The Chimpanzees of Gombe

Woke this morning at 5:45am and scrambled around in the dark to find my hiking boots and flashlight. Today was to be my day for looking for wild chimps in the forest at Gombe. It sounded like it would be promising -- the chimps had been seen nesting not more then 100 metres up the hill behind the camp. But little did I know how promising! Bill Wallauer (resident videographer at Gombe) and a guide took me into the forest to be part of the "un-nesting" for the day. After only a few minutes we stopped to wait for it to get a little lighter. I had assumed I would be using my binoculars to see chimpanzees from a distance if I was lucky but within a few seconds I realized that the grunts and rustles just above my head were coming from a chimp slowly coming awake in its nest. The hour and a half that followed was simply astonishing.

My photographs did not come out at all because the light was so low and flash is not allowed, not to mention that I am a terrible photographer, but there were often chimpanzees within just a few feet of me. In fact, it was almost impossible not to be close to them as they are so unafraid of the human presence, and totally disregard the people watching them. As the light slowly grew in strength we saw the chimps wake, stretch, make rushes at each other through the forest and slowly move off to feed, with us following closely behind. In some cases, I would be closely following a pair down the trail, only to realize I myself was being followed my another large chimp who wanted me to move off the path and out of his or her way.

I saw the large, older male Frodo, who is looking quite grizzled and whose back is almost entirely grey; Chris, the current dominant alpha male; Ferdinand, who would like to be the alpha male; Titan, Gremlin and her baby Gimli, Gaia, Golden & Glitter (the twins), Nasa, Tubia, Tarzan and Tresia with a very small infant. To be honest, I probably saw many more individuals, but it was very hard to keep them all straight!

I can honestly say this has been one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life, and I recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity. There were displays of anger and fear, grooming and calming, wonderful cuddling of mother and child. The funniest was the young male Tarzan (really quite small) who challenged us as a small boy might, throwing stones in our direction and shaking sticks menacingly.

After an hour the guide gently suggested that I needed to go find another group of chimpanzees to watch -- apparently the rule is that you can only stay so long with any one group so there is less chance of you passing on any colds or infections you might have brought with you. The risk is only too real as several chimps have died from respiratory infections which are only brought in by humans.

So reluctantly I disengaged and went instead to see the waterfall higher up in the park before heading back to the lake for a swim and a late breakfast. Gombe is extraordinarily beautiful and peaceful -- chimps aside it is a great place to come to. The lake is beautifully clear and warm for swimming. I stayed in a little rest house which was very comfortable, and I was fortunate enough to have drinks with Jane Goodall on the beach last night and dinner with her and Grub and Anthony Collins and Shadrack Kamenya who run the program there, as well as Bill Wallauer -- an amazing group of people.

There is much more to see and do here beyond the chimps -- the park has a huge baboon population and as we were leaving we also saw a young Impala on the beach with the baboons. In some ways it has all been a bit too much to take in!

Now I am back in the GGE office in Kigoma and will taking off soon, back to Dar es Salaam. I am feeling extraordinarily fortunate and grateful to all the people here who have made my stay so rewarding. The team is wonderful and doing remarkable work -- and the need is so great. Anyone who has spent time in the presence of the chimpanzees of Gombe will know that they must be saved. The results of the land-use planning and conservation work that is happening around the park is already beginning to have results, both for the chimps and other wildlife of Gombe and for the people who live here.

Thank you to the dedicated JGI team that is making this all a reality! More from Dar es Salaam tomorrow before I move on to Uganda.