Tatango keeps escaping

Our star athlete is in fulltraining mode! But his escapes
have become more frequentand disruptive, making visits tothesanctuary
virtually
impossible, in particular theschool visits so cherished by
Pierrot and Blaise.

Tatango and Pierrot are engaged in a battleof wills, neither showing any mercy. Pierrot
refuses to accept defeat, exclaiming: “Nomatter how large he is, he is still the ape...
and I am the human! The victory will be
mine!”
No sooner said than done. Carefulsurveillance exposes Tatango's escapestrategies: He leans fallen tree trunks
against the fence posts, thus avoiding
electric shocks. “This is too much!” sighs
an indignant Pierrot. “I had already cut
down trees likely to aid his escape; thistime, I'll have every fallen trunk removed!”
Operation Big Clean-Up with our villagers…

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 1

Alas, the very next day Tatango is back outside, threatening every human malehe encounters.
We position guards around the sanctuary tofigure out his new strategy. “He's goingover the little bridge at the so-called
Musketeers crossroads!” This one has aneasier fix, says Pierrot: additional electric
wires and a reinforced trellis. And yet,there is Tatango, out again!
Tatango is visiting…

Pierrot is on the hunt for yet anotherstrategy….

But what is our beautiful Tatango seeking so desperately outside? The females
gone for the reintroduction? Which one? Etumbe? Lisala? Or sweet Lukaya?
In any case we, the mamas of the sanctuary, are not-so-secretly coming to theconclusion that Tatango has seized the advantage and is close to winning the war
against Pierrot! (But please, don't tell him we said so! To be continued...)Tatango's Death
The following chapter is far more tragic: Tatango's next escape was to be hislast. Vengeance of a destiny protecting Lola and its peace? Or an evil
hand? Our most beautiful male, the most rebellious admittedly, but with a gazeas soft as satin, is found one morning in the night shelter where we had isolated
him for the weekend, vomiting blood and twisted by abdominal cramps.

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 2

Despite the best care provided by Fanny Mehl, our new Vet, assisted by advice
from Veterinary Doctor Serge Belais in Paris and our own (human) internist Dr
Kasongo, on August 2nd Tatango died. Toxicology analysis revealed nothing tohelp us come to terms with what remains a terrible mystery, a dark unknown
that continues to eat away at me.
Suddenly I feel the weight of a year of heavy burdens: the death of Mimia, of
my sister, the reintroduction process with all the stress and strong emotions it
entailed. And today, the death of my beautiful “Hildago” leaves me K.O.
But it's not yet time for a break: life goes on, and as Mama Henriette puts it sowell: “At Lola, we always move forward.”
Two new little males
For every orphan we welcome at Lola, we can't help but think that part of a freebonobo family was once again turned into dried meat. Yet at the same time the
comfort we provide to a little orphan never fails to bring us happiness. Whatjoy it is to follow the progress of their physical and, especially, psychologicalrehabilitation!
The arrival of two beautiful little 2-year-old
males sets our hearts right and the mamas
who are still mourning for Tatango once
again resume singing their songs. (After all,it was always the mamas, as well as AnneMarie and Clémence from our health team,
who would manage to put Tatango back on
the right path, or at least back into theenclosure. They will not forget him soquickly.)
The two little bonobos come from the
Wildlife Reserve of Lomako.
The Ministry of Environment Provincial
Coordinator and the national police seized
the one we will call “Lomako” and brought him to the ABC office in Basankusu.

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 3

Meanwhile, a man turned up at our
reintroduction camp in Elonda
village to find Suzy, the Congolese
biologist responsible for the
reintroduction program. He hadwith him a second little male, most
likelyLomoko'sbrotherofmisfortune. This one will be called“Kodoro,” after a little village fromaround here.

This man had exchanged a bag of salt for Kodoro, for lack of the seven boxes ofcartridges from Macc1 that the hunters were demanding.

The man tries his best to squeeze some benefit outof this little bonobo, but quickly realizes that Suzyis an expert at these kinds of negotiations. He
loses the fight. Suzy is of the same kind as Pierrot
and other ABC staff members, determined to havethe law respected.

1

MACC is an ammunitions factory in Pointe Noire (Congo Brazzaville), and is most likely largely
responsible for the destruction of much of the wildlife of the Congo Basin: small, medium andlarge “game.” Karl Ammann fought against the factory in his campaign against the bushmeat
trade in Central Africa (Congo, RDC, Gabon, RCA, Cameroon...) but, politically protected, it is alas
still as active as ever!

