Latest News

March-April 2004 new!

Dr. Takeshi Furuichi, Dr. Chie Hashimoto, and Dr. Ndunda Mwanza visited Wamba for ecological study supported by NG CR&E. They confirmed that 17 of 20 members of the main study group survived the war, but other neighboring groups had either vanished or decreased in members. The bonobos of the main study group had been well habituated without any artificial provisioning, and they were followed from bed to bed almost every observation day.

August 2003

A Japanese TV team (TBS) and Dr. Takeshi Furuichi visited Wamba, and made a documentary of people of Wamba and wild bonobos. They made the first observation of bonobos after the break by civil wars in 1996. The documentary was on TV in October 2003.

July 2003

A research project for wild bonobos at Wamba was awarded by National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration. A 2-year study on ecology of wild bonobos started in September 2003. Two Congolese researchers of Research Center for Ecology and Forestry are observing bonobos on every-day basis.

August 2002

National Geographic Expedition and Wamba Committee for Bonobo Research sent a mission to Wamba for the first time after the war. The mission included Ms. Sally Coxe, Dr. Takeshi Furuichi, and Dr. Ndunda Mwanza. They had a lot of discussion with local government and people concerning future plans for research and conservation activities.