates the world's palm oil industry. The majority of global palm oil comes from Southeast Asia — namely, Indonesia. The country is home to pristine rainforest ecosystems, and the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are some of the most biologically diverse habitats on earth. The palm oil trade threatens to destroy these sensitive regions and send their native flora and fauna spiraling into oblivion.

Though Sinar Mas is the most popular global palm oil supplier, it's also the most environmentally destructive. Clear-cutting rainforest and bulldozing peatlands in order to plant oil palm plantations is regular practice in Indonesia. Sinar Mas sources much of its oil from these unsustainable operations. Not only do plantations like this destroy rainforest ecosystems and contribute to global warming, they threaten the existence of the plants and animals that live in these habitats. The situation is especially dire for species like the orangutan and Sumatran tiger, which teeter on the brink of extinction. A little spike in the popularity of stuffed-crust pizza could move these species' statuses from "endangered" to "extinct."

Certified sustainable palm oil providers certainly exist, so there's no reason that any company should continue to rely on Sinar Mas. Consumer pressure already pushed Burger King, Kraft, Nestle, and Unilever to ditch their unsustainable palm oil providers. Let's help Greenpeace get Pizza Hut to do the same. Sign Greenpeace's petition asking Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts to immediately drop Sinar Mas and switch to using sustainable palm oil.
Story credit here and to sign the petition please

Landmark deal for protection of releasing Orangutans back into the wild in Borneo

Conservationists are celebrating a "landmark" deal to give more protection to a site for releasing orangutans back into the wild in Borneo.

The Orangutan Foundation has secured the support of government representatives, local villages, community organisations and two palm oil companies for an agreement to strengthen the buffer zone around the 56,000 hectare Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve in Indonesia. The reserve is home to many endangered species, including orangutans.

Some 160 of the "red apes" have been released into the reserve and 40 new orangutans have been born there.

It comes as the Orangutan Foundation launches a £200,000 fundraising appeal to mark its 20th anniversary. The charity has said the money raised will go to support projects including wildlife reserves and the creation of new conservation areas to protect orangutans.
Story Credit Here
Their website here

Hangki, the Orangutan at the Orangutan Foundation International is climbing trees again

As you read the title of this article, the thought might have occurred to you that an orangutan climbing a tree is not really news worthy. We would normally agree; indeed, if we were to write a news item for every time that an orangutan climbs a tree at the Care Center, there would be no time left for rehabilitation, feeding, enrichment, or anything else! However, in the case of Hangki, climbing a tree is an amazing and extraordinary achievement.

Hangki was a rehabilitated ex-captive orangutan living comfortably in the wild when she was struck down by an unknown viral disease which left her paralyzed from the hips down. Subsequently, she was brought back to our Care Center. She has been living here for several years now, where she enjoys regular outings to the forest. While in the forest, Hangki takes things very slowly. Because she cannot move her legs, she gets around by using her arms to drag herself towards branches and tree trunks, or by doing some very unique head-over-feet summersaults. Most of Hangki´s movements and activities in the forest serve one sole purpose, and that is to find food!

Over the years, several different caregivers have worked with Hangki and tried to improve her physical abilities and range of motion. A common exercise involved spreading treats around in the forest and keeping Hangki physically active by making her work to find these snacks. Using peanuts as rewards always led to the most success; there is very little that Hangki won’t do for a peanut! But whenever a peanut was hidden up in a tree, Hangki would turn to her caregiver with a look that seemed to say: “I’m not going all the way up there just for one tiny peanut!!”

Here at OFI, we have always believed that Hangki has the potential to once again climb trees. Because she had so much experience exploring the forest canopy before she was paralyzed and because of the well developed strength and flexibility that remain in her arms, we’ve always maintained high hopes that her time in the trees was not yet over. For Hangki, however, there never seemed a good enough reason for her to bother trying to climb trees. That, however, was before she was introduced to the rattan balls that our enrichment team makes! These wicker-like balls can be filled to the brink with peanuts and this made Hangki’s motivation to obtain the reward rise to new heights (literally)! When a rattan ball full of peanuts was positioned on a tree branch a few meters off the ground, Hangki gathered together all her strength and went for it! Take a look at the amazing results!!

Hangki grabs the first branch within reach and takes a good look at the rattan ball up in the tree.

