So far, so good!

I talked to Dondo Kante on Thursday, and he gave me the good news that Tia's wounds (from the dogs during the incident where Aimee was captured) are almost completely healed.  She and Aimee continue to do well almost 3 weeks after we were able to return Aimee to Tia.  Kelly Boyer also reports that the chimps captured another juvenile baboon this past week.  She didn't see who initially got the baboon, but she saw females eating meat, including Tia, Nickel and Nellie.  If you happen to be in the neighborhood, I'm giving a few talks this spring about the Fongoli chimps at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  I'll also be giving the Presidential Lecture at Iowa State.

Miracle reunion update!

Update on Tia and Aimee - according to co-project manager Kelly Boyer, the two are doing fine.  Johnny Dondo Kante followed the party they were in yesterday at Fongoli.  To hear more about the story of Dondo, Tia and Aimee, you can listen to this podcast of a radio interview I did on Iowa Public Radio's The Exchange:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuni/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1468619&sectionID=1586

Update on Aimee and Tia

I got GREAT news today from project manager Kelly Boyer, who has arrived back in Kedougou, and, along with project manager Dondo "Johnny" Kante (the hero of Aimee's chimpnapping story!), is collecting data for me while I finish out the semester at Iowa State before heading back to Senegal.  Here is an excerpt from Kelly's email:

"...things here are good. Tia and Aimee are doing very well. I was able to follow them with Dondo (Johnny Kante) on Tuesday and Wednesday, and they looked great.  I even saw little Aimee fall asleep with Bilbo (an adult male) during an afternoon nap. It was adorable."

Above is a photo of Bilbo, Tia and little Aimee last July, moving across a newly-cut field when Aimee was only about a month or so old...

Aimee's return to Tia

This brief video shows some of the return of Aimee to her mother, Tia.

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/video/09/feb4.shtml

Tia's baby Aimee taken by hunters

I am currently in Senegal but about to return to the U.S., after having dealt with a problem that Johnny Dondo Kante called me about this past Saturday.  An infant had been taken by hunters, and he thought she was probably from the Fongoli chimp community.  He was right, and I flew to Senegal on Monday, arriving in Kedougou on Tuesday.  For now, the ending is a happy one - we reunited Aimee with Tia.  Tia is still not 100% though, due to wounds she received from the hunters' dogs.  This National Geographic Society blog gives more detail about the story, and I'll keep you updated on it as well, when I return to the U.S.

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news

/chiefeditor/2009/01/chimpanzee-baby-rescue.html

New Baby at Fongoli!

The big news this holiday season at Fongoli is that Tumbo (of National Geographic 'hunting with tools' fame) has had her first infant!!  I had just arrived in Senegal for my holiday vacation and was out following the chimps for the second day.  Tumbo has always been well-habituated for a female - as are most of the young chimps who have grown up with us - and I heard someone walking up behind me as I was sitting on the ground, collecting data on a male.  I turned and saw that it was Tumbo and turned back around so as not to rudely stare at her, given she hadn't seen me in 4 months yet was calm as usual in my presence.  As she passed by, she made her presence known by stomping just a little, as if to say "I'm coming through. Stay still.".  I wondered why she felt the need to stomp past - maybe it was because she hadn't seen me in awhile and she felt the need to assert herself...?  I looked again, as she continued and SHE HAD A TINY INFANT CLINGING TO HER BELLY!!!!  Thus, the "careful...!" message as she stomped past. It was December 23rd, and my field assistant and project manager Dondo Kante had seen her on December 3rd with no infant.  So, a December baby - yet to be named, as I can not quite make out if it is a male or a female.  She is a very good mother, holding the infant very close and supporting it each time it hangs away from her body (so I can't see the relevant parts to know whether it will be 'Cy' or 'Cynthia' - a little nod to the Iowa State University mascot, Cy).  Tumbo still travels with the males, as she has been prone to do, but then again the community here is more cohesive in general regarding male-female ranging and social patterns.  It will be interesting to see how Tumbo's behavior changes - or doesn't!  And, of course, to see if baby grows up to be a prolific hunter like his/her mom!

Male-male competition

A brief update from Kelly in Senegal...where the chimps are coming back towards the village.  Recently, Kelly and the crew have been hiking out to the farther reaches of the home ranges, walking at least an hour to get to the closest point... Farafa is an adult female that has 3 offspring that we know of.  Her youngest, Fanta, is about 3 1/2 years of age right now...  Seems Farafa has been causing a lot of tension among the 10 adult males in the community.  Yopogon is currently Alpha, with Lupin at rank #4 and Bilbo (adult male in the photo below, crossing a recently cleared field) weighing in at #6... Here is what Kelly has to say:

"As for the chimps, things have been just great this week! And crazy!  Farafa is swelling, and the boys are just crazy about it.  Yopogon has already lost his left pinky toe and acquired a nasty gash on his right bicep.  Bilbo, Lupin and others also have various different cuts on their bodies due to the confrontations.  Needless to say, it has been much easier to find and follow them now because of the large group they are in, as well as the fact that they have come back to Fongoli!  I was just so tired of Tukantaba and Wakalare!"