Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the resulting trade in bushmeat has produced a number of bonobo “orphans”. Most of these are infants, taken from their mothers who were shot for food. Some have been poached for the pet trade, and subsequently confiscated or abandoned. Most of these animals are injured or ill when first seen, and even if they were healthy they would be unlikely to survive if returned to the forest without extensive support.

Lola ya Bonobo is a bonobo sanctuary on the outskirts of Kinshasa, DRC’s capital. It is the only bonobo sanctuary and now has about 45 bonobo orphans. Claudine Andre, a dedicated and skilled expert, founded and manages Lola ya Bonobo (it means Bonobo Paradise in Lingala, the local language). Each bonobo gets a human “mother” who nurses it to health, provides emotional security and love, and helps to introduce the bonobos to each other to form social groups. Lola ya Bonobo is planning to reintroduce some of these groups to the wild in 2007.

The Trust was privileged in 2005 to host Ms. Andre who lectured at Drake University in Des Moines and was featured at a Trust conservation fund-raising event. The Trust provided partial support for sanctuary operations, and is collaborating with Ms. Andre in developing a safe and effective radio telemetry system that could be used to monitor the bonobos after they are reintroduced.

Web site: http://bonoboducongo.free.fr

bonobo QUICK FACTS:
FACT: Bonobos are native to the Congo FACT: Bonobos hair is long and black and parted in the middle FACT: Bonobo (Pan paniscus ) Est. 10,000-20,000 in wild FACT: Today 23% of their habitat remains. By 2030, an estimated 4% will remain.