The two ranches



The alpha male Drill monkey



It is difficult to transfer the experience of something that has made such a profound impression on us all.  It was an a wonderful privilege to have been there, despite the insect bites covering my arms and legs (which are still driving me nuts)

The canopy walkway

What impressed me? The primates and especially the Chimps, the beautiful rain forest, the very special staff working at the Ranch and then Peter Jenkins who initiated the center more than twenty two years ago.  His wife, Lisa Gatsby, was unfortunately in the USA at the time of our visit.



Canopy platform



It was one of those chance meetings which steers one off the path you think your life is heading on.  They, Peter and Lisa, were travelling through Africa in 1988 when they decided to go to Nigeria to get cheap petrol (It is today still insanely cheap at R3.40 a liter).  They were introduced to the conservation center in Lagos through another chance meeting, and walked out of the office with the task to start protecting the highly endangered Drill monkeys.



Common room at Drill Ranch



Since then they have initiated, developed and run a rescue center in Calabar, and two rehabilitation centers, the one in Cross River State Nigeria and one in Cameroon. They take on just about any animal, and Peter rattled off the impressive number of animals large and small including several snakes species they have rescued and rehabilitated before release.  We were lucky to see apart from the monkeys and chimps, a young gorilla (named Goodluck after the Nigerian president) which has recently being rescued from a trap in the area.  The Cross River gorillas are one of the largest gorilla species (larger that Diane Fossey’s silver backs) and highly endangered.  



Chimps being fed by their overseer CJ



At the time we were at the ranch a botto (small night animal), two wild parrots, and a very tame kite that came to the ranch with a broken wing, and has been a resident of the camp for the past four years.  The main focus however are the four groups of Drill monkeys (the largest group were about 130), and the chimps.  The camps (each of which are up to about one km circumference) are electrified with solar energy during the day to keep the Drills and Chimpanzees in. The Drills are kept there until they are ready to be released. The Chimpanzee group, we saw, has permanent residence in the big camp.  They are a non breeding group, as their primary function is to foster rescued orphans. Orphans will not be accepted if the chimps had their own young ones. The chimps are the most endearing and amusing residents of Drill Ranch, especially Pablo, a cheeky character who had an extremely high temperature when he reached the ranch as a rescued baby.  As a result of this fever he was brain damaged and cannot climb trees.  However he is the life and soul, as well as the peacekeeper of the group, as he hates aggression.  If a fight breaks out amongst the group he would charge in and hit the aggressors over the head with a stick.  He is well liked in the group and at night a few of the other chimps will always overnight on the ground to keep him company.



Greedy Pablo want more food



My daughter, Alison, was kept awake the first night when the chimps, whose camp were close to their bungalow, made a huge noise. It started with an ear shattering screech in the middle of the night when one of them got bitten by a mosquito, which woke the rest of the chimps up and set them off into and ongoing uproar.

We set off the first morning, (after first observing the feeding of the Drills and chimps) into the forest for a hike accompanied by a few knowledgeable guides.   It was amazing to walk on the longest canopy walk in Africa (400m long) in the middle strata of the forest, high above the ground and still far from the tops of these enormous trees.  200 different species of ants apparently live at this level and serve as food for the many primates and other animals.  Afterwards a lovely cool down in the forest pool was a most refreshing experience.

Alison and Greg were taken on a night walk that night by CJ, one of the staff on the Ranch, mainly to look for bush babies.  They did not see much, probably as CJ had too many interesting things to tell them.  They reached a point where a strong musty smell became noticeable and CJ pronounced that he can “hear the smell of a viper or a cobra”, and swung his torch around to look for the snake.



Saying our good byes in the animal kitchen area



Reluctantly we bade the occupants of Drill Ranch (animals and humans) goodbye after a two- night stay, to head towards Obudu Cattle Ranch, a holiday resort high in the mountains on the border of Cameroon.  For me the best experiences at this ranch, which is Nigeria’s number one holiday resort, are the steep zigzag drive up the mountain, the views and, oh, the lovely cool weather.  We descended the next day with a Swiss built cable car ride of over 4 km down the mountain and set off on our drive back to Abuja.



Part of the steep climb up to Obudu Ranch seen from the cable car



I will do this whole trip again, despite…….the itchy bites, the roads and the heat.