Roy’s introduction took off with a bang last Wednesday when he was introduced to an equally playful Romeo in his room for the day. We watched in wonder as the two hit it off promptly, running around excitedly at incredible speeds for most of the day. For Roy this was probably the most unforgettable day of his life so far, as it was likely his first ever direct contact with another chimp since the loss of his mother.

Five year old Romeo is the first of the juvenile chimps group to be introduced to Roy since the two and a half year old arrived at the sanctuary in mid December. The rest of the juveniles will be introduced one by one.

Meanwhile the "Young Chimps" group of 15 are reeling with excitement too, at getting back their large enclosure, where they are able to run around better and get to their business with ease during the day. The enclosure had been put out of bounds for the chimps during the prolonged drought which saw the Ewaso Ngiro River dry up completely for the first time in history. The river, which runs through the sanctuary, acts as a boundary for the enclosure on one side because chimpanzees by nature have a profound fear for water! However during the drought the water levels got so low that there was a risk of the chimps walking across the riverbed in some sections. The group was therefore confined to a smaller enclosure during the day, but with the recent rains, the river is back up and the group is now given access to their regular space.