Chimpanzees are known to be strong and aggressive, so when the ranger giving our preparatory talk specified we were never to get within 10 meters of a chimp, I got a little nervous. Remembering my recent trip to Katmai National Park, when I leapt into bushes to avoid 1000-pound brown bears, I started mentally preparing for a Planet of the Apes scenario.
This was definitely overkill on my part. Chimps spend a lot of time in trees, and the beautiful trees in the Kalinzu National Forest are plenty tall enough for us to maintain a 10-meter distance.
Our guides split us into 3 groups: the fast, the medium and the leisurely. As the terrain was steep and muddy, I opted for the medium group. It was a good decision - I would have broken my neck trying to keep up with the fast trekkers. We spent about an hour trekking through the forest, our guide receiving periodic instructions from the trackers via cell phone (yes, really) as to the location of the forest’s hundreds of resident chimpanzees.
Despite the large number of chimps in the forest, we were only able to locate one mother-and-baby pair. I should count myself lucky - not everyone actually finds chimpanzees on their trek, and the ones we found were neither interested in attacking me or ruling the planet and keeping humans as slaves. But I had sort of pictured a Jane Goodall situation, with dozens of frolicking animals in the treetops.
We stayed and observed the pair for about an hour. Initially they were very high up in the canopy, resembling black smudges behind veils of leaves rather than chimpanzees. But as the morning warmed up, they descended to feed on figs lower down on the tree, and we got a much better look at them.
I call this one “Bat-chimp.” He fights forest crime.
If you go: The Kalinzu National Forest is located near Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, and could be visited on a day trip from that location. There is never a 100% guarantee of seeing a chimp (though the success rate hovers around 90%), and despite the 10 meter rule, I suspect you will most likely be viewing chimps from a distance. For trekking, long pants tucked into tall socks and sturdy shoes are recommended. Consider hiking poles if you’re at all unsteady on your feet (I could have used a pair!).
Going...
... going...
Gone.
