October – November – December 2008
October
The bonobos are doing well, except for a few cold and some worm larvae beneath theirskin, a remnant of the dry season. For the first time, Lomela is showing signs of aswollen vulva: is she older than she seems? Did
malnutrition during her long captivity hinder her
physical development that much? She is really funny !
Her fur has completely grown back of course, but it
sticks in all directions ! She often takes care of thenewest arrival, Sandoa, like a big sister. In theevenings, she enviously watches the big ones returning
Lomelafrom the forest. « She is ready! » say the Mums. We
are going to introduce her! This is swiftly achieved! You should see Lomela happily
meeting her old friends from the nursery (already totally at ease with the big ones) :Kikongo, Yolo, Kubulu, Mwanda and gentle Tshilenge !
Currant Feast
Twice a year, this strange shrub, composed of collections of small trunks, is covered
with beautiful clusters of
succulent white currants. A
delicacy! But a nightmare forthe substitute mothers: The
most beautiful specimen of thisshrub is located on the path to
the nursery… After bath time,
while on route to their forest,
the currant clusters quickly
dismantle the ranks ! It is a
general assault ! The baby
bonobosclimb
everywhere,
stuffing
themselves
withcurrants ! The Mums' cries andthreats have absolutely no effect : One must patiently await the end of the feast !

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I love this lack of discipline ! I watch hidden from my office window and silently laughat the disorder and the Mums' despair… Come on, leave them be, it's an exercise forthe reintroduction!
NovemberLike all of Africa, Lola is celebrating Obama's election.
My staff is happy to see that I am proudly wearing abadge to pledge my support to the handsome President!
But in enclosure 3, the month starts badly for « Baby
Moji », Tshilomba's little one: He is suffering from a badbout of bloody diarrhea. For the first time ever, we haveto take him away from his mother to be able to treat him
properly, because the mother is opposed to all ourefforts to approach him! Time is running out! Moji knows
us all and normally approaches us easily, but without his
mother, things are different! He is very scared andremains lying down, nose to the ground, in a corner of theroom. We have many mum volunteers who lovingly spend
their days and nights with him to comfort him andpatiently treat him. Like Sophie, the nurse from France, on holiday at Lola ; Fanny, thevet in training; Zanna, a student in behavioral observations at St Andrews University;and Gladez, another student, on her way to the National Park of Lomako to look for wildbonobos. A few sleepless nights later, I return Baby Moji to his mum who cannot
believe her eyes to see him alive in my arms! A beautiful emotional moment, observedby almost all the Lola staff, who accompany Tshilomba's cries of joy with their humansounds…. Sounds that would probably be very interesting to analyze !!! (mine included!)Accompanied by Michel Halbwax and Marie-Laure Doppagne, our volunteer vets, Crispin
leaves for Lubumbashi (DRC) for the annual veterinary meeting of PASA1, which is
attended by the vets from all African PASA member sanctuaries. Meanwhile, we stay
to observe Maniema, whose curious gait suggests a serious problem, and Elikia, who
appears to have caught the same illness as little Moji…
As always, Anne-Marie, our nurse, takes charge of the situation, helped by Patrick and
Clémence, our vets. Stany, the bonobo keeper who is specialist at shooting anesthetic
darts, successfully outsmarts the vigilance of Semendwa, Elikia's mum. The operation isa total success: Elikia is also saved ! What a relief!

1

Pan-African Sanctuary Alliance. « Lola ya bonobo » has been a member of PASA since its creation.

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Maniema
Back from PASA, Crispin and Marie-Laure immediately concur that an ultrasound scan isurgently needed: A large abdominal
mass has appeared on Maniema's hip!
It would be easy if one of theveterinary clinics possessed such an
instrument. Unfortunately, they donot, and as usual, it is difficult toimagine getting one done at a local
clinic for humans, which will neveragree to receive one of our bonobos !
I tactfully ask Dr Kasango, who treats
Amazone (see Newsletter #41), if heknows of a solution. « Of course I do:me! » he laughs, « I will find you a portable ultrasound scanner. It would be a pleasure
to be of assistance! »This is how our kind doctor finds himself with an unexpected patient with an « almost
human » body (as he jokingly referred to it). Diagnosis: a triple abscess ! Thank God !
I dreaded some kind of tumor and am so relieved.... Treatment and recovery expected
within a fortnight!