With the first flexing of her muscles, Hangki pulls herself upright and gets ready for a big climbing adventure

Hangki lifts herself completely from the ground while holding the first branch and then she slowly reaches higher.

With two hands firmly on the second branch, Hangki gets ready to pull herself up and towards the rattan ball. She is already halfway!

After Hangki pulls herself up to the second branch, she doesn’t have the strength to cling onto it with one arm and to reach for the rattan ball with the other. Instead, she bites deep into the branch and uses her strong jaw to hold on.

As the branch begins to bend under the weight of big Hangki, she stretches out with her long arm and manages, with the very tips of her fingers, to push the rattan ball off the branch and into the soft grass.

The rattan ball is on the ground right in front of Hangki and she is very much looking forward to pulling it apart and obtaining the peanuts hidden inside. You would expect Hangki to drop to the ground immediately…

… but instead it seems as if Hangki is enjoying being in the trees once again and, just for the fun of it, she plays around a little more on the branches before landing on the ground to enjoy her treat.
And enjoy it, she does!
Story Credit and other photos of Hangki, the Orangutan
To donate to this wonderful Foundation click here

Orphaned Bonobos at the Lola ya Bonobo need your help!

Dear friends of bonobos,

We can begin the New Year by telling you that we have now reached 28 000 $ for the new Nursery/Quarantine facility at Lola and it is only early January… we still have all month to reach our target of 50 000$!

Thank you for your support so far but we still need you…

the bonobos still need you!!!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You can help by donating to this great cause here

Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) teaches orphaned Gorillas how to survive in the Wild

“Called GRACE (Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education), the center’s goal is to teach orphaned gorillas how to survive in the wild as a new, self-sufficient “family,” with the longer-term goal to release them into a natural habitat in a neighboring forest in the Congo Basin.”
Visit the Grace website here
Story Credit here
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

In a remote, rural area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has opened the country's first rehabilitation center for Grauer's gorillas.

Called GRACE (Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education), the center's goal is to teach orphaned gorillas how to survive in the wild as a new, self-sufficient "family," with the longer-term goal to release them into a natural habitat in a neighboring forest in the Congo Basin.

These young gorillas are physically and emotionally fragile, most having suffered from extremely traumatic conditions and experiences. Many have been violently taken from the forest by poachers, intent on selling them either as bush meat or for the animal trafficking trade.

CNN's Jessica Ellis and Ferre Dollar recently followed the first group of gorillas to be transported to the forested area from a temporary facility in Goma, in eastern DRC.

The pioneering young orphans were airlifted to GRACE by a helicopter donated by MONUC, the United Nations peacekeeping force in the DRC -- a first for a U.N. mission. Traveling by road would have been almost impossible due to poor infrastructure and potential trauma to the animals.

Mapendo, Amani, Kighoma and Ndjingala were all originally snatched from the forest and their families by poachers. They are all Grauer's gorillas, a subspecies related to the Mountain gorilla, but live exclusively in eastern DRC.

Sandy Jones is the confiscated gorilla rehabilitation manager for the Dian Fossey Fund and now the manager of GRACE. "All of the gorilla species are endangered because Congo is so unexplored they have not done a real census on how many Grauer's gorillas there are," she says.

"But at the rate at which we know they are being killed and the forest is being destroyed we are really concerned that if things aren't stopped and changed now they can be wiped out very soon."

This freshman class of GRACE gorillas range in age from between one and five years old. Mapendo, whose name means "love," was rescued in December 2007. She was confiscated along with a male gorilla but he only survived for two days.

When Amani -- which means "peace" -- was rescued a year ago she had a large wound on her leg. "It seemed obvious that her mother was shot and she was caught in the crossfire," Jones explains. "It took many weeks to heal but now she is walking perfectly normal."

Kighoma -- "drums" -- is the only male in the group. He arrived in May 2009, and Ndjingala was rescued earlier this year. She is only a year old and was named after the place from which she was taken.

"A lot of primates, when they are taken by poachers, they have ropes around their hips and it digs in and so they have bad wounds and Ndjingala suffered from that," Jones says.

The Dian Fossey gorilla fund and the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project have been caring for rescued gorillas in temporary quarters in Kinigi, in Rwanda, and in Goma.

Now they (the gorillas) are in the real forest and they are climbing and getting some forest food, so they are happy.

