The Congo Connection - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Madeleine and Christiana had laid out a buffet meal for dinner with saka saka and madesu (rice and beans)as well as fufu.  Saka saka is a common dish in Africa made from ground cassava leaves which are mixed with a peanut paste and cooked in palm oil.  Kerry joined Mike, Patty, Roger and Spencer already sitting in the dining area. Patty was holding Fanny, while she fed her pieces of melon.

Mike asked Kerry, “So how is our newest member of the family?” 

“Oh she’s going to be just fine. I gave her a broad spectrum antibiotic which should clear up her raspy breathing. I’d say she is about 16 months old.”

“That old?” Mike asked

“Yes, judging by her teeth which are just coming in.”

“How long until she can be reintroduced into a colony?” asked Patty.

“Oh that will depend on her and how well she can get along with females as she gets older. She’s at a disadvantage without a mother to teach her the social graces.” said Mike.  He added, “It will probably take three or four years to fully integrate her.”

“Wow, that’s a long time. So, at some point she will have to head out in the jungle in search of a new colony?”

“That’s right. The problem is that with all of the habitat loss due to logging, the colonies are getting further and further apart and females get killed when they leave the safety of the colony.”

“That’s sad. They need to make the whole valley one big park.”

“Yea we tried that.  The locals are completely against it though. There is strong Congolese resistance to establishing national parks.  We’ve had to lobby the government for protected areas and corridors to provide for the genetic viability of the species.”

As they spoke, Celeste and Rebecca sat down. Patty returned Fanny to her cage and washed up for lunch.  People got up and served themselves from the buffet. Christiana poured everyone glasses of chilled tamarind juice from a glass pitcher.

Mike sat at one end of the table with Celeste and Rebecca on his left. Patty and Roger sat to the right of him with Spencer and Kerry on the far end. 

Ted and Amber sat at a table by themselves. Amber was brooding.  “I wish you spent as much time looking at me as you do all the other women.” 

Ted stuttered, “I… I’m not looking at them. I was just thinking about something.”

“Well why did you sit there then?” She asked, pointing out how Ted had taken a seat with a good view of the other group.

“Oh for Pete’s sake, why are you so insecure? We’ve had this discussion before and I’m sick of it.”

Amber pushed her chair away from the table, “So am I.” She walked off towards their tent on the lower terrace.

Following that body changing shot of fetal testosterone at about 8 weeks, human males develop two and a half times the brain space devoted to sexual drive in their hypothalamus, compared to that of females. By the time a young man is in his late teens, he is hard wired to be on the lookout for and to seize varied sexual opportunities at a moment’s notice.  If testosterone were glasses of milk, a nine-year-old boy would get the equivalent of about a half a glass per day while fifteen year olds get the equivalent of two gallons a day.  This generous daily dose of testosterone is delivered to their blood streams throughout middle life and doesn’t taper off until well into a man’s golden years.

Whether or not males intend to pursue females, they are hard-wired to check them out.  Continuously running thoughts flicker in the background of their visual cortex around the clock, day in and day out and when they see, smell or hear sexually capable females, their primitive brain reacts long before propriety gives them cause to behave themselves. This includes the colour of human flesh, full red lips, the shape of the female body and it’s parts, especially curvy hips, buttocks, feet, legs,  breasts, necks, faces, and also eye contact.  And if that isn’t enough, images of female nudity or suggestive scenes give men mind numbing jolts of testosterone and that neurotransmitter of ecstasy called dopamine.  The slightest suggestion of sex triggers an intense rush of ‘desire and reward’ in the pleasure centre of their brains.

Ted thought about following Amber, but he was tired of having the same argument over and over.  He dished himself up some food, took his chair and joined the other group, sitting between Spencer and Kerry.

“You two aren’t arguing again are you?” Kerry gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder.”

“No, no.. still… I don’t know what’s gotten into her.  It seems everything I do gets under her skin. I can’t make her happy no how.”

“Maybe she’s going through the change?” Rebecca suggested across the table.

“Yea I think that’s part of it. I just can’t live with her anymore. She’s just so irritable.”

