Founded by

Claudine André Claudine André, (born 6 November 1946 in La Hestre), is a Belgian conservationist. She founded Lola ya bonobo in 1994, which is a bonobo sanctuary, just south of Kinshasa, at Mont Ngafula, in the Lukaya Valley, Democratic Republic of Congo. ...

in 1994, Lola ya Bonobo is the world's only sanctuary for orphaned

bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...

s. Since 2002, the sanctuary has been located just south of the suburb of

Kimwenza Kimwenza is a community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Mont Ngafula commune in the south of the capital, Kinshasa. Location Kimwenza is on a plateau above the main city of Kinshasa. It is near to the Petites Chutes de la Lukaya. ...

at the

Petites Chutes de la Lukaya The Petites Chutes de la Lukaya ( French; "Small falls of the Lukaya River") is a set of small waterfalls on the Lukaya River. They are just south of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are about high. Duri ...

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

, in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Lola ya Bonobo means 'paradise for bonobos' in

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...

, the main language of

. Lola ya Bonobo is home to about 60

s who live in 30 hectares of primary forest. Lola ya Bonobo is a member of the

Pan African Sanctuary Alliance The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) is an association of wildlife centers in Africa, founded in 2000 in Uganda. The activities of PASA includes rescuing and caring for orphaned apes and monkeys, promoting the conservation of wild Primate, pri ...

. Typically,

s arrive as young infants. The

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropi ...

trade in the Congo area sees hundreds of

s killed each year for meat. The infants are sold as pets. When confiscated, these young

s are taken to Lola ya Bonobo. They start a new life at the sanctuary with close care from a substitute human mother, but are usually quickly ready to be integrated into a peer group, and shortly afterwards into one of the large, mixed-age social groups. Although the

s are captive, they live in an environment similar to the wild. They can forage among dozens of edible plants and fruiting trees, compete for mating opportunities, and learn to avoid dangers such as stepping on venomous snakes just as they would in the wild. As a result, the

s at the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary, living in their forested microcosm, show all the naturally occurring behaviors observed in wild

s (in fact, they actually display some behaviors such as tool use that have not been observed in the wild). Because of the living conditions provided, the sanctuary can play a critical role by demonstrating the level of humane treatment that captive apes deserve. The sanctuary also protects wild

s since it triggers the enforcement of domestic and international conservation laws aimed at preventing the trade in live bonobos. The sanctuary also acts as a mouthpiece for conservation efforts in

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

by educating thousands of Congolese visitors each year about the value of Congo's natural history, in particular the

– their unique Congolese inheritance.

Friends of Bonobos

Friends of Bonobos is a US

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

charity that supports Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary and all the activities of its parent organization, Amis des Bonobos du Congo. It was founded by

and Dominique Morel. Friends of Bonobos also raises awareness for bonobos globally. You can find them a
www.bonobos.org
Friends of Bonobos is located in Durham, NC.

Notes

{{Reflist

References

* Andre, C., Kamate, C., Mbonzo, P., Morel, D., Hare, B. 2008. The conservation value of Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary. * Takesi, I., Thompson, J. (Eds) ''Bonobos Revisited: ecology, behavior, genetics, and conservation''. Springer, New York. *Woods, Vanessa. ''Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo''. Gotham, 2010.

External links

Lola ya Bonobo

Friends of Bonobos

Bonobos Nature conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Wildlife sanctuaries of Africa Tourist attractions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa de:Claudine André#Lola ya Bonobo