"What I know is that many of them have died," says Dr. Eddie Kambale of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. "We may have, I can say, about 20% that have been taken from the forest."
The GRACE center is the first facility of its kind in east Central Africa. It has room for up to 30 young gorillas to live in species-typical groups and roam through 350 acres of natural habitat.

Kambale helped bring the four orphans from Goma to GRACE. "The gorillas are enjoying this place compared to where they were," he says.

"In Goma there was too much noise and dust from the road; here is less pollution so this will be good for their health. Now they are in the real forest and they are climbing and getting some forest food, so they are happy."

The remaining rescued Grauer's gorillas currently cared for by the Dian Fossey Fund and Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project will leave Kinigi on a second airlift scheduled for early next year.

"Having the gorillas here will help give the people a glimpse of the world of gorillas," says Debby Cox, of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance. (PASA) Read about them Here

Cox worked with the local community to build the infrastructure for GRACE. "When the local people see gorillas as so much like us -- they live in families, the infants need their mothers, they hug each other -- you immediately get an empathy coming," she says.
"So we need to work with the people in this area, and that helps create stability and that creates confidence too."

While for decades the world has only heard bad news from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, conservation is striking an increasingly important chord of awareness among the people.
Story Credit Here

Bonobos at Lola ya Bonobo find Palm Wine

Suzy wrote to us to tell us about the latest bonobo antics:

Our bonobos got all caught up on the local’s most valuable activity… extracting wine from the palm trees scattered through the reserve. These palm trees are often left with containers in them in order to collect the drink, up until now they had been in zones which the bonobos haven’t really frequented, particularly right on the river bank.

Jug for collecting palm wine.

But then the other day, walking through the forest, we were surprised to see Lomela, the youngest in the female alliance, spot a jug hanging up high in a palm tree. Curious as she is, she climbed up and began sipping the wine, in a proclamation of joy at the sweet drink she began vocalising, attracting the attention of the whole group who each helped themselves in turn.

Lomela after a refreshing beverage

The best part was for the females of the alliance, who obviously had first dibs…and of course the wine tasting was followed by a sex orgy to celebrate such a great finding!!! Poor Kubulu was the only one to not get a taste, not easy when you’re not allowed to get in the big guys gang. Fortunately, fresh palm wine has no alcohol in it being that it hasn’t yet fermented… so no drunk bonobos and the day went on as usual!

Story Credit Here

Have old cell phones? Help the wild Gorillas with them!

Oak Hills Local School District is collecting cell phones for recycling through the Cincinnati Zoo’s “Answer the Call” cell phone recycling program.

Proceeds from the program help save gorilla habitats in Africa and also benefit the zoo’s “Saving Species Fund.”
Unwanted cell phones can be dropped off at C.O. Harrison Elementary, Delshire Elementary, Delhi Middle School, the district office, J.F. Dulles Elementary, Oak Hills High School and Rapid Run Middle School through Feb. 7.

For more information, call 513-598-2682
Story credit here

The Growing Palm Oil Industry is putting the Orangutans in a crisis

Surrounded by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the north east, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east, and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south, Borneo is, at 743,330 Km2, the world’s third largest island, and lies to the east of Sumatra. Borneo is divided between three countries; the state of Brunei-Darussalam, the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, and the Indonesian territory of Kalimantan, and has a human population of around 16,000,000 , with the majority of settlements and cities lying near to, or along, the coastline or Borneo’s extensive river system (Smith, 2007).

Like Sumatra, Borneo is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. The major forest type throughout the island is evergreen lowland diptercarp rainforest, with hill diptercarp, mangrove, fresh water, peat swamp, ironwood, heathland and montane forests all also found (Rautner at al, 2005), and harbouring 3,000 species of trees, 15,000 species of flowering plants, 221 species of terrestrial mammals, including 13 species of primate, and 420 species of birds (Mackinnon et al, 1997). However, also like Sumatra, widespread logging, which began under the period of European colonization and has accelerated in the last 40 years, and the growing palm oil industry and related forest conversion, has seen the islands forest cover decrease by around 50% (Matthews, 2002). It is now estimated that the area under concession for logging and oil palm cultivation in Borneo is larger than that of the remaining forest (Rijsken & Meijaard, 1999).

The most recent estimates put the population of Bornean orangutans at around 54,000 (Wich et al, 2008), and the species, better known and generally better studied than its Sumatran cousin, has benefited from both a strong international NGO presence, and Borneo’s series of national parks, which, despite massive incursions and continued threats, today harbor significant populations of orangutans.

