A Look Back ~ 2006
Jan 17, 2007
Thank you...for caring, for lending your support, and ultimately for making possible all that we accomplish in Cameroon for the great apes. 2006 was a good year and we look forward to 2007 with high expectations and great confidence!
Before we look back on 2006, we wanted to check in briefly with some of the individuals whom we acknowledged in our 2005 Look Back...
Chouki
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Chouki lost his vision as a result of injuries he incurred prior to coming to the Sanaga-Yong Center. Chouki’s condition was inoperable. We incorporated accommodations in his new enclosure to help him navigate safely and now he travels throughout the enclosure without hesitation, no longer even using the special accommodations. His best friend, Kiki Jackson watches out for him. Chouki plays gently with the six juveniles who live with him and Kiki, and they are sensitive to Chouki's special needs. He seems to be coping well with this vision loss. Read more about Chouki. |
Eight orphans were welcomed in 2006 and they are all beginning to blossom...click an image to learn more.
2006
Katchka
 Kachka had been kept as a pet in a small cage behind the house of a priest. As you may remember, Tati, whom we rescued last Spring, was also kept by a priest. Our rescue of Tati, even after a great deal of negotiations and education, required armed escort. Perhaps our efforts for Tati made a difference for Katchka as the priest willingly released her to Sanaga-Yong Center in late November.
When she arrived at the Sanaga-Yong Center she reached out her little hand for reassurance and it was easily enveloped by her caregiver's hand. She looked clean and physically healthy but also scared and lonely. She may have escaped the physical abuse common when primates are kept as "pets", but she endured years of isolation and deprivation, losing her childhood to captivity.
 At Sanaga-Yong Center Katchka has been excited about her new environment. On her first day she was fascinated by the woodchips on the floor, and delightfully threw them over herself, made a little nest, then tried to bury herself under them. She was a whirlwind of energy; swinging all over the enclosure, testing out the hammock, climbing the tree branches that were put in the enclosure, and jumping on and off the platform. After a while she calmed down, and accepted some food although she was reluctant to hold the fruit herself, perhaps afraid from past experiences. As darkness descended, she climbed up to the sleeping hammock and curled into a ball and remained sound asleep throughout the night.
Katchka’s enclosure is adjacent to the one where Tati and Amigo live. She is playing and interacting with them through the enclosure mesh and slowly becoming more comfortable with her chimpanzee companions.
Tati
Tati, who is approximately 7-8 years old, was chained to this tree for years in isolation. At Sanaga-Yong Center he finally has the chance he deserves to learn to be a chimpanzee. He and his friend Amigo, who arrived shortly after Tati, are helping one another, learning and growing together. Amigo had been kept in a very small cage, in a backyard where he was isolated for years. Before meeting, neither Tati nor Amigo had played or socialized with other chimpanzees since they were stolen from the forest after their mothers were killed.
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Tati and Amigo playing. |
Tati, Jimi, Amigo, Katchka, and Chouki were all kept as pets. Read Primates Not Pets to learn more about their stories and the issues of primates kept as "pets". Learn about legislation in the US focused on putting an end to this practice: Captive Primate Safety Act.
Sylvie and Boyfriend
The forest surrounding Sanaga-Yong Center is regularly patrolled for snares. Hunters and poachers use inhumane and indiscriminate snares - catching even untargeted animals. The two resident dogs at Sanaga-Yong Center recently fell victim; a gentle, sweet girl named Sylvie and her happy go lucky companion, Boyfriend.
Around the 10th of July both dogs disappeared until a few days later when Sylvie reappeared - malnourished, fatigued, and with a small duiker snare around two toes of her right foreleg. She had been trapped in a snare for days, and when the hunter who had set it returned, he cut her loose.
Boyfriend was found three days later - very malnourished with a urinary tract infection and two legs in very bad shape. Three snares had caught him. Two on his left foreleg, and one, like Sylvie, around his right toes.
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| Boyfriend before his second surgery |
A new volunteer veterinarian from the Netherlands operated. Sylvie lost two toes, Boyfriend lost his left front leg above the elbow and two toes on his remaining front foot. Recovery has been good for both dogs. Sylvie is bounding around stealing bananas and avocados like the good old days. Boyfriend is playing and jumping around a little more slowly but with no less enthusiasm.
Some animals are not so fortunate. Wildlife are caught in snares and often left to linger for days before hunters return to kill them. Snares are one of the hunting methods used to kill animals for the illegal commercial bushmeat trade...to provide a delicacy to those who can afford it.
IDA-Africa's education campaign informs people that it is illegal to capture, sell, kill or eat great apes. We work with authorities to enforce laws against killing apes - regardless of the means, snares included.
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