Staff Noticed a Gorilla Had Something in His Hands When He Wouldn’t Let Anyone Near Him

Bobo was a friendly gorilla who the staff always enjoyed taking care of until one day when he began acting strangely. That’s when they decided that it would be best to follow him and see what he was getting up to. During this observation, they saw he had something in his hand. They spotted this from a distance and couldn’t get close enough to see what it was. Once they understood what was going on, they all agreed that they had never seen an ape do something like this.

Meet Bobo

When the Mefou Primate Sanctuary found Bobo, he was an orphan in one of Cameroon’s jungles. Poachers had taken his mother and left him stranded when he was only 2-years old, which is why he wasn’t a very gregarious ape when he arrived.

The Gorilla

However, Bobo grew up and became an incredibly strong adult gorilla. He eventually went on to become the sanctuary’s dominant ape. This gorilla had become an ape no poacher would want to mess with.

A Sweetheart

Although he was 350 pounds and an intimidating presence, Bobo was a sweetheart. He was never aggressive with other apes, which helped him gain their respect. Even the staff could see that Bobo was kind-hearted and caring towards others.

The Ape World

Bobo’s nature was the polar opposite of the politics surrounding the ape world. In many cases, newcomers can be extremely vicious when trying to take the throne. However, Bobo worked hard and he wasn’t ready to give it up without a fight.

Challenged

Elissa had cared for Bobo since he was brought into the sanctuary. She explained that younger males, Nkamum and Kibu, had challenged Bobo for his position. However, these younger gorillas weren’t successful and never tried to take control again.

Becoming Inconsistent

Nonetheless, Elissa became increasingly worried once Bobo began behaving in inconsistent ways. During his role as the campus’s big ape, he had never acted like this. It was becoming concerning. What was wrong with him?

Acting Strange

When Elissa saw that something wasn’t quite right with Bobo, she knew that she needed to keep an eye on him. His sudden attitude shift was something that worried her a lot and she wanted to ensure he wasn’t a threat to others.

The Organization

The organization has more than 300 gorillas, monkeys, and chimps living in this sanctuary, which is funded by Ape Action Africa. This is a UK-based charity that had saved many apes, like Bobo.

Hiding

Once the staff began observing Bobo, they quickly saw that he would hide in the long grass. This was different because he typically strutted around the enclosure with his usual confidence. Something wasn’t right and the staff needed to find out what.

Keeping Something Away

Elissa decided that she was going to continue her observation of Bobo. After watching him longer, she understood that he wasn’t hiding in the foliage. Instead, he was keeping something away that he didn’t want the staff or other apes to see.

The Diagnosis

After their observation, everyone knew that Bobo wasn’t acting as he usually did. Given that he was the dominant ape, the staff needed to make a diagnosis for Bobo’s strange behavior and help him return to normal.

The Animal’s Past

All the staff understood that the apes in the sanctuary were typically traumatized before being cared for. That’s why the staff needed to get to the bottom of why this massive gorilla was acting weird.

At Mefou Primate Sanctuary

The UK-based charity, Ape Action Africa, had established the Mefou Primate Sanctuary to combat the illegal bushmeat and pet trading taking place in Cameroon. Primates’ habitats were being threatened and something needed to be done.

The Staff’s Promise

Given the conditions surrounding Cameroon’s primate population, staff working at the sanctuary had made a solemn promise to do whatever needed to be done to ensure the safety of these animals. Everyone took their jobs seriously.

Post-Traumatic Stress

The Mefou Primate Sanctuary specialized in primate care. This generally included dealing with post-traumatic stress. Many of the animals suffered from this because of the drastic circumstances resulting in them coming to the sanctuary.

Searching for Bobo

Elissa waited until Bobo was out of sight before making her way to the grassy area where she saw Bobo’s change in behavior. She had searched the area and hadn’t found anything unusual. However, she noticed that Bobo hadn’t hidden anything in the grass, he had kept it with him.

Pushing Her Away

Bobo was always friendly to the staff, but he recently began pushing Elissa away each time she approached the gorilla. Elissa’s plan was failing. She wanted to get closer to Bobo to see what he was carrying with him, but he kept pushing her away.

A Small Creature

However, on one occasion, Elissa was lucky enough to get closer to Bobo to spot what he was guarding. She was shocked to see that it wasn’t some odd item. Instead, he was guarding a little creature.

