Then, as suddenly as it all started, we left.
Yesterday at 10 in the morning, we said goodbye to all the bonobos so we could come to the Tchimpounga chimpanzee sanctuary.
Crossing the Congo river is like crossing the Nile or the Amazon. Ok, it's just a brown murky river but you feel like something monumental is passing beneath the boat. All those stories of myth and legend. The inconquerable status. How so many people went up it but never came back.
We were totally bummed to leave the bonobos. I could stay at Lola all year. But I'm excited to see chimps again! And see how much they've all grown up since last year. Besides, I'll see all the bonobos again next year.
Kezza was the last bonobo I saw. He was kept in a biomedical laboratory most of his life, so it's especially good to see him running around the forest. He's looking this way because he wants one of the Tic Tacs Claudine has in her hands. Cherry flavour. Yum.
This blog has moved!
Please go to my new Psychology Today blog to see what I'm up to. To buy the book, Bonobo Handshake, please visit my website. To follow the adventures of the Lola ya Bonobo orphans, please visit Friends of Bonobos