We left Lusaka at about half past ten in the morning and arrived at Chimfunshi at quarter to seven, after the Rapture. The last 20 km were the most exciting, negotiating a dirt track in the dark that led to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, 8ft grass on either side and owls (or insert your own animal here) watching in the trees. Breaking down out here isn’t an option.
The little clearing and campsite was very welcome, in particular the burning barbeque or bri as everyone seems to call them here. After pitching the tent, opening the beers and meeting some Primatologists and Philosophers (Chimp philosophy: “I wanna be like you-hoo-hoo”??) the journey didn’t seem so bad. I discovered that the night sky is as bright and as clear as everyone says it is out in the bush.
Chimfunshi is the world’s largest chimpanzee orphanage in the very North of Zambia. Most of the 120 chimps are refugees from all over the world - Cindy, for example had come from Italian family who had giving up looking after her as a pet. Some have had pretty rough treatment. There’s also a hippo called Billy – more on her later.
When we arrived early in the morning we were greeted by Mrs, whose family have been looking after chimps for more than 30 years. We were given blue jump suits and we put crisps, biscuits and powdered milk in our pockets before climbing through a small hole in the wall into the enclosure.
Sims, Didi, Dominic, Cindy, Carla and 5 month old Kitten rushed out to greet us, rummaging in our pockets for their breakfast. Dominic, who turned out to be as troublesome as most 4 year olds, immediately jumped onto my head, almost making me fall over.
Cliched I guess, but it was like taking some people for a walk. The chimps misbehaved in a very human way with 4 year old Dominic deliberately winding up Didi and Sims by swinging on the trees and kicking them. Highlights: (1) Meeting a 5 month old baby chimp and his mother and seeing them behave just as humans would and (2) trying to teach Cindy how a zip worked on an anthill in the jungle.
When we got back to the orphanage, Billy the Hippo was lying comfortably under a tree. Frankly it’s impossible to imagine that an animal that wide and that rotund, with such short legs is biggest threat the animal kingdom has for a human being in Africa. Nevertheless, with that being the fact, it was disconcerting to be within 15 feet of her.
Billy was found under her dead mother’s body after she had been shot by poachers and was then raised at the orphanage, who discovered six months later that she was a girl. Since then she has acted as a guard hippo, being very protective of her adoptive parents when drunkards have appeared and has occasionally left to visit local wild hippos, but has always come back. She has a biography – “Billy the Hippo” – of which I am now a proud owner.
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