January 13th, 2008
Published by Ben Beck

Nyungwe National Park in southern Rwanda.

Editor’s note: Today, Great Ape Trust of Iowa Director of Conservation Dr. Benjamin Beck continues his 10-part blog on his recent trip to Rwanda. Beck, along with Great Ape Trust Founder and Chairman Ted Townsend, Communications Director Al Setka and Peter Clay, a senior orangutan caretaker, were in Rwanda from Nov. 28-Dec. 6 to begin the process to establish the Rwanda National Conservation Project with Earthpark and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, two other Iowa-based projects supported by Townsend.

Ted returned to the U.S. on Sunday, Dec. 2, and Peter, Al and I set off for the Nyungwe National Park. Our hosts were Nsengi Barakabuye, Rwanda program director for the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Louis Rugerinyange, head warden of the park. The Trust had already sponsored some bee-keeping and fuel-efficient stove projects for people living around Nyungwe, and we had met Nsengi earlier in the year in the U.S. through Charlene Jendry of Columbus Zoo’s Partners in Conservation.

Nsengi and Louis told us of recent work in Nyungwe, including planned construction of a conservation biology field training center, habituation of chimpanzees for ecotourism, experiments on the best way to suppress the growth of ferns and thus promote the growth of trees after forest fires, and his recent survey of chimpanzees in Gishwati. He confirmed that despite all odds there was still a small group in the tiny remaining forest fragment of Gishwati, as well as endangered golden monkeys.

On the way to Nyungwe, we stopped for lunch in the university town of Butare, where we were able to purchase some lovely crafts items from a store carrying only authentic pieces produced under fair trade practices. We spent Sunday night in a simple visitor center just outside Nyungwe, and I broke out an old favorite set of pick-up sticks. Over the years, I’ve found that pick-up sticks can be played anywhere, without electricity. Players can be of all ages, and of different tongues. Beer enhances the competition. I have some photos of Al, Peter and Nsengi concentrating on getting the “mikado” stick with an intensity usually reserved for delicate surgery.

Next: Dead snake may be evidence of a scientific first