Back to the Forest—Luc’s Story

Chimpanzee Luc has spent most of his life in the care of Tchimpounga’s expert staff. Taken from his family and forest home at a very young age, Luc has not had an easy life. After he was snatched from his mother, who was likely killed by a poacher, Luc was sold to a restaurant owner in the Democratic Republic of Congo who decided to “display” him for customers. However, like all chimpanzees, as Luc grew, he became more mischievous and harder to control. As a result, the restaurant owner sold Luc to a trafficker who took him across the river to Congo.

Luc was confiscated by authorities in Brazzaville after the trafficker attempt-ed to sell him on the black market. Luc’s rescue was especially important be-cause the dealer who was caught trying to sell him was the first person ever to be tried and imprisoned in Congo for illegally trafficking chimpanzees. Luc’s story was even followed on Congolese TV, making him a very famous chimpanzee!

When Luc arrived at Tchimpounga, he had a lot to learn. Because he was taken from his mother at such a young age, he was totally unfamiliar with chimp group hierarchy. Therefore, it was diffi-cult for Luc to integrate with the other chimpanzees at the sanctuary. Unsure of howhow to react to the introductory nips and shoves chimps give each other when they first join a new group, Luc decided he would rather spend time with his human caregivers. However,

after four years at Tchimpounga, Luc started to enjoy the company of other chimps, although he remains a quiet fellow who likes to observe more than get involved in group politics.

ThisThis past year, Luc’s gentle nature worked in his favor. Due to his calm de-meanor, he was selected for transfer to the expanded sanctuary site on Tchind-zoulou Island. The first male to be

moved, Luc now has much more room to roam and play in the company of several of his female friends. Though Luc’s early life was difficult, he now can look for-ward to a bright future in an environ-ment where he will experience more freedom than he’s ever known.

Grauer’s Gorillas and Chimpanzees in Eastern Democratic Republic of CongoTaking our learning to important new landscapes & populations

A collective of the world’s leading conservation organizations is fighting for the survival of the endangered Grauer’s or eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri).

Found only in the mountain and mid-altitude forests of the eastern Democrat-ic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Grauer’s gorilla is not only the largest of the four gorilla subspecies but also the largest primate in the world.

With their entire range consumed in conflict since 1996, important popula-tions of Grauer’s and their chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) rela-tives have gone largely unmonitored. Different sources have offered varying

population estimates since that time, but their true status is unknown.

TheThe Jane Goodall Institute, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), Conservation International (CI), the Dian Fossey Go-rilla Fund International (DFGFI), and local conservation organizations have partneredpartnered with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), the Ministry of the Environment,

Nature Conservation and Tourism (MECNT), national military and police authorities, and local communities to support the implementation of an Inter-national Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Conservation Action Plan for great apes in the eastern DRC.

The action plan represents an important milestone in the conservation of great apes in the DRC, bringing together a large number of government and civil-ian stakeholders and a panel of ape

conservation experts to identify essen-tial actions to slow the decline of gorillas and chimpanzees in the region.

Dario Merlo of the Jane Goodall Institute said: “Conserving the remaining Grauer’s gorilla populations, as well as chimpanzees in the area, requires a dy-namic approach and the participation of all areas of society from national gov-ernment to local communities.”

Having identified and agreed on the need for a coordinated and consolidated approach, the in-country teams are now working closely, each taking the lead on a component of the plan while support-ing the others with their expertise. One of the key activities identified is the needneed to assess the true status of gorillas and chimpanzees in the region. Lilian Pintea of the Jane Goodall Institute said: “With support from Google, Digital-Globe and Esri, we are applying innova-tive, cutting-edge mobile mapping,

satellite imagery, and cloud-based tech-nologies to equip survey teams with high-resolution base maps and enable local communities to contribute to ape monitoring efforts.”

Classified as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the new surveys are vital to accurately assess Grauer’s gorilla conservation status and to identify the highest priority popula-tions for focused conservation efforts and long-term monitoring.

