Kiwi's rescue: Belinda's testimony

We went and fetched Kiwi in a Pygmy village close to Kribi, which is a famous watering-place in Cameroon. Pygmy people are very poor and hunters do not anymore in bush to subsist; they put traps to catch any animal. Considering their poor living conditions, it is hard to bear them a grudge. The government does not take its responsibility: it does not provide them with food supply which would compensate hunting. Kiwi’s mother was killed by a poacher.
Papaye association rescues young chimpanzees and tries to offer them good living conditions.
We got Kiwi by night and we went back to the hotel. The day after, we were on the way to Pongo. Kiwi’s health seriously declined during the trip and he was dying when we arrived in Edea. Patricia and I decided to stay in Edea in order to find a vet.
We stayed one week in a small room in a hotel with Kiwi. We luckily found a smooth and competent nurse. He was tacking care of a chimp for the first time!
! In order to put a drip and to probe the young chimp, we had to put bandages. Kiwi could not eat, he was so dehydrated that Bienvenue (the nurse) found his veins with difficulty. The situation was very hard because we did not know whether it would survive. We believed several times that Kiwi was dead. But he is a brave chimp and it struggled in order to stay alive. Eventually, we decided to bring Kiwi in the bush, where he accepted to drink after 24 hours. That was a happy moment! The results of the blood analysis and of the scan revealed that Kiwi suffered from malaria and he was dehydrated, anaemic, bronchitis, but it did not suffer from tuberculosis. We introduced Kiwi to Artemis but he was too weak to play. Artemis, who was incredulous, started to drag Kiwi along on the ground. We decided to keep Kiwi isolated from the other chimps. When I left Cameroon, he was still very weak. I hope that he is better now. It is very hard to get in touch with Patricia.
Here was the story of that 6 month old chimp. Seeing him becoming a beautiful and strong adult would be a great success. I admire Patricia who gives so much to chimps. It is hard work; there are obstacles but it worth it.

By Belinda Bet.

The bath of the young chimps

On Wednesday January 24th, the morning was devoted to the bath of the young chimps. Bosco, Jacques, Joseph, Fabrice, Patricia, the other Patricia and I went with the youngest chimps to a sand-bank, with our loyal dogs, Beethoven and Macabo.
We walked about half an hour, under a heavy sun, before reaching the sand-banks. We crossed a small river which is 3-4 meter large. It was rather deep, too deep…to go in. Fortunately, there was a small boat, not very watertight. After four crossings, everybody arrived safely.
Since we were close to water, young chimps quickly became calm. Chimps are not excessively fond of water. Nenuphar, who is particularly undisciplined, was very quiet. Water is not his favourite element. Water is not his favourite. We brought soap, towels; only buckets, spades and sunshade were missing… Bosco and Joseph went to water with Etoile and wasted her. She did not enjoy that moment; she clung to Bosco and Joseph. Then, that is finished but she did not want Bosco and Joseph to dry her. Patchouli was looking at the scene and he suspected that something would happen to him. He tried to hide. But he had to go; it was a bad time for him. Beethoven moved away, as far as possible from the group. Macabo, who is slower, had to wash. Like the chimps, he does not enjoy washing!!
The group went home safely, because it was too warm to stay on the sand-banks. Chimps were clean and soft, but we were dirty. As soon as we were in the camp, we washed. Contrary to chimps, we enjoyed that time…

By Belinda Bet.

Anne's journey

My journey in Cameroon was fantastic one again. I had decided to visit the extreme north of the country, which is located between Nigeria and Chad. I first went by bus from Douala (the economic capital city) to Yaoundé (the administrative capital city). Then I took a night train for a 14 hour travel to Ngaoundéré, which is a link between the North and the South of Cameroon. In the train, compartments were confortable. In the first class, there are even a small wash basin and a mirror. Meals are taken in the compartments and you can buy bus tickets in the train. I continued my travel by bus to Maroua, (130 000 inhabitants) and then I took a cab to reach the village of Rhumsiki. The landscape is very different form the equatorial area of Cameroon, which is luxuriant all year long.The extreme North is dry (at least at this period of the year) and the vegetation is rather short. Rhumsiki is an isolated village which is located in a gorgeous landscape, in the middle of savannah where rocky peaks stand up.

I went through the Wasa National Park and I ended my trip in Pouss, which is close to the Logone River on the border of Chad. The trip was long but it was also interesting. I met a lot of local people and I discovered landscapes and living styles which were very different from ours. On the way back, I went to Edea and then I bought a bus ticket at Maroua station.

In order to take the bus, you have to buy a ticket in the booking-office. Then you must wait until people call your name in a mike. You are almost permanently solicited by seller who wanted to buy food, water, tissues or newspapers. Everything there is very unusual.

Of course, I ended my trip by a visit in Pongo Songo to see Patricia, chimps and villagers.

To read the complete story of Anne's journey: http://www.papaye-france.com/voyage_anne.html

A newcomer : Artemis

Artemis arrived at Papaye France in December. A Dutch volunteer took care of her for one month. Artemis is very affectionate, mischievous, animated and independent. Etoile and Artemis climb very high in trees. She got very well integrated in the group. Without being aggressive, she knows how to be respected by other and all the volunteers love her!

An afternoon with the oldest chimps