Pan troglodytes

Today I had firsthand experience of the chimp 'problem' that has been brewing and that was brought to my attention a few weeks ago with a plea to help from the Wildlife Service. Three young chimps are tethered to a tree in the middle of Yambio, the 'property' of the Wildlife Service after their mothers were killed in the wild and they ended up here as defenceless cute babies. The other two are now adolescents, older than the one pictured, whose rope is being shown to me by Sarah, working for an education NGO here and has taken it upon herself to ensure the chimps get some appropriate food. Random townsfolk stop by to toss bits of maize, kick bottles and ply them with cigarettes and alcohol for a laugh. A tricky character from the military police has been aggressive towards Sarah because one of the chimpanzees escaped and pilfered some corn, and she apparently is to blame for this. Never mind the legion of goats I saw nibbling on his crops.

Apart from containing the word 'wildlife' the personnel of the Wildlife Service have zero affinity for animal care, and I personally also draw a careful distinction between animal welfare issues and our conservation goals, which do not normally include helping mistreated animals.

Apart from Sarah, who has most likely kept them alive, the kindest treatment I saw anyone giving the chimps was a young girl called Madeleine who tried to give the most boisterous one an ugly pink plastic ring. In a display of good taste he lashed out, swiped at her and she had to leap back. There is no appreciation of the strength of a chimpanzee, the power of its teeth and the mental disturbance and danger caused by an abused life at the end of a chain. People try to control these chimps as they would control a misbehaving dog, however in their current mental state the chimps are more like newborn children that can't remember not having a rope tied around their neck. There is a complete lack of any knowledge of humane treatment of animals and these chimps, if not already, will soon be locked into a cycle of aggression, beatings, submission and re-triggered aggression. An entirely pitiful and painful existence.

There are some urgent needs here, such as moving them from the public's view for a start, and I'll do my damned best to coordinate between the state Wildlife Service, national level government which is interested in this issue, and willing sanctuaries in nearby countries who have asked for more information as preparation for a relocation. Plenty of obstacles before that can happen but I'm convinced it can work if I lobby the correct people and point out that no solution within South Sudan is satisfactory for the animals or the Wildlife Service.

Sarah and I debriefed some more over sugary spiced tea in the market and the rest of the day was spent with emails whirring and failing to leave the inbox, and taking milky tea with Clement, tapping him for the latest Yambio gossip.