Vanga gets carried away

Since all the terrors left the nursery, sweet little Vanga has now taken over and boy is he a mess. While I was there last time a woman walked out bleeding from her ear where Vanga bit her - a good warning for anyone who thinks these little cuties make good pets.

Getting bitten by a bonobo is no fun. Vanga is doing a dominance display, since he is now the one who has been in the nursery the longest. Lomela is the biggest and could kick his ass if she wanted but she is too sweet... Eleke is a goofball, and that just leaves the girls.

The bonobos bite each other quite hard, even when they are playing, so it's likely he doesn't mean anything by those chomping teeth, but still, the mamas are warning anyone who wants to come into the nursery that it's at their peril!

The last woman who went in got her tshirt completely ripped off by Sake and Vanga! she was very good natured about it and donated the remnants to the terrible two. Sake immediately ran to the swimming pool, wet the tshirt then poured the water over her head.

sake plays with her new toy

does a little bit of washing

Waka and Masisi look on in wonder - how can Vanga be such a brat and get away with it?

Adopt a bonobo! www.friendsofbonobos.org/support.htm

Mama Henriette, the masked bandit

Lukuru, Lomela, and Eleke

Odile Procksch sent these photos - Mama Henriette put on a traditional Congolese mask from a tribe int he north and you can see how freaked out everyone was!! As a scientist, I wonder what they think she was doing. did they recognise her? were they scared the way children would be scared? or were they scared but at the same time titillated?

Anyway, all you anxious adopted parents out there, you can see your babies are doing well. I'll even do some kindergarten portraits for you so you can see how your kids have grown!

Lukuru & Eleke

(left to right) Vanga, Waka, Kataco (on Mama Henriette's lap), Lukuru, Lomela, reaching out her hand, and Eleke crawling roung the back

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Lukuru and her water bottle

Just got sent some photos by Alix Ortega who was recently at Lola. Lukuru is snuggled up with her water bottle - she is so cute!

i remember seeing her this way when at Lola, when the babies were deep in sleep they hugged their water bottles just as they would hug thier mother's stomachs. i wondered if they forgot where they were for a while, and were dreaming that they were back in the forest, sleeping on their mum's tummy.

it made me really sad. but then i am just grateful they made it to Lola and didn't end up dead from shock or eaten. they grow up happy. i'm glad they have a human like resiliance.

This is Masisi. she started off so sweet and quiet but now she is apparently a little wild thing - swinging all over her night cage and freaking out Lukuru!

Sandoa's new mum

Sandoa has become very attached to Esperance, who has not had a bonobo baby since her little Vanga 3 years ago. Vanga is now the nursery terror, replacing Boyoma who went to group 3. I'm sure he's not happy about the new arrival, but Lomela adores Sandoa. In typical Lomela fashion, she is just so gentle and sweet, despite being twice as big as any of the other bonobos in the nursery, she's no bully. She touches Sandoa softly every now and then, as if to let her know that she might be sad now, but everything will be alright.

Sandoa doing well

Sandoa is progressing well, the biggest danger was infection from the two lacerations around her groin - when bonobos ar etethered for a long time, the rope cuts into them, rubs into the raw would and festers - it can be very dangerous.

But after much disinfecting, the wounds are healing nicely. She has a big apetite - always a good sign (remember our little Lomela) and more than anything loves sugar cane, pineapples and oranges.

the next step is to see how the results come back from the lab. hopefully she doens't have anything serious.

new orphan at Lola

In the middle of all the heart ache with Amazone, there has been a new orphan arrived at Lola.

Her name is Sandow and she's only two years old. On Sunday afternon, Claudine's husband Victor, was at their house when a military soldier dropped in with a baby bonobo he found in Bolobo ( a village near Bandundu) during his service. He was told by a fellow officer who lived in the same neighborhood as Claudine to take the bonobo to Claudine's in his jeep.
Once the soldier arrived, he wanted to sell it.
Victor, who is an incredibly debonair half Rwandan, half Italian, stood in the doorway waving his cigar and asked
'And who do I have the honour of greeting?'
'I am an officer and I've come to sell this bonobo for money so I can send my kids to school.'
'Thank you officer, but the bonobo is a protected species by law, because they are in danger of extinction, and they only live in one country - ours. If you want to sell him, fine, but it's forbidden and you could end up in jail.'
The officer was convinced and left the bonobo with Victor, who brought Sandoa to the sanctuary the next day.
So when Claudine and Pierrot came back from taking Amazone to see the doctors, Sandoa was waiting for them.