Menopause, taken from the Greek words men- (month) and pausis (cessation), typically occurs in the female human in their late 40’s or early 50’s. This “change of life” typically signals the end of a woman’s fertile years and a reduction in female hormones which are manufactured in the ovaries. The transition related to menopause tends to happen over a period of years and is a natural consequence of aging.  Symptoms include irregular menstruation, hot flashes, night sweats, tender breasts, vaginal dryness ,increased stress, forgetfulness, sudden mood changes and irritability.  The drop-off of progesterone in the luteal phase, or latter part of a woman’s cycle is linked to irritability, and she is more likely to interpret what she sees, hears or experiences negatively until she receives an increase in estrogen in her follicular cycle at the beginning of her cycle.

Human females spend over one third of their lifespan in the post-reproductive phase of their life.  Evolutionary scientists hypothesize that the purpose of menopause is to allow mothers to redirect their effort from trying to conceive new offspring to ensuring the survival of existing children.  One other school of thought suggests that menopause promotes the survival of grandchildren through the assistance of their grandmothers.   There is some agreement that post-reproductive women, especially maternal grandmothers, feed and care for children, adult daughters, and grandchildren. Some evidence suggests that cavemen hunter/gatherers contributed to less than half of the total food requirements of cave women and their cave babies, so that foraging grandmothers had to help out if their children, and their children’s children were to survive.

“You could always do what the bonobos do.” Kerry smiled.

“Oh, what’s that?”

Kerry raised her eyebrows at Ted. “Ease the tension a little bit with sex.”

Ted smiled back. “Do you mean with her or with you?” he laughed as she slapped his shoulder playfully.

“Her!”

The Congo Connection - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Using a vine for support, Celeste walked up a large, low hanging limb and wedged herself quite comfortably in the crook of a tree.  Using her camcorder, she zoomed in on a group of bonobos in some trees a short distance away, across a small clearing in the forest.  As she zoomed from ape to ape, she saw two males hanging from a limb while two females reclined peacefully on limbs below. One female was grooming the other while the two males hung face to face rubbing their erect penises together.  Celeste had read about “penis fencing” but it was the first time she had seen two mature apes having a ‘sword fight”. The battle scene only lasted 10 or 15 seconds before one of the bonobos dropped from the limb and sat with the females, while the other bonobo swung higher up into the tree, disappearing in the forest canopy. Celeste watched as the remaining male sat with the two females.

“May I join you?”

Celeste jumped.  She hadn’t noticed Rebecca walk up to the trunk of the tree.

Celeste stopped recording.  “Sure, if you can find room up here.”

Rebecca walked up the same limb that Celeste had and sat on the limb.

Rebecca was about the same age as Celeste with brown skin, short cropped hair and she was wearing a traditional African kitenge with a matching head scarf. Around the borders of her kitenge was a popular feminine slogan, “Mwanamke mazingira tuanataka, usawa, amani, maendelo” (We women want equality, peace, and progress).

 “How’s it going this morning?” Rebecca whispered, noticing the three bonobos across the clearing.

“So far, so good.  Do you recognize any of them.” said Celeste, pointing at the apes.

“Yes. See the one on the left? The older female?  We call her Eunice. She is about 30 years old.  We think she is pregnant but we’re not sure yet. Eunice is the Alpha female for the Alpha colony.”

“Wow.  How old do they get before they can’t conceive anymore?”

“We think about 40 years but that may be high for in the wild.”

“Okay, and the one grooming her?”

“The younger female doesn’t have a name yet. She immigrated from a different colony just a few days ago. She is about eight  years old.  Female bonobos will distance themselves and sever their relationships from their mothers at about six years of age, even though they stay in the same foraging parties and by about eight years of age, they will leave their native groups and join a new colony.”

“Just like Chimpanzees” said Celeste.

“Yes, except male Chimpanzees will dominate and abuse the new females.  Male bonobos act like gentlemen around the new ladies and the new females work really hard at establishing alliances with the older females in the colony.”

“So, all the males in a colony stay together, and the females integrate into a new group?”