Kalimantan is divided in to four provinces, Central, West, East and South. The two national parks with the largest orangutan populations are found in Central Kalimantan. The most famous, Tanjung Puting, is a 400,000 hectare park renowned for its long term wild orangutan study and rehabilitation program. Despite its high profile and strong NGO presence, the park has been subjected to widespread illegal logging, conversion, for both palm oil production and agriculture, forest fires and illegal gold mining, and studies conducted in 2009 showed that just 66% of the park remains under some kind of forest cover (Infinite Earth, 2009). If current plans by the local government to decrease the size of the park by 25% take place, thousands of orangutans will be lost. Sebangau National Park was created as a national park in 2004 and covers an area of 568,700 hectares. Like Tanjung Puting, the park has been subjected to incursions, and historic draining of the parks’ peat swamps, to aid the extraction of logs from the forest, has left it prone to almost annual fires. Despite this, the two parks have a combined orangutan population of around 12,000 orangutans (Singleton et al, 2004).

Gunung Palung National Park is a 90,000 hectare park in West Kalimantan known for its high biodiversity and mixture of habitat types. Despite being the site of a long term wild orangutan study, having a strong international NGO presence and being one of the provinces most popular tourist destinations, the park has been heavily logged, and its 2500 wild orangutans are under constant threat. Two other national parks in West Kalimantan, Danau Sentarum and Betung Kerihun , have also suffered from logging, and studies indicate that the former contains an orangutan population of just 500 individuals (Singleton et al, 2004), and the latter has suffered from widespread poaching, with an unknown population (WWF, 2010). Although NGO presence and conservation initiatives in these parks are increasing, efforts are hampered by the fact that large numbers of orangutans occur in legally unprotected forests outside the park borders.

Kutai National Park in East Kalimantan was once one of the most pristine and bio-diverse parks in Indonesia, but in the last few decades, the park has been invaded by logging concessions, industrial complexes, open pit coalmines and settlements, ravaged by forest fires, and it is likely that just 10% of the park remains forested, with an orangutan population of just 500 (Singleton et al, 2004). Media reports in 2009 suggested the population could be even lower, and reported that the park now contains an airport, gas stations and even a prostitution complex (Mongabay, 2009).

As national parks throughout the island continue to struggle against the onslaught of huge palm oil expansion and logging, attention is being increasingly focused on the areas of forest outside of the national park system. In Central Kalimantan, conservationists are working to protect the 76,000 hectare Lamandau Nature Reserve, an expired logging concession comprised mainly of peat swamp, which acts as an rehabilitated orangutan release site, and the Belantikan Hulu region, which is home to an estimated 6,000 orangutans, the largest population outside of a protected area. NGO’s have also been working to protect the 377,000 hectare Mawas Reserve, home to 3,500 orangutans, in Central Kalimantan, and an ambitious plan by WWF to conserve 22 million hectares of land, an area that encompasses protected areas, reserves, sustainably managed buffer zones and wildlife corridors, called the ‘Heart of Borneo’, would, if successful, protect thousands of orangutans in the centre of the island. The publicity surrounding this scheme seems to have thwarted a plan by the Indonesian and Malaysian governments to establish the world’s largest palm oil plantation in this area, but the threat remains ever present.

Like Kalimantan, the orangutans in the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah have long faced rapidly decreasing forests, and the spread of palm oil plantations has forced remaining orangutans in to small, isolated populations in heavily degraded forests. Sabah contains a population of just 11,000 orangutans, and around 60% of this number are living outside of protected areas, in secondary forests often exploited by indigenous communities and forest industries (Ancrenaz at al, 2007). In depth studies in the Kinabatangan flood plain, which harbors 1,100 orangutans, has shown that they can survive in high numbers in degraded secondary forest (Ancrenaz et al, 2007), and the formation of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in this area is a promising step for the survival of orangutans in Sabah.

The Batang Ai National Park, a 24,281 hectare tropical rainforest, and the nearby Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary are two of the last strongholds of the orangutan in Sarawak, with a combined population of around 1,500 (Singleton et al, 2004). Although these parks are generally well protected, hunting and illegal logging remains a problem in this area (McConkey et al, 2005), and the threat of these forests being converted in future to facilitate palm oil expansion remains strong.

