The following review blog was written by volunteer Chloe who recently returned from the Chimp Eden - The Jane Goodall Institute:
Imagine a chimpanzee starting their life by being captured from the African jungle, taken away from their troop of possibly over 100 other chimpanzees, and then shipped off to be forced to perform in a circus for the entertainment of people. Once too aggressive to perform and work with people, shut into a dark room with another ex-circus performing chimpanzee and alone together. This is Jessica, a chimpanzee with this very back story, one of which was luckily transported to the Jane Goodall Sanctuary with Charles, another chimpanzee who lived the same life of cruelty.
As an ape keeper, I wanted to delve into the chimp’s stories and broaden my knowledge of the illegal capture and keeping of apes. I wanted to offer my experience and ideas by getting to know the keepers and working together to create innovative items and edit enclosures, allowing for positive changes in the animals' lives. I have volunteered at many projects with primates, mammals and marine mammals in locations such as Thailand, Kefalonia and Africa. I was extremely excited to get back on a plane and build up my knowledge in animal conservation and lend a hand to chimpanzee care, meeting people of different nationalities and experiences, diving into a new culture and getting stuck in with the graft, to later reap the rewards of your work, of maintaining the health and welfare of previously mistreated animals.
It’s a joy to watch animals explore new environments and inventions incorporated into their habitats, even the smallest changes of relocating furniture and watching them rediscover their enclosure items in a new location to create pinatas and hammocks that the animals can manipulate. Your hard work and creativity really do pay off for these animals that can’t experience the natural life they should be living. You make a real difference even by contributing the smallest ideas, and feel immense pride in the changes you’ve made for the animal’s benefit! My most memorable moment was creating fishing enrichment that enabled the chimps to think and work for their food. Mental stimulation is such an important part of an ape's life, and we replicated this by placing cardboard boxes with peanut butter smeared inside and outside of the enclosure and offering them sticks. Within minutes, the chimps were scraping away at the cardboard and grabbing chunks of peanut butter to enjoy all to themselves! It’s incredible to see animals work hard and receive the benefits of their work, as well as portray a natural behaviour that they would perform in the wild, where they once would have been captured.
I would advise future volunteers to research Chimpanzee wild behaviours. This way, you can get creative and plan out enrichment ideas that encourage natural behaviours to be performed, something that is so important to a chimpanzee and can bring them right back to their original roots. Remember to also get stuck into any activity, whether that be drilling and weaving to create a hammock or scrubbing the enclosures! Your help means a lot to the animals!
This was an eye-opening experience for me, learning the animal’s back stories and reflecting on the actions taken by people and the consequences now faced by the rescued chimps. I met lots of passionate volunteers and keepers who are doing an incredible job of supporting the animals and educating others on the cruel truth of the illegal chimpanzee pet, entertainment and bushmeat trade. The staff are extremely accommodating to volunteers and make you feel at home, allowing the best work and creative ideas to flow for the animals.
Overall this is an incredible experience to meet some beautiful animals and be inspired by the work taken to maintain the health and welfare of an endangered species. If you're indecisive about whether to volunteer with chimpanzees at the Chimp Eden - The Jane Goodall Institute, sign up now and make a difference!