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 4

He leaves empty handed, but proud of
his patriotic gesture. Amandine andKatherine (two students who came to
study the post-release period) andSuzy dote on the two twin-like little
ones.
Sunday is the day of the regular flightby Congolese airline Filair. Our friend
K
Kaatthheerriinnee aanndd AAmmaannddiinnee
Dany Philemotte, the manager of theairline, regularly transports little bonobos seized by the authorities to bringthem back rapidly to Lola ya Bonobo.
This time, alas, Lomoko and Kodoro travel alone, with only the cabin crew towatch over them. At the Mbandaka stopover, the plane is rerouted to Lisala topick up a few last minute passengers. The flight attendant offloads the babies
leaving them on the tarmac, clutching each other in their cage, while the planetakes off again for this quick extra leg.
Unfortunately, the paperwork from the Environment Ministry and from theveterinary service has remained on board. Our precious shipment is seized by
the local customs office! The “signal drum” (in this case mobile phone provider
Vodacom) goes into action. We finally resolve the problem, but only after
disturbing the Provincial Coordinator of the Ministry of Environment, who gives
up his Sunday off to go to the airport!
At last, late in the evening, Pierrot, Fanny and I
welcome the two very tired little males in Kinshasa.
The next day, under the watchful eyes of Mama
Henriette and Mama Micheline, the girls (as we
usually call our health team: Fanny Mehl, Clémence
and Anne-Marie) take charge of the two
newcomers.
They are in fairly good shape. Lomako has amangled finger, probably caused by a thin threadtied around the base of his pinky. The jointnearest his palm is detached, but continuing bloodflow has prevented total loss of the finger.

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 5

“It will probably need to be amputated at some point,” Fanny explains, “but it's
not urgent; there are more important things to deal with. It hurts just to see
the despair in their eyes!”
They hold on to us or the two mamas, but, distrustful, they climb up to look into
our eyes and try to discern what bad surprises we might still have in store forthem.
Mama Yvonne is on her annual
leave. In the nursery, Espérance is
now all on her own to keep in line theten rowdy youngsters, since Henrietteand Micheline are taking care of
Lomako and Kodoro during their
quarantine. Luckily, young Sandoa andLuruku have been taken under thewings of their older ‘sisters’ Sankuru,
Kinshasa and sweet Katako.

The Nursery at Lola ya bonobo

It’s all very moving as life gets itself organized, one little step at a time.
Dominique in EKOLO
Meanwhile, we welcome Dominique Morel, the Vice
President of ABC and ABE and President of Friendsof Bonobos, for a ten-day visit. She will finally see“Ekolo ya bonobo” in Basankusu for herself, after
having both dreamed up the venture and put it on
paper to secure its financing. Lola's staff has built
the traditional flowered arches of welcome. From
Pakistan, where Dominique does her “real” work (!),
she has brought a modest gift for each one of them,which she distributes during the welcome cocktail.

As we head off to Basankusu, she is impatient to see the work accomplished so
far by ABC and by Marielle, who has constructed a camp at Elonda, across fromthe release site. Suzy is proud to show how well the bonobos have adjusted, andEtumbe is proud to show little “Nsomi ya Ekolo” (“First born in our land”), born inthe wild on 18th July.

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 6

Our friend Etumbe! She has given us Lola's firstbirth, and now the first birth at Ekolo! What a long
way you have come since the INRB laboratory!
Dominique finds them beautiful, growing, and ingreat shape! All the bonobos recognize her andvocalize their greetings.

Community Meeting
We take advantage of Dominique's visit andthe fact that it coincides with the firstanniversary of signing our contract with the
Pôo community to hold our annual meeting with
them.
Things are tense between the Pôo and ABC. A crazy rumor has spread that weare running bizarre experiments to mate bonobos with humans! Worse yet: weare supposedly offering 600 dollars to participants for each sexual
encounter! We laughed at first upon hearing this story, but Suzy will go
repeatedly to the local radio station to
explain the project on the airwaves and set
the record straight.

Suzy and children from Elonda

question!

