Day 5 - Looking for our brothers and sisters in Kibale

‘When, in the early 1960s, I brazenly used such words as 'childhood', 'adolescence', 'motivation', 'excitement', and 'mood' I was much criticized. Even worse was my crime of suggesting that chimpanzees had 'personalities'. I was ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman animals and was thus guilty of that worst of ethological sins –anthropomorphism ‘(Jane Goodall - 1993)

What Dian Fossey meant to the gorillas, Jane Goodall meant to the chimpanzees. She studied the social and family life of the chimpanzee for 40 years. Like Dian Fossey, she lived very close with the animals. Until now, she is the only person accepted as one of them. She was the lowest ranked in a group of chimpanzees for 22 months. Because she was so close to her subject of study, in contrast to the scientific approach of identifying the animals by assigning numbers, she gave names to the animals. This humanization made science rather suspicious of her descriptions of chimpanzee behavior in terms of human actions. However, her approach proved to be a direct hit and is now widely used by biologists. Due to her personal approach, she observed very human behavior among the chimpanzees: hugs, kissing, pat on the back and even tickling. All actions that we consider to be human. In addition, she also discovered that chimpanzees make tools to make eating easier. Modern science classifies chimpanzees as the closest living relatives of humans. They show just under 99% of human behavior.

This afternoon we head into the forests of Kibale NP to meet our brothers and sisters. The Kibale NP is located just next to the Queen Elizabeth NP and is home to a large number of monkey species, including the endangered red colobus and the L'Hoest monkeys. But the area is best known as a habitat for large groups of chimpanzees. As with the gorillas, we also get one hour with them. But unlike the gorillas who settle down for an elaborate meal, the chimpanzees are much more agile. They like sweets, fruits, a fresh leaf, but also seeds, blossom, bark and tree sap. In short, everything that is up for grabs. They are particularly big fans of the fruits of the trees under the collective name ficus, of which the best-known example is the fig. And for their meals and snacks you will find them high in the tops of the trees. Kibale NP is a rainforest and here too the area is dense. It will not be an epic hike like our trip to the gorillas, but not a walk in the park either. We are still at high altitude, but fortunately we do not have to overcome large differences in altitude. It is especially difficult to navigate between the protruding branches, gripping vines and treacherous roots. Here and there we have to cross a hole in the ground or a tree trunk. In the distance we  see dozens of tourists busy with cameras. They got them. In the dence bushes, we see black shadows of chimpanzees. 

Even though they are not as big as gorillas, they are still impressive animals. And indeed, you immediately see human behaviour. They scratch where its itches, absorb the environment and then continue walking with their chimpanzee brother. Another seems to be hiding from us in the dense foliage, but we manage to catch a brief glimpse of him. Chimpanzees are champion climbers with their long arms and short legs. We get an example of that when one of our relatives discovers a delicacy in a tree and climbs up like a spear. A tasty fig is gobbled quickly. Do I actually see starry lights in his eyes? 

Other chimpanzees stick to nice green leaves, relaxing on the ground. There is no shortage of leaves in a tropical forest, you will find them in all sizes and weights. Even though these chimpanzees are used to the proximity of humans, unlike the gorillas, you notice a certain nervousness in them. As soon as they seem to become aware of their surroundings and therefore also of the crowd, they run away as quickly as possible. Nor can I get rid of the impression that we are also wind them up, by chasing them every time. I wouldn't call it a serene meeting with our relatives. It becomes even less serene when I suddenly find myself on the flight path of a chimpanzee. The animal seems to run away from a horde of tourists and comes rushing in. Not knowing what to do, I try to avoid him, but I shouldn't have. The animal scrapes by. Phew, that was really a close encounter.

Thanks to Jane Goodall, we understand these animals better, but do they understand us? Probably they do not see us as their closest relatives, but rather instinctively as the unknown enemy. We may not chase them with guns, but at least we chase them with an arsenal of photo cameras, smartphones and film material whereby we also turn around each other for the best place. We look like a bunch of professional paparazzi who have insight on a scoop. The nervousness that we clearly evoke in them raises even more questions for me. Such as whether it is a good idea to go on a chimpanzee trekking with a group of dozens of tourists who figuratively plunge onto their prey like sharks who have smelled blood. It would be better to observe these animals in peace in limited groups. In a few days we have another chimpanzee hike on the program. I can only hope that at least there serenity prevails. Brothers and sisters, thanks for tolerating the person who likes to be superior, but sometimes behaves like an animal. All my best for the future.