The death of Amazone
Alas, my friends, our little Amazone has left us.... We buried her yesterday afternoon in thepresence of the whole village and the staff of Lola, who all came to show their solidarity with thesepeople so far from their home. She died suddenly in our arms on Thursday evening, but did not
suffer. She had just returned from visiting Doctor Baume and an ENT specialist; back at Lola, she
asked her mum Carine for a meal. She was with Anne-Marie, Lola's nurse, who was looking after her.
Suddenly, a chesty cough and... the end. It was 7p.m., I was about to leave for Kinshasa, passing justoutside her pavilion. Anne-Marie called me, ran to the infirmary to get a stethoscope (I was still
thinking it was a malaise), but we soon had to face reality, she had left us. At that moment, Carine
arrived carrying her favorite food...
As I explained to her parents, we did everything we could have done. "Sometimes giving your all isstill not enough ", as JJ Goldman states in one of his compositions. That is what happened today. I
do not believe in their God, but I told them with comforting words that He had called her back to
Him because He needed another angel in Paradise! Marie-Laure, who had invested so much of her
time taking care of Amazone since the very beginning broke down with sadness. All the doctors whocame into contact with this courageous little girl had their heart stolen. I would like to thank themfrom the bottom of my heart for everything they did in these difficult circumstances. First andforemost, thank you to Dr Baume, for his availability, his patience, and his impressive knowledge ! I
would also like to say a special thank you to Doctor Castanet from Nice for his precious help, for thetime he spent finding all the treatments that Dr Baume needed, and for never hesitating a single
moment, along with his partner, to contribute his resources to make everything possible. And throughhim, I also thank all his colleagues who helped to gather all needed drugs and materials.
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I would also like to thank Marie-Paule, Lily and Janine at the Belgian embassy, who gave us the one
and only contact in Kinshasa: Geoffrey de Lindekerke, Ambassador of the Order of Malta, whorecommended Dr Kasongo to us.
On that day (a few hours earlier I did not know where my search would
take me), the barge carrying Amazone and her family from Basankusu(after I had managed to persuade the Captain to take Amazone on
board – see Newletter #41), moored at Maluku, the last port before
Kinshasa on the Congo River. During this voyage of 13 days of hell with
about a thousand people, crammed among luggage, goats and othergoods destined for the capital city (since the war there is often only
one boat every six months coming from Basankusu, a small town deep inthe forest where bonobos live), with an extreme lack of privacy, thisfamily had been forced to hide their child, as if she were a living
monster!
That Monday, I finally knew whom to turn to: I realised that, for such a case, all the roads of theCongo lead to Dr Kasongo ! Even Marie-Laure's father, who used to be a doctor in Kinshasa,
confirmed what the whole town was telling me: You must see Dr Kasango ! Kind Doctor Kasongo,
humane and generous, who gave us hope and introduced us to Dr Baume. Thank you to all those who
gave so generously to this family which had so little: thank you to the daughters of Zéna Achour andOmmid (in San Diego) for the beautiful dolls which lit up Amazone's eyes with happiness to possess
such a treasure! Thank you to Albert Busine's family for offering a comfortable house in a quiet
spot along the river, close to Lukaya Falls. Thank you to the association of Congolese mothers foroffering Marie-Laure their unconditional support. Thank you to Vanessa Wood, who contacted Sarah
from the UK-based association "Facing the world", who was due to carry out the reconstruction of
Amazone's face following chemotherapy. Thank you to everyone who believed in our hope to 'do
everything' to ensure Amazone got her old face back. Thank you to Freddy, trainee nurse, and toMother Souza, the nurse in charge of Amazone at Dr Tshimi's Alliance Center where she washospitalized for her chemotherapy. I must also thank all the men and women of Lola for their
devotion. They stayed with this grief-stricken family until the end, with the generosity that is
typical of Africans when confronted with death.
It was a simple yet moving ceremony, full of respect for this child who was subjected to suchsuffering but who never complained. When she left us, she took a piece of my heart with her, but
for Lola, she will continue to symbolize strength and courage. She was a passing angel in ourparadise.
Love to you all.
Claudine.

