Bobo was one curious gorilla. He was the kind of animal that would behave according to his own strange wishes. Whenever he began to act out, the staff had no choice but to chase after him to see what he wanted.
This Elusive Gorilla Did Not Want Anyone Approaching Until They Noticed His Hands
They always kept their distance from the mighty animal, however, but they did seem to see something clutched within his hand. It didn’t take them long to establish exactly what this gorilla was up to. There was no doubt that this was a first for most animals.
The Gorilla
It was in Cameroon, from the Mefou Primate Sanctuary, that Bobo was raised in when his parents disappeared. The little gorilla had been violently separated from his mother thanks to poachers. It was at the age of two that Bobo was taken in by the sanctuary. Granted, he was not very amicable.
The Gorilla
If anyone had any doubts that Bobo would grow into a fine adult gorilla, they were proved incredibly wrong, as Bobo matured into a powerful and commanding primate and leader of the sanctuary. Poachers would have a much harder time messing with him now.
Gentle Spirit
Bobo might have weighed around 350 pounds, but his heart was made of gold. He was the kind of leader that did not need to use fear or intimidation to win his peers’ respect and loyalty.
Gentle Spirit
That is not to say that he was completely placid, however. There are plenty of violent power struggles within the primate world, and any challenger for the throne will not sit there without a good few scrapes. Bobo would not go down without a fight.
This Is It
One of Bobo’s main human guardians is called Elissa, who described how two confident youths called Nkamum and Kibu decided to take Bobo on for the crown. Needless to say, their efforts were in vain, and they have yet to try a coup since.
This Is It
In time, Bobo would begin to act strangely and not at all like his usual self. Elissa noticed how her beloved gorilla was not himself, and took note of his changes in behavior.
Oddly Unusual
Ape Action Africa, the British NPO, established this sanctuary, where over 300 monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees are safely and lovingly sheltered. They all live in relative harmony and have healthy and happy upbringings.
Oddly Unusual
Elissa did not take Bobo’s alarming attitude adjustment lightly. She was afraid that he would begin to endanger the lives of his friends. Elissa could no longer leave Bobo to his own devices, and made sure that he was constantly watched.
Taking It Easy
Generally self-assured and macho, Bobo was unafraid to go anywhere in the park. But as of late, he would tuck himself into the tall grass at the sight of the sanctuary’s workers. This was highly unusual for the confident king.
Taking It Easy
Elissa had been watching the suspicious gorilla and she was starting to notice that it may not have been his body that he was trying to conceal, but rather something curious. Something that he would have preferred the other humans and animals not to uncover.
At A Glance
Those that were employed by the sanctuary knew full well that the monkeys that had been brought into their care had been through a lot. They were being protected from the dangers of the outside world.
At A Glance
When Elissa and her team noticed how oddly Bobo was behaving, they obviously wanted to help this animal that had been through so much. But there was one significant detail that Elissa had noticed regarding Bobo’s bizarre new behavior.
Sacred Bodies
It is no mystery that wild animals are hunted and poached by all kinds of illicit forces. From those looking to sell their meat in unethical markets, to the poachers who sell their parts abroad, Ape Action Africa realized that these endangered Cameroonian animals needed a place like Mefou Primate Sanctuary.
Sacred Bodies
It was then up to the sanctuary’s staff to make sure that these threatened creatures could be properly protected from those that would happily harm them. These weren’t your ordinary wildlife park workers, however. They were incredibly committed to their charges.
Caring For Bobo
One specialized area in the sanctuary was dedicated to helping the animals overcome their post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. You could be sure that every animal that had been brought to the sanctuary had come from a difficult background.
Caring For Bobo
With Elissa’s animal psychology training in mind, she continued to observe Bobo carefully as he became steadily more secretive. Everyone was incredibly curious as to what this gorilla had clutched in his hand so protectively and mysteriously.
The Investigation
Elissa held back until her gorilla friend had strolled away from his main hiding spot, which was the initial bushy zone that she had noticed him lurking around when his mood and behavior took dramatic turns.
The Investigation
Elissa would then nervously swat her way through the thickets in search of some clue that would help explain Bobo’s state. But there was nothing strange in sight, and Elissa made her way out of the enclosure before Bobo returned. That was when she realized that this gorilla must still be carrying whatever was so special to him.