The Pôo also feel that we have broken our
promise to bring a telephone connection totheir village. I had, indeed, brought in anengineer from Vodacom (a Congolese mobile
phone company) to check the feasibility ofextending phone coverage to the area, andhe had confirmed it would be technicallypossible. Alas, Vodacom was not able totake the necessary technical steps within
the year, thus inflaming the Pôo's suspicions
about the project. This proved unfortunate
for our collaboration! I was surprised thatsuch wild dreams could put everything into

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 7

The Pôo also raise questions about the alleged “enlargement” of Ekolo ya Bonobo
to 20,000 hectares. We are baffled. The boundaries have never changed since
the contract was signed. What is going on?
The Pôo, usually so welcoming,announce that they are breaking
their contract with us and add
most ominously: “You and yourbonobos can just leave!” Suchdetermination is surprising. As an“old African hand,” I wonder whatishidingbehindthesedeclarations. Is this how things
will end between us?
I try another tactic: a new opportunity. We ask for their customary permission
to purchase an unoccupied island from the Congolese government: “Totaka”
island, which lies about 5 minutes by pirogue from our current camp. (The ideaof setting up a new sanctuary had arisen when we had seen the positive
educational impact that the released bonobos had on the population along theriver.
WhatabeautifuladditiontotheMaringa-Lopori-Wamba
landscape! Moreover, it might help alleviate an eventual risk of over-population
at “Lola ya bonobo.”) They are surprised by our request - what could we possibly
see in that island? But they are not opposed to it...
There is much discussion in the canoe on our way back to camp. Our Congolese
staff is just as disappointed as we are. They don't understand this sudden
reversal of the Pôo! Everyone in Basankusu whom we tell of the Pôo’s decisioninsist that the Pôo have until now always been so proud to host the
project! Nevertheless, we are stuck! We head back to Kinshasa.

With the big “32 teeth” Nkumu

Deep down, I feel certain that this isjust a bump in the road, an
unfathomable lack of comprehension
between two radically different worlds,
a step in the instruction manual wesomehow missed... Was it a forgotten
greeting? A jug of palm wine we
neglected to offer? The “Nkumus”(traditional chiefs) with four (leopard)
teeth are sometimes harder to manage
than those with 32!

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 8

(The 32 teeth Nkumu had indeed walked us to our boat at Boso Ngubu, andbidding us goodbye, he had asked us to try to understand and not to worry:
nothing had changed!)
Finally, we get an explanation: It's all because of the 20,000 hectares!
I had given a long interview in Paris for the magazine of the French Society for
Animal Welfare (SPA), and we had given a copy of the magazine to the Pôo. The
article stated that the area of the reserve was 20,000 hectares. But then,someone probably re-did the calculations for them…. in some creative way of his
own! So the 20,000 contiguous hectares apparently gave us rights to the forest
far beyond Bongandaga, almost 200 km away! The Pôo thus expected serious
trouble from their neighbors! So that was just basically a problem with themath of decimal points and commas, we exclaimed, smiling. And this is what was
threatening to put our bonobos on the street!
We plan our response strategy and I board the plane once again in the otherdirection for yet another meeting, whose outcome we can already predict.. The
contract in one hand, we re-read the clause clearly defining the unchanged
boundaries of Ekola ya Bonobo; in the other hand, a calculator helps clear up thegeographical misunderstanding.
We close the meeting by giving them
supplies for the delivery rooms of
their two health centers: basins,
buckets, and pans, another gift froma partner sensitive to our calls forhelp on their behalf: the CanadianEmbassy. Joy returns to their faces;
a feast prepared by Mama Suzanne
fills our stomachs; beer and palm
wine flow freely. The battle isover! Everything is back in its place...
This is how things often go in
traditional Africa: You need to know the instruction manual backwards andforwards. Hallelujah!
And what about Totaka in all of this? They decide to yield their customary user
rights and give us permission to buy the island from the state in exchange fortwo heath centers built in durable materials deep in the forest. After somequick mental calculations, I reply that Totaka, a few hectares of land that flood
every year, doesn't quite match their dreams.
« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 9We end the meeting. I think to myself that they will pass by Totaka on their
way back home laden with their presents and sigh about their lost dreams while
remembering the Nkumu's words to them, “You have had Totaka for so many
years. What have you done with it?”Let them think about it; we have all the time in the world!!!
Creation of Village Development Committees
Off to Eleke to organize a new Village Development Committee (VDC), buildingon the enthusiasm around the first VDCs formed by Pierrot among the Ilonga
Pôo last year.
Marielle, with Mathieu's support, has begun
organizing these all along the Lopori River
which borders our reserve. VDCs allow themto meet and help local villagers to organize
themselves, identify their needs and theirproblems, and together develop plans toaddress these. VDCs are a useful bridge,
connecting us to populations emerging fromwar and poorer still than they were before.
The welcome is cordial: an old Sutitunga(beautiful marsh antelope) horn is sounded to call the villagers around Mathieu,
his blackboard, and his chalk; many take notes conscientiously.
Here, speeches are peppered with,“Bantu ya eleke, Mbote!” (People ofEleke, welcome!) The group replies,in unison, “Mbote!” Is this just to
keep the group awake? Mathieu isin great form, explaining the word
“development” by miming one step
forward…
andanother
step
forward. The many children inattendance laugh. It's a real
performance! I am having a lot of
fun; so are Marielle and Suzy.

