J.A.C.K Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Doguy’s surgery (2)

Last Thursday was a very important day for our young chimpanzee since the two veterinarians qualifid in eye surgery had arrived from Johannesburg to check and operate his left eye.

In a few words and before I start, know that all went well!

Thursday morning, Doguy was sedated and transfered to a clinic. Our sanctuary has a brand new clinic but it isn’t equiped yet and we didn’t have the needed sedation machine (gas anaesthesia) usually used for long surgeries. So, J.A.C.K. had to rent the theater of another veterinary clinic for this particular occasion.

The two South African surgeons carried out different tests on Doguy’s eye and found out it wasn’t suffering of cataract but that it had an issue on the cornea. Doguy has had an ulcer on this part of the eye which has slowly healed leaving a lesion onto the cornea. Some calcium has started to cover the lesion providing the eye with a very small whitish spot. This lesion has no impact at all on Doguy’s sight but to be sure the two eye specialists connected the chimpanzee to their computer via 3 electrodes to check the qualiy of the retina. And, apparently, the retina is working perfectly well and Doguy has an excellent sight!

Then came the decision to do the surgery or not. This calcium cloud on Doguy’s eye can be removed by getting rid of the first layer of the cornea. The two surgeons said it wasn’t a very complex surgery but that it could have very serious consequences. A chimpanzee remains a chimpanzee and to tell Doguy not to touch his eye is impossible! So, considering the fact Doguy so far has a good sight, the two doctors decided not to operate because of all the post-operative care. The chimpanzee could make the healing worse by touching the wound with dirty hands. Or, if we don’t have the appropriate medication or if the treatment isn’t done in a good way (it is okay for us to touch Doguy’s eye but sometimes Doguy isn’t that cooperative!), infection might start and lead to blindness of the remaining eye…

In addition to the corneal problem, it was discovered our young male produces tears of bad quality. A tear is made of some water, mucus and lipids. Doguy’s tears don’t lubricate his eye enough which could cause irritation and pain especially when the sun is shining too much and when the air is dry and dusty. J.A.C.K. now must find the adequate medication to face this inconvenience as dry season is coming soon (April)!

So, during this particular event, Doguy got sedated, checked and not operated! The two specialists have asked us to follow the white spot on Doguy’s eye: if it gets bigger and whiter and if there is some eye discharge, then some surgery will be needed…

Dear Friends of Doguy, these are the latest updates on Doguy who is now already back in his group. Although surgery didn’t take place, it was an excellent opportunity to have the two surgeons at J.A.C.K. as today we know exactly what is going on with Doguy’s remaining eye! We are so relieved his sight is very good and that this white spot isn’t painful at all! I was very afraid of the diagnosis. So many things are missing here …

On this very particular event, J.A.C.K. had the chance to be surrounded by a great team of Friends and Vets who we all thank for being so helpful!. From the right to the left: Dr Keri-Lee (eye surgeon), Dr Jackie (vet and great friend of J.A.C.K.invited to attend the occasion!), behind her Dr Izak (eye surgeon), Dr Christian (J.A.C.K. veterinarian), Dr Jean Claude (J.A.C.K. volunteer veterinarian), Dr Noella (assistant of Dr Jean Claude), Dr Rebeca (ophtalmologist and friend who has taken care of Doguy’s eye since 2017) and on my right side another assistant of Dr Jean Claude. Vet assistant Ben is making the picture!

Doguy, the team of J.A.C.K., Franck and myself do thank all the great donors and sponsors who took part in the different fundraisings in Europe and the US to help Doguy.

Also, we thank from the deepest of our heart Mr Manoël and the Hôtel Pullman Lubumbashi Grand Karavia for having kindly sponsored the accomodation of our guests.

Many, many, many thanks to Mr Josh and his team of Katanga Contracting Services (KCS) as they covered the journey and most of the stay of the two eye surgeons. Organising this event has been a real challenge and, therefore, any support has been more than welcome!!

Thanks a lot to the great Friends of J.A.C.K. who managed to find the qualified veterinarians ready to come to the DRC: Gregg, Kaitlyyn, Belinda, Neil and their precious friends.

Franck and I thank Dr Rebeca as well as our dear team of keepers who have been with Doguy for so many years, who have provided him with the best care and who were next to him on this very special D-Day!

Again, we wish to thank our two wonderful guests, Doctors Izak and Keri-Lee, for their passion, time and experience as well as for their wish to help Doguy today and in the future!

And thanks again so much to All of You who made this event possible for our young friend Doguy! It is obvious J.A.C.K. wouldn’t have been able to organise all this without YOU! And it is very clear that, without YOU, we would still be extremely anxious about the health of Doguy’s remaining eye! Doguy is very lucky to have YOU! Thank YOU all again so much for HIM!

Happy Valentine’s Day

Yummy banana leaves

Leaves of banana trees are yummy treats but also great enrichment items!!

We are back!

21 days without Internet, without SMS and sometimes with no international calls… Our beautiful country is isolating us from the world; so sad…

We are all well. Some chimps were badly sick and are recovering slowly.

MANY THANKS to our Friends, Donors and Adopters for their valuable support during these tough times. Every single donation means a lot to THEM!

DE RETOUR!21 jours sans Internet, ni SMS et parfois même plus de communications internationales… Les aléas de notre beau pays ne font que nous isoler du monde; quel dommage!Nous allons bien. Certains chimpanzés ont été très malades et remontent la pente!MERCI à tous les Amis, Donateurs, Parrains & Marraines qui nous ont aidé à tenir le coup pendant ces moments d'instabilité! Chaque geste LEUR est précieux!—–WE ARE BACK!21 days without Internet, without SMS and sometimes with no international calls… Our beautiful country is isolating us from the world; so sad…We are all well. Some chimps were badly sick and are recovering slowly.MANY THANKS to our Friends, Donors and Adopters for their valuable support during these tough times. Every single donation means à lot to THEM!————–' #chimpanzee #chimpanzeesanctuary #wildlifesanctuary #greatape #primates #endangeredspecies #rescueandrehabchimps #conservation #notapet #savethemall #sanctuaire #grandssinges #chimpanzéssauvésetréhabilités #especeenvoiededisparition #chimp #extinctionisforever

Posted by JACK – Jeunes Animaux Confisqués au Katanga on Sunday, 20 January 2019

Loads of improvement for Bapu!

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!

Primate Care Training

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!

Updates on Bapu (5)

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!!!

Playful

I could watch them play for hours!!!

98.6°F

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

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation enforcing security at J.A.C.K.

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.


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