Amazone's
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The House of Lords and Twycross Zoo
The string of health scares ensures there is never a moment's rest at Lola, yet I haveto leave for London, where Doctor Suzanne Boardman, Director of Twycross Zoo is
waiting for me. Suzanne is the creator of the first ever Badham Evans (named after the
co-founders of Twycross Zoo) Award for Women in Conservation, a prize I am due toreceive on 25 November at the House of Lords.
Suzanne and Claire Pipe, her assistant, havegone to a great deal of trouble to ensure
everything is perfect! And it is! Speeches,
photos, fancy cakes and walks down thecorridors of this fabulous building, trying to
avoid security to sneakily take the odd photo!
A few internationally renowned actresses also
attended, including Stefanie Powers, a redhead
undoubtedly more famous than me – she starsin « The Avengers » - whom we had already met
at Mount Kenya where she resides (she did us
the honor of coming to visit us during PASA
conferences that were organized there). My
daughter Fanny, who is accompanying me, finds
the Lords impressive, very « British », but a little old for her taste !
Afterwards we head to Twycross Zoo to meet their bonobos. They are pleasantly calm,
which is usually difficult to achieve in the smaller bonobo communities in zoos. During a
reception with the Lords and other officials, Suzanne Boardman officially launches acampaign to save the bonobos in the DRC, hereby supporting our vision of reintroduction
into the wild and the public awareness campaigns of Pierrot and Blaise, as well as theeducational campaign of Awely2, the association which shares our office in Basankusu
and aims to offer alternative micro-projects to hunters and bushmeat merchants.
Suzie hopes to convince these elected officials to gather some of the funds needed forthese in situ measures and to build improved installations for the bonobos at TwycrossZoo, the only bonobo population living in captivity in Great Britain.
DecemberI have but one aim for the end of this year: to obtain before 31 December all theauthorizations and letters of support for our project « EKOLO YA BONOBO » andhave the Pôo forest reclassified as « Center for the re-adaptation of Congo’s bonobos
to life in the wild ». Mission accomplished : on 23 December Mr José Endundu, theEnvironment Minister, sends me the official documents.
* * *2

French Association aiming to mitigate or resolve conflicts between humans and animals
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This trimester at the nursery
Lomela takes Sandoa under her wing
Lomela – also known as « the Big one » - is the boss at the nursery. As Mum Espérance
approaches the nursery's enclosure to take some sugarcane for Sandoa, who is still inquarantine, Lomela kidnaps the little one, who is playing on the ground, and runs awayfrom the group. In an attempt to reassure her new doll, she caresses her erotically,
then holds her to her stomach and grooms her. Espérance tries to take Sandoa back,but Lomela turns on her heels and runs into the forest. Keep running, Espérance! It
takes more than half an hour of negotiating to catch the kidnapper! Fortunately,
Espérance knows her « Big one » well. She plays to her greediness, and finally Lomela
agrees to exchange Sandoa for a bottle of milk !
Welcome to Nursery, Sandoa!
Quarantine over, Sandoa is introduced in thenursery. Like a child on their first day atnursery school, Sandoa desperately clings on to
her substitute mum. She is welcomed by her
new friends with unbounded excitement!
Everyone wants to touch her and introduce her
to the joy of sex! Katako, who is very
responsible for his age, decides to restore
order to this commotion and ensure the little newbie's reception is warm, friendly andcivilized. Yet it will undoubtedly take some time to conquer shy Sandoa.
Katakoand
SandoaNarcissus in Paradise
Sandoa thrives in Paradise. But she is still somewhat intimidated by the surrounding
group of restless hairy angels. What she prefers is leafing through a notebook full ofdrawings of the bonobos. She recognizes herself on the first page, and when turning
the pages, appears to be saying: « Oh! Look, it's me again! » Fascinated, she grabs the
picture of herself and hugs it. You are right, Sandoa, we never love ourselves enough…
She may be introverted, but she is also very bright, this little one!
Masisi becomes bolder
In the nursery's youngest group, Masisi appears
dynamic and unruly. It is delightful for the mums
to see her gaining independence. A true reward fortheir attentive care! She distances herself from
Mummy Yvonne more and more frequently and nolonger panics when not in her company. She haseven begun climbing the trees with recklessness.

