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PROGRAMME SEVEN
It’s a momentous day for vet Felix Lankester and the Limbe Wildlife Centre. Felix is about to fly 4000 miles to South Africa to collect 4 very famous gorillas. The Taiping 4- Tinu, Oyin, Izan and Abbey have been the focus of a raging international battle since they were stolen from the forests of Cameroon in 2002 and sent to Taiping Zoo in Malaysia. For the last 4 years they have been living in Pretoria Zoo in South Africa but due to the tireless campaigning of The International Fund for Animal Welfare and The Limbe Wildlife Centre, they are finally on their way home to Cameroon. The animals are darted and put into travel crates to start the long journey. But there is a problem, Abbey is having breathing difficulties under anaesthetic so Felix has to act fast. Getting into a cage with a 100kilo semi conscious gorilla is a dangerous but crucial if Felix is to stop her choking.
Vet Sheri Speede is at the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund to perform tricky dental work on a baboon called Longey Longey. He’s been losing weight recently and investigations have revealed that he has a huge abcess on one of his canines and it’s going to have to come out. But it’s not a decision Sheri takes lightly. Baboon society is highly volatile, with the alpha male changing frequently. Sheri is aware that loosing his teeth may place Longey Longey in an extremely vulnerable position.
Cameroon has 2 rainy seasons and each brings with it some unwelcome visitors. In the Mefou National Park volunteers and keepers are holding a night time vigil as a swarm of army ants threatens a group of sleeping chimps and in Sanaga Yong Chimpanzee rescue centre Sheri has to deal with some nasty Tumbar fly larvae. The flies lay their eggs on skin and when the larvae hatch they feast on the soft tissue of their host. Under anaesthetic Sheri removes 18 larvae from a chimp called Kashka but her works not over yet. Volunteer Illy wanted to get close to nature… but she got more than she bargained for and turns to Sheri to remove a fly larvae from behind her ear!
PROGRAMME EIGHT
The world famous Taiping Four gorillas are finally on their way home from South Africa to Cameroon. Vet Felix Lankester and his team stop off at Nairobi to check on the gorillas and it’s soon clear that one of the gorillas, Abbey is very stressed by the journey. She won’t stop banging her cage and Felix is worried that her sheer strength may well break the lock on her cage with disastrous consequences. With 20 more hours still ahead of them before arriving in Cameroon, Felix hopes that a dose of valium might do the trick!
At the Sanaga Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Centre, vet Sheri Speede is hoping to introduce 5 year old rescued chimp Simossa to another chimpanzee. But Simossa has been raised as a child and thinks she’s human and knows nothing of chimp politics. If she’s ever to rejoin her own kind, Sheri is going to have to teach her how to be a chimp.
There’s an emergency in the Mefou National Park. Manager Rachel Hogan has been called to the chimp enclosure where overnight a fight has broken out. A young chimp named Goran has been viciously attacked by a rival male. With his hand split to the bone, Goran needs urgent medical attention. Rachel needs to call vet tech Babila Tafon but as there is no phone reception in the jungle, she’s forced to drive to a nearby village to make the call. When Babs eventually arrives, Goran’s wounds are so severe that he is forced to set up a makeshift operating theatre in the back of his truck.
PROGRAMME NINE
The Limbe Wildlife Centre is home to 11 gorillas rescued from the bush meat trade. One of them, an 8 year old female called Akiba, is giving great cause for concern. For over a week she has been suffering from chronic diarrhoea and is refusing to eat or drink. Head gorilla keeper Bama raised Akiba from a baby and desperately tries to tempt her to eat but she’s wasting away so vet Felix Lankester has to act fast to try and save her life.
At the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund Janet the chimpanzee has a big day ahead of her. Keepers noticed that her wrist had grown at an unusual angle and so further investigations were needed. As there are no proper medical facilities in the jungle, Janet is being taken to a human hospital for an X ray. It’s over an hours drive away -a terrifying ordeal for an animal unused to cars and crowds of people!
In Limbe, Jonathan Kang and Simone de Vries are on a rescue mission. They’ve been tipped off that somebody is keeping a monkey as a pet. As they don’t know what kind of reception they might receive, they are taking armed soldiers with them. When they arrive at the location they find a juvenile drill monkey called Jacob in a cage so small, he cannot even stand upright. The owners hand Jacob over and vow to come and visit him as he starts a new life with the 52 strong troop of drills already living at the sanctuary.
PROGRAMME TEN
At the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund X rays have shown that Janet the chimpanzee is suffering from a congenital wrist defect that needs operating on immediately if she’s ever to lead a normal chimp life. None of the sanctuary vets has ever done such an operation so CWAF manager Talila Sivan has called for outside help. British vet Rob Pettitt volunteers to donate his time and expertise to fly out and perform the complex surgery but it’s not going to be a straightforward procedure. It’s the first time he’s ever operated on a chimp and conditions in the jungle operating theatre are a far cry from what he’s used to!
On the West coast of Cameroon, vet Felix Lankester has been called to Limbe port to take in a shipment of reptiles confiscated from a smuggler. The reptiles were all destined to be sent to neighbouring countries to be sold as bush meat. Luckily these animals have been saved from the pot but Felix knows that many more are smuggled out on a daily basis and it’s only a matter of time before Cameroon’s wildlife is decimated by unscrupulous hunters.
In the Mefou National Park, Goran the chimp was attacked by a rival male and had a horrific injury to his hand. While his wound heals, Goran has to be kept away from the rough and tumble of his family group and the isolation is getting him down. Talila Sivan has some tricks up her sleeve to try and alleviate his boredom and feelings of isolation but will they work?
PROGRAMME ELEVEN
At the Sanaga Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Centre Vet Sheri Speede is planning a rescue mission. A European logger is allegedly keeping 2 chimps illegally as pets. Not wanting anyone to tip off the owner, she keeps the rescue plans secret until the last minute. When her staff arrive at the man’s house, they are horrified by the condition of 2 chimps they find caged and chained. Vet Sheri Speede examines the chimps. Both are severely malnourished and the little male chimp is showing signs of severe emotional trauma, sitting rocking in the corner of his cage. Sheri knows that she can help both chimps but that it will take a while before they recover from their traumatic start in life.
In Limbe, Akiba the gorilla is still refusing to eat and drink and is literally starving to death. Felix is determined to try one last thing and creates a fortified milk based drink normally given to child famine victims. This is her last chance but will she drink the concoction?
There’s been a fight in the Mefou National Park and one of the baboons, Anthony, has a gaping wound in his leg that needs urgent medical attention. Baboons are strong and have a bite that could sever a man’s arm so vet technician Babila Tafon is going to have to be careful. Babs and the keepers lure Anthony close enough to be shot with an anaesthetic dart .The dart hits home but Anthony disappears into the undergrowth seemingly unaffected by the anaesthetic. Babs needs to check on Anthony but entering the enclosure with an adult male baboon is a risky business.
