One of the oldest Uganda’s top attractions turns 43

THE Ugandan second top attractions, chimpanzees one of them turn 43 as the oldest.    The birthday party had been delayed for two weeks to teach him table manners and how to cut the cake. But surrounded by hundreds of guests, the dominant male known as Zakayo would not be bothered and turned away in the disappointment of guests who attended the ceremony. The king of the chimps of Budongo Island, who turned 43, lifted his heavy body and walked slowly towards the fence where his cake was being held out for him, only to squat down and ignore all calls from his minders to cut the cakes.

One of the keepers Vicent Okello explained that Zakayo does not like crowds thinking people have invaded his territory and feel threatened.  His housemates were less shy. Zakayo’s wife, Amina, wriggled her fingers through the fence, trying to grab a piece of the cake as other chimps jump up and down, screaming and begging.
The caretakers had to insert a banana into the cake to attract Zakayo’s attention but Melee erupted when he stormed the fence, removed out the banana. Zakayo, the alpha male in the Budongo chimpanzee group, was found in June 1972 at Semliki, in Bundibugyo district, when he was still a baby. Suspected poachers had separated him from his parents.

He was taken to Entebbe Zoo on June 19, 1976 after he had become too difficult to manage. But the zoo had run down under the regimes of Idi Amin and Obote II. Zakayo lived in a small cage with concrete floor, together with four other chimps. Visitors would offer him cigarettes and alcohol and tease him, which would make him very angry.

This changed when Entebbe Zoo became the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre. A new home was built for the chimpanzee group on Budongo Island and they now live together happily in a semi-wild setting. Zakayo has sired only one offspring, called Shaka. The marketing manager at the centre Emma Masaba said that Zakayo is very protective and has adopted several younger chimps. But he is also jealous, particularly towards Matooke, a younger male. “Matooke has shown his intentions to take over the group because he has started mating with the females,’’ said Yokoyada Mukasa, the keeper.

Zakayo spends most of his time resting, grooming or being groomed by his two wives, Amina and Ruth. His favourite food is eggplants, tangerines and jackfruit. The chimpanzee family eats four times a day. Zakayo still seems to be troubled by the memories of the past, as his guests learned during the party. “He gets upset when there are group fights and instills order and peace,” says Peace Nakitto, a conservation educator at the centre.

Uganda boosts over 4000 chimpanzees making her one of the most primate tourism destination in the globe. Coupled by Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park the country is a habitat for 6000 primates in the country hence one of the great destination for gorilla tours.