Gorilla Sanctuary

At the end of our first week in Yaoundé, a couple of ASOY veterans took the new teachers to some attractions just outside of the city.  I’ve been wanting to write about these even since then, but I had to wait for some photos from a friend to fill in the gaps in my set. 

The first stop of the day was the gorilla sanctuary about 45 minutes from Yaoundé.  I remember hearing about this from Nanci during our job interview and picturing something along the lines of the ape trust in Des Moines; as she described it in more detail, however, I realized how ignorant that was.  This wasn’t a suburban building with a recreated habitat—it WAS the natural habitat and was simply being protected.  When we arrived at the sanctuary (after a long, bumpy ride), we started to understand even more that this wasn’t your typical wildlife preserve.  There are small huts on the property in which the caretakers live—this isn’t just a job for them; it’s their home. We started our tour with the young gorillas.  The adolescents refused to socialize with the babies, and instead preferred to hang out in the trees.  (This was the first of many aspects we noticed that bore an uncanny resemblance to human behavior.) 
Here’s Brian looking out over this part. 
The baby gorillas were hilarious and put on quite a show.  Our guide told us that they constantly clean the babies’ area, but they immediately make a mess again with their food.  (Again, sound familiar?) 
Because the caretakers live on the grounds, they have a very close relationship with the animals.  When these gorillas are newborns and need extra care, they actually sleep in the same bed and cuddle with the workers. 

One young gorilla was especially mischievous and would come close to the fence and pretend to look at us.  Just when we got our cameras out, she would take a banana she’d been hiding behind her back and fling it at us!  This is her reaction after a particularly good shot.  :) 
You can see why the teenage gorillas steer clear. 

The next group we saw were called mona monkeys, and they’re easily recognizable by the color of their heads. 


The adults of this animal were much smaller than even the adolescent gorillas. 
One of the monkeys in this section had a bright blue face and stood out from the rest.  I think he was the same kind—I didn’t see any other explanatory signs—but I couldn’t understand the guide’s French during the explanation, so I may very well be wrong.  Either way, this was a beautiful creature. 
He walked around near the fence at one point, and we could see his long tail, which he’d kept tucked behind him earlier. 

After the mona monkeys, we got to see some baboons.  These were fascinating but pretty intimidating, too; apparently they can get aggressive quickly. 
We saw this male with long teeth and spent several minutes discussing their purpose.  We all had what we considered sound hypotheses, but when we asked the guide he laughed and said, “No, he just has really weird teeth—it’s not normal.”  Oh. 

Our next stop was the chimpanzees, and these were some of the most human of any we saw.  Here’s us watching one climb way up into a tree. 
The young ones all clustered together and again seemed to be immensely entertained by everything they did.
Unlike the gorillas, the adult chimpanzees were in the same area as the younger ones.  After watching them for a while, we noticed that one of the females had a little stowaway. 
She eventually turned around to show us—so cute! 
Not as cute was the alpha male of the group.  He was going nuts while we were there and would randomly scream at and rough up the other males.  We were reminded of guys back home who rev their engines at stoplights: we get it, we get it—you’re very strong and masculine.  Enough already. 

To get to the adult gorillas we had to walk deeper into the forest.  Since it’s so close to the city, the school takes the elementary kids here on fieldtrips when they’re learning about ecosystems.  What a great resource! 

The last leg of the tour did not disappoint—the adults were incredible and had a certain nobility. 
Here’s a mom with a little one riding on her back.  He couldn’t decide whether he wanted to hide his face behind her neck or peek out at us—she seemed unconcerned either way. 
Eventually, the family decided they’d seen enough. 

Almost all of the staff were locals, but as we left the sanctuary we passed this volunteer from France.  She had the little chimp she was holding wave goodbye to us, and off we went. 
While it’s sad that these animals can’t live in the wild for fear of poachers, at least they have a safe haven in their natural environment with people who spend their lives watching over them.