“Yes. That way all the senior males in a colony know all of the junior males since they were born, and all the junior males have grown up together.  In fact, they are mostly brothers and uncles and cousins. It adds to the harmony of the colony.  In their new colony, migrating females use intimacy and sexual bonding with the dominant females to establish fresh alliances, gradually gaining acceptance into the ranks of the females. By the time they have their first baby, they are a stable member of the group.  On top of which, this arrangement prevents inbreeding and improves genetic diversity.”

“Got it.  And what about the young male?” Celeste pointed across the clearing.

“Oh that is Jack. He is Eunice’s son and one of the highest ranking males in this colony.”

“Does he just default to a higher rank because of his mother?”

“Yes, females gain rank as they have offspring, especially males, and the rank of their sons among the males corresponds to the rank of their mothers, relative to their age and maturity.”

“Very interesting. And do mothers and sons go their own ways like mothers and daughters?”

“No actually.  Jack is at least 15 years old and he still a Momma’s boy. The mother-son bond among bonobos lasts for life.”

“That’s hardly fair. I think the females get the short end of the stick on this deal.”

Rebecca laughed. “Or so it would seem.  I guess, but for the females, it’s either leave or get bred by your father, brothers or cousins. I’d hit the road too!”

Celeste smiled.  “Okay and what’s with the penis fencing.  Just before you came, another male was hanging out with Jack, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh that… It’s very common for male bonobos to touch and to pseudo-copulate by rubbing and touching each other. They do it for various reasons including diffusion of tensions and post-conflict resolution but also sexual gratification. Females do the same. Well, except the penis fencing.”

Celeste and Rebecca both laughed.  Celeste looked at Rebecca, noticing her happy smile and the curves of her petite body.  She wondered quietly if Rebecca was gay or straight, or both, but propriety demanded that she get to know her better before she asked. “So tell me about your stay. How long have you been here?”

“I have been here off and on for about three years. When I’m not here I am at home in Johannesburg.  My family owns a resort in Soweto.”

Rebecca and Celeste traded small talk for a bit as they got to know each other. Celeste filled Rebecca in on the story of William’s hand and the poachers, as well as the new baby bonobo.  Finally, the apes they had been watching moved off looking for food.

“We still have time for another observation or two.”

“Okay, Let’s go find some more bonobos.”

Rebecca made her way down to the ground while Celeste handed her pack down. Celeste walked down the limb and stepped onto the ground. They walked further into the trees and followed the high pitched sounds of the bonobo colony.  Most of the bonobos were high in the trees where it is very difficult to observe them.

Patty suggested, “Let’s just sit here and see if any come down lower.”

The two girls sat in the shade of some banana trees.  Celeste laid her pack down as a pillow and reclined against it while Rebecca put her pack against the truck of the tree and did the same.  Just as they got comfortable, a small but noisy group of bonobos came swinging through the trees above them. A mother with an infant on her back dropped down to the ground while another female followed. They stopped to investigate a rotten stump and a fallen log in a shady hollow just in front of Celeste and Rebecca.  As the girls watched, the leading female tore a piece out of the side of the stump and started licking red ants, turning the piece of wood as she enjoyed her snack. The other female stood back until the first bonobo dropped the piece of wood and then they quickly rubbed their genitals together before both tore at the stump, finding more ants to eat.

“There it was.  That was GG rubbing wasn’t it?  I’m curious about the penis fencing and GG rubbing.  I’ve observed some homosexual behaviour in chimps and gorillas but never to the same extent than bonobos seem to take it.”

“Oh its very common with animals that have non-reproductive sex.  In fact, no species has been found in which homosexual behaviour has not been shown to exist.  Homosexual and bisexual behaviour has been observed in over 1500 species in everything from sheep to penguins, humans too.” Rebecca smiled.  “I believe that same-sex sexual behaviour is a universal phenomenon throughout the animal kingdom but it’s been a politically charged and morally sensitive subject.  Most researchers have ignored it, rather than report on it because society hasn’t wanted to hear about it. It’s a taboo topic.”

“So, if one was brave enough to report on observations of “same-sex sexual behaviour” as you call it, do we use human terms like “bisexual, lesbian or gay?”