She's in good condition, except for lacerations around her groin where a rope had tethered her.

Clemence, the vet is taking good care of her.



As for what Amazone has to do with Lola, nothing, except she was found in Basankusu, where the bonobos will be released next year. I get a lot of questions about the callousness of the Congolese, how can they shoot and kill animals so like ourselves.

To me, Amazone is an answer. While children are suffering like this, the bonobo doesn't have much hope.

But for Sandoa, there is hope enough. It's a testament to the effectiveness of Lola's education programs that the friend of the officer who turned Sandoa in knew about Claudine, and that bonobos should be in a forest, not kept as a pet.

Thank you all so much for your continued support. It's because of you that Lola can keep going. Thank you from Amazone too. Because of your donations to the sanctuary, Claudine isn't spending every penny of her own money on pineapples and bananas for the bonobos, and can pay for Amazone's medical expenses.

Bonobo handshakes to everyone.

All your adopted infants are going well, I haven't heard of any one being sick or in trouble.

Kisantu's baby is also good, here she is with her.

Amazone update.

Just recieved this message from Claudine:

Amazone and her parents have arrived by night with the 'boat people' on a 12 day journey to Maluku, the nearest port to Kinshasa. In the morning, they were kindly greeted by a military person who I called to take care of her. I sent Pierrot (our education officer) to collect her in the trunk.

They arrived at Lola at around 4 in the afternoon. We had two rooms for them by the river, but they were completely empty. Papa Jean, Alain, and Didier found everything for them, beds, mattresses, tables, chairs, sheets, blankets, everything. All they owned was a cup, and a small sac of flour and manioc that they bought before leaving Basankusu. They were still wearing the same clothes that I found them in 2 weeks ago.

The plastic cup was given to Amazone by her grandmother, Koko, without whom Amazone would not have the courage to live. They had nothing else. I don't know how they managed on the boat. I paid for their tickets and I left them with $50 for the voyage and $10 for the rest... but anyway, now they are here, and we have a chance to do something for the little girl.

During the day while Pierrot collected them at Maluku, I did some investigation in the city. Friends who were Congolese doctors, the Belgian Ambassador and everyone I could think off that might be able to help. I thought of a friend, the Maltese Ambassador who sent me to Doctor Kasongo. We have an appointment now for Thursday.

Yesterday morning, I saw Amazone for the first time since I left her in Basankusu. The tumour has doubled, and the pain of the poor child is obvious.

So here is the history that I could find. The tomour is 11 months old. It started at Baringa, near Salonga National Park near the river Maringa, just next to Basankusu. Amazone was six years old. It started with a tooth ache, but no one saw it really well because in the forest, they prefer just to take it out. Then everything started.

Dr Kasango said that it's not impossible that the point of origin of the tumour to be in the cells of the teeth.

After the start of the deformation, about 4 months latter, they put all their hopes in a very long journey from Maringa to Baskankusu. This was 8 months before I met them. The doctor in Basankusu diagnosed 'a malignant tumour' (there is a good hopsital in Basankusu but for a biopsy? you're dreaming) The doctor prescribed chemotherapy ('gusty', said Dr Kasongo 'without a biopsy) and prescribed 6 injections, of $100 each.

The missionaries paid for 2, and the swelling went down, but then they stopped the treatment and the tumour came back even worse than ever.

And here we are.

Dr Kasongo prescribed a pain killer, I paid for the $300 scan, we sent off the scan images today, there will be a biopsy on Friday morning that we will send to a professor at UCL.

I have to get back to Lola now, to take care of things there.

soon,

Claudine.

Le Dr a prescrit un anti-douleur , je lui ai payé son scanner (300$)
j'enverrai les images aujourd'hui au Dr Kasango, il lui fera la
biopsie vendredi matin, pour l'envoyer à BXL où il est professeur à
L'UCL, et a l'habitude.
Nous sommes rentrés à Lola continué à installer nos invités, et
commencé à leur trouver des habits autour de nous!...
A suivre...
Claudine.

burkitts -disturbing images

dunno if i told you, but i've heard from 3 tropical disease specialists now who say it's probably Burkitt's lymphoma. Here is what i could find about Burkitts on the web. as you can see from the pics, it looks like Amazone's got it.

Burkitt’s lymphoma (or Burkitt Lymphoma) is an uncommon type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). Burkitt’s lymphoma commonly affects children. It is a highly aggressive type of B-cell lymphoma that often starts and involves body parts other than lymph nodes. In spite of its fast-growing nature, Burkitt’s lymphoma is often curable with modern intensive therapies.