The threats facing the forests of Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak, and the animals and people who depend on them, have never been greater. However, with continued environmental awareness, growing prosperity in both Malaysia and Indonesia and international pressure, it is hoped the future of these great forests can be ensured.
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The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation can use your help

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation focuses on three key areas in their work with Orangutans and by choosing Aware you are helping them to continue this great work. Read on to find out more.

Orangutan Orphanage

Nyaru Mentang is the largest Orangutan orphanage in the world. It currently looks after over 600 Orangutans of various ages who have been orphaned, left permanently scarred or injured as a result of some traumatic experience. The main goal of this centre is to rehabilitate these orangutans and hopefully reintroduce them back into a protected wild environment - the first planned release in over eight years to occur in 2011. This release is an exciting development for both BOS and the Orangutans themselves with a huge amount of planning, resources and financial support being invested to ensure its success
Orangutan Adoptions

As you can imagine, feeding and caring for orphan Orangutans is a costly project -but it is all part of the rehabilitation process and is essential if these animals are going to have a chance to make it back into the wild. However, we can all help this by adopting an Orangutan while it is living in the orangutan orphanage. It is through the adoption program, Orangutans are given a chance to go to school and learn through human carers what it means to be an Orangutan. Learning to climb trees, finding what food is ok to eat and building a nest for sleeping each day - this is what all Orangutans learn to do at Nyaru Mentang.

Land Protection and Rehabilitation

A big part of what BOS does is actually rehabilitating degradated land and trying to protect what is already there. Samboja Lestari is located in East Kalimantan and was once a barren wasteland - it was however brought back to life and now is a lush, reforested sanctuary - offering life for not only Orangutans but for the local community as well. Several activities are supported by the work done at Samboja Lestari including organic farming, community development programs like planting seedlings, research and providing clean water. Samboja Lestari also houses around 250 Orangutans which have been confiscated or left orphaned as a result of palm oil plantations, forest fires or the pet trade. It is hopeful that these Orangutans will also make it into the wild as part of the overall release strategy.

You are doing your part by supporting the Planet Palm Oil Free campaign. Please continue to support this great cause.

To find out how else you can join other Australians helping to secure a brighter future for the orangutans click here

Be Aware, Buy Aware And Save The Orangutans
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How you can help here

Project R&R's work to help stop experimenting on Chimpanzees

2011 is off to a hopeful start for 186 chimpanzees at Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF), who have been granted a reprieve from transfer to a Texas laboratory for use in invasive research.

According to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) statement issued yesterday, the transfer will be delayed “pending an Institute of Medicine [the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences] in-depth analysis to reassess the scientific need for the continued use of chimpanzees….” The report is expected to take about two years.

NEAVS/Project R&R and other national groups, including Animal Protection of New Mexico, breathed a sigh of relief at this decision, which came after months of urging the NIH to keep the chimpanzees in New Mexico. APF, a holding facility, does not conduct experiments on the premises, and the individuals now housed there have been spared from research for the past 10 years. NIH’s plan to move them to the Southwest National Primate Research Center to be readily available for invasive research provoked national opposition, including from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and other public figures.

Dr. Theodora Capaldo, NEAVS/Project R&R President, stated, “In the midst of national efforts to get all chimpanzees out of invasive research, this decision signals an important willingness on the part of our government to consider their policies toward chimpanzees in research at large.”

For chimpanzees like Flo, Danny, Heidi, Robbie, and the others at APF, the delay in the transfer is good fortune. Flo, the oldest chimpanzee at APF, is 53. According to Animal Protection of New Mexico, she has chronic weight loss, anemia, and cardiac arrhythmias. Flo gave birth to four children, all of whom were taken from her for research. All but one, Jojo — now 27 and also at APF — are dead.

While this halt to the transfer is promising, NEAVS/Project R&R will continue pressing NIH to permanently retire not only the Alamogordo chimpanzees but all those now held in labs. The Great Ape Protection Act, legislation which would end invasive chimpanzee research in the U.S. and release all federally-owned chimpanzees to sanctuary, had 161 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives and six cosponsors in the Senate at the close of the 111th Congress.