Rebecca laughed. “No, no… western society couldn’t handle that.  Usually, we observe homosexual behaviour in animals as just one of many sexual behaviours in their repertoire.  In human terms, that would make them bisexual, though there are many cases of truly homosexual orientations in the animal kingdom, even among our closest pets.  What do we do when Rex, the family dog starts humping Rover the dog next door? We just look the other way and pretend it isn’t happening. Yetr farmers know that 8 - 10% of their male sheep won’t breed female ewes but will readily mate with other rams.”

“Seriously?  I had no idea.”

“Exactly.  That’s my point.  Ironically, society considers homosexuality in humans, peccatum contra naturam, a sin against nature, while we are surrounded by bisexual and homosexual animals. It’s less sex against nature and more sex with nature, if the truth was told.”

Celeste asked, “Yea, I know what you mean.  I can’t go back to Wisconsin with that. Okay so, what has the research shown?  Where does the homosexual behaviour come from. Is it as simple as varied sexual gratification or is it a genetic disposition?”

“Who knows.  It certainly hasn’t been studied enough.  In bonobos, we suspect that both homosexual and heterosexual behaviours strengthen alliances and social ties, as well as diffuse tension and aggression. But until we address the social, moral and ethical questions about homosexuality research, I doubt we can even be objective with our findings. The best of our work never sees the light of day.”

Celeste nodded, deep in thought. She looked at her watch while she wondered about Rebecca.  “Time to go meet the others.”

The girls packed up and walked back towards the meeting point where they met with Mike, who was waiting with Solomon and Jean-Paul. Roger and Patty came walking in a few minutes later.

“Hey.  Did you see anything interesting today?” Patty asked Celeste and Rebecca.

“Oh just some female grooming and a few bonobos hanging around in the trees. I got a good clip of penis fencing if you want to see?”

Patty laughed. “Seriously?  It sounds funny but no, save that for a quiet Friday evening when we have nothing to do but watch reruns.”  They all laughed.  The group headed back to camp.

The Congo Connection - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Mike called quietly back to the girls, “Keep your eyes open… we are in the middle of their habitat.”

As the group walked further up the trail, Patty heard the announcement long before she saw them.  “Bonobos!” She was looking through the trees ahead when she saw Roger point up. Way up. There in the forest canopy she caught a blurr of motion. It was her first glimpse of a wild bonobo swinging acrobatically through the trees. The group of humans stopped for a moment and watched. Gradually more bonobos began to move. Several vocalized, using high pitched squeals that sounded like a flock of birds.

Patty exclaimed, “They sure sound different than chimpanzees.”

“Yes. They’re a whole different breed. You’ll see.”

Mike motioned for everyone to be very quiet, his index finger at his lips.   “It’s 12:30 now, let’s all meet back here at this tree around three o’clock.”  He used gestures to point at the bonobos and suggested everybody fan out and begin their observations. 

Patty crawled through the grass to the cover of a small grove of Crabwood trees. She winced with the pain in her muscles but she was excited at the prospect of beginning her observations of wild bonobos. She parked her sore backside in the lee of a large tree and cautiously pulled the long grass back.  There in the trees above her were three adult bonobos. As she watched, several more adults were visible, some moving through the trees but also two or three walking through the forest at ground level. Shrill shrieks pierced the air regularly.

Bonobos live in large groups of up to one hundred members, breaking up into much smaller foraging groups by day and gathering together to nest at night in the protection of the rain forest canopy. By day, the number of bonobos in a group ebbs and flows in what is called a “fission-fusion” lifestyle.  That is, when one group of bonobos encounters another group, some members will join the new group while members of the other group will join the original group.

Patty opened her journal and noted the date and time. She focused her first observation on the three adult bonobos, all of which were female.

