Chimpanzees are long-lived animals and mature slowly. One of the joys of following their lives over many years is watching youngsters grow up.
We first identified Moses (pictured) in 2012 when he was still a juvenile. Six years later, he's developed into a handsome young adult, albeit still with some growing up to do. The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project strives to help villagers coexist with chimpanzees where people and chimps share landscapes outside of protected areas. We hope we'll be able to see many other young chimps grow into adulthood in the years to come.
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HAPPY MUM'S DAY! (for those in the UK & a handful of other countries that celebrate Mother's Day in March, not May!)
This is Leila carrying her two daughters together on her back: young Wendy and older sister Georgia. Most female chimps only have to carry one infant at a time, but there are currently 3 "double duty" Mums at Bulindi, including Leila. At age 4 and a half, it's about time Georgia gave Leila a break and started walking by herself! Big thanks to Idea Wild for donating much-needed field equipment to the Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project.
In the photo, chimpanzee monitor Vincent and researcher Georgia are using a new GPS receiver to mark the position of nearby chimpanzees. Vincent is also wearing binoculars to help him identify individuals. These and other items supplied by Idea Wild are a enormous help to our field team who are monitoring several new chimpanzee communities in areas adjacent to Bulindi in Uganda's Hoima District, as part of our project funded by EOCA European Outdoor Conservation Association. This week has brought a welcome return to wet weather after a punishingly hot and dusty dry season. The rains finished early last year, by late-October. Normally the rains continue into December. The prolonged dry season created challenges for our tree planting project, with many precious seedlings drying. The arrival of rain is therefore a godsend, breathing life into the seedlings that have hung on in the scorched soil. It also means we can start preparing in good time for the new planting season in March. This season, we have 4 tree nurseries bursting with healthy tree seedlings, and the next few months promise to be very busy! For the chimps, the return of the rains must also be a big relief after the long hot dry season. But no one likes to get wet. As is evident in these photos taken at Bulindi this morning, when it rains there's not much to do but to sit and wait it out! |
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