Uganda's oldest chimp makes 43 years

Aug 15, 2007

THE birthday party had been delayed for two weeks to teach him table manners and how to cut the cake. But surrounded by hundreds of guests, Zakayo would not be bothered. The king of the chimps of Budongo Island, who turned 43, lifted his heavy body and walked slowly towards the fence where his cake

By Gerald Tenywa

THE birthday party had been delayed for two weeks to teach him table manners and how to cut the cake. But surrounded by hundreds of guests, Zakayo would not be bothered.

The king of the chimps of Budongo Island, who turned 43, lifted his heavy body and walked slowly towards the fence where his cake was being held out for him, only to squat down and ignore all calls from his minders to perform his act.

This was to the disappointment of the 200 pupils from Bukuya Primary School, St. Thereza Primary School and Noah’s Ark who had turned up for the party, carrying gifts of biscuits and bananas.
“He does not like crowds. That is why he is keeping away,” said Vincent Okello, one of the keepers. “He thinks people have invaded his territory and he feels threatened.’’

His housemates were less shy. Zakayo’s wife, Amina, wriggled her fingers through the fence, trying to grab a piece of the cake. Other chimps jumped up and down, screaming and begging the caretakers to surrender the delicacy.

A banana had to be inserted into the cake to attract Zakayo’s attention. A melee erupted when he stormed to the fence, plucked out the banana, and retreated to his corner. Zakayo, the alpha male in the Budongo chimpanzee group, was found in June 1972 at Semliki, in Bundibugyo district, when he was still a baby. He had been separated from his parents by suspected poachers.

He was taken to Entebbe Zoo on June 19, 1976 after he had become too difficult to manage. But the zoo had run down under the regimes of Idi Amin and Obote II. Zakayo lived in a small cage with concrete floor, together with four other chimps. Visitors would offer him cigarettes and alcohol and tease him, which would make him very angry.

This changed when Entebbe Zoo became the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre. A new home was built for the chimpanzee group on Budongo Island and they now live together happily in a semi-wild setting. Zakayo has sired only one offspring, called Shaka.

According to Emma Masaba, the marketing manager at the centre, Zakayo is very protective and has adopted several younger chimps. But he is also jealous, particularly towards Matooke, a younger male. “Matooke has shown his intentions to take over the group because he has started mating with the females,’’ said Yokoyada Mukasa, the keeper.

Zakayo spends most of his time resting, grooming or being groomed by his two wives, Amina and Ruth. His favourite food is egg plants, tangerines and jack fruit. The chimpanzee family eats four times a day. They are served a variety of fruits, nuts, eggs, vegetables, millet porridge and posho. The younger ones get supplementary Cerelac.

But Zakayo still seems to be haunted by the memories of the past, as his guests learned during the party. “He gets upset when there are group fights and instills order and peace,” says Peace Nakitto, a conservation educator at the centre.

“He also dislikes noise, especially from visitors. When he is angry, he walks on two legs, claps his hands and screams loudly. He does not like unfamiliar faces and may refuse food in their presence.”
Celebrating the birthday of Uganda’s oldest known chimpanzee is a way of sensitising the public about the conservation of habitats of wild animals, explains Nakitto.

“We want people to pay attention to the conservation of forests because chimps, which are endangered species, live in such habitats. It is important that the public appreciates this unique heritage and contributes to its survival.”

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