By Lazaro George – Guide, Greystoke MahaleLast week, while walking in the forest heading south along a path known as R1, I came accross a small troop of chimpanzees. Among the troop were Fatuma, and her daughters Flavia (8 years old) and Fimbi (4 years old). We followed the troop for about 10 minutes until they stopped for a break.
Fimbi was playing with her mother Fatuma while Flavia played around them. When the troop started to move Fimbi jumped on her mother’s back while she was walking. After a short while Flavia caught up with the pair and walked along by their side and Fimbi jumped down from her mother’s back to the ground and then jumped up to her sister’s back. I walked with them for 15 minutes with Flavia still on her sister’s back, after which time the troop stopped and started to do grooming. The scene I witnessed reminded me of watching a young child taking care of her sibling.
