Assimba

Assimba means miracle, a good thing sent us buy God in Bamwele. That`s what happened 25.08.2007 at 10:40 pm.

Mado started to act strange at about 4 pm, and she didn`t really eat well in the afternoon feeding, only one or 2 bananas. She was in the middle chamber on the right side with Hope, Cecile and Cindy. She was on the platform, she made a nice nest, that did not really serve her, because she was restless, every few minutes she got up, she went to the edge of the platform and shook her butt. It looked like she had contractions, so sometimes she was up and pushing. Then she layed down and tasted the fluids coming from her vagina. It took about 6 hours like that. The girls in the chamber fell asleep, and Mado looked like tired, but she couldn`t fall asleep. At about 10 the contractions started to come more frequently and her vagina streched out. Finally she moved down from the platform. She made a nest first in the middle of the chamber, but as Cindy and Hope were sleeping next to the bars which are next to the hallway, Mado moved the nest next to them. Her vagina was already quite open, so we felt it is coming soon. She layed down next to the girls and hugged Hope. The girls didn`t wake up, but Mado was just touching her, she needed company. And then suddendly she got up, went to the opposite side of the chamber and sat on a wheel. We still thought there is time, but she just sat there, tasted again what is coming out from her, and then just pushed once, and we alerady heard the carying of the baby. It was so increadibly fast. Mado first looked down, but she instantly took the baby, she carried her in one hand, and at first she didn`t really look at her, just left the wheel, and walked to the hallway. Then the girls who were woken up by the cry came up to her, and started to look what is in her hands. She went back to the wheel to clean up, and tried to hide the baby from the girls, who followed her. Then she came closer, all the time followed by Hope and Cecile, and sterted to check on the baby, cleaning her. She let Hope and Cecile touch it, Hope was cleaning it, Cecile tried to poak it all the time. Mado didn`t really tried to hide it anymore, neither from us nor from the girls. She was walking around, cleaning up after herself and sometimes she stopped and started to clean the baby. Cindy didn`t show any intrest at all, she was just sitting there and watching us. Hope looked the most intrested, and Mado let her clean the baby. Then after a while Mado went back to the platform, made a nest and tried to rest with the baby. From the first moment she was carrying it and never left it. She was trying to find a confortable position for they both, mostly lying on her back, and keeping the baby in a way, that nobody can see it. We left them after a half an hour, she looked really tired. She delivered the baby about 10:40 pm.

The next day we saw the placenta came also out, but it was still attached to the baby (But the next morning the placenta was already gone, probably she ate it). They made her eneter the chamber that is the furthest from the enclosure to the right. She ate very well, she made a nest, and was lying all they with the baby. First time we saw her nursing about 11. She looked so confortable with the baby on her belly. She didn`t really try to hide it, when she entered the little cage in that chamber, she was lying next to the hallway. She let us touch her legs (Mado`s, not the baby`s), and she didn`t really act to protective. I think she is doing really well, from the first moment she is so caring, whenever the baby makes a small noise she changes her position right away, and does everything to comfort it. It is a very pretty girl, with a lots of hair on her head, and no hair on her legs. The shape of her face is like Moabi, dark, and hairy, but she has the nose of her mother. She is soooooo cute.

As for the other chimps they don`t really show too much interest in her. I saw Mani watching them through the bars, today morning I saw Caroline, but only when the baby was making noises. And Mado also looks like she doesn`t mind staying all the time alone, when Assou was opening the sliding door, to pass her from one chamber to the other, she went up to the next sliding door, that leads to the enclosure, but when she saw, that it won`t be open, she just made up a nest in the middle of the chamber, and layed with the baby. She eats well, and feels like so pleasantly calm.