After a long wait at the Goma airport, Tongo and Faustin finally managed to get on the plane and to take off. The flight wasn’t that long, but these few hours lasted for ages….Franck and I were very impatient !!
Finally, late in the evening, Faustin and Tongo arrived. Franck and the authorities were waiting for him.
Tongo had been put in a carton box beause his cage was too big to enter the plane.
When we opened the box, Tongo was fast asleep.
It took him quite some time to realise he was somewhere else. It was a good thing that Faustin was with us because, although Tongo was extremely tired, he was very lost !
Today, Tongo is doing great.
This morning he even paid a visit to the orphans of the Refuge.
All the females were very interested in the new little one – epecially Shasa who couldn’t stop staring at Tongo….
Tongo is the second chimp that has been brought at J.A.C.K. in less than two weeks. You can imagine all the efforts, the work and the expenses that this represents ! J.A.C.K. is still at the beginning and we really wish that people get more involved into the cause.
Our Refuge Centre is essential to law enforcement in the DRC. If centres like us don’t exist, authorities wouldn’t know what to do with confiscated wildlife. In some countries they have euthanasia as an immediate solution because there are no centres – we cannot accept this!
J.A.C.K. would like to thank all the people who helped Tongo and more particularly (1) the Military Authorities who confiscated Tongo, (2) Dr Emmanuel de Merode, , Chief Warden of Virunga National Park, (3) Pierre, (4) the team of MGVP , (5) Eddy who travelled with Faustin and Tongo and, of course, SAMANTHA thanks to whom this rescue has been a great success !
Roxane
Thanks for posting so quickly! I’m so glad that he was saved.
Everyone loves this little guy — I hope the investigation into the people who had him and the ties to the bushmeat trade explode into many arrests for all wildlife and especially for this little guy –
Great news….so glad the precious cargo arrived safely and now will have a fulfilling life! Thanks for working so hard to help these animals!
Hi Roxane and Franck. I am so happy with Tongo’s arrived at J.A.C.K. The pictures of him are amazing. But the photo of his hand in Franck’s face brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for care of chimps – and now of Tongo too – with so deep love.
Thanks Franck & Roxane for such a quick post! Unbelievable to think he is so far away already – it was all a whirlwind. So great to see that he is doing well and still with Faustin. Also a big thanks to Eddy who was a crucial part of the seizure and also traveled on the plane to Lubumbashi. And Joel at ICCN made sure all the paperwork was done in a timely fashion. And Soderu provided logistics to get Tongo to the airport. So a massive effort as you can see over a very condensed 6 day period!
Hey Roxane — any chance your website will be available in English? I went there earlier today, but alas, I do not understand French!!
He’s such a wee baby. Will he be in quarantine near Jane? and, as Christine asked, will Faustin stay for a little while?
s.
Well done everyone and so good to see him reunited shortly with his own kind. All the best wishes to him and J.A.C.K
Oh Roxane…I am just in love with this new little one! He is precious…many thanks to everyone involved in his rescue and relocation. Will Faustin stay at JACK for a bit?