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!

Ol Pejeta: A Unique Wildlife Conservancy (Part 1)

Our welcoming party, the Buffalos

I enjoy a game drive as much as the next person, though this form of travel was only practically introduced to me by my husband. Being Kenyan, it’s slightly embarrassing to say that my very first wildlife safari was not to our world famous Maasai Mara. No, it was in Zambia, specifically South Luangwa. You might wonder why a Kenyan would ignore a coveted safari destination for a less known location. Well, it so happened that I was on a short visit to Malawi. A long weekend presented itself because in Malawi, Mother’s Day is taken seriously. So much so that it is a public holiday.

A sneak peek of our campsite in Nanyuki

It created the perfect opportunity for a road trip across the boarder to explore what the neighbours had to offer, a lot I might add. Since then, I added Maasai Mara to my bucket list, ticked it and added a few more parks to my belt. Am I up for a short trip to the Amboseli in the next few weeks? Sure, elephants are some of the most awe-inspiring animals to watch when they are not trying to attack you. The sheer size of them largely contradicts the sense of calm with which they move. It’s also endearing to observe their tendency to move in numbers…strong family values, methinks.

What does all this have to do with Ol Pejeta? Well, that’s the park I visited on the last day of 2021. On a mildly chilly New Year’s eve, we awoke at the crack of dawn and groggily piled into the car to make a short trip to Ol Pejeta. Having set up camp in Nanyuki, it wouldn’t be a long trip. We arrived so early that the booking office was not even open so the guard took our registration details to make sure we paid on the way out.

A misty, Ol Pejeta sunrise

The upside to starting really early is you get a few treats for your effort…for us it was misty morning glow with the sun rising in the background. An adorable young Jackal seemed to lead the way, as if to say “Welcome friends, I’ve been waiting for you!’’ She tagged along the first stretch of our trip, stopping every so often to make sure we were still on track!

Ms Jackal making sure we’re still on her trail

Driving ourselves through the park was a novelty. It’s common to get a package deal that includes an experienced driver/guide but for a change we chose to venture out on our own. Our designated driver, Tommy, was up to the task. He drove us around for most of the road trip. The rest of us could relax and really enjoy the scenery and every once in a while, we’d stop for a better view or to take a photo. I enjoy capturing moments in general through photographs. It’s a way to lock beautiful, simple and sometimes ordinary moments into a time capsule. In the wee hours of the morning and generally in the wild it’s easy to spot the herbivores, the prey. So we saw giraffes, buffalos and an antelope that was quite the stunner and certain of it! He gave us supermodel poses making sure we captured the perfect angles and the lighting was just right!

Mr Impala, a certified supermodel

You might wonder what the difference is between antelopes and gazelles, like I did for a while. Gazelles are the smaller species of the Antelope family, in size to be specific. So all gazelles are antelopes but not all antelopes are gazelles. The Impala pictured above is an antelope. Impala are naturally graceful animals, with the males featuring elegantly curved, spiraled horns perfectly capable of causing harm to a fellow male during a fight. They are also a polygamous lot, herding female impalas while jealously protecting them from potential foes. They are really fast fleet runners, they leap in the air while in motion and can reach 33 feet in one leap.

Mama elephant and her mimi-me

At some point on our leisurely drive in search of interesting activities in the wild, we saw an elephant mom and her calf trudging along behind her. She hesitated for a short while before deciding to continue on her journey. No mere humans were going to stop her morning stroll. We on the other hand were both fascinated and frightful. 'We' actually refers most to me.

Having heard tales of their distaste for cars blocking the way I wasn’t sure what to expect as they drew closer. We stayed quiet as the little mice we must’ve surely looked like to this giant creature. Although I’ve heard and not sure if the rumors are true, that elephants see us humans as cute in the way that we view pets like cats and dogs. I hope that’s mildly true!

As we held our breaths, our eyes transfixed on these mighty beauties, they leisurely walked past us. When they were really close to the car mama paused and turned ever so slightly to inspect the car and its occupants. In our mild state of distraction, we hardly noticed little kiddo shift past her from behind and walk on. As soon as she realized her babe was safe, she moved along leaving us to finally catch our breathe and exchange our versions of the event. That’s the closest any of us had ever been to an elephant…so we thought.

Join me next week for part 2 of the Ol Pejeta adventure!