How wonderful you were able to see Bonobos! Such an endangered species.

Thanks for sharing!

Jeremie-
How were you able to get into the Congo and specifically into the Kinshasa area with most of the DRC currently off limits to tourism because of the ongoing civil unrest?

And did you have to undertake necessary precautions and vaccinations to interact with and touch the bonobos and the chimps in the sanctuary?

The trick is... I live in Congo right now. True Congo is off limits for tourists. Even if the war is over, there are still pockets of insecurity, but this is in the east of the country, in some remote areas. If Bonobo is your thing, nothing prevents you from going to Kinshasa. The sanctuary (superb btw) is on the outskirts of the city.
Travelling in other parts of Congo would require to get well prepared, and getting infos for everylocation, and check if it's okay. Best right now is to wait until July, when elections will be over.
No specific vaccinations are required to touch bonobos. I kissed some of them and I am still alive and well. Same for Chimps or gorillas.

If you need more, don't hesitate;
J

Hi Jeremie,

I would have thought that the danger to touching the Bonobos would have been to them, not to you, that we would be giving them diseases that they are not equipped to deal with!

Kind regards,
Kaye

Just to reassure you they don't risk anything grave. Common sense would be to go and see them if you're in good health. If you're sick, it's better visiting them another time. The sanctuary is well equiped would a bonobo get sick.

Kaye-
You are correct. Precautions and certain vaccinations are necessary to interact with or touch chimps and gorillas because of the cross-transmissions of diseases from us to them. Even in sanctuaries. I would believe it is the same standard for bonobos in captivity as well as in the wild.

While in Goma recently, I was able to spend some time with a couple of confiscated baby gorillas but because of the fact the keepers and DFGFI did not want to risk disease transmission, I was not able to touch them (even though I do have all the vaccinations necessary).

The habituated "tourist" gorillas are still susceptible to disease transmission. That is why if someone has a cold or the sniffles or anything which might risk infection to them, ORTPN requests that person not trek to see them. Or if you do visit them and have to cough or sneeze, it is important to turn away from the gorillas.

With so few mountain gorillas remaining in the world,(approx 760) one disease could wipe out the entire population.
That is why it is becoming so important to treat and provide medical care to the locals who live in the communities surrounding the gorillas habitats.

Thanks Jeremie - I am happy to hear that!

Kind regards,
Kaye

Kaye-
Looks like we posted at the same time!

BTW Jeremie-
You must have an interesting career. What do you do that allows you to live and work in the Congo?

Thank you so much Jeremie for posting your well done photos and reports. Your Congo report was an absolute joy to check out - beautiful and insightful.

It looks like your doing some really good work for many communities.
Merci;
Sherry

My job is to provide funds to international NGOs for relief operations in Congo. My wife works for the Jane Godall Institute, that aims at preserving chimpanzees in Eastern Congo. We both work in Goma. Last year we were in Indonesia dealing with the Tsunami and in Sudan the year before that for the crisis in Darfur.
So humanitarian and preservation activities are what drive us those days.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the blog. Once all the posting for China are finished we shall put some more stories for Congo and preservation projects.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free.

Jeremie-
When I was in Goma last month, I was hoping to have time to stop by the chimp sanctuary but the day flew by quicker than I hoped and I didn't get the chance. I was only in Goma for the day.
I was fascinated by the rebuilding on the outskirts of the city at the lava fields. It's amazing what the locals can do with the rocks,(i.e building homes, fences etc.)

JGI is a wonderful org. I follow their work closely as I do with some other NGO's. Kudos to you and your wife for doing such great humanitarian work in Africa and other third world countries.

JGI plans to open a new sanctuary for Chimps in Bukavu soon.
We shall keep you posted about it on the blog.
True that Goma is aother good example of Congolese ingenuity and coping mechanisms. Indeed, they're now busy rebuilding houses with lava rocks, and make any kind of possible use with these.

We've just climbed Nyiragongo volcano. From the top, we could see its impressive lake of lave. A superb experience. For those interested in this, I've just posted the whole story of this trip and photos.

very cool photos. I live on the big island of Hawaii, and we have an active volcano here. seeing lava up close is an awesome experience!

Indeed, watching this lake of lava was a fabulous experience. I've also climbed an erupting volcano. That was in Chile (some photos also in my blog if interested). Great experience too.

Jeremie: Have always been intrigued by the idea of taking the river journey between Kinshasa and Kisangani. Is that doable? The danger sees to be in the east, not on this stretch of the river. The only ref I see online is by one local tour operator, but it is very expensive. I live and work in southern africa, and can easily get to Kinshasa. Would appreciate any advice you have.

Hello stepstra,
As you may know, there's almost no tourists in DRC, and nothing to cater for them;At present, there are no barge that do the route from Kinshasa to Kisangani. Those who go on the river Congo advance at a speed of 2kms/hour. It could thus take months to do this route. There's one barge a month that leave Kinshasa. If going on the river is your thing, I would advise to go either from Kinshasa to Mbandaka, or from Mbandaka to Bangui.
The bottom line is: have a LOT of time available.

Thanks Jeremie, Looks like I will have to come up with a new plan.

Just to say I have added new infos on Congo, in particular the Okapis, an animal that can only be found in DRC.