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 10

Sweet moments of communion where the hope for better days is palpable. VDCs
are the link between us (ABC) and the local population. Thanks to them, we canbetter understand their priorities and ask our partners to help relieve themisery present in all the riverside villages and fishing camps around our reserve.
Impossible to remain unmoved in
front of so many children in tatters,
often naked and dirty simply
because their mothers cannot
afford a bar of soap! Many haveswollen abdomens and discoloredhair from malnutrition. Mothers
often have ten or more children “gifts of God.” (We haven't quite
gotten to the “rhythm method”….)

His blackboard leaning against a tree,
Mathieu explains the four “houses”
around which a village functions: thechurch, the health center, the school
and the market. The group listens,
repeating the ends of phrases and theawakening “Mbote” that regularly
punctuates the presentation. The
mothers from Elonda village, who havecome to help with the presentation,lead the group into a song about “thereal values”. Mathieu will maintain contact each month with the VDC to sustain
their energy, as he is doing today.
The school director is here as well. He explains that he lost two teachers, evenas he is opening a sixth grade class this year. He seems worried. The primaryclasses have many children, yet there are so many more whose parents cannot
afford the 1150 Congolese francs ($1.30) that are required as tuition. (These
will help defray the costs of paying the teachers, so often forgotten by theState.) We provided chalk and blackboards, along with all the official Ministryof Education textbooks for the teachers. But what about exercise
books? Pens? Pencils? And even a plastic bag that might serve as a precious
book bag?

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 11In Elonda, the village where our camp is located, we have helped the VDC and theparents build a primary school. Everyone contributed its share: one brought
three wooden sticks, one a few bamboos to serve as benches, another a board
for desks. ABC will pay for the thatching to cover the roof. We also supply theblackboards, so precious here! Pierrot has already bought books in Kinshasa. Mr.
Elwin Blatner has offered his company's boat to bring these free of charge to
Basankusu, along with boxes of exercise books and slates for first year students.
“Weshouldmakelittlewaterproof cloth bags with the“Ekolayabonobo”
logo,”
suggests Suzy, “That would begreat!” Long live the little
school at Elonda! Our presencehas
motivatedthelocal
administrative authorities: ourlittle school will be officiallyrecognized!

We have kept two of the precious soccer balls that Professor Brian Hare's
mother had sent for the villages surrounding the reserve. We give them to theparent committee of Elonda. What joy! “It's a real school!” the parents
exclaim. We “even” have a soccer ball!

But it is a poor little structure
indeed.
How
about
it,
Claudine? What about finding apartner school in France or
Belgium? Linking with a few lettersand gifts children who have so many
dreams to share! In Europe it
might be one more toy, here somenew clothes, less gray, less dirty,
less...

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 12But here too children arechildren! They laugh, shrug
their shoulders, smiling, anddive into the dark riverwater. They are happy in spiteof it all!
Mathieu
finishes
hispresentation amidst feelingsof good will. “The committee
is elected; time to celebrate!”some voices exclaim. “Not at all,” replies Mathieu, “it's just time to get towork!”We return to our canoe. Elonda is not too far. On the way, we will pass by
Totaka Island, my new dream! Perhaps a new sanctuary dedicating to educating
the people of the Marigna-Lopori-Wamba Landscape (LMLW), in Equateur
Province, and, most importantly, to the bonobos?

But that's another story... to be continued!

« Planete bonobo » : Claudine’s newsletter #46 (July - September 2009)

Page 13