Bushwalking with Chimps

We woke up early to prepare to set off for the wildlife orphanage on the other side of the park. The nearby village schoolbus came at half past six to pick us from our dorm and take us to Sheila Siddles home (the founder of Chimfunshi) and the location of the wildlife orphange. Shelia is now 84 years old yet she still visits her chimpanzees everyday. The job is made easy by the fact that 25 of the most friendly chimpanzees (the ones that shelia raised) are located in a facility just across the parking lot from Shelias home.

When we arrived at the orphange site we were once again greeted by a group of very entergetic Chimpanzees. They were preparing for their morning breakfast in which Dominique, their caretaker, was preparing for them. Their morning breakfast consisted of Nshima and cabbage, just as a human would eat it, and the chimpanzees went crazy. Dominique showed us the four that we would be bush walking with and for a moment I was very nervous because those were the four that seemed to be the most entergetic…

We were warned yesterday that we should not take anything into the enclosure that we wanted to take back out with us. This included items such as cameras, jewelry, coats, hairbands, loose shoes, etc… Chimpanzees are very curious creatures and they will take anything from you that they can get their hands on.

Due to this precaution I decided not to take my nice camera on the buswalk with me, but I did convince Andrew to bring his iphone (mine was out of battery the first day we arrived at Chimfunshi). Sylvia gave us blue jumpsuits that we put over our clothing to protect ourselves from any michevious chimpanzee hands. She also gave us lots of bread and peanuts to feed to chimps during our walk.

We were let into the enclosure around 8am and the fun started from there. At first the chimpanzees were so excited for the food that they rushed towards us and started picking at all our pockets full of bread and peanuts. The goodies in our pockets did not last long as the chimpanzees were much stronger than us. We were told that a male chimpanzee is actually five times stronger than the average human…that is really strong.

After the chimps had nearly completely emptied our pockets of all our food, we began to walk into the bush with them. There were four chimps that we walked with, Simon, Cindi, Dede, and Dominque. Simon and Cindi had been pets previously in their lives, and Dede and Dominque were born at the orphanage and raised by Shelia Siddle and her husband. All the chimps were very friendly, and yes a bit naughty at times.

We had not walked long before Cindi grabbed Andrews hand and began to lead him into the bush. She then motioned for Andrew to lift her up onto his back. For the rest of the morning Andrew was in some form or the other carrying Cindi through the bush. Chimpanzees are not light creatures and by the end of the walk Andrew was very tired. Dede and Dominque were my favorites. They took turns alternating who rode in my arms and who walked beside me. Often they would decide it was playtime and start play fighting one with another. Let me just say, being in the middle of two chimpanzees who are playing is quite a terrifying experience.

We walked deep into the bush with the chimps and they began to show us how they live their day to day lives. Dominique tried to teach me how to hunt for bugs and dede tried to teach me how to climb a tree. All four of the chimps were playful with us and curious about who we were and why we did certain things. Dominique specifically liked my bright hairties, and kept trying to play with my hair.

At one point in time, Cindi pulled Andrew over to a little pool of freezing water and motioned for him to scoop the water into her mouth. Andrew spent the next 30 minutes helping cindi drink the water (so that she did not have to drink it and get her hands cold). The things people will do for chimpanzees…

Bush walking with the chimpanzees has been the highlight of my entire time in Africa and I am so grateful that we made the long trip up to Northern Zambia to do it…

   
  

         (Below: Andrew’s post)

I’m pretty sure Kylie was too excited to sleep last night. Seeing and spending time with chimpanzees has been on her bucket list for nearly 10 years now.

As we woke and caught a lift into the chimp orphanage (area where chimps had gotten used to people), Kylie was bouncing with excitement. 

We were taken into Sylvia’s office to sign waivers and to get a debriefing on the chimp do’s and don’t’s. Before long we were dressed in chimp overalls (to prevent them from tearing at our clothes as they look for food), and walking into the chimp enclosure to meet them.

Dominique, one of the workers brought us to a small clearing in the enclosure where he had us stand to wait. With our overall pockets filled with peanuts, bread, and other goodies for the chimps… I honestly felt like a gladiator just before the lions were released. The people standing above us on the wall (lined with electric protective wiring) probably didn’t help remove that sensation. 

Once the gate opened the four chimps came running out to us. They were clearly excited to be snacking, and while a little intimidating, they were extremely friendly as they plunged their hands into our pockets, grabbed our hands to help them reach more food, and generally behaved as chimps do.

It was pretty incredible. Their hands were soft like a humans, and their motions surprisingly precise and adept. They seemed to like the peanuts a whole lot more than the bread and they quickly emptied our pockets of the little nuts. 

Both Kylie and I couldn’t help but laugh as they tugged at our clothes and reached around us for the next pocket of goodies. It was almost surreal. Here we were with the chimps, touching, patting them as they moved around. Eventually they got tired of digging into our pockets, and they started walking down the trail into the bush. We followed Dominique into the bush with the chimps, and that’s where the magic started. 

One chimp named Cindy stopped on the side of the trail as I was taking up the rear. As I passed she reached out her hand for mine to stop me. She was surprisingly strong and stopped in me place. Then, with one quick motion her foot (which looks a lot like a hand) grabbed my leg and she hoisted herself onto my back. I couldn’t stop laughing! I was giving a chimp a piggyback ride through the bush. Cindy was pretty heavy/dense for a 10 year old chimp, and she was very strong. 

As I walked through the bush Cindy held onto me by wrapping her legs around my waist and putting her arms around my neck. I kept grinning all the way. I had a chimp on my back. 

After a few minutes my pace slowed as Cindy got heavier. As if sensing my fatigue, Cindy climbed down and proceeded to lay out in the areas of the bush that the sun was breaking through the treetops. 

For the next couple hours we held hands with the chimps as they led us through the bush, we stopped to sit and pat them as they rested, and yet again, I found myself carrying Cindy through the bush. 

The entire experience was magical.

When the chimps got tired of foraging and playing they walked back with us to the same area we met them and began lounging in the sun. 

Cindy, however wasn’t done enlisting my services. She took me by the hand and led me over to a small pool of water. She motioned for me to put my hand near the water and nodded with her head. I wasn’t sure what she was getting at until she took my other hand and put them together in a cupping shape. She then motioned for me to dip my hands into the water. I did so, bringing up a handful of cold, fresh water. Cindy leaned down and took a big sip. She then motioned for me to do it again.

A dozen or so times I brought water up for Cindy to drink and I couldn’t help but smile. I was helping a chimp drink from the pool. Once my time as ‘chimp servant’ had ended, Cindy went back to lounging in the sun.

I sat down next to her and looked into her eyes. Looking into the chimpanzees eyes gave me the chance to see something there -light, a spirit, a soul, a consciousness – I’m not sure how to phrase it, but it was if there was a little person looking back at me. 

As our time came to a close we bid the group of four chimps goodbye and made our way out of the enclosure. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Very different than climbing Kilimanjaro, or traveling the world, or even waking with lions. But all that said, it was incredible. 

The journey back to Kitwe went quickly and despite a little bus mishap, and getting lost, Kylie and I made it back to Roger’s place safely. Both stressed and tired, it was a relief to get in to a clean, warm home.

Although Roger and Yuu had left for Botswana, they’d left their place open for us so we could have a place to stay for the night. As I’ve travelled the generosity of others has been astounding. Yuu even had cooked us dinner which was sitting out on the table (she’d prepared it before she left). 

Kylie and I relaxed, she cut my hair (for the first time ever!), and we made plans for the next morning and our journey to Lusaka.