WE are very blessed to have our residents supported by PRO WILDLIFE!
It has been 3 years now that our sanctuary has been kindly supported by this German wildlife organisation and, this year, its support is more than welcome since the pandemic is striking over here too and J.A.C.K. is facing tough times. Feeding the rescued chimpanzees and providing them with the best care is sometimes a real challenge!!
Many thanks again to PRO WILDLIFE, its Managers, its team and great Donors for their priceless support!
Yes, today, it’s been 10 years that Dr Mc Greal, her Team and her incredible IPPL Donors have been supporting J.A.C.K. in the Democratic Republic of the Congo!
Amazing achievements have been accomplished thanks to the Love and Trust of the INTERNATIONAL PRIMATE PROTECTION LEAGUE (IPPL) and its commitment has always aimed in improving the well being of the orphan residents rescued by the Congolese NGO. IPPL has
contributed to the building of night rooms, an education centre and a vet clinic;
been providing day and night security at the sanctuary by sponsoring armed Rangers;
helped in the first steps of building the volunteer camp at the sanctuary;
participated in the installation of power and of part of the plumbing system at J.A.C.K. (the sanctuary stayed 10 years without elecrticity!);
improved night facilities (building nests & tunnels for chimps) and open air playgrounds (jungle gyms);
participated in annual health checks of chimpanzees;
ensured the purchase of some food supplies for the chimpanzees;
enhanced security of open air playgrounds (huge metallic “shields” on top of fences);
and, most recently, has supported to the locked down personnel & their families during the Covid19 pandemic.
Also, J.A.C.K. has had the priviledge to be introduced in some of the Newsletters of IPPL. An article has been indeed published in the most recent Newsletter that you can read here => https://www.ippl.org/gibbon/current-news/newsletters-2020s/
In the name of its 34 chimpanzee residents, J.A.C.K. sanctuary would like to thank Dr Mc Greal for all the Love and Care she has provided to THEM for the last 10 years. Her IPPL Team and incredible Donors have made dreams come true several times at our little Congolese sanctuary and saying “thaNk You” is very weak compared to the gratefulness we have at J.A.C.K.
This morning, many of our youngsters gathered on the fake termite mount to “hunt” for some honey. Young Mata decided he would wait until all the others have gone – but, was there still some honey left???
On this very special day of WORLD CHIMPANZEE DAY, we would like to share the following story with you!
End of January 2020, when there was still no Covid19 cases in Africa, we received a very strange call from the local wildlife authorities saying 6 baby chimpanzees were going to be confiscated.
After a few more days of investigation, it turnt out that only one baby was illegaly detained by a Congolese family, that the young primate was turbulent and that it liked to bother the neighbours by climbing trees and jumping into their garden.
On the very next day, on February 5th, and together with the Police and the wildlife authorities, Franck (President of J.A.C.K.) stood at the gate of the offender in order to arrest him and to legally confiscate the young chimpanzee.
The man was very nervous, called many friends for some help and refused the authorities to enter his property.
Finally, after long talks, the gate was opened and we entered to fetch “TRUMP”, a baby female chimpanzee of about 4 years old that had recently been bought by the offender in Kasumbalesa, the city located at the border between the DR Congo and Zambia.
“Trump” was lost! She really didn’t understand what was going on. However, she entered the crate easily; she was quiet and extremely confident!
A new life was ahead of her and “Trump” for sure totally ignored she was going to stay with friends of her own kind!
Upon arrival at the sanctuary, baby “Trump” was slightly sedated to draw some blood. Samples of stools and urine were taken as well and everything was sent immediately to the lab.
Although the young primate looked healthy, it was dehydrated and had some skin issues. Our vet, Dr Christian, promptly set up the treatments to facilitate Trump’s recovery at the soonest.
Also, the baby’s name was changed straight away and, since her arrival at J.A.C.K., the young chimp has been called “Zumba” as a reference to the city she comes from .
Zumba was rescued just before the Covid19 pandemic started to propagate in Europe. However, she was set in quarantine for observation unlike all the newcomers arriving at J.A.C.K.!
Today, the isolation period is over and Zumba should be introduced to the youngest group of chimpanzees residing at J.A.C.K. Before introduction, sedation has been scheduled for deeper analysis (hepatitis, tuberculosis,etc.). Unfortunately, now that the virus is all around us, most of the local labs refuse to analyse “external” samples and we are stuck! We absolutely need these tests to be done to be sure Zumba is 100% healthy and will not contaminate her new friends with a hidden disease…
So far, Zumba is doing great! She is a loveable chimpanzee, extremely independent and she has adjusted very well to her new life. We are eager to introduce her to her friends which she can see and hear!
We will keep you updated on the progress of Zumba. We hope the lab issue will be solved soon sothat our little girl can go and enjoy a social life with new friends!
Chimpanzees like routine as it reasures them a lot.
At J.A.C.K., the whole team sees that all our residents get all the Love and care they need! The day starts around 6am and, untill 6pm,life of the chimpanzees goes from enrichment to feeding times, and from siesta to plenty of games…
At JACK chimpanzees consume on average 80-90kg of fruit and vegetables per day. Part of the job of the keepers is therefore to sort, clean and prepare all these fresh products
“Animals should not require our permission to live on earth. Animals were given the right to be here long before we arrived”
—-
Anthony William Douglas
