South Africa

Life with the Chimps
By Sue Knight

Sue Knight, a Kenyan who lives with husband Rusty in Rumbek in Southern Sudan, was pivotal in rescuing and caring for our Sudanese chimp babies, and finding them sanctuary at Chimpanzee Eden. Her life with a house full of baby chimps was not planned – it all just happened! Here is her story.

The first chimp to come into my life was Zee, about 2 months old, in January 2006. She was found in bad condition in the zoo in Wau, a city north west of Rumbek, by a South African de-miner, Robby Roberts.

Robby arranged a chopper to fly Zee to Rumbek where she initially lived with the MD of Safari Style, Lynn Lury. I arrived back from leave to find Lynn in despair as the little chimp was so demanding. I didn’t have a proper job at the time and it was decided I’d look after her for three weeks until she could be moved to Sweetwaters Sanctuary in Kenya. Little did I know that almost two years later I would still be caring for chimps – and several of them!

Sweetwaters was unable to take Zee, as it was full, and suggested we contact JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden.

In the meantime, Zee slowly recovered. I had no idea what I was doing. Everyone advised me to treat her like a human baby - but you cannot strap a baby chimp into a pram or rocker while you get on with things! Zee clung to me 24 hours a day, while I watched chimp Monkey Business on TV to learn what to do!

A couple of months later we found out that another baby chimp, eight-month-old Nina, was in Wau Zoo. Rusty and Lynn drove her down to Rumbek – then an eight-hour trip, so there were fun and games in the car!

We then introduced the two babies. Zee was still clinging to me, and Nina was so much bigger than her. I don’t think Zee remembered much of her own kind, though I had made a point of showing her she was not human, for example, by using mirrors.

Nina likes males, so had a great relationship with Rusty, who even took her to work sometimes to help me out. It took a while for us to bond and Zee wasn’t much help as she was very jealous.

I spent a lot of time with them both in the forested part of Dalbit Petroleum fuel depot, trying to help clumsy little Zee to climb. Nina already knew how to use tools, build nests, wash and hang out clothes (because she was previously a pet) and plant grass!

Chimp enthusiast Annie Olivecrona started to help out with food and nappies (Zee was still wearing these at night) in April last year, and looked after the two little girls while I visited my daughters back home in Kenya.

When I returned, I decided it was time for Zee to become more independent, and so the hard training started. The two had become good mates, which made things easier as Nina would run and hug Zee when she screamed for me whenever I left. (Like children, once Mum has left them behind, they are perfectly fine – but that doesn’t make it any less distressing!)

Zee slowly came to love Madeng , my keeper, and so I was able to work again.

In November we heard that another babe, six-month-old Charlie, was in the Wau Zoo. It took us three visits to rescue the poor little thing, covered in lice and with bad worms.

Zee and Charlie became best of friends and he made my life much easier. He was very independent – and very vocal. He only needed a great big hug every now and again before he happily went off again to cause havoc!

He didn’t like Nina very much, especially when she played with Zee!

The next additions to our little sanctuary came from Juba, also in Southern Sudan. I first met Thomas, a lovely chimp who lived in a tree outside the Under Secretary of Wildlife’s house. He had been looked after by soldiers, so was very well disciplined!

We then heard that Wildlife in Juba had more chimps. We arrived there to move them to Rumbek and found Mowgli, stunted, pot-bellied and caged on his own, as well as Dinka and Bruce, who were together in a cage. All three were approximately a year old.

Dinka was very naughty, but protective of Bruce. Poor Bruce was in a very bad way. With little hair on his head he looked like a very sick old man. He was filthy, dehydrated, anaemic and had diarrhoea. The four new additions were flown to Rumbek, bringing to seven the number of baby chimps now living with us.

Nina was not keen on sharing her home territory with Thomas, beating him whenever she could! Zee accepted the changes with easy-going indifference, while Charlie was simply happy to have new friends.

My verandah became a dormitory with a row of beds for Nina, Charlie, Zee, Dinka and Thomas. Luckily this was the dry season so there was no need for mozzy nets. Mowgli and Bruce slept inside.

During the rains, Nina had become accustomed to sleeping under a net. At first we went through quite a few nets, but she soon learnt it was for her own good and began to put it down herself. She contracted malaria before we started using nets but luckily showed the same symptoms as my own girls, so I was able to pick it up.

Eugene Cussons, Dr. Stephen van der Spuy and the Discovery film crew arrived to collect the chimps to take them to Chimpanzee Eden in May this year. After many delays, Nina, Thomas, Zee, Charlie and Dinka were crated to be flown to South Africa.

The house was like a ghost town, but I still had Bruce and Mowgli. Bruce, however, did not survive. He had started to improve and get stronger, but then caught a cold which developed into pneumonia. I found a doctor who started him on injections, but we could not get a drip into his collapsed veins. It was a very traumatic time and friends all tried to help. I did not want to be alone with him when he died, which happened one morning while the doctor was with us.

After that I swore I would not have another chimp, but Mowgli has kept me going and I have come to terms with the loss of Bruce. Mowgli now needs a friend as he is too humanised and very naughty. 

I keep on hearing of more chimps needing sanctuary so before long no doubt my home will be full again before they too make it down south to Chimpanzee Eden.