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!

Four year-old Georgia is Leila's eldest offspring. As the daughter of the top-ranked female in Bulindi, Georgia benefits from her mother's influential role at the centre of the group. Not surprisingly she's confident for her age, and she's bigger than her close age-mates Merrick and Rohen. While some infants struggle when their mother gives birth to a new baby, Georgia seemed delighted when baby sister Wendy came along last year. She relishes her role as big sister and can often be seen carrying Wendy on her back or belly, just as Leila does. Clearly, Georgia will be an excellent mother one day!
​

Wendy is Leila's infant daughter and the youngest member of the Bulindi chimp community. She's now 11 months old! Wendy was recently named after Wendy Tisdell, director of BridgIt Water Foundation who generously supported a borehole project at Bulindi. Thanks to the help from (human!) Wendy, 3 villages in Bulindi now have access to clean water -- impacting over 1000 people! Already we're seeing a positive effect for the chimps too: the boreholes mean that people no longer fetch water from the forest, and as a result they're less likely to get into altercations with the chimps!
​