Slinking Away
Bobo had been a formerly gregarious gorilla, happily greeting the sanctuary staff whenever they approached. This is why Elissa found it so odd that he had begun dashing off whenever she approached him.
Slinking Away
But Elissa would not give up, and eventually, she would manage to sidle up to Bobo without him running off (or noticing her). When she looked closer at whatever it was that he had held on to for so long, she was amazed to see that it was not a thing, but an animal!
Small Sweetheart
As soon as Bobo realized that Elissa was peering over his shoulder, however, he bolted off into the tall grass once more. He was not going to let anyone get in the way of his mission and seemed incredibly protective of his new friend.
Small Sweetheart
While Elissa could hear the adorable cries of the tiny creature living in Bobo’s palm, it was far too tiny to be recognized, especially from so far away. Elissa was sure that she would need to outsmart Bobo if she was to help him with his new charge.
Distant Cousins
Despite their phenomenal size difference, the tiny baby was happily coiled up inside of Bobo’s enormous hand. Even though Bobo could have crushed the little fellow in the blink of an eye, he was clearly more than happy in his care.
Distant Cousins
The sanctuary’s workers could not believe what they were seeing. Little creatures like this survived by instinctually scurrying away from most animals. Elissa needed a closer look, and so she grabbed her binoculars and saw that this animal was not a mouse, but a primate as well!
Daddy Daycare
It might have crossed your mind that Mefou and its staff might have so many animals in their care that they might not know every primate in their care. This was not the case, as the people who ran this sanctuary made a point of becoming friends with each animal present
Daddy Daycare
They simply had no idea where this curious little creature had come from. It seemed to have scurried in from some distance and enjoyed an instant bond with his much larger distant relative, Bobo.
The Plus One
So, what exactly were the sanctuary staff looking at? It was a tiny primate known as a galago. They could only think that the cute creature had scuttled in from the nearby forest. It seemed like there was something enticing about the place.
The Plus One
You might know the galago by its more common name, the “bush baby,” a name that they received due to the piercing cry that they make. They also weren’t a common charge of Mefou. The staff would never have handed the bush baby to Bobo for care, either!
Courageous Baby
“The bush baby showed no fear of Bobo, moving around his body and spending time hopping around in an open grassy area before choosing to return to Bobo,” commented Elissa.
Courageous Baby
Almost as incredible as Bobo’s caring of the tiny monkey was its actual presence. Galagoes are incredibly hard to find and the fact that one was happy in such an open area was phenomenal. You can thank Bobo for his confidence!
Nocturnal Primate
These are nocturnal animals that would be almost impossible to find in the dark if it wasn’t for their high-pitched squeaks. Even more unlikely is a galago pairing up with another animal, especially a titanic gorilla.
Nocturnal Primate
It is during the night that galagoes will quest for food. Elissa could not believe that she was seeing one live, being fed during the day by Bobo! But there would be more wonder to this situation than anyone could have imagined.
Rare Reality
The true anomaly was the fact that a wild animal was happily hanging out with a rescued one, something that barely ever happens. The two worlds rarely converged, and both types of animals generally stayed in their respective areas.
Rare Reality
It must have been Mefou’s proximity to the surrounding forest that allowed one of the greenery’s more curious members to come exploring. It wasn’t just the sanctuary staff that was fascinated, however, as Bobo’s pals were incredibly curious too.
Fresh Face
“The little bush baby was happy to play in Bobo’s arms, hopping off to explore the grass nearby, before returning to Bobo’s hand,” Elissa recalled. While the little creature had initially been rather afraid of its new home, Bobo was an excellent host.
Fresh Face
The other primates in the enclosure would soon take a new interest in Bobo’s new guest. While they were happy to allow Bobo to carry on with his unusual behavior, they soon realized that he had a fascinating new friend that they wanted to meet.
Go On
Despite how fixated Bobo’s neighbors were with the new animal visitor, Bobo would not allow them to approach and was incredibly protective of the bush baby. He then handed the little animal over to a high branch, allowing him to escape back to his home.
Go On
Unbeknownst to Bobo, the entire situation had been recorded by Elissa, who was overjoyed to have filmed this incredible relationship and its unfolding events. She knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Social Media
Elissa was not the only one filming the event, however, with plenty of her coworkers closing in to capture the heartwarming exchange. This footage had to be shared on social media, of course, and Ape Action Africa shared a phenomenal series of videos on its Facebook group.
