Chimp news from Uganda …

Make a donation today to the welfare of chimpanzees in our care at Ngamba Island. #everypennycounts

Give baby chimpanzee a name

In the African tradition, child naming, especially of a child whose birth was not expected (parents old age, difficult labour, bareness etc) was a ceremony in which influential relatives would be invited to propose names, be present at the naming party etc). In one culture, the uncles would bring cockerels which would be thrown up onto the granary top each throw by the uncle proposing the child’s name.

The cock that stayed longest on the granary, crowed more times and with whom the proposed name was acceptable to the clan leaders and spirits (tested with the cock jumping down the granary and immediately mating a chicken). All the cocks brought would be used for the child’s sustenance through endowment acts.

Let’s use this method for christening our baby chimp. Humans and corporates from far and near are the relatives, the cocks are the monies they bring, while the granary is the sanctuary account.
Let the count down begin#nameababychimp

Seedling distribution

Uganda losses about 8,000 hectares of forest cover annually according to a survey by Wildlife Conservation Society. If nothing is done about these trends, the country might loose all forest cover by 2030. This is why tree planting is at the heart of our conservation efforts especially on private forests in Western Uganda where there is diverse biodiversity at a risk.

In order to support the livelihoods of Private Forest Owners (PFOs) living adjacent to Chimpanzee habitats, this planting season we distributed over 61,000 seedlings to 118 PFOs in Hoima and Kibaale districts western Uganda. The seedlings included Pine and Eucalyptus trees that they will sell for timber.

On the same note we received a donation of $1000 from school children of East Northumberland Secondary School in Brighton, Ontoria, Canada assisted by Rotary Interact for planting trees in western Uganda. The project is called "Trees for Trees", as the children in Canada sell indigenous trees in Canada to raise the money to plant indigenous trees in Uganda.

To the Chimpanzee Trust family and friends in the US, mark your calendars, dont miss out on a concert for the chimps on July 30th at Fenix – music supper club in San Rafael CA from 6:30pm-7:00pm.

50% of all ticket sales will go towards supporting chimpanzees at Ngamba Island.This event will also be streaming live on the Fenix website. Thank you to the Fenix and all performers for their generous contributions. For more information visit the concertwebsite.

Our conservation education spans all over the country. The education team makes regular visits to schools mostly in areas with a high concentration of chimpanzees and other wildlife to educate the children about environment conservation with a goal of changing their attitudes to become responsible citizens.