There are two broad types of Burkitt’s lymphoma – the sporadic and the endemic varieties. There is a very high incidence of this disease in equatorial Africa, and disease in this region is called endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma. Disease in other regions of the world is much less common, and is called sporadic Burkitt’s lymphoma. Though they are the same disease, the two forms are different in many ways.

Endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma:

In equatorial Africa, about half of all childhood cancers are Burkitt’s lymphoma. The disease involves children much more than adults, and is related to Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) infection in 95% cases. It characteristically has a high chance of involving the jawbone, a rather distinctive feature that is rare in sporadic Burkitt’s. It also commonly involves the abdomen.

Burkitt’s lymphoma is a highly aggressive tumor, and often life threatening. But it is also one of the more curable forms of lymphoma. With current aggressive forms of chemotherapy that uses drugs in high doses, and with the availability of new measures to support individuals during intensive treatment, this lymphoma is curable in many patients. Nearly 80% of those with localized disease and more than half the children with more widespread disease are cured. Late relapses are hardly seen.

spoke to facing the world

I spoke to Sarah at Facing the World this morning. They are really wonderful. Anyway this is the update:

Amazone arrived in Kinshasa yesterday morning. Claudine picked her up from the port where she arrived off the boat. Claudine said Amazone's tumour has doubled in the 11 days since she last saw her.

She has an appointment at the Kinshasa hospital tommorrow morning at 8am. They are taking a tissue biopsy and then doing a CT scan.

If it looks like she has a good chance to live, Facing the World will take her on, fly her to the UK, fix her tumour and generally give her the miracle we've been hoping for. But if it looks like she'll die, then its no use really yanking her from home and putting her through a painful operation.

so we'll see tommorrow.

keep you all in the loop.

Amazone & new baby

Just to keep you all informed, Amazone is on her way to Kinshasa. Facing the World has asked for her to have a scan and biopsy to see if they can help her. I called the Executive Coordinator - Sarah Driver -Jowitt because I was so anxious and excited.... and woke her up at midnight.

Mental note to all those making pleading phone calls from across the Atlantic - CHECK THE TIME ZONES! Hopefully she won't hate me when I call her tommorrow...

On a happy note, Kisantu gave birth! She was so pregnant when we were at Lola last month I thought she was going to pop. I was hoping and watching her every day to see if the baby would come but she held out for a whole other month!

Anyway, here she is, about to pop, and then of course her sweet new baby!





They are both healthy, and the birth went well. It's a little boy!

facing the world

Hi everyone,

after emailing everyone you suggested, an organisation called facing the world came back with this response:

Dear Ms Woods,

Thank you for passing on the details of this very deserving case.

In order to help with a diagnosis (needed to see if she can come to the UK
under our programme) we will need to have some history:

When was the tumor first noticed.
What has been the progress (describe as well as possible)
Is it painful
What does it feel like - is it soft and squigy, is it hard, is it lumpy?

We will almost definitely need a scan and a biopsy. (But I have sent her
photos to the surgeons)

Facing the World will be able to pay for these but we will need to
investigate the medical facilities locally.

Kind regards,
Sarah


Sarah Driver-Jowitt
Executive Co-ordinator: Facing the World

I've emailed Claudine with these questions and hopefully she gets back to me soon. will let you know what happens!! thank you so much everyone for your help!!

little girl with a tumour

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I will email these organisations one by one, once I try to find out more information from Claudine.

I emailed a doctor at Duke University and this is what he said...

Vanessa,
This is an incredible case of what appears to be a large tumor.....I am
just not sure what but may be it is a Burkitt's lymphoma. There is no way
fro me to diagnose by picture.....we have people in Tanzania from Duke but
I do not know of anyone in the Congo and I feel impotent to give you any
suggestions.
My colleague John Bartlett here at Duke just came back from Tanzania and he
a director of Duke's Global Health so he might be able to provide
better insight and you could contact him. Just not sure what kind of
medical care is available in Congo.
I wish I could be of more help but just don't know what is available.
John P.