NEAVS/Project R&R’s work, including reviews of chimpanzee use in human disease research, along with the work of millions of individuals and dozens of other animal protection groups and sanctuaries, is building steady progress for this legislation. Broad-based support for the bill comes from bipartisan legislative leadership and co-sponsorship, as well as animal protection groups, scientists, chimpanzee experts, celebrities, and the general public.
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To take action to help these Chimpanzees and to thank Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, for this wise and humane decision and to ask that NIH support the Great Ape Protection Act that is now before Congress. Here

Cosponsors of Chimpanzee Bill Urge Congress to Take Next Step

The Humane Society of the United States

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  More than 1,000 chimpanzees languish in U.S. labs. HSUS
  
  
  

Members of Congress recently pressed U.S. House committee leaders to take a step towards passage of the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326).
This critical legislation would end harmful research on chimpanzees, retire the approximately 500 federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuary, and make permanent the National Institute of Health's administrative ban on the breeding of chimpanzees for research purposes.
The bill could also save nearly $200 million in taxpayer dollars.
Widespread Support
On December 4, the sponsors of the bill—Reps. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., Dave Reichert, R-Wash., Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md.—sent a letter on behalf of the bill's cosponsors to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Ca., and House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J. asking for a hearing on the Great Ape Protection Act.
Since the letter was sent, Congressional support for the bill has grown to over 130 cosponsors. Renowned backing primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall has also backed the bill. Dr. Goodall recently met with Chairman Waxman on Capitol Hill to express her support for the legislation.
Federally Funded
The letter highlights the fact that American taxpayers spend an estimated $25 million each year on chimpanzee maintenance and research, but approximately 90 percent of chimpanzees are not used in active experiments. Instead, they are wasting away in federally funded facilities—some for more than 50 years.
The letter also urges Congress to ensure that precious federal research dollars be invested wisely and used in methods that will more likely lead to effective treatments and cures for human illnesses.
Languishing in Laboratories
The opportunity to provide humane retirement for chimpanzees, coupled with the potential taxpayer savings, justifies the consideration of the Great Ape Protection Act.

"Many of these chimpanzees have been languishing in government facilities since the Eisenhower Administration. It is long past time to let our closest living relatives live out the rest of their lives in sanctuary far away from the barren laboratory cages where they are now stored," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States.

The use of chimpanzees in lab research has drastically declined in recent years due to past scientific failures, discovery of more practical alternatives, high financial costs, increased public outcry and ethical concerns. Yet, there are still approximately 1,000 chimpanzees currently living in seven laboratories in the United States. The U.S. is the only developed nation in the world that continues to use chimpanzees in harmful, invasive research.

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Save The Orangutans In Borneo Please Check Them Out

About BOS

Mum & Baby on Islands

The U.K. branch of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation is recognised by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. (Registration Number: 1099591).

The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation is the largest primate rescue project in the world, with nearly 1000 orangutans in its care. BOS actively rescues wild orangutans from oil-palm plantations, as well as rehabilitating orphaned orangutans, displaced as a result of the relentless devastation of their habitat to clear land for palm oil production. BOS is committed to protecting the orangutan and its rainforest habitat, and relies entirely on donations to achieve this.

BOS Global works in partnership with BOS Indonesia in support of its efforts to save the orangutan from extinction.

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Save The Chimps Can Use Your Donations

This is a wonderful sanctuary that was founded by Carole Noon, who recently has passed away. Carol fought for all of the space chimps and the chimps in experimental labs to be released into her care. This sanctuary has done amazing work, rehabilitation for the Chimpanzees, including, but not limited to, providing them with green grass, fresh air, sunshine and a life with no pain. They really could use the donations. Please visit their website through the link below, get to know the Chimpanzees and their stories. Share some love .

Story-

The world's largest chimpanzee sanctuary needs your help. Save the chimps in fort pierce is getting ready to welcome new arrivals who have spent their lives penned up for research and in the entertainment industry.

"This big open space is a lot to get used to," said one employee.

In just a few weeks 10 more chimps will be getting acclimated and it's a process.

She added, "Some of them are brave and they go out and explore every inch of the island, and some it takes a little time."

When a new chimp arrives at this 150 acre sanctuary in Fort Pierce they need to meet all their new friends one by one. Gradually these caretakers group them into families, they say socially the chimps are just like us.

Triana Romero, with Save the chimps, said, "They laugh, they grieve, they get angry, they're moody, they're fun, they love their families, they hang out with their friends."

