Ol Pejeta: Meeting ‘Oscar the Chimp’ (Part 2)

Oscar the Chimp, a great actor as his name suggests 😉

One of the highlights of our trip to Ol Pejeta was finding out that within its walls lies the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary! Having known for a while that Chimpanzees and Gorillas are not endemic to Kenya, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that our closest genetic relatives are sheltered in this conservancy.

As Homo Sapiens, we’re linked to Great Apes like Chimpanzees and Gorillas: with a mere 2% difference between our genetic make-up and that of the chimps. In fact, it remains debatable if we humans, of the genus Homo, are part of the ‘Great Apes’ subfamily.

I’m fascinated by just how alike we are to them. More so because growing up, we lived just outside the eastern edge of Karura Forest. Being in such close proximity to the monkeys’ home meant all the residents of our estate had to live in harmony with them. They visited often, sometimes more than once a day.

On weekends, my sisters and I would watch them play, eat, relax and groom each other. It was incredibly captivating to notice the similarity in their movements to ours. How they peeled a banana and delicately held it before taking a bite. How much their hands looked like ours, up to the shape of their fingernails. The only major physical differences were the thick fur that covers most of their skin and the peculiarity of their facial features. And even with all these similarities, monkeys are far from being described as our close relatives, the only classification we both fall under is the larger primate family.

Two Chimps watch us from a safe distance

After circling around the park for a few hours and timing it so we could catch the opening of the chimpanzee sanctuary, we weaved our way back for the novel experience that none of us had anticipated.

Past the parking lot was about a 100m gap between us and the fence behind which about five chimps sat. They observed us as we did them, with slight apprehension and keen interest. At this point our excursion had turned into a walking tour, so it made sense to create distance between us and the wildlife. Besides that, we had to keep our masks on to avoid infecting them with the ongoing global virus, as they are highly susceptible to human diseases.

What we did not expect was a human-size cage in the middle of the path we took to watch them in their natural habitat. The Human Cage was a first for all of us. We couldn’t help but ask why such a thing was necessary given the high electric fence, surrounding the enclosure where the chimps were. Our tour guide quickly confirmed that the cage was in fact meant for us in case one of the very clever ones escaped! We were to run for dear life and lock ourselves in, in such a scenario, and be rest assured that it was fortified to withstand the strength of a full grown chimpanzee. An adult Chimp is said to have five or six times the strength of a human being.

Right then I felt the urge to walk back to safety and be content with watching them in documentaries alone. But we had come so far, and chances were that the worst was unlikely to happen. So we walked along hoping we wouldn’t stray too far from the cage.

Our guide at the Sanctuary, and one of the signs lining the path

The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary was set up as a joint effort between Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya Wildlife Service and the Jane Goodall Institute. A respite for chimps orphaned by hunters who killed their mothers for ‘bush meat’. Baby chimps were taken in as pets and as they grew up and gained strength, some would be paraded in the streets for human amusement. Hearing stories of how terribly cruel some of their previous owners were really breaks your heart.

One of them was confined to a small cage for 20 years, stunting his growth and rendering him to only stand and sit as humans do. Loosing all ability to use his hind legs for climbing trees as other chimps do. When living in the wild, chimpanzees usually make nests on treetops as a nighttime retreat that protects them from nocturnal predators.

At the end of the fenced area on one side of the river, we met Oscar the loner. When chimps come of age, younger males often fight the older patriarch to take charge of the community. They challenge the current leader to a duel and the best man wins, pushing the loser into the margins of society. This was Oscar’s fate. As he got older a younger chimp challenged him for power and leadership. When he was defeated he retreated to a loner’s life, keeping his distance from the rest of the chimps even during meal times.

Oscar is quite the character. He stayed within view and sometimes vaguely glanced our way or mimicked a face-palm when we called his name. Sometimes he would feign disinterest by looking away or act a little sad. The guide told us he was putting up a performance for our benefit. He was otherwise perfectly fine with his current circumstance.

Hammocks to keep the Chimps cosy during nap time

The chimps have a sweet setup at Ol Pejeta: hammocks built for their comfort and man-made rock formations laden with honey to remind them of their natural hunting ways. The conservancy cares for them as they overcome trauma whilst training them to survive in the wild, where they’ll eventually be freed to fend for themselves. Some interesting tidbits about chimps are that they can’t swim and are awfully clever. Female chimps tend to be smarter. In the past, one such female had devised a trick to break the circuit on the electric fence and ushered the others to escape. A fitting use-case for the human cage.

At the end of our tour, we walked through a small open room that was lined with posters detailing the names and faces of all the chimps in the sanctuary, and telling their stories. The conservancy tries to maintain low numbers and discourage the chimps from breeding by using contraceptives. Sometimes birth control has not worked, resulting in unplanned for infants. A delightful but expensive affair. It costs USD4000 to care for one chimp per year and a lot of this money is raised through donations.

If you are curious to meet our cousins, the chimps, make your way over to Laikipia for a sure treat! If you can, donate towards the care and protection of these clever creatures.

Let’s meet on the next adventure!