Tiki
Subspecies to be determined pending testing
Estimated Birth – February 2017
Tiki was confiscated by authorities in collaboration with LAGA (Last Great Ape Organization) in the Cameroon city of Douala in late January 2019. Then he made a very unfortunate detour through the zoo in Yaoundé, where he was kept in a small cage for a month. Fortunately, working with our friends at Ape Action Africa, we were able to facilitate his release from the zoo and transfer to our sanctuary.
Desperate for the love and attention he lost when his mother was killed, Tiki fell in love with his Sanaga-Yong caregivers, Henriette and Stanislas. Under their supervision, his joyful zest for mischief and exploring all things new began to shine. He was playing and learning all kinds of things about the forest, until he suffered a terrible setback. Sadly, he was a little too reckless, and he broke his femur (thigh bone) when he fell from a tree.
Tiki’s fracture required stabilization with a bone plate, for which we didn’t have the equipment or expertise onsite. We hired an experienced orthopedic surgeon from the best human hospital in Yaoundé to perform the surgery. Unfortunately, he used a plate that was too small for Tiki’s bone. It probably would have worked well in a human child, but chimps are much stronger and more active than children of the same size. Even though we kept Tiki as still as we possibly could after the surgery, he broke the plate in a week. The surgeon performed a second operation using a larger plate. It was a very difficult and painful time for Tiki. His caregivers were with him constantly during the ordeal, and he finally recovered.
Beautiful little Tiki suffered too much in his first three years, but we know he has a long life with a lot of joy ahead of him. Recently, he was introduced to one-and-half-year-old Bouamir. Now, the two of them spend their days happily playing together. Eventually they’ll be introduced to a social group with adult chimpanzees, who will take over the job of nurturing and teaching them.