This is Boy, he's one of the 10 chimps that will join the 168 that are already here.

Romero said, "He spent most of his time living in a five by five by seven foot suspended concrete cage, and never touched the ground."

A whole new world for Boy, he's in his forties, and now he gets to retire here in sunny Florida on an island designed specifically for chimps.

Another employee said, "What you get back from them, you can tell they care that you care."

Save the Chimps runs on donations. It costs 15 thousand dollars a year to care for just one chimp. This sanctuary isn't open to the public, the group says that would defeat their purpose of getting these animals away from it all. Most live to be 50 years old, so for Boy that means after decades in medical research, he'll get a few years of fun in the sun.

Romero said, "To have the grass and the stars around him, it's magical."

To donate

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A GREAT ORGANIZATION FOR SANCTUARIES ACROSS AFRICA

Become a Friend

Join Friends of PASA today and help PASA sanctuaries across Africa care for orphaned chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, drills, baboons and other endangered primates.

Join today and receive a primate photo, fact sheet, and regular E-updates. For more information, click Friends of PASA.

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Building A Gorilla Orphan Home And Need Your Help

The blog post that follows is written by Joel. Joel is with us for a month to help us out on this campaign to raise funds for Ndeze & Ndakasi.

This is what he wrote today - and you will be hearing more from him over the weeks to come!

“The day before yesterday I traveled by car from Goma to the Headquarters of the Virunga National Park in Rumangabo. The two places are only 40km apart but because they are connected by a road that has never been paved and has been pitted by subsidence, lava and traffic it seems further. To complete the journey it takes one hour and twenty minutes of driving on roads almost blocked by pedestrians, motorcycle taxis and trucks. Drivers pass one another with centimeters to spare and everyone overtakes.

In truth I was glad to leave Goma. It is a dirty, crowded and confusing place (imagine how Ndeze & Ndakasi feel). I felt more comfortable as the lava flows that wrecked the airport gave way to a more recognizable dirt road. We gradually stopped talking as we settled into the drive and I sensed that we were all happy to be heading up into the forest. It rained. Everyone walking on the road fixed their eyes on the huge ruts seemingly terrified of getting the red-brown water fired onto their clothing by a passing vehicle. We passed the last village before Rumanbago Camp, where Indian UN troops with twirled moustaches sat desultorily in the back of a white jeep, and pulled into the compound.

The Park Headquarters is large building with turned down eves and expansive verandas. It’s the sort of building in Europe - with both residential and administrative spaces and large grounds - that used to be turned into a boarding school. There is a collegiate, almost monastic, feel to the place. The Congolese flag flies outside; splendid against the forest.

The main building that was in the midst of the conflict this time last year, and is now rebuilt.

The Senkwekwe Centre stands about 300 meters from the main building. To get to it I walked down a sloping, narrow track in the forest past men with bricks for the walls of the centre.

This is the wall being built brick by brick, as your donations come in…

The forest is far less humid and dense than I expected. The high tree canopy is disturbed almost constantly by primates. Layers of birdsong are grounded in the constant roar of countless insect. The mountains on either side of this part of the forest are more of a presence than a view. Through gaps in the trees you can see their dark shoulders pointing steeply into cloud implying great heights. On one side the land drops away onto a plain. On the other side of that are the milles collines of Rwanda.

This is what you see as you walk down towards the Senkwekwe Centre. You can see the wall, and beyond that is the future home of Ndeze & Ndakasi. This photo also gives you an idea of the vegetation that awaits…

The Senkwewke Centre is well underway. About fifteen men were working on the perimeter wall and four others were installing electrical fittings. The outer area is big enough that you have no sense of the walls that enclose it. The inner space is a rectangle of about 40 by 40 meters and still has no sense of being enclosed, I think partly because the centre is on a slope and your eye-line lifts your gaze away from the ground and so from the wall. The building that will house Ndeze and Ndakasi is about 12 meters by 4. It is tremendously peaceful and a world away from Goma.

Just out of sight of the main building are some smart houses, built for the senior rangers, and the building containing the brick-making machine. The machine can make 1200 bricks a day and so can easily cope with the demands made by the construction of the Senkwekwe Centre.

And here is the brick machine, made by Hydraform. This is about 600 meters from the Senkwekwe Centre - so not far at all to transport the bricks.