Social Media
The post described the entire touching and intimate moment from start to finish. They summarized this story quite neatly, and the video soon began attracting a large amount of attention. This is not surprising!
Public Adoration
But no one in the Ape Action Africa group’s admin could have guessed that the video would be watched more than 1.7 million times with thousands of comments pouring in! International Facebook users were sending their love and appreciation for Bobo, his bush baby pal, and his sanctuary.
Public Adoration
As you can see from the comments, it seemed like people were wising up to how empathetic and caring animals are to one another, qualities that they wished more humans could learn from.
Compassion
While many may think of violent and territorial creatures when they consider gorilla behavior, they are incredibly compassionate and caring primates. Facebook users seemed to understand this better than most.
Compassion
They adored this “gentle giant” and his almost magical care for this miniscule animal. Gorillas are also highly intelligent. Most Facebook users agreed that gorillas desperately need to be better protected. Given how fervently these vulnerable apes have been poached and hunted, their endangered status is highly concerning.
Safe Space
But there are other severe threats to the gorilla that are not as sadistic as poachers, such as the industrial agricultural missions being carried out within the Congo basin. As more of these primates’ habitats are erased, so too are their chances of survival.
Safe Space
Do you know what the two gorilla species are called? That is correct – the western and eastern gorilla. The two species are then further separated into two respective subspecies each. The cross river gorilla and the western lowland gorilla; and the mountain gorilla and the eastern lowland gorilla.
Fuzzy Geniuses
You might not expect that such a brawny animal is clever than most creatures, but gorillas have plenty of brains, too. Their behavior has been compared to that of chimpanzees, in how they use tools like sticks to navigate their environments and aid their babies in their climbing efforts by using bamboo sticks.
Fuzzy Geniuses
Gorillas also have their own language, which consists of around 25 separate noises that each have their own special and distinct meanings.
Family
While we are most closely related to chimpanzees and bonobos, we still share a DNA proximity of 98.3% with gorillas. We have tragically almost totally wiped gorillas off the face of the earth, however. This is a severely endangered group.
Family
But NPOs such as Ape Action Africa are doing their best to turn this extinction process around. This effort can only be done with a steady supply of funding, as well as a ceaseless dedication from volunteers and staff members.
Small Seeds
Initially known as the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund (CWAF) in 1996, this British charity would in time come to be known as Ape Action Africa. Regardless of its name, this organization is fiercely dedicated to improving the place of Yaounde, Cameroon’s monkeys, who live in the Mvog-Betsi Zoo.
Small Seeds
Throughout a dozen years of successful running, the CWAF managed to extend its efforts to facilitate a safe space for animals orphaned by the illicit bushmeat economy, as Bobo was.
Essential Service
Ape Action Africa currently provides a commendable shelter for over 300 monkeys, making it a leading contender for Africa’s most important conservation efforts. Few other NPOs have been as productive as this one.
Essential Service
Coming back to Bobo’s clan, we would like to list everyone that makes up his circle within the Mefou Primate Sanctuary. There is, of course, Bobo, who is a silverback, followed by three girls called Avishag, Jasmine, and Gery, with Geri being the mother to Eto-fils. Then there is Nkamum and Kibu, a pair of black backs.
Attention
As touching as Bobo’s tale is, it serves the far more essential service of bringing the public attention to the struggle that gorillas have just to stay alive. NPOs like the one caring for Bobo and his friends require a daily effort from many people to stay open. Gorillas may quickly go extinct without these groups.
Attention
Gorillas simply have so many threats, from poachers and hunters slaughtering them for their flesh, as well as deforestation threat to Cameroon’s tropical rainforests. With over 20 million hectares of greenery being steadily hacked away, it seems like gorillas may soon struggle to find a place to call home…
The Road Ahead
While it may seem like there is little hope for the gorilla, given how many dangers it faces in the wild, we should not give up on them just yet.
The Road Ahead
The best advice you can enjoy is from Sir David Attenborough, who in 1978 arrived in Cameroon, saying that, “It is incredibly heartening to see how the efforts of so many different groups – communities, governments, NGOs – have paid off. The threats to mountain gorillas haven’t disappeared entirely, of course, so now the challenge must be to ensure that these achievements are sustained long into the future.”