Hi Everyone,
Yes, I haven’t been writing much these days and so sorry about this.
Franck and I have travelled in France, Belgium and Sweden in order to present our NGO and to attend several lectures and meetings.
I am already preparing different blogs about what happened this last month and because it takes quite a lot of time to go through all the pictures I will first update on some chimps you know of our group.
Remember, end of June, a strong male called Mwisho had been introduced together with Coco. In about one month time, both have settled in very well especially Mwisho who is now slowly taking over the dominance of the group.
Introduction of Mwisho last June
Chita had been the oldest and biggest male we have started with after the fire. Every new comer had to be approved by Chita and Chita was running the group as a ‘’very cool good chap ». He was extremely pacific and maybe too pacific as to run the group with power and strength!
Chita
Since Mwisho’s arrival, a lot of things have changed. The attitude of the whole group is completely different from before as now the ‘boss’ (=Mwisho) is feared by respect. Wherever Mwisho goes, the others open him the path and follow him! Amazing!
Mwisho (right)
He’s the one who is eating first and once finished, he checks whether Tongo has had something to eat.
Tongo is staying close to Mwisho
As mentioned previously, Mwisho has also become Tongo’s main protector. Being still the youngest baby of the group, feeding time for Tongo was “struggle” time as some older members of the group used to steal his food from him.
Baby Tongo
Today, no one dares doing this again.
Mwisho stands close to Tongo and collects food for the young baby.
At night, the big male takes the baby on his back and brings the little one in his nest. If Tongo decides to leave the nest and to have a walk, Mwisho starts crying and takes him back in his arms…
But Mwisho isn’t the only one who wants to cuddle Tongo. Shasa, Wimbi, Kina, Kala, Jane, Seki, …
Shasa carrying Tongo
Tongo doesn’t have to walk a lot – there’s always someone wishing to carry him on his/her back…. I think he is very spoiled and loved.
Tongo in Wimbi’s arms
The following pictures are lovely! I like the way Tongo and Kala (right) are demanding for a big hug….
I’ll come back soon and sorry again for this delay in posting,
Roxane
merci pour ces trés belles photos et ces quelques nouvelles.
nous comprenons que la reprise est difficile, toutes ses mises à jour, le quotidien, et les petits malades dont les nouvelles sont inquiétantes.
it’s amazing how similar mwisho and tongo look? am i the only one to think this? look at the picture of the two of them on the green jungle gym.
Roxanne, your photos are wonderful! Tongo is darling and I love the images of him getting all those hugs! Mwisho certainly does look alpha…LOL!
This updates made my morning, great sequence of pictures with Tongo, he is a lovable character… thank you all for looking after them all…
such wonderful pictures! really beautiful to see their interactions. so pleased little tongo is looked after and all the chimps seem to be doing well. well done again. xx k
J’oubliais… Merci pour ces magnifiques photos. Kala et Tongo sont magnifiques à voir!
Quel plaisir de lire ces nouvelles… je commençais à ressentir un grand manque 🙂
Ravie de voir que Tongo est toujours protégé par Mwisho… le nouveau boss ?!
Je ne peux m’empêcher d’être « triste » pour Chita, lui qui a su mener admirablement le groupe jusqu’ici.
Il faut garder en tête que rien n’arrive par hasard… et que Chita est en effet peut-être trop pacifique, qui plus est dans la perspective de voir les petits protégés du refuge retrouver leur forêt!…
Un immense hug à Chita pour moi!
Wonderful update Roxane! Thank you for the pictures.
Regards
Susana (Argentina)
Roxane, thank you so much for the update! I was beginning to get worried. I am thrilled that little Tongo has so many protectors. After what happened a few months ago it eases my mind to know Mwisho is protecting his little friend and making sure he has enough food. He is making a great alpha male! I hope Chita isn’t too upset about dropping to number 2. He did a great job too! I leave for Chimp Eden in 11 days to see the chimps. I am so excited. One day I hope to visit JACK. Hugs to all from the U.S.A.
Boy Roxane, you sure know how to make up for lost time!! Fantastic post and pics…Tongo is quite the attention getter isn’t he? I am so happy he has found a home with other chimps who love him so much! It really is amazing how the group has changed since Mwisho’s arrival…does Chita ever get upset about losing his postion?