My Story

Nagoti (Profile of one of the good girls of Ngamba Island)

I arrived at Ngamba Island in July 1999 with nothing next to chimpanzee behavior because of over exposure to human behavior.

I tended to mimic every Chimpanzees character at the Island for instance at feeding hours; I would always copy how Natasha clapped her hands while asking for food or how Robbie hit the ground to catch the attention of the caregivers.

Little did I know that at the Island, every single Chimpanzee had its own begging style, that’s how they were easily identified? Some Chimpanzees would scream or somersault while asking for food, while others just sat by and waited patiently without making a sound.

 But I served my fair share of clowning around the feeding platform like hiding behind overgrown grass and shaking it to get attention, somersaulting for the love of copying. To this day I still imagine what the care givers must have thought of me back then.

That and many things are some of the downsides of taking a chimpanzee away from its family and keeping it as a pet. I am better now as I have developed my own character.

In fact the day you’ll visit the Island, you’ll be surprised when the care givers tell you, Nagoti is the one sitting while eating. Unlike other Chimpanzees I like collecting all my food, sit down and eat quietly without any disturbance.

That is my character and I can confidently say, that at 30 years old, Nagoti has her own way of feeding and if any other Chimpanzee replicates it, the care givers will say, someone is copying Nagoti.

I am so glad I was rescued, reintroduced in the forest and most of all I got my own Chimpanzee character. When are you visiting? I would like to display at you.

1000 Pant Hoots

Nagoti.