As mentioned, we had an exceptional guide who was able to locate a chimp quickly due to a good understanding of their behaviors. After she found the first chimp in about 20 minutes, she told us to sit patiently because she was sure his mate would be showing up soon. Almost on cue, an additional chimp arrived and we had these two all to ourselves for roughly 30 minutes before all the other people showed up. The two chimps didn’t seem bothered by all the people watching them and when I asked about this I was told that since birth, they’ve been exposed to humans via these treks. When one of them tucked her head under her arm when the other people arrived it kind of made me feel bad…like we were intruding their personal space. But the connection you feel to these animals will make you do anything for conservation of their habitat and hopefully the majority of the people participating leave feeling the same way justifying the invasion of privacy.
