Chasing chimps in the jungle may sound exciting, and don’t get me wrong it is, but it’s also bloody exhausting.
Mawa with treats
If you’re lugging a camera and a tripod; the world’s heaviest rucksack – even though you’ve packed it like a capsule wardrobe – it’s still tough. Plus you’re watching out for snakes and spiders and the Red Safari Ants (more on that in another blog). My friends will tell you, I’m not the fittest individual around, and up until five years ago I didn’t even own a pair of trainers. But I’m definitely stepping up my game, because if I don’t, my new career path is likely to give me a cardiac-arrest!
So now you know – chimps are agile little buggers – the easiest way to watch them without getting out of breath is at a sanctuary. I decided to take a break from the forest and headed back south. My hiatus took me to the magical Ngamba Island. The Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust was set up in the late 90’s. It runs the island which is 23km from Entebbe, on Lake Victoria in East Africa.
Here you’ll find semi-wild chimpanzees that are able to roam free in a 97-acre forest. Their habitat is separated from the staffs’ living quarters by an electric fence. You can watch these incredible apes four times a day when they are being fed and you don’t have to strain a muscle doing it. This is another film (see link below) I made during my Uganda trip. I gave a copy to the sanctuary to show tourists what happens on the island. The chimps here are very well looked after and they’re absolutely enormous.
whogivesamonkeys 
simon byers
November 26, 2010
Hello Ms Tanna,
Can you tell me the main behavioural differences between a human child raised by Chimps than that
of a similar aged child raised by Wolves.
Regards,
Dr S. Byers.
urbanprimate
November 26, 2010
Hello Byers, congratulations on your doctorate, you never cease to amaze me!
Your question may be better placed with an Anthropologist. But making an educated guess, I would say they would demonstrate feral behaviour because they lacked basic human social skills and language. They would more than likely imitate the natural behaviour of those animals they were brought up with. As both wolves and chimps exist in social groups (communities for chimps and a pack for wolves) I would also anticipate intra and inter-group aggression accordingly. Any more questions Einstein – go to the library!