The Baboon Islands chimpanzees arrived there thanks to a British woman called Stella Brewer, who in the 1970s began rescuing orphaned and captive chimpanzees and gradually teaching them to live wild again. It was a very difficult task — chimps that grow up in captivity do not automatically know how to find food or build nests. Stella and her team had to teach them, bit by bit.
Today the chimps on the islands are fully wild. They build sleeping nests in the trees each night from bent branches and leaves — a new one every single night. They use tools: they crack nuts with stones and poke sticks into logs to fish out insects. Watching a chimpanzee use a tool feels surprisingly familiar, because we use tools too.
Visitors are not allowed to land on the Baboon Islands, but they can travel by boat along the river and observe the chimps from the water. This protects both the chimpanzees (who could catch human illnesses) and the visitors (who might disturb the animals). Seeing a group of chimpanzees playing, grooming each other and moving through the treetops from a boat on a quiet river is unforgettable.
Chimpanzees live in social groups and communicate through calls, facial expressions and touching. They comfort each other when upset, play games when young, and remember individuals they have not seen for years. Scientists are still discovering new things about how clever and social these animals are.