I emailed John Bartlett and he said,

Vanessa, how quickly has this tumor developed? If it has been very fast (ie days to weeks) then Burkitt's lymphoma is a good possibility. If it has been over months, then I would guess that she has nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A biopsy is needed to differentiate between them. Based on my travels in East Africa, I think that medical care in Nairobi, Eldoret or Kampala would give her the best chance for care. Centers in these cities do offer chemotherapy for Burkitt's, which has a reasonable chance for cure. It is complicated by the fact that she is from DRC and may have a hard time accessing care in these facilities as a non-citizen. Sorry not to have more hopeful news, John

**

They were both very fast to respond, which I'm grateful for. So I'll email Claudine now and try and find out more information to send to the NGOs.

Girl with a tumour

Just received this post from Claudine:

'I have had my heart broken by a little seven year old girl called Amazone. Her parents came to me to ask my help. I attach the photos for you to see. How can anyone remain unmoved by her suffering. I did not succeed. I paid for the passage on the only boat that left for Kinshasa, but the Commander refused to let her on board, calling her a 'freak show'. I stormed on board and asked if he was an imbecile - she has a tumour, it's not contagious.

So finally today she left for Kinshasa, where she visited 3 years ago. Her father told me they needed to give her 4 injections, but he could only afford 2. He told me the swelling went down a lot (can you imagine?) I wanted to help more, but who would help me? A doctor? An ambassador? A hope chain?

A number of people I've approached told me I had better things to do, but how awful human suffering is to watch. I am ashamed to look myself in the mirror. These poor people, who lack a few bills in their hands.'

So I know this is hopeless, and asking for a miracle, but does anyone know of a program, or an NGO, or someone who could help? Even to diagnose it. I've written to Duke Hospital, but it's difficult to diagnose something like this from a photo.

I hear sometimes of miracle cases, of children brought to the US to be treated for a horrible disease - does anyone know how this happens?

My blog has lost its balls

The following post is from Anon...

Vanessa I was wondering why the blog is so sparse of entries and info this year compared to last years.There just isn't any (for lack of a better word)balls to your blog this year.---What gives?
Could you maybe get some of the students to submit some entries about the daily goings-on?
It is a shame to think that this once fantastic blog may have "jumped the tank"
Before any of my fellow faithful readers jump down my throat--re-read the old post and THAN make a judgement.There is no comparison.
I love this blog Vanessa and don't want to see it die a lingering death.--What is going on?


It's true Anon, my blog has lost its balls. I had so much fun last year writing about Mwanda's clitorus in my face, Tembo's ball biting antics, but the blog had to change for one reason - I couldn't just be a bystander any more. I had to do something.

I'm currently running 3 blogs, this one and 2 others:

http://www.friendsofbonobos.org/news
http://lolayabonobo.wildlifedirect.org/

The other 2 directly raise money for the bonobos. I can't write 3 different blogs so the content is the same across all 3, and I write about what I think will raise money for the bonobos and represent the organisation. Much more boring, but our donors would much rather hear about the cute antics of their adopted bonobos, than how much drool Tory has collected for her testosterone samples.

I'm on the board of Friends of Bonobos, and I spend about 20 hours a week writing grants, updating the website, and doing other Board membery stuff. I'm also writing a book that just got bought by Penguin about all the quirky bonobo stuff you love, and 10% of the profits will go to the bonobo sanctuary.

Between that, my other book that's due in a week, my actual job at Duke, and trying to find a couch to match my walls, I don't have the 2 hours a day it took to write Bonobo Handshake last year.

Why keep it going? I thought about killing it all together, but it gets such damn good traffic. I have no idea why but it ranks high on the searches and I get thousands of people through without even trying. I know you're disappointed, Anon, and I'm sorry to let you down. But I'd rather some die hard fans of last year's irreverant fun were pissed off at the change, because several thousand people a week still stumble on this blog somehow and find out about bonobos. That's why I kept the name but changed the heading.

I wish I could have kept it going, but I gotta make those baby bonobos some money. Keep them in milk and bananas for another year.

So Anon, read all last years posts for sure but adopt a bonobo!

http://www.friendsofbonobos.org/support.htm

look at this little face


Don't you want to help? Don't you?

Pool party!

I had a chat to someone from Tigress productions who is making a docco called Ape School, about orphaned apes and how they learn to be themselves when they graduate to an adult social group.

What came to mind about the bonobos is the paddling pool! There are two big lakes in the sanctuary and the bonobos are constantly splashing in them when it's hot. Most apes are afraid of water because the weight of their hair would sink them if they actually tried to swim, but not bonobos. I've seen bonobos go in up to their necks - as long as they can still stand. I wonder if they are born with this love of splashing around or whether they learn it in the nursery.

Anyway, here are a few snaps from the last pool party I attended. It was really hot. First Kataco was drinking out of the pool, then everyone came over and started splashing each other. they were like a bunch of kids in a sprinkler.

