ok, i know a lot of people are going to freak out, pacing the kitchen and wondering when their little baby girl is going to be alright. i know many of you have followed her journey from a hairless little skeltor into a beautiful, kind bonobo, and shed tears and offered prayers for her. but little Lolo has grown up. She's 7 years old - almost a grown up, in bonobo terms. I know how heart wrenchign it is to let her go and of course i want her to stay at lola forever. But my dear, dear friends, after I lived through the horrible flu at Lola in march, where 7 bonobos dies, just like that, I realised that the sanctuary is not just a zoo where bonobos live their whole life. the most important thing about Lola is that they are doing something really important - figuring out how to release bonobos back into the wild.
Lolo is perfect for the release. because as we all know, she is just so sweet. she is everyone's friend, never causes any conflict in the group and always works hard to reconcile if two bonobos are fighting. so we hope she will be a focal part for the group . for the release to work, the best chance is for the group to stick together, and Lolo is like glue, she's like the magic ingredient, the special someone that brings everyone together.
i would love for her to stay safe at Lola, but as Claudine said to me,
'these are not my bonobos. they are wild animals. and i have to let them go.'
yes i am crying. because i to put her in my pocket and hold her safe safe safe forever. but that is a selfish love. Lomela should get to live the life of a wild bonobo. i'm not pretending it will be easy or ther won't be threats to her safety, but this is the life she was born for. and i think giving back it back when it was taken from her so terribly is a good thing, don't you?
