CINEMA PARK, Ugdada (AP) – Trails chimpanzee movements in the rainforest you are required to follow the primates wherever they go except in the trees.
Onesmas Ainebyona chased by a chimpanzee with such spiritual determination that he was able to win the trust of the leader chimpanzee named Jin, who came down from a tree one recent morning when Ainebyona lingered nearby.
It took Ainebione four years to reach an understanding with Jin, an alpha male who is so used to humans that he pretends to sleep while tourists make a fuss that forces the other chimpanzees to leave.
Wildlife officials describe the process of making chimpanzees comfortable among humans as “habituation,” a term that does not explain the struggle between humans and animals as they try to understand—and tolerate—each other.
Ainebyona and others working to conserve chimpanzees in this remote Ugandan rainforest say they strive for interactions that initially irritate the chimpanzees. It can take several years for a chimpanzee to get used to it. Conservation efforts led by people like Ainebyona not only track the apes' movements, but also help ensure that chimpanzees like Jin don't die young.
“The work requires patience,” Ainebön said. “And passion. You need to care.”
Ainebön does not leave the forest even when it rains. “You accept,” he said. “The rain must beat you down, but you can't leave the chimpanzee.”
Primate capital
The rainforest in western Uganda is part of Kibale National Park, a protected area that some call the primate capital of the world. Species range from colobus monkeys to chimpanzees, which are a major tourist attraction.
But tourists should not be taken along to track wild chimpanzees, which retreat deeper into dense areas of the mountain forest and are known to become violent during clashes over territory. Instead, rangers lead tourists to one of three groups of habituated chimpanzees, which range in number from dozens to more than 100 per group. Chimpanzees in Kibale now number at least 1,000, many of them wild.
Even habituated chimpanzees are still relatively wary of people, and only a few—like Jin of the Kisongi group, which includes about 80 apes—seem to have completely overcome any discomfort around people.
“Jean is my friend,” Ainebön said one morning as tourists gathered nearby. A strong and bright chimpanzee of about 20 years old lay on his back and raised his legs.
The bond between Ainebyona and Jean was cemented in July when the chimpanzee showed up one day with a wire trap squeezing his arm and suffered an injury that threatened to sever his finger. Ainebiona was among those who removed the wire that Jean had picked up when he came out of the forest to steal sugar cane.
Ainebyona is one of four men who work shifts as chimp servants in Jin's group. When the chimpanzees rest, the men hide in the mud nearby. When primates go hiking, they walk alongside them, sometimes even grunting like them.
Ainebyona carries binoculars and records what she sees. The goal is to increase chimpanzee numbers and generate more income from tourism. In Kibale, a permit to track chimpanzees costs a foreign visitor $250.
Transformation of wild chimpanzees
Tour guide Alex Turyatunga told The Associated Press that the process of getting used to it is educational. According to him, he and his colleagues have been trying to fully habituate Kisonga's group for more than a decade.
“We're trying to learn about these chimpanzees, but they're also trying to learn about us,” Turyatunga said.
To be successful, habituated ones may focus on alphas such as Jin, targeting them repeatedly until others in the group notice their comfort among humans. One person can help others “get on board,” Turyatunga said.
The common chimpanzee is one of two primate species with the closest evolutionary relationship to humans. Scientists note almost 99% DNA similarity between humans and chimpanzees – similar to bonobos.
People like Ainebyona must be willing to interact closely with chimpanzees, says Ankunda Viola Ariho, Kibale tourism director.
“We look at attitude. It's very important,” she said of habits. “You won’t work this job if you don’t like what you do.”
Works by Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall The world-renowned primatologist, who died in October, developed strong bonds with the chimpanzees she studied in Tanzania's Gombe National Park. Her work helped develop a sympathetic view of chimpanzees as emotionally complex creatures. The species is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, facing threats such as poaching and habitat loss.
Kibale National Park received increased protected status in 1993 after the forest was encroached upon by hundreds of people who built houses and cut down trees for firewood. The park is now thriving, thanks in part to adaptation efforts that allow tourists to directly contribute to chimpanzee conservation.
Chimpanzee habituation can open up research opportunities that would otherwise not be possible, and Kibale has one of the oldest field stations in the tropics, says David Morgan, who co-directs the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project in the Republic of Congo.
“If chimpanzees don't want to be seen, they're incredibly good at disappearing,” said Morgan, who is also a chimpanzee and gorilla expert at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.
Chimpanzee habituation and associated tourism could improve public interaction with the apes, he said.
“Communities of habit serve as a kind of symbol of the importance of what we can learn from them and what we can gain by protecting them and what we can lose,” Morgan said.
Turyatunga takes a walkie-talkie with him when he goes into the forest, occasionally asking his inhabitants if they can see the chimpanzees up close and clearly. This is because chimpanzees, even when habituated, are more likely to be spotted in trees.
“You listen to the early morning calls as they emerge from their nests. Then pretend you're a chimpanzee – they'll see you're there, that's all,” he said. “Stay with them. If they move, follow them.”
___
Holly Meyer contributed to this report from Nashville, Tennessee.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the AP. cooperation in association with The Conversation US with financial support from the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.
