It was raining. Drats. I hate doing anything in the rain let alone tracking wild chimps, but this was going to be our only chance. Anything you ever do involving “game tracking” or “game viewing” means an early morning start and today was no exception. Dressed in long pants, long-sleeved shirts, old hiking boots and carrying a backpack with rain gear, we drove into Kibale National Park.

Registration with the rangers…Pat paid our fees…and we were assigned to Ranger, Paul…in groups of five. Kibale is heavily forested which meant that even though it was raining, we wouldn’t get too soaked while hiking. Kibale is also a tropical rain forest which means everything feels constantly damp…and my curly hair was expanding fast and furiously under a baseball hat…

Off went Pat Dewil, ex-Marine, Margot, Blanche and myself with Ranger, Paul….his walkie-talkie ready for communication with the other rangers if any chimps were spotted….Lisa, Jan and Josh in another group…

 

It seemed forever…up and down those very muddy, slippery paths…with a light rain dripping off our hats…and sweat off our bodies…when Ranger, Paul finally received a communique from another ranger, chimps spotted. We started bushwacking through the forest, tripping over vines and heading toward wild chimps.
Suddenly, there they were. A group of about 30 chimps rushed by us…hooting…scrambling up the trees…peering from behind bushes …this was when you needed a National Geographic camerman with you…dim light…fast movement…and it was a miracle that any photos came out!

wild chimpanzee in tree, Kibale National Park, Uganda

watching the chimps in the trees, Kibale National Park, Uganda
This was darn hard work. As the chimps moved through the forest, we moved with them and got the word that another group of six chimps had been spotted. There are six different groups habituated to humans. Pat said that he has visited Kibale five times and this was the first time he ever saw chimps on the ground..usually .in trees …but never on the ground.

You’ll just have to take my word for it that these really are wild chimpanzees in the trees…it was just too dark to get any fantastic pictures…

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