Continuation of “At Ngamba Island, Uganda“
The Mission Statement
The chimpanzees living at Ngamba Island were confiscated from various places in Middle Africa from people trying to bring them out of the countries. At the moment of our visit there were 42 chimpanzees. We were told that each chimp needs about 1 sq. km. of forest alone to survive in the wild, and since the forests were cut down so fast in order to make room for more and more people, the chimps are facing extinction.
Pensive look
Waiting for food
The 42 chimps would have no chance of survival on the small Ngamba island – its area is only a little bit more than 1 sq. km. – so they must be fed by humans – they feed mostly on fruits and vegetables.
Moving around their sanctuary
Be warned!
About 10 am in the morning they all gather near the fence that separates their territory from the humans and wait patiently for the food to fly to their hands. They are very smart and skilled – catching flying fruits from the air, even using sticks to retrieve pieces stuck in the fence.
