Mapima, the little baby chimpanzee that was rescued by rangers in Goma arrived at J.A.C.K in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the beginning of December 2008. Hers has been a long journey but in the company of Faustin, the expert in chimp baby care, it was good.
Mapima is very young. You can tell that she is less than 1 year old because she has no canines. In fact, she is the youngest and smallest chimp J.A.C.K (Jeunes Animaux Confisques au Katanga/Young animals confiscated in Katanga) has ever had to look after. Given her traumatic experience at such a tender age, and having to adjust to a new environment all over again, she was understandably aggressive at the mamas who take care of the other chimps. Luckily Faustin was there, and she knows him.
Faustin has a way with baby chimps; they easily get attached to him. In August, Faustin accompanied Tongo to J.A.C.K. It was therefore an emotional reunion when he paid a visit to his first ever chimp baby. They just sat there and stared at each other. You could see the bond will last forever. Tongo was rescued in the Virunga National Park area.
Faustin had to leave on 4 December and now the new baby Mapima will be under the care of Josephine and one more keeper. Mapima has befriended Kimo, another baby that arrived in November and therefore she is going to be fine. Tongo and Jane, another baby rescued this year, will be leaving the quarantine ares to go into the main enclosure: to ride with the big boys. Tongo will be the smallest baby in the enclosure so there is some anxiety. Shasa, one of the grown female chimps is expected to take care of young Tongo. She's quite motherly.
Visit the J.A.C.K blog often to get regular updates as to how Mapima, Kimo, Tongo and the other 19 chimp destitute are doing. The good people at J.A.C.K want you to know that it costs an average of $150 per chimp a month to pay for food, medical assistance, staff salaries among other expenses. Please donate here to help them.
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