Lara Croft, the artist & King Kong

Nothing much happened today. Lots more ball throwing. Brian is going bonkers because chimps aren't supposed to throw the ball back but they do.

Rebeca and Fernando, two Spaniards, look after Tchimpounga, which is run by the Jane Goodall Institute.

This is Rebecca feeding an orphan gorilla confiscated from poachers.

Don't be fooled by her long beautiful hair and gentle smile. She is an ass kicking Lara Croft type and if you were dropped in the middle of a jungle and had to survive without food or water for a month, Rebeca is who you want with you. I think she is secretly Tarzan.

For instance,

copyright Fernando Turno

and

copyright Fernando Turno

Those photos are also to deter those who thought the cute little gorilla she was feeding in the first picture would make a good pet because this is what the cute little munchkin will grow into. In case you are wondering what the hell she is doing, she is helping out PPG, the gorilla sanctuary, with a health check.

This is Fernando



and this is his civet.

Fernando is an amazing artist, filmmaker, and photographer. He is also a sucker for animals. Every time we come here there is some weird new creature in their house that has been abandoned or its mother was killed etc. Last time it was a putty nose monkey and a baby chimp. The other time there was a baby gorilla. Anyway, the civet's family was killed by chimps in the forest and he was the only one left. He started off the size of a tennis ball, and now as you can see, he is the size of a footstool. Soon he will be the size of a labarador. The night watchment are terrified of him. He has already bitten one of them. But Fernando rolls him around on his back, tickling him. Let me tell you a civet laughing is the weirdest sound I have ever heard. I can't even begin to describe it.

These are the bugs that live on Rebeca and Fernando's window. I don't know if you can tell but there are, like, a million.