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Masisipage 6

Milk, what a success!
Like human babies, baby bonobos love milk. Feeding time is always a favored moment at
the nursery. The little ones congregate around themum, in a battle to be served first. No dwindlingallowed, lest the bonobos get inpatient! The
excitation sometimes leads to quarrels between
Vanga and Saké on one side, and Eleke and Katako
on the other, but the conflicts are always quickly
resolved by the mums' impartial intervention. Come
on! There is enough for everyone, children!

Lomela joins the big ones
Lomela leaves the nursery once she has acquired complete independence. In any case,she could no longer stand having the mums on her heels and she kept running away in thetrees surrounding the enclosure. As soon as she enters enclosure 3 with the big ones -ccompanied by Henriette, just in case!-- Lomela shows no sign of stress and quickly
frees herself from her substitute mum to join her new friends. Kikongo, Yolo andKubulu form the welcome committee. It is impressive to see Lomela integrate into her
new family so happily! The sexual attention she receives proves very beneficial, andYolo in particular she cannot resist. She has even become the darling of the group:
everyone chases her and flirts with her. She loves that! The transition has gone reallywell, and Lomela can now lead her adult life.

Births at Lola
On 3 October, Benoît, head nutritionist and guide in Lola, became a Dad !
A beautiful little girl, Emmanuella, weighing 2.5kgs.
Mum and Baby are Dad's pride and joy!!

Claudia

Then Hélène,
Emmanuella, Mum and Dad Benoit
our accountant,gives birth to an adorable little girl called Claudia, weighing
2.9kgs.
Good luck to both newborns!!

Lola ya bonobo Newsletter #42 - 4th quarter 2008

page 7Greetings from Claudine
Dear loyal friends of « Friends of Bonobos in Congo3 »The year is coming to a close. Once again it was a succession of adventures and newexperiences!!! « Lola ya Bonobo », our little paradise, prepared itself day after day forthe departure of certain bonobos to a new territory : « Ekolo ya Bonobo », in the great
Equatorial forest, the land of the bonobos of Congo, along the Lopori River with its
beautiful dark water, where they will be welcomed in June of next year.
I would like to take advantage of this time of the year to thank you all for being so loyal
in following our Congolese adventures! Thank you for supporting these two projects –LOLA and EKOLO YA BONOBO - through our sister organizations « Amis des Bonobos
en Europe4 » and « Friends of Bonobos », which allows us to be ever closer to ourfriends the BONOBOS of Congo, who so need us!
Thank you to those who have volunteered to accompany me every day in this effort:
Dominique Morel, our brilliant Vice-President, and Valérie Dhanani, our precious
treasurer. Thank you to our staff for their dedication and hard work. I cannot cite
them all, though I would like to do so; let me simply mention Crispin, his health team,and Michel, a vet volunteer who gives a helping hand from afar and makes the writing ofthese awful reports less tedious. Throughout the year they have all been busy preparing
for the reintroduction. Thanks to Pierrot and his education team who through hard
work and many field visits have managed the various human and administrative steps
necessary to create the new site at EKOLO. Thank you to Marie-Laure for choosing
this new initiative of A.B.C. as the subject of her thesis and for staying by our side formany months in Basankusu. A special thank you to those who affectionately share every
day of our bonobos' lives: the Mums, the keepers and the assistant-keepers ! Thank you
to everyone else who works to make « Lola ya bonobo » what it is: A haven of beauty,
peace and serenity!
Thank you to Marie-Laure who unreservedly dedicated herself, following the example of
Dr Baume, Dr Kasongo, Dr Castanet and all those we didn't meet but who did everything
possible to ensure our little angel Amazone courageously received treatment and left tojoin another Paradise peacefully, without suffering. That will be the lesson I havelearnt in the year 2008: « Sometimes giving your all is still not enough »…
All my best wishes for the festive season!
A last wish: That 2009 be just as captivating, exhilarating and full of promises!
I am thinking of you all!
Claudine.

3
4

From the name of our Congolese organization, “Les Amis des Bonobos du Congo” (ABC).
French-based “Friends of Bonobos in Europe” association
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