Ashley Stone (center) meets with locals in Wamba. (Photo: Luo Scientific Reserve)
This summer, I flew into the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with Dr. Takeshi Furuichi and Dr. Chie Hashimoto to observe wild bonobos at the Luo Scientific Reserve, the original bonobo research station started in the 1970s by Dr. Takayoshi Kano.
The reserve is located in the village of Wamba. To get there, you take a beautiful but slightly scary four-hour propeller plane ride over the rainforest canopy from the capital, Kinshasa, and then a four-hour motorbike ride on narrow paths.
Once safely in Wamba, I met the most incredible Congolese trackers and workers. These folks are living in one of the most remote villages on the planet and the best-paying job around is tracking wild bonobos.
The Luo Scientific Reserve is in the heart of Congo in the middle of bonobo territory, where bonobos have thrived for millions of years. It is so isolated that while there, I never saw a car. There is no running water, very little solar powered electricity in the village outside of the research station, no refrigerators except for one in the hospital for vaccinations, no toilets and no cell service. And it was glorious!
The staff of about 30 local Congolese support the research station with one paid job or another so that researchers (5-10/year) can work and survive while they diligently conduct their studies with approximately 100 wild, yet habituated, bonobos.
Dr. Takeshi Furuichi and his team have partnered with a local environmental organization called CREF (Center for Research in Ecology and Forestry) to offer a variety of employment opportunities to the locals, funding for community improvement projects and support for bonobo habitat protection in exchange for taking care of the needs of the researchers while they are there and tracking the bonobos daily. Both parties are helping each other.
The trip was exhilarating, exhausting, and educational. But above all, it was an existential experience. The more involved I become in conservation, the more I realize this work is more about the people than the species.
Most of the people in the DRC face extreme poverty. It might be the richest country in natural resources, but the DRC is the second poorest country on earth, with 70 percent of the population of 80 million people living on a little over $1 a day. I saw and felt the desperation firsthand, which was overwhelming and very real.
Most organizations focused on species or habitat preservation understand that successful projects have to be a win-win-win. The project will realize their goals only if the people benefit by protecting the animal or environmental issue at hand. For example, while at Wamba I met two anthropologists working out of the bonobo research station to help local Congolese get caterpillars to larger markets during the season. If they are successful, the people will have more income from sustainable caterpillar harvesting that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. The formula is simple:
No bonobos = no research station = less economic opportunities.
As I reflect on my trip to the DRC this summer, I’m filled with equal parts gratitude and awe. Gratitude for the opportunity to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience and awe at the strength, beauty and grace of the Congolese people.
After almost two years of preparation and planning, the dream of trekking into the rainforest of the Congo Basin to observe wild bonobos and meet the folks responsible for their protection came true and exceeded my wildest imagination in every way.
I look forward to sharing more stories and learnings with you through The Bonobo Diaries Blog. I will be forever indebted to Dr. Takeshi Furuichi for inviting me on this journey of self-discovery to see the precious wild bonobos. I hope you’ll celebrate the second World Bonobo Day on February 14, 2018 with me!
ISIS, climate change, human trafficking, globalization, poverty and hunger, water crises, overpopulation, and GMO’s. We are living in a world where seemingly insurmountable realities fueled by our own insatiable consumerism are at every turn. When faced with all that is wrong with the world, is there room for hope, love or even a little compassion? Perhaps we can look backwards in our evolutionary trajectory for an example of something to inspire us forward and toward more sustainable treatment of each other and the earth. I propose that we look to a natural starting place - to our closest living genetic relative – to the relatively unknown BONOBO.
For various reasons, most folks have never heard of bonobos, so I’ll describe them quickly in a few sentences here and you will begin to see why I believe bonobos are a symbol of hope. Bonobos have 98.7% of the same DNA as humans, making them our closest genetic relative along with the chimpanzee. Physically, bonobos look similar to chimps, but with darker faces, more elegant limbs, a part down the middle of their hair and adorable pink lips. Bonobos are the only great apes that are matriarchal; their groups are ruled by female alliances. They are the only great apes that have NEVER been seen to kill one another. In fact, it is known that bonobos are the only great apes that tend to reduce tensions in their groups (and between different bonobo groups) through any combination of sexual contact.
Bonobos and their societies are unique and inspiring, but they are endangered with about 15,000 left in the wild. Bonobos only live in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a nation a quarter the size of the entire US with a long history of colonization, civil war and extreme poverty, but it is a nation rich in natural resources. DRC is on the brink of exploding economically with international investments from China, the US and Europe. While those investments will aid in the development of DRC’s infrastructure, if history repeats itself, this development will be at the cost of the environment and will surely negatively affect the natural habitat of the bonobo ranges.
Now that you know what bonobos are, why they are so unique and the troubles they are facing in the Congo Basin rainforest, let’s turn to what we are doing in order to aid in the preservation of bonobos.
In 2014, I started the non-profit organization, The Bonobo Project. Through collaborative campaigns aimed at raising the profile of bonobos among the masses here in the US, we hope to gain the momentum and funding necessary to sustain a movement that will support thriving populations of bonobos in their natural habitat. The number of bonobos is dwindling mostly because of illegal poaching, therefore we must address the human-animal conflict in sustainable and culturally respectful ways.
The Bonobo Project supports various projects that work at the community level to ensure the protection of the bonobos by the Congolese. My blog will take you through my journey of running a non-profit, traveling in the Congo, and my experiences of working to conserve this most majestic of great apes.
My name is Ashley Stone. I’m 43 years old. Mother of 3. Wife. Southerner by birth. Southern Californian by marriage. Social Worker by training. Conservationist by instinct. Athlete. Adventurer. Advocate. These are just a few words I would use to define myself. But, 3.5 years ago (at 40 – what a cliché!), my life took on new meaning and purpose.
Like many at this life stage, I had been shuttling up and down the roads of motherhood, marriage and my 30’s with autopilot-like precision. As fate would have it though, somewhere between dropping my kids off and picking up groceries, I grabbed the wheel, took a sharp turn on an unfamiliar road and found myself at the Left Bank of the Congo River amongst the most majestic creatures on the planet.
Bonobos are my passion and their existence, my career. The Bonobo Project is my new home. The Bonobo Diaries is where I will share my heart. Welcome to all, whether you know and love bonobos or you want to know and love bonobos.
I Bonobo You.