Sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees charms Western travelers

Joan Scobey

<<It was the daily 2:30 p.m. feeding at the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a 100-acre island in Lake Victoria, 14 miles south of Entebbe, Uganda. We visitors were standing on a raised viewing platform along the wire fence that divides the sanctuary buildings from the 98 forested acres where the adult chimps spend their days. In a small enclosed clearing nearby, younger orphans were tumbling, turning somersaults and jumping on a wooden table in the center.

"Look," said one of the keepers. "Natasha is clapping her hands together to attract my attention."

The keepers know every chimp intimately. Natasha, for instance, is 15 years old and was rescued in northern Uganda. According to her bio, posted along the viewing platform with all the chimp histories, she is mischievous and smart, and a favorite of the males in the adult group. Six-year-old Yoyo, from the Congo, is playful and greets her keepers when she sees them each day. Megan is 21, from Rwanda, with an exotic history; she was rescued at Entebbe Airport and later illegally taken to a Moscow circus, learned to ice skate and traveled through Italy, Austria and Hungary for a year before being recovered.

<<Every year poachers kill about 5,000 chimpanzees for "bushmeat" and take their orphans for the pet trade in Nairobi. The rescued chimps are the victims of that poaching and have no chance of surviving in the wild. To care for orphaned and abused chimps, the sanctuary was started in 1998 and is managed by the Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust, a consortium of several international conservation groups, among them the Jane Goodall Institute and Born Free Foundation. Under careful medical supervision they live out their lives on the island, usually into their 60s, 10 years longer than in the wild.

Currently in residence are 20 orphans and 19 adults, 6 of them male and 13 female. The sanctuary has a capacity of 45, and its aim is rescue, not propagation, so the females all have contraceptive implants.

Uganda's star primates are its mountain gorillas, but chimpanzees, who far outnumber them, are every bit as fascinating. Your first stop on the island is the thatched rondavel visitors center for a briefing about the social structure of chimpanzee communities and their life on Ngamba. Here's where you learn how little separates you from the chimps: 98.4 percent of their DNA is identical to ours; they are closer to us than gorillas.

"They think, but slower," explained Gerald Muyingo, assistant manager of the sanctuary. "They use tools, but they don't talk."

<<They also pat their bellies and raise their hands when they want food. Copying their keepers, they clean the holding pens where they sleep every night. They play, get into fights with each other, scream and act, well, remarkably human. Undoubtedly, that's what makes them so alluring.

The sanctuary is an easy trip from Kampala, Uganda's capital. You can spend a half day, either morning or afternoon, or a full day, taking advantage of some of the other island activities, such as birding, fishing and kayaking. If you want a closer encounter with the chimps, stay overnight in one of the island's four African-style safari tents equipped with solar lighting, en-suite bathrooms and decks. The special bonus of overnighting is an early-morning or late-afternoon forest walk with playful young orphans who are likely to hold your hand, jump on your shoulders and pull your glasses off.

If you want to pursue chimps in the wild, here are two other places for possible (but not guaranteed) sightings: In Kibale National Park, Kanyanchu River Camp is the center of tourist activities and primate walks. In Queen Elizabeth National Park one family of 15 to 30 chimps lives at the bottom of steep, 325-foot-deep Kyambura (Chambura) Gorge, a hike of two to four hours from Fig Tree Camp.

<<SIDEBAR

You or your tour operator must book Ngamba Island visits in advance with Wild Frontiers Uganda, P.O. Box 619, Entebbe, Uganda, telephone/fax: 041 321 479, mobile: 077 502 155, e-mail info@wildfrontiers.co.ug, Web site www.wildfrontiers.co.ug. Half-day trips are 45 minutes by speedboat and leave at 9 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. The full-day excursion takes 90 minutes by traditional motorized boat and leaves at 10:30 a.m. Snacks and drinks are available on the island but you may want to bring a more substantial lunch. The overnight visit is $487 per person, double occupancy, including three meals, transportation and the forest walk, for which you must provide proof of a comprehensive set of proscribed vaccinations to protect their health (not yours), since they have limited immune systems.

IF YOU GO

Getting there: British Airways flies to Uganda via London; Emirates and KLM, among several other airlines, make two stops en route.

Getting around: Whether you travel on your own or with a group, it's easiest if a tour operator organizes your internal flights, accommodations and any necessary game-viewing permits. Among recommended tour operators are African Travel, (800) 421-8907 or (818) 507-7893, e-mail ati@africantravelinc.com, Web site www.africantravelinc.com; Abercrombie & Kent, (800) 554-7016, Web site www.abercrombiekent.com, which has an office in Kampala; and Ker & Downey, (800) 423-4236 or (281) 371-2500, e-mail info@kerdowney.com, Web site www.kerdowney.com.

Where to stay: In Kampala, the Emin Pasha Hotel, 27 Akii Bua Rd., e-mail info@eminpasha.com, Web site www.eminpasha.com. A recently opened luxury boutique hotel on two acres of landscaped gardens, doubles from $250.

Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Ternan Avenue, P.O. Box 7041, Kampala, (888) 625-5144, Web site www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/index. A city center hotel, doubles from $175, including breakfast. Speke Resort and Country Lodge Munyonyo, P.O. Box 7036, e-mail spekeresort@spekeresort.com, Web site www.spekeresort.com. Sixty acres with marina, pool and horseback riding on Lake Victoria, seven miles from Kampala city center; doubles from $130, including breakfast.

Travel tips: Get a Uganda visa at the airport on arrival for $30. Yellow fever inoculations and anti-malarial medication are recommended.

For more information about the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, visit www.ngambaisland.org; for national park and wildlife information, visit www.uwa.or.ug; for Uganda, log on to www.visituganda.com.

Other places of interest in Uganda: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for gorilla trekking; Jinja for white-water rafting and the source of the Nile; Queen Elizabeth National Park for lions, elephants and over 600 species of birds; Murchison Falls National Park for crocodiles, hippos and the famous falls; and Rwenzori Mountains National Park, home of the legendary Mountains of the Moon.

Joan Scobey is a freelance travel writer.