We are standing on a raised metallic platform overlooking a clearing in a lush green rainforest where a shrewdness of chimpanzees emerge from the trees in response to a call for food. I’m reminded of a bell ringing in school to announce a lunch break, and students making a beeline for the dining hall. All the chimps' attention goes to the caretaker standing with us on the platform.
She has a metallic bucket filled to the brim with roughly chopped up unpeeled pineapple chunks. She scoops up a handful and tosses it over the electric fence to the chimps, and you would think they hadn’t eaten for weeks. Some dive to catch the chunks mid-air as though in a game of baseball.
Others stand upright waving their hands in the air begging to be noticed. Some have arms filled with pineapple but still clamour for more. There’s even a hierarchy of who should be served first, which leads to a lot of amusing politicking, as some are bullied into handing over their food. All eventually get fed.
It is a cold morning as the rain pelts over Ngamba Island (aka Chimpanzee Island) on Lake Victoria, south-east of Entebbe, Uganda. There are two main feeding times in a day, at 11am and 2:30pm. You’re unlikely to see the chimps at other times as they go back into the forest.
Getting here is quite the adventure in itself, as we had to hire a powerboat from the dock in Entebbe, but the 50-minute cruise was whiled away with some music and dancing.
On arrival, we are welcomed by Amos, one of the caregivers who tells us all about the island. Ngamba is a sanctuary that cares for orphaned chimps. They were mostly rescued from poachers, traffickers, zoos and circuses across the world, from Burundi, Congo, to Russia.
To get to a baby, one must first kill the mother as they are usually territorial, naturally aggressive and very protective. To have one as a pet, therefore, some 10 others have to be killed first.
The most interesting fact I learnt from Amos was that to avoid overcrowding, their reproduction is controlled by putting them on similar birth control methods as women. The female chimps of reproductive age here are therefore all on the coil. Ngamba Island started in 1998 and today has 52 chimps.
As their population continues rising, they are only able to get 10 percent of the food they need from the forest, hence the need to supplement. This is an important part of their rehabilitation.
They’re supposed to live in big tropical forests with plenty of room to roam, and so The Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust also create awareness through campaigns to prevent them from having to end up here in the first place.
There are also profiles of the various chimps displayed on a wall, which you can read to get their histories and distinct personalities. The most interesting character is said to have once jumped on a fisherman’s speedboat and was spotted cruising around, past nearby villages.
His is tale is therefore legendary. He is said to have gotten disoriented after a while, and by the time he was rescued, didn’t put up much of a fight, altogether too elated to be back on dry land, I suppose, with exciting stories to tell from his little adventure.
One of my other favourite profiles reads: Natasha. Estimated date of birth-1990. ‘My name is Natasha and I arrived at Ngamba in 1998. I am very high ranking and enjoy giving attention to the dominant males in the group.
I am very clever and like to clap my hands during feeding time to gain the attention of the caregivers so they will throw me more food. I also tend to hold a grudge and will wait for the right moment to get my revenge, sometimes even days later.’ She was fun to watch during the feeding.
Having read their profiles, you can almost start to pick them out by their personalities as you observe the group dynamics at meal time. The fee you pay contributes to the continued protection of chimps like Natasha.
Accommodation is also available in simple adobe huts overlooking the water, and should I return, I would spend the night here. Otherwise, it’s at least a half-day excursion, but well worth the trip.
