Update: Countdown continues to world's first bonobo release

Jun 15, 2009

A young bonobo at the Lola Ya Bonobo sanctuary
© Vanessa Woods

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, nine lucky bonobos are about to be released back into the wild. We are following the journey of the bonobos and a team of dedicated staff from WSPA’s member society Les Amis des Bonobos (ABC) at the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary.

WSPA’s Nick D’Souza is the lead vet on the release, and he’s been sending updates. Here’s the latest…

“The flight from Kinshasa to Basankusu was uneventful although the preparations were hectic. Itumbe (the heavily pregnant, extremely intelligent female mentioned in the last update) was quite anxious, especially as she is extremely protective of her son Mbano – who will be released with her.

Once she realized that the whole group had been safely put into the trucks heading for the airport, she relaxed and gave no trouble thereafter. This was a huge relief, especially as her pregnant state means we’re not able to dose her too heavily or too often with tranquillizers as it might risk the baby.

The flight itself was without incident, though just as with humans, some bonobos are more nervous fliers than others. For these ones, we had doses of Medetomidine, a mild tranquillizer, at hand. This is mixed with honey and applied to the lower lip of the bonobos, to be absorbed through the mucous membranes.

We landed safely at Basankusu, and what a reception we were met by! A huge cheer went up as we emerged, since literally hundreds of locals had gathered to receive the bonobos and welcome them to Ekolo Ya Bonobo (Home of the Bonobos).

The locals were so excited they surrounded the truck and ran with us all the way from the airport to the Ekolo Ya Bonobo enclosure. Once there, 20 policemen had to be deployed to control the crowds and keep them from surging in. (Note that the bonobos were unfazed by all the excitement).

The bonobos are now being transferred to the pirogues (a small, flat-bottomed boat) that have been laced together to provide a platform for the bonobo cages. They will sail up the Lopori River, and arrive at their new home for the next few weeks, where they will all be medically examined one more time to make sure the journey has not taken too heavy a toll on them.” -Nick D’Souza

Keep following WSPA and the dedicated team from the Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary as this amazing journey continues. There will be many more Facebook updates, and please also visit the Lola Ya Bonobo blog for updates.