For the last decade, the Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) has provided highly motivated and dedicated young leaders throughout the United States with the training, resources and opportunities they need to develop into community leaders who create positive change in their own backyards and around the world. These youth leaders emerge at the forefront of the next generation of responsible global citizens, working to protect and improve communities for people, animals, and the environment we all share.

During the remainder of 2013, the youth leaders will continue their involvement in the Council through additional lead-ership training experiences, including a trip to New York City for the Internation-al Youth Leadership Assembly at the United Nations. Once there, they will join several hundred youth from around the world to learn about the eight UN Millennium Development Goals and attend special presentations, workshops and educational outings. They will also take part in a service project at the United Nations and other locations in New New York City.

Jane Goodall’s Roots & ShootsNational Youth Leadership Council Training Developing community leaders who create positive change in their own backyards and around the world

64speaking engagements through public presentations, interviews and workshops

139projects/campaigns for people, animals and the environment; and contributed

1,377local communityvolunteer hours

We will never turn away a chimpanzee in need of care. As a result, Tchimpounga’s resources have been stretched because of the growing number of infant and juvenile chimps at the sanctuary. We rely upon the support of members like you to continue our life-savinglife-saving efforts to ensure that these incredible beings have the future they so deserve.

We’d like to introduce you to some of Tchimpounga’s youngest residents: Sam, Anzac, Zola and JeJe.

Over the last 18 months, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) has seen a sig-nificant increase in the number of young chimpanzees arriving at JGI’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilita-tion Center in the Republic of Congo. We hope this trend is an indication that local authorities are putting a greater emphasis on enforcing exist-ing laws against killing and capturing wild chimpanzees.

Meet Tchimpounga’s Youngest Chimpanzees!

Sam was the first chimpanzee to come to Tchimpounga in 2013. Prior to his arriv-al in January, Sam was kept as a pet, tied up and living in a home in Congo with-out any chimpanzee companions.

When he came to the sanctuary, Sam was estimated to be about 18 months old. After an initial assessment, Tchimpounga’s veterinary staff discov-ered that Sam was suffering from an in-fected bullet wound in his arm, as well as a skin infection on his stomach from the rope tied too tightly around his waist.

Initially, Sam stayed with Chantal, an ex-perienced Tchimpounga caregiver. Chantal was there for Sam from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep, ensuring that Sam felt safe and secure during his recuperation.

Like most chimpanzees who come to Tchimpounga, little Jeje arrived sick, malnourished and suffering from para-sites. It took a great deal of time and vet-erinary care to restore JeJe to good health.

In addition to worrying about young chimpanzees’ physical health, staff at Tchimpounga also address their psycho-logical welfare. Chimps like Jeje who come to the sanctuary as babies need constant contact to enable them to de-velop normally by creating strong emotional bonds. Chimps are incredibly social animals who thrive on constant interaction with others in their group. As a result, a chimpanzee’s well-being is dependent upon a great deal of physical contact at an early age.

Because he was so young when he was separated from his mother, Jeje did not start eating wild forest fruits like other young chimps. Without normal wear and tear, his teeth were very white and prominent, which gave him a rather comical appearance when he first ar-rived.rived. Today, JeJe uses his impressive teeth to bite into watermelons, his favor-ite food!

Young Zola was confiscated from poach-ers in a town called Imphondo in north-ern Congo. Though the little chimp was tired, weak and very dehydrated when he reached the sanctuary, his calm de-meanor and friendly disposition led caretakers to name him “Zola,” which means “friendly” in Lingala.

Zola was nursed back to health by Simone, one of Tchimpounga’s experi-enced caregivers. His recovery went very well. He ate constantly and rapidly gained energy. Unlike many chimpan-zees who are picky about food, Zola gob-bles up anything put in front of him!

When Zola was rescued, the three poachers from whom he was confiscated were arrested, making the forest a safer place for young chimpanzees and their families.

When Anzac arrived at Tchimpounga, she was so tiny that she had to be weighed using a food scale! At 2.7 kilo-grams, Anzac was one of the smallest chimps we’ve ever received.

