Remember, Bapu is the young female chimpanzee who broke her tibia. Also, after surgery, she had to be kept is a small facility to help heal her bone and to prevent her from standing on her leg…

As scheduled, Bapu was sedated for X-rays to check the healing process and we can say that her tibia has healed well and that she therefore has been moved to a bigger facility where she can play, roll, and swing.

However, our young friend is still not allowed to go on the open air playgrounds. The tibia was fractured close to the ankle and the surgeons couldn’t fix a long pin in this part of the bone This is why they suggested Bapu stayed a bit longer inside …

We will keep you updated as Bapu will soon have the company of some of her friends: it is high time she started to be introduced again in her group!

The PAN AFRICAN SANCTUARY ALLIANCE (PASA) has instaured a program named  ‘Primate Care Training’  which empowers its sanctuary members to give their rescued orphans the best possible care. Therefore, PASA  is sending highly experienced instructors to the sanctuaries to provide customized training for all the animal care staff. This training program  is also kindly supported by the BRIGITTE BARDOT FOUNDATION and covers topics such as hygiene, enrichment, care, security, behaviour, etc.

The DRC sanctuary being  a member of PASA, its team was given the opportunity to be trained by Dr VIDAL Carmen who stayed the whole month of November at J.A.C.K.

Attentive, the keepers and other members of our team really appreciated the doctor spent time with them and all of them were happy about the information received through pictures/videos.

Of course, at the end of the training period, the team of J.A.C.K. was extremely delighted upon reception of PASA’ Primate Care Training Certificate!

Many thanks to PASA for this training program and many thanks also to Dr Carmen for her time and her wish to share her experience!

There is a huge progress regarding Bapu’s healing process! The wound of her tibia is now totally clean and closed;  we intend to move her soon to a bigger facility.

However, before doing so, we must be sure Bapu’s bone is strong and has healed up properly. Therefore, our young friend will have to be sedated for a X-Ray.

Of course, we will keep you updated!!!

I could watch them play for hours!!!

It is the most appropriate time for MAÏKA & #chimp friends to enjoy home made fruit ice cubes!!

For several years, J.A.C.K. has had he wonderful support of the BRIGITTE BARDOT FOUNDATION and its trust has made valuable developments to improve the life of J.A.C.K.’s captive residents.

This year, the French Foundation has accepted to launch a new development project which aims to enforce the security of open air playgrounds. The hairy residents of J.A.C.K. are now indeed turning into big and powerful adults; security is an important factor also especially because the sanctuary is located in the city of Lubumbashi!

The main group of chimpanzees has an open air facility surrounded by 3 meter-high walls and 3 lines of electrical wires . To the founders of J.A.C.K., this is not enough and therefore, unlike other ape sanctuaries, they opted to fix metallic shields on top of the walls to prevent any chimp escape!

The works started weeks ago and security shields have been set on part of the play ground. It is J.A.C.K.’s welder, George, who is carrying out all the works and we are extremely grateful for his patience, his professionalism and meticulous work!

This is how George proceeded:

* First, George cut metallic sheets

* Once welded together, the sheets were bent thanks to a machine George built himself!

* Then, Georges welded the metallic supports to keep the sheets bent

And finally the shields were fixed on strong poles and a metallic structure on top of the walls of the playground

So far, the works are not finished and we will keep you updated on the progress of the this wonderful project!

Many thanks again to Mrs Elodie, to Mrs Virginie and to all the great team of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for their trust and wish to help! The residents of J.A.C.K. are lucky to be in their hearts!!!

Before ending, we also would like to thank a colleague, Mrs Itsaso Véles del Burgo from CPRL ,who gave us some precious advice on the construction of the metallic shields. 

Our hairy friends are extremely delighted as tomato season has just started and they love this special treat!!!

Snakes are all around our sanctuary and we are lucky to have mongooses to help us regulate the snake population. A few days ago, we had the unexpected visit of a green snake. There aren’t many species of green snakes in this part of the world. However, we know about two of them which are very dangerous: the boomslang (Dispholidus typus) and the green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps) which are less numerous than the previous one… I believe this one is a boomslang, but I am not sure…

The month of October is  the hottest month of the year as it makes the transition between Winter and Summer! Temperatures can be very high; especially in the afternoons!

For our residents, these temperatures are worst because of their thick fur! The night rooms remain open so the chimps can go outside or stay/play inside the facilities where temperatures are cooler. Also, on different places of the open air playgrounds, there are small concrete towers providing fresh and cool water all day round!

J.A.C.K. is taking care of Eastern chimpanzees. One of their distinct traits is that they have a pale face when they are young and that it darkens when they reach adulthood.

Here is AFRICA in 2009 and in 2018