A post from Claudine...

I accepted an invitation from WWF-France who were organising a conference at the Senate in Paris. The symposium was intended as an opportunity to come together and review judicial protection and international agreements which guarantee justice, damage compensation and the restoration of habitats in times of conflict. Indeed, war has serious consequences on wildlife and the environment. Both have too often been the forgotten victims of 20th century conflicts. International conventions do attempt to limit the environmental impact of wars, but they seem so insufficient and so difficult to apply! We are at the dawn of a new era, one in which the link between armed conflict and the environment is affected by the increasing rarity of natural resources. The deterioration of natural habitats and the decreased access to natural resources, potential agricultural land and, more importantly, to water are environmental causes of armed conflicts in the world today, which can only worsen with climate change. (For example, the present-day situation in Darfur is considered the first conflict due to climate change). We must find solutions in terms of international rights. What is at stake is not “saving” the planet, but conserving acceptable living conditions for humans.

I had been chosen for my efforts in collaborating with the Congolese Armed Forces - I am an honorary member of their « Environmental Unit » - during the 15 years of war in the DRC. But also for our collaboration last year in response to a sad situation in the east of the country, in North Kivu (Virunga National Park) and in South Kivu (Kahuzi Biega National Park), with the fast disappearance of the Mountain Gorillas and the last remaining from our precious and endemic Eastern Lowland Gorillas. Thanks to a long standing friendship with Mr. Swing , whom I knew to be committed to nature and conservation, I was hoping that he might send a patrol into the area. However, as I also very well knew, this was not the responsibility of the United Nations Mission in the DRC (MONUC).

My experience therefore confirmed the topic raised at the conference: tentative solutions are possible in situations of conflict BUT they rely on the initiative of individuals. International agreements have been in existence for over 50 years but rare are those who comply. The Environmental Unit of the Congolese Armed Forces is not taken seriously, neither internally within the Army nor by the conservation NGOs. Without Mr Swing’s personal involvement it is unlikely that the patrols would have been organised as quickly as they were…

Bearing in mind that many conflicts of the 21st century might be linked to the environment, it is my hope that the ideas of those who organised this conference, such as French Senator Marie-Christine Blandin and WWF-France, will disseminate and eventually challenge world leaders to take them seriously and perhaps set up, one day, a UN for the Environment.

Kikwit's reflection

The other day I saw the most interesting thing. Manono, the second dominant male, and Kikwit, a subordinate, have never been friends. While they were sitting near each other, Manono chased Kikwit and bit him.



Kikwit screamed, but didn't defend himself. Then he ran down to the water, still screaming, and when he saw his own reflection, he got really upset and splashed the water. It was just the most fascinating behaviour ever. He knew it wasn't another bonobo in the water, because we know chimps and bonobos recognise themselves in mirrors (and reflections) so it was the sight of himself that upset him. What did it mean? I would love to talk bonobo, just for one day....



Sponsor a bonobo! www.friendsofbonobos.org

Sake charms Air France

Just got sent this message and pics from Olivier Fages, the Commandant of Air France to Claudine:

' We had such a wonderful time at Lola that with stars in my eyes, I announced what a wonderful time we had to the passangers on our flight! We had such a wonderful time with you, your knowledge and passion you shared with us in those marvellous hours were unforgettable.'

Thanks Oliver! Claudine is a charming and wonderful hostess! But I wonder if little Sake wasn't the real star of your visit?

Bigfoot

Earlier this year I had to write an article on Bigfoot. I started out not believing in Bigfoot but then I had a long talk with Dan Schmidt in our department at Duke University and he is not entirely convinced by the evidence – and there is a lot of evidence by the way, hundreds of footprints, pieces or hair that don’t belong to any known animal. But Dan’s point is that we can’t say for certainty that Bigfoot does not exist, any more than we can say that there is no life on other planets.

I spoke to some Bigfoot fanatics for that article and they are serious believers. If I had to guess what Bigfoot looked like, I would guess he looked like this.

Lolo and Kata

Some peeps wanted to know if Lomela and Kataco are still friends. Here they are with their arms around each other walking to the nursery.

They’re a bit blurry because actually they’re running. It’s a bit of a debacle every morning to get them from the night building to the nursery. Here is Esperance trying to get them under control.

But it’s all fun and games once they get in. Here is Esperance again playing helicopter with Eleke.

Sponsor a bonobo! www.friendsofbonobos.org