The females were on the move along a large limb.  As Patty watched, a young male dropped from out of nowhere and seated himself on a crotch in the limb, effectively cutting the three females off from the trunk of the tree.  “You bugger” Patty thought, wondering what the females would do. The first of the females pushed his shoulder and let out a short screech. But the male was being obstinate and only grinned back at the females.  He reached up and pulled down a large palm leaf, creating a curtain to stop the females from leaving.  He screeched back.  The first female retreated back along the limb while a second female had a go at him. From her observations of chimpanzees, Patty expected the disagreement to get physical.  The second female walked up to the male and as she got close, she swung around and rubbed her swollen pink vulva along his shoulder and down his arm. The male relaxed his grip on the palm leaf and after a little more “feminine persuasion”, he let it go and rolled out of the crotch in the branch.  He climbed up the trunk of the tree and carried on, back up into his private perch somewhere higher up the tree.

 Patty started taking notes of what she had just seen.

Roger joined her. “How’s the view?”

“So far so good, there are three females…” she pointed at them, “and a male but he’s gone now.”

“Oh that was probably Koko. Was he annoying them?”

“Yes, how did you know?  He dropped in and blocked them from moving for a minute or so.”

“Yes… Koko is still a juvenile male. He’s always after female attention.  Did they give him some sugar?”

Patty looked puzzled for a moment. “Well if rubbing herself on him is giving him some sugar, then yes he got some sugar.” Patty smiled sarcastically.

Roger laughed.  “Yes sorry, that’s what we call it out here. Call it genital contact in your notes though.  He’ll be back for more of that.”

The three female bonobos dropped to the ground and walked, single file across a clearing to a grove of trees near the researchers.  While one bonobo walked on its two feet, looking very similar to a human in its posture and gait, the other two used all fours to walk.

Roger spoke, “The one up front is walking bipedally right now. Just like a human.  The other two are using quadrupal knuckle walking.”

As Roger and Patty watched, the three females discovered a fig tree loaded down with ripe figs. Following several happy shrieks and some joyous facial expressions, the two oldest bonobo females turned to face each other. One wrapped her arms and legs around the other while the second one returned the embrace and lifted the first one off the ground as they rubbed their genitals together vigorously.  The sexual act lasted several seconds and ended with grunting and orgasmic groans. The third female simply sat in the grass and waited, seemingly oblivious to the sex act going on in front of her.

“There it was. That was what we call GG rubbing. Genital to genital. You’ll see a lot of that between the females.  They will share the food now.” Roger said.

The females pulled a limb down from the fig tree and started picking handfuls of figs, including the leaves which they ate voraciously.  The third Bonobo approached and picked a handful of figs while one of the others held the limb for her.

“Why do they eat the leaves?”

“Oh that.  Bonobos self-medicate for intestinal parasites during the rainy season.  It’s not unusual for bonobos to eat leaves and chew them up but when they swallow them whole, the roughage helps them excrete tapeworms and other parasites.  I’ll show you some… Oh look… here comes Koko.” Roger pointed at the juvenile male crossing the clearing through the long grass.

Patty gave up on her note taking and pulled her video camera from its pouch.  As she recorded the scene unfolding before her, the young male ran bipedally towards the three females dragging a branch that he had picked up. The females all noticed him and as he charged at them, they turned as one and shrieked at him in their high pitched voices. He veered off, quite pleased with himself.  When the females turned back to the figs, he charged again but they sat down facing him, munching on figs that they had picked.”

“He’s only bluffing” Roger whispered, “Now they are giving him the evil eye.”

Koko looked away as the females stared him down. Not wanting to lose the attention he was getting, he stood up as tall as he could and bent over, grasping a sapling close to the roots.  Koko began to pull on the tree as he tried to pull it out by the roots.  He waved it to and fro violently as he shook it.  But the tree wasn’t budging and he started to shriek, probably feeling a little embarrassed in front of the ladies. He wasn’t willing to give up and he started jumping up and down, demolishing the branches of the tree as he broke it into twigs.  One of the females ate her last fig, got to her feet and walked over to Koko. She put her arm around him and kissed him, soothing him by stroking the hair on his neck and back.  He let go of the tree and turned to her, returning her kisses.  He hugged her and touched her swollen labias with his hand.  She immediately flopped down on her back in the grass and offered herself to him.

Patty lost sight of the two bonobos in the long grass but there was little doubt from the sounds that Koko was having some stress relief.  A moment later, Koko was on his feet again and he walked over to the fig tree and started picking figs. Patty pressed “stop” on her camera.

