My Story

Megan (Its Dangerous being a Chimpanzee)

They say dogs are man’s best friends but Chimpanzees are man’s most naïve friends.

My name is Megan and I am a girl with a trusting problem, I trust everyone and everything that shows interest in me. I am as friendly as all Chimpanzees come and for that reason, that kind of trust got me in trouble in 1991.

That year I and three other chimpanzees were illegally taken from the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre then Zoo and flown to Russia where we took part in a European Circus which took place in Moscow, Italy, Austria and Hungary.

In that year our status changed from protected species to species living in captivity and it all began with trust. It was like going back to square one for us all because we trusted! It was the crime we committed, we trusted that we would be protected; we trusted that we were in safe hands and we trusted that our welfare wouldn’t be jeopardized.

But I guess that wasn’t what those wildlife officers thought. It took a dedicated Environmental Journalist named Ndyakira to get us back home.

Without him I believe we would have never been rescued. Looking back now and comparing our lives in Europe and Ngamba Island, its like life gave us a second chance. A chance to rebuild our lives something that we have done quite well for the past 8 years now. I should say life has not been bad at all.

Are you interested in primate rehabilitation? Find us at Ngamba Island.

1000 Pant Hoots

Megan