In addition to being orphaned by poach-ers at a very young age, Anzac had an-other obstacle to overcome: She arrived at Tchimpounga having lost much of her left arm. Despite this handicap, Anzac progressed well. Today, she loves to play with the other young chimps at Tchimpounga; climb and tumble; and even use her arm as a “pocket” to hold food, twigs, and other treasures. Anzac loves to bounce around outside, pouncing on her friends and occasionally flopping down to make “grass angels.” It’s clear that Anzac is very happy in her new home.home.

Over the last six months, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) has made a huge splash throughout the state of Colorado by empowering educators to get involved in Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots and helping them implement service-learning campaigns in their classrooms.

With support from the Morgridge Family Foundation, and in partnership with Knowledge Factor, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Ac-centure Foundation, and Xsci, JGI pi-loted a new professional development model for service learning in conjunction with Roots & Shoots. Using Knowl-edge Factor’s patented Amplifire online training software, which relies on Nobel Prize-winning brain research on how humans learn, JGI developed online pro-fessional development modules focused on service learning and community mapping.

To date, more than 100 educators have participated in the online modules. And because of the way the Amplifire soft-ware is designed, JGI can demonstrate that these educators have mastered 95% of the concepts presented to them.

A focus group of 24 educators also par-ticipated in a more in-depth training that incorporated a six-hour, in-person

nts have completed more than 100 proj-ects in Colorado that benefit the state’s people, animals and environment. In

workshop at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, in-classroom sup-port with service learning demonstra-tions, and small community grants of up to $200USD to help launch classroom campaigns.

A total of 23 of the 24 educators have completed campaigns, each of which in-cluded at least five service projects. As a result, in the last six months alone, these educators and their students have com-pleted more than 100 projects in Colo-rado that benefit the state’s people, animals and environment. In early May, these educators and their students were recognized at the Morgridge Family Foundation’s ShareFair and STEMo-sphere where Dr. Goodall provided a keynote speech.

If you are interested in learning more about this project and/or are an educa-tor interested in bringing Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots into your classroom, visit www.rootsandshoots.org.

Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Education Project in Colorado

100+Educators participated in online modules

ConceptMastery95% 100+

6 Months

Projects Completedin less than

Tchimpounga’s Amazing MandrillsLike the chimpanzees at Tchimpounga, the staff at JGI is working to release the mandrills back into the wild

If you thought that JGI’s Tchimpounga sanctuary only helped rescue chimpanzees, think again! The staff at Tchimpounga will never turn away an animal in need, so Tchimpounga has served as a temporary home to several species of African wildlife, including antelope, African civets, various bird species, gorillas, and moustache monkeys.

Some of Tchimpounga’s most interesting residents are the colorful mandrills, members of the baboon family. Their striking looks and peaceful nature make mandrills attractive to poachers who capture them to sell as exotic pets. Tchimpounga currently cares for sev-eeral mandrills, ranging from juveniles to adults.

Like the chimpanzees at Tchimpounga, the staff at JGI is working to release

the mandrills back into the wild. Since mandrills are an endangered species, it is critically important to release these animals back into to the wild where they can help bolster their species’ num-bers.

The mandrill release program is not only important to the health and well-ness of the mandrills being released. The release will also help with Tchimpounga’s ultimate goal: the reha-bilitation and release of our rescued chimpanzees. The mandrill release site

is the same location where JGI intends to release chimpanzees in the future. Working at this site with the released mandrills will ensure that we are well prepared when the time comes to re-lease chimpanzees in the area.

Returning any animal to the wild is a complex process. For the mandrills, staff at Tchimpounga will make sure that each individual is prepared for life in the wild and can be monitored after the

release.release. Each mandrill must be fitted with an expensive radio collar, and field assistants need to be paid and supplied for 12 months as they monitor the re-leased mandrills. Additionally, JGI will have to support extra rangers who will be charged with protecting the release area. area.

Thanks to the commitment and support of members like you, we can return these beautiful animals back to their forest home.