“That was it?” asked Patty.

“Yup. They aren’t exactly known for a lot of foreplay.” laughed Roger.

“But that was what?  Ten, maybe twelve seconds?”

Roger was smiling.

Patty laughed. “Reminds me of my first boyfriend.” Her face turned red as she blushed.

They both laughed.

“TMI… I’m not touching that.” Roger smiled.

“But if I’m not mistaken, that was ‘missionary position”?  Patty asked.  “Chimpanzees only do it doggy style”.

“Yes, female bonobos have more of a frontal vaginal orientation, similar to humans.  I told you bonobos are more like humans than chimpanzees. You’ll see them do it both ways.”  Mike added, “Do you know why we call it missionary position?”

“Ummm no? Not really.”

“Because until the 1950’s, the natives only did it doggy style.  It was the missionaries that had to teach them to have sex face-to-face because it was considered more intimate and less animalistic.  It came as a shock in the 1970’s when it was reported that bonobos have sex more like humans than animals.”

“Oh thanks… I’ll remember that.”  Patty smiled. This was getting a little too personal, even for a couple of scientists. They watched as the bonobos moved away from the figs up into the trees until they lost sight of them. Patty and Roger waited for a couple minutes but the group of bonobos was moving along.

Roger broke the silence, “So what do you want to do now?”

Patty shrugged. “I guess I’ll pack up and see if I can do another observation or two.” She folded up her camera and put it and her notebook back into her pack.

As Patty went to get up, Roger put out his hand to pull her up.  For a millisecond she hesitated, an alarm ringing in her head.  Deep inside her brain where her emotional memory stored painful memories was a vague recollection of a bad experience that started just like this.  Shaking off the confusion caused by the subconscious warning, Patty took his hand. He smiled as he pulled her to her feet.

“How are your sore muscles?”

She groaned, “Oh I’m still feeling it from last night. That was quite the hike.”

They both smiled, no worse for wear considering they had retrieved the young bonobo. Roger lingered a millisecond or two longer than necessary while holding her hand.

The pair walked deeper into the jungle.

The Congo Connection - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Patty woke up to the muffled sound of a rooster crowing through the warm walls of the canvas tent. Beams of sunlight fell across her face.

“You awake yet Sleepyhead?”  Celeste was dressed and headed for breakfast.

Patty rubbed the sleepy dust from her eyes and yawned. “What time is it?”

“Ten am but it was late when you got in. Sleep all you want.”

Through the cobwebs in her head, Patty slowly began to remember the night before.

“Where’s the bonobo?”

“Madeleine has it. They made a pen for it up at the kitchen.”

Patty rolled over and groaned. There wasn’t a muscle in her body that wasn’t reminding her of their long walk the night before.  Several times, they had lost their footing and slid down steep banks and ravines on their backsides.  Patty had the bruises to prove it. Slowly, she sat up on the edge of the bed and put her sweat pants and a clean T-shirt on.  She limped off to the shower.

Mike was sitting in the dining area nursing the bonobo from a baby bottle.

“So now that we have a bonobo, how do we take care of it?” Celeste asked as she arrived. 

“Well the first thing is to get Kerry to check it out head-to-toe.  Most bonobos arrive with parasites and this one definitely has a respiratory infection. Then, we will take care of its physical and emotional needs.   She will need mashed bananas and avocados to start with.  To mend her little broken heart, she needs a substitute mother.”

“How long do they breastfeed in the wild?”

“Believe it or not, they breastfeed for four to five years.  This one is just over a year old I think.”

“Wow! That’s a long time. “

“Yea, we don’t have the time or the resources for that so she will be weaned from milk to a protein supplement to a pablum that she can feed herself over the next few months.”

Patty joined them, reaching for a banana. “Hey guys, oh look at what you have.”  She tugged on the baby’s little chin as it sucked on its bottle, which it held with its hands and feet.

“Yes, thanks to you and Roger. You’ve been nominated to name this little girl.” Said Mike.

“Me?” Patty had no idea what to name a bonobo. “I’ll need some help.”  She asked where Roger was.

