Support orphaned and wild Chimpanzees in Uganda

We have managed to enhance chimpanzee welfare and infrastructure development at Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Chimpanzee Trust strives to implement a long-term strategy for the conservation of chimpanzees and their habitat in Uganda and beyond. In this 4th quarter, our focus was the 52 orphaned and rescued chimpanzees where we ensured that the operations run smoothly. The funds raised have enabled us to work on the following; 

 We managed to procure food for the 52 Chimpanzees at the Sanctuary and they have adapted to this new menu which includes various food items like Sukuma wiki, red beans, Okra, Lentils, and red onions. More dry rations like posho, millet, and soya flour have also been provided daily. We hope that this will lead to a better life for them. The feeding of chimpanzees at the sanctuary has been maintained four times a day, that’s at 8 am, 11 am, 2:30 pm, and 6:00 pm. 

A new chimpanzee playing platform with a climbing net was erected in one of the Chimpanzee enclosures at the sanctuary. Chimpanzees climb and play on the structure

More hay grass was procured and this is being given to the chimps every day which they lay and make nests in their hammocks. The enrichment provided have more positive changes in animal development. This is because they have given them an opportunity to behave as they would in the wild.

Our veterinarians and caregivers keep monitoring the chimps for any signs of illness and injuries in this quarter.  The flu was well managed using honey, garlic, and vitamin C. There were eight chimpanzees with minor injuries. These injuries were partly attributed to the tensions in the community due to some females being in estrus. Medication was provided to the injured chimpanzees and these have healed. Chimpanzees above 30 years was given multivitamins on a monthly basis to boost their body immunity.

Adherence to the COVID-19 SOPs is still a must for all staff and visitors to the Sanctuary. This was stepped up when some parts of the country were facing the Ebola pandemic. Procurement of Masks, gloves, and Sanitizers has continued through the quarter.

Furthermore, we also procure cleaning materials and disinfectants for the holding facility where the chimpanzees spend a night. Cleaning and disinfection are done daily and this helps to promote hygiene and minimize transmission of the disease-causing pathogens in the chimp community.  

Management of Chimpanzee Trust is grateful to the generous support from donors who have contributed towards the operations through these hard times. The Trust requests for a continuous donations towards the welfare and veterinary care of the chimps at the sanctuary through the GlobalGiving fundraising platform. 

Links:

• Information about the sanctuary
• Meet the 52 chimpanzees

Through the continued support from generous individual donors who donate through GlobalGiving and other platforms, the Trust has been able to provide the best possible welfare to the 52 chimpanzees at Ngamba Island, by providing feeding, veterinary care and infrustructure. The Trust has also been able to maintain conservation efforts to monitor our efforts to restore chimpanzee habitat in western Uganda. Last quarter, over 50,000 tree seedlings of indegenous species in partnership with collaborating farmers. The Trust has monitored the performance of these seedlings registering an 80% survival rate todate. Our education program has distributed 10,000 children's books to over 200 schools to promote environmental education and increase awareness on the plight of the wildlife in general and chimpanzees in particular, in Uganda.

How the funds received through GlobalGiving were used

1.0 Welfare for the Chimpanzees at Ngamba Island sanctuary

The funds raised were used for the procurement and transportation of food for the 52 chimpanzees. The chimpanzees have adapted to a revised menu, launched in January 2022. We offer supplementary feeding to the chimpanzees, 4 times; including fruits, vegetables, roots, grains and supplementary minerals as a carefully balanced diet using readily available food in Uganda. Food is sourced from local communities and supplied farm-fresh every 10 days. The chimpanzees also need enrichment and this is provided using a daily enrichment schedule that includes the use of feeding puzzles, an artificial termite mound, ice treats, etc. Honey, peanuts or peanut jelly, sunflower and other seeds are used to seed the enrichment equipment, especially for the chimps that stay indoors.

Over the last quarter, we have also installed new hammocks to replace the old tattered ones in the chimpanzees sleeping den. The hammocks provide a ‘nest’ above ground as they would use in the wild The chimpanzees line these nests with hay, as they would with leaves in the wild, thus maintaining natural behaviour.

2.0 Veterinary care

Routine daily health monitoring for the 52 chimpanzees has been done with the help of animal caregivers. Minor injuries were treated and more severe cases are managed by the veterinarian who is also the sanctuary manager. We have not had any major cases, except a few that needed stitching for deep cuts and wounds and others that needed medication over short periods.

The Chimpanzee Trust conducts annual health examinations on its chimpanzees every year. This year’s annual chimpanzee health examinations were conducted in the month of July. These routine annual health examinations involved a full physical and clinical exam for all the chimpanzees. Physical assessments as well as screening of blood and other samples collected, was done to assess the health status of the chimpanzees. From the recently completed health checks, all the chimpanzees had a clean health bill. A summary report will be available on our website in a few weeks.

3.0 Routine Maintenance

Maintenance of the chimpanzee facilities especially the electric fence monitoring is done daily by the Island staff through slashing, and cob webbing as well as fence re-enforcement whenever needed. These have prevented the escapes of chimps to the staff areas.

4.0 Book Distribution in Schools

We carried out school outreaches in 5 districts; Mukono, Wakiso, Kampala, Kikuube and Hoima. In these outreaches, children’s books on chimpanzees were read to the students and questions were asked thereafter to assess their understanding of the literature. The outreaches targeted and covered over 200 schools.

Two books were distributed; One of the books distributed is a story of one of our residents, Sunday, called “It’s dangerous to be a chimpanzee.” The book explains his journey to Ngamba and the threats faced by chimpanzee’s world over. The second book tells a story of a dedicated chimpanzee caretaker in Sierra Leone entitled, “Mama P”. The story inspires children to join careers in conservation and in particular, animal care and welfare. It also highlights the threats to chimpanzees especially poaching for the bushmeat trade, and also explains the processes involved in rescuing, animal welfare and integration of chimps in a sanctuary setting.

Call for more support:

The management of Chimpanzee Trust is grateful for the generous support from donors who have contributed to the operations of the Trust in general.

Attached are some of our updates in pictures

Links:

• Stories and updates on our work