Nearby is the village school, which was built very much in parallel with the centre by The Murry Foundation. The school wall bears the name of the foundation and is within a kilometer of the centre. From outside the classrooms you can hear the sound of children repeating lessons and see a pile of brightly colored shoes at the foot of the door.”

Please donate! Help us give Ndeze & Ndakasi a new home. Thank you.

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Help The Gorillas

Filed under (Gorilla Orphans) by Samantha @ 1:30 pm

This post is from Dr Eddy, the Gorilla Doctor who cares for Ndeze & Ndakasi…

The story started with the gorilla massacres of June and July, 2007. The Kabirizi and Rugendo gorilla groups both lost members. In the Kabirizi gorilla group there was an adult female gorilla with a 2-month old baby. Her name was N’Sekuye, and in June 2007 she was killed by gunshot and her baby was left clinging to her dead body. In the Rugendo gorilla group, 5 of 12 family members were killed by gunshot in July 2007. The dead included the Silverback Senkwekwe and an adult female Safari, who had a 5-month old infant. This infant was also left clinging to her mother’s body. This is how Ndakasi and Ndeze came to be orphans.

Examining Ndakasi in June 2007, just after she was orphaned

It was a stressful and busy time for the Gorilla Doctors. When Ndakasi was found clinging to her mother on June 10th, 2007, there were many discussions between ICCN, the Gorilla Doctors, DFGFI and other conservation stakeholders, and the decision was made to try to save her life. She was placed in the care of ranger Andre Bauma, who has been with her ever since. She traveled with Andre to Goma, which is when I first saw her.

Andre took care of Ndeze from the very beginning

She was stressed, dehydrated and weak, and all involved felt there was little hope for her survival. She received intensive medical care and Andre carried her round the clock, even sleeping with her at night. Kambale Ndakasi joined Andre in caring for Ndeze. She continued to be weak, and soon developed pneumonia. We, the Gorilla Doctors, worked hard to save her, even placing her in an oxygen tent supplied by the UN hospital/MONUC in Goma. It took 3 weeks of intensive care, but she recovered completely.

When Ndeze was orphaned and left to die, she stayed with her mother’s body until she was picked up by Mukunda, the blackback gorilla in the group. He tried to care for her, carrying her on his back and trying to keep her away from danger – moving away and becoming very stressed when he saw rangers. The Gorilla Doctors and ICCN decided to intervene because experience shows that a baby gorilla of this age cannot survive without her mother. Ndeze was brought to Goma where she was cared for just as Ndakasi was, but in a different place at first to be sure they did not share diseases. She was very thin, dehydrated and weak, and very stressed. Two more rangers were brought in for her care, Patric Karabaranga and Alfred. She responded well to her caretakers, and did not suffer any diseases like Ndakasi had. She began to recover from her trauma.

Yesterday - examing Ndeze

After being alone for about a month to be sure she was healthy, Ndeze was introduced to Ndakasi, and they have been close friends since. The Gorilla Doctors have worked with the caretakers to provide appropriate diet and care for these little orphans. Ndakasi is now a curious, playful, strong, and sometimes stubborn little gorilla, and Ndeze is playful and joyful, but careful around new people and things. They are happy and healthy little gorillas. But in order to stay healthy and develop normally they need to move to a more natural environment.

The Senkwekwe Center is just the place. It is isolated from town and the facility is large and very similar to natural habitat. There is natural forest food and enough trees for Ndeze and Ndakasi to learn natural feeding behavior and romp in the trees. They will still have the same loyal caretakers – Andre will travel with them during the move. As their doctor for the past two years I feel very happy, relaxed and hopeful. Now they will be in a suitable place which is very similar to their natural habitat. Ndakasi and Ndeze will have a nice trees to climb, very fresh forest food, cool and quite place, cool weather, clean and fresh air, very little pollution in their new environment. They can learn to be more like their wild family.

I do believe that Ndeze and Ndakasi are aware that I’m their brother; when I visit them they are always happy to see me, and they think that when I’m around they can do what ever they want as they know I will protect them. They climb on my body even after injecting or administration other drugs to them, so they seem to forgive me easily!

Ndakasi tries to grab the syringe!

At the end of the day, I’m convinced that these very close cousins of ours will be healthier than they are now once they get to the Senkwekwe Centre, and they will have long, healthy lives. The Gorilla Doctors team and the caretakers are looking forward to being able to relax a bit.

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