“Oh he’s up, or at least he was. He’ll be here for breakfast if I know him at all.”

“And what happens to her now?”

“I was just telling Celeste, Kerry will probably prescribe something for her raspy breathing. We will bottle feed her a protein supplement for a while and feed her yogurt, mashed fruit and vegetables, bananas and avocado to start with. We will gradually add sugar cane, papaya, cucumber, sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts and cabbage to her diet.  Oh and a hard boiled egg every couple of days.  She will need a surrogate mother or she could die of a broken heart… Remember, she is likely traumatized by losing her parents. Ultimately, that’s what killed our last one.”

“Who is going to be her surrogate?” Patty asked.

Mike smiled as he looked at Patty. He never said a word.

“Me? Not me. I wouldn’t have a clue.”

He got up and as he walked away he handed her the bonobo. “Here Mom.”

Celeste broke out in a rolling laugh.

Patty sat down. She winced as she sat on her sore muscles.

“Oh somebody’s hurting from last night.”  It was Roger as he took a seat beside Patty.  “How you doing?”

“Much better now that I got some sleep. I thought we were going to be sleeping under a banana tree last night.”

“Yea me too.” He laughed.

“You are going to have to help me come up with a name for her.”

“Oh that shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Yea well at least name some African girl’s names so I can pick one.”

Roger listed off a dozen names counting them on his finger tips.  Little did she know he was going through names of girlfriends and women he had known over the years; “How about Anitha, Veroni, Noeline, Polyana, Aurelie, Fanny, Eunice, Nadia, Arlette, Juviele, Felicite, Liliane…”  

“How’s that?” He asked, rather proud with himself.

“Not too bad. I won’t ask where you came up with that list of names.” She smiled.  “What was that one that started with ‘F’… Fanny?”

“Yes.”

“Yea.. I like Fanny… That will work.”

They both smiled.

When Fanny had fallen asleep in her lap, Patty put her in the makeshift nursery that Madeleine had set up in the overhang of the kitchen tent. Fanny was laid down in a wooden crate covered with chicken wire on a bed of fresh picked grass. Her baby bottle was filled with water and a dish with small pieces of banana and avocado was left for her.

The group was preparing to head out for another day of bonobo observations. Solomon and another scout named Jean Paul had gone out earlier and Solomon returned with news that the Alpha colony was on the move, probably because of the helicopter’s presence the day before. Jean Paul had stayed with the bonobos and reported they were foraging for breakfast in a forest about one kilometer to the south east of the camp. Mike lead the group with Celeste, Patty, Spencer, Rebecca and Roger falling in behind him.  

The Congo Connection - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The default sexual orientation for all human fetus brains is female for the first eight weeks of development.  But for reasons not totally understood, males, that is the ones with both an X and a Y chromosome, suddenly get a massive infusion of testosterone at about 8 weeks, which causes the brain to suddenly make space in and around the hypothalamus for sexual pursuit, problem solving, spacial awareness, muscular coordination, pecking order hierarchy, aggression and in the core of the most primitive area of the brain, the amygdala, the alarm system for threats, fear and danger.  

Roger stiffened as he noticed a small hut nestled in the shadow of a huge corkwood tree in front of him and Patty.  As they got closer, he and Patty laid down in the grass and crawled around to the front of the hut where they watched an old woman and some young children on the front verandah.

They had managed to find a trail, probably a game trail from forest elephants, which meandered through the jungle along the creek. 

“What should we do?” Patty asked.

“Just sit tight for a bit. Let’s see if they have the bonobo.”

An old woman was sitting with the children and at least one other woman was in the hut.

As they watched, Roger checked his .38 and tucked it back into the holster on his belt.  The AK47 had about 25 rounds in a banana clip and was good to go. He checked his watch. 18:20 hours. Several minutes went by. Then the woman from inside the hut stepped out carrying a bonobo.

“Bingo. There it is, Let’s go.”

“Wait!” Patty’s heart took off like a speeding freight train. Roger had stood up and was walking towards the hut, weapon at the ready. She fell in behind him, trying not to get shot as she cautiously peaked around him.

Roger called out a greeting to the hut as he got within yