Uganda's 30 year-old Chimpanzee gets an elaborate funeral

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Story By Julius Luwemba

Nov 1 

A sombre mood engulfed the 95-acre forest of Ngamba Island as staff and volunteers gathered around a 4-foot-deep grave to bid farewell to one of their own. 

Each with a flower in their hands, they eulogised him. One by one, they shared their memories- voices trembling and eyes moist.

The chimpanzees, "owners of the Island," also stood by the dug hole, clasping their cheeks in such a sombre mood that mirrored human grief.

Above them, the forest canopy swayed gently in the wind, as if nature itself was mourning. Other chimpanzees clung to the tree branches. Their eyes followed every movement and sound- a haunting reminder of how deeply the great apes feel and understand. 

He was no more.  It was the burial for their own. The 30-year-old female chimpanzee named Ikuru.

The chimp had been found dead in the forest on October 17, 2025.

Burial was delayed since her body had been taken to Kampala for a postmortem. 

"The autopsy report confirmed that Ikuru suffered a major traumatic injury following a fight with other chimpanzees, with massive blood loss leading to her death," explained Dr Joshua Rukundo, the executive director for Ngamba chimpanzee sanctuary.

Whereas fighting among chimpanzees is not unusual, severe injuries are rare, and often, the caretakers at the animal island are able to intervene. However, with Ikuru's case, the incident reportedly having occurred deep in the forest, intervention was not timely. After the autopsy, Ikuru's body was cremated and the ashes delivered back to Ngamba Island for burial on Friday.

By the grave sat two chimpanzees named Billy and Nakku, while others perched silently in the trees, poker-faced. 

"Her journey from a war-torn forest to a life of safety and happiness at Ngamba is a powerful reminder of both the devastating impact of human conflict on wildlife and the incredible resilience of these animals," eulogised Dorothy Basemera, the communications and marketing officer working with Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT), which manages Ngamba Island.

Present during the burial was Betty Angucia, the animal caretaker who renamed the transformed young chimp 'Ikuru' a Lugbara word that means 'the Happy One,' dropping her earlier christened name 'jungle.' 

Angucia hand-raised Ikuru, feeding her using a milk bottle until she was of age to fend for herself. The animal caretaker, together with husband Daniel Affa and son Jovani Aniku, sailed from Entebbe to the chimpanzee island on Friday, to bid farewell to the fallen Ikuru.

To them, she was family.

Ikuru's journey to Ngamba

Ngamba Island on Lake Victoria is home to orphaned Chimpanzees that were rescued from different parts of the world as a result of human-wildlife conflict. 

The 100-acre forested piece of land forms part of the Koome archipelago in Mukono district. It's here that Chimpanzees such as Ikuru have found solace and comfort.

On May 19, 1999, a twin-engine plane inbound for Entebbe from Arua was carrying 12 passengers. The twelfth passenger was not a human, but rather a Chimpanzee- later named Ikuru.

The little female chimp, estimated to be around 4years old by then, had been caught in a crossfire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

It's reported that the battle between rebel forces and Kabila troops were exchanging whistling bullets when the young chimp's mother was hit by a bullet. She tumbled to the ground but remained clutching her precious baby, shielding her from the trampling boots of the fighting humans.

By the time gunfire came to a halt, the mother-chimp was already dead, while the infant was still alive. She was picked by one Ugandan soldier who was on a peacekeeping mission in DRC.

It's reported that the young chimp was first treated as a pet for over seven months before being rescued and taken across the border to Arua in Uganda. Accompanied by warden Louis Onzima from the immigration office in Arua, aboard a twin-engine plane, the chimp was flown to the (then) Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (Entebbe zoo).

While at the Zoo, the rescued chimpanzee was put in direct care of Betty Angucia. "I raised the chimpanzee like my own son, Aniku, who was also within the same age range. And they used to play together a lot, before Ikuru was transferred to Ngamba island, where she was integrated into the bigger population of other rescued chimpanzees at that time," Angucia recounted.

Yusuf Musumba, a boat captain, reminisced, "Ikuru arrived at Ngamba Island in May 1999 with signs of distress, bloated stomach, hair loss and some missing teeth- a testament to the hardships she had endured. She was known for several unique behaviours that endeared her to many."

According to Amos Okello, another caretaker, Ikuru frequently clapped her hands to capture the attention of caregivers.

"She was also a remarkably resourceful tool user, often attempting to access food through narrow openings in the electric fence and signalling for help with a clap when faced with a challenge," Okello added.

Innocent Ampeire, the head animal caretaker at Ngamba sanctuary, revealed that the island has 53 chimpanzees. 

Ikuru's death comes a few weeks after the passing of Dr Jane Goodall, whose pioneering work in chimpanzee conservation led to the founding of the island sanctuary.

Aged 91, Goodall died of natural causes on  October 1, 2025, in California, USA.

Before her death, Dr Goodall once reflected on Ikuru's story. She remarked, "her story illustrates the problems faced by chimpanzees as well as the commitment and dedication of Ugandans who are fighting to solve these problems to rescue and rehabilitate individual chimpanzee youngsters."

Ikuru's ashes now rest beneath the forest canopy where she once swung freely, surrounded by the sounds of her kin. From the forest she came. To the forest her ashes returned.