A Primate

Once Bobo realized that he was being watched, he became scared and quickly bolted into the overgrown grass. Although Elissa had spotted Bobo’s guarded treasure, she couldn’t see what it was because it was too tiny.

Fatherly Instincts

Through a pair of binoculars, Elissa could see that the creature wasn’t a rodent. It was a tiny primate. Bobo’s fatherly instincts seemed to have kicked in after seeing this small animal, but where did this creature come from and what was it?

Galago

Once staff had more information on this little creature, they determined that it was a ‘Galago,’ also known as a ‘bush baby.’ It’s believed that the little guy made its way into Bobo’s enclosure from the surrounding forest.

The Bush Baby

When spotting the bush baby, Elissa saw that the tiny creature didn’t have any fear. The bush baby moved around Bobo’s body and hopped across the grass before returning to the gorilla.

Nocturnal

What surprised Elissa the most wasn’t that Bobo and the bush baby were getting on well. It was that a bush baby was extremely rare to find, so this made the interaction that more special. Additionally, they’re nocturnal, so seeing a gorilla feeding a bush baby breakfast is an oddity.

Nature or Nurture

This interaction between Bobo and the bush baby was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Wild animals rarely interact with rescued ones, so having a wild bush baby this comfortable around Bobo was a massive attraction.

Happy Bush Baby

From the staff’s observation, the little bush baby was happy playing in Bobo’s arms. Once Elissa and other staff members noticed what was going on, it didn’t take long before the other apes saw the little primate.

Keeping Distance

Many of the other apes were curious to see Bobo’s new friend, but the massive gorilla kept them at a distance. He wanted to ensure nobody disturbed the little bush baby. That’s when Bobo sensed that the galagos wanted to return to their natural habitat.

Sharing the Story

Although Bobo had let the bush baby go back to the wild, Elissa was happy that they got to capture this unexplainable moment. The staff had the opportunity to film this unusual encounter and shared it over social media.

Viral

Soon after sharing this story, it went viral. The post stated that the caregivers discovered Bobo cradling the bush baby while performing one of their routine morning checks. They were amazed to see the gorilla treating the bush baby with such care.

Empathetic

From this viral post, people were quick to state that humans should learn a little from the gorilla. One user wrote that gorillas are known for having a very empathetic and nurturing nature. Hence, humans could learn from these animals.

Threatened

The unfortunate truth is that many industrial agriculture projects are putting these gorillas in great jeopardy. Their habitats are being destroyed while many poachers are wanting to take these primates for personal gain. They are threatened.

Intelligent

What makes this even more saddening is that gorillas have a very high level of intelligence. They use bamboo as ladders to help infants climb, use sticks to measure water depth, and eat ants with sticks to avoid getting stung.

Close to Humans

Gorillas and humans share 98.3 percent of the same DNA, which makes them the third-closest relatives to us behind bonobos and chimps. However, this doesn’t stop people from threatening their lives.

Most Endangered

Gorillas have become one of the most endangered species in the world. However, many Cameroonian charities are working to change this. Nonetheless, a large sanctuary requires a massive influx of funds, which is why it relies on public donations and volunteers.

A Humble Beginning

Ape Action Africa first started as the UK-based charity known as Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund (CWAF). Its main goal was to enhance living conditions for primates living in the Yaoundé’s Mvog-Betsi Zoo. It later expanded to include a sanctuary.

Main Goal

Behind all of the charity’s work, the organization’s main goal persists. Those working behind Ape Action Africa want the primates of Africa to be safe from any dangers. Providing a sanctuary for wild orphans is one of the first steps.

Conservation Projects

Ape Action Africa is one of the biggest conservation projects in Africa and has more than 300 primates in its care. Bobo’s group is one of the established found in the Mefou Primate Sanctuary.

Raising Awareness

With the internet fame following Bobo’s viral story, much awareness has been raised about these animals and the charitable organization caring for Bobo. This has helped gain donations and other aid needed to keep the sanctuary running.

Future Generations

Those working for this charity are trying to preserve Cameroon’s natural heritage and wildlife for future generations. Habitat loss and bushmeat trade are two of the biggest problems contributing to this massive endangerment. That’s why this work is so important.

Hope

Although it might seem worrying now, there is hope for the future. It’s incredibly heart-warming to see the effort that is being put into saving these creatures. Governments, charities, and NGOs are all helping.

Paying Off

The help from all of these figures is starting to pay off. Although the threats to mountain gorillas haven’t completely disappeared, we are still seeing good results. The point now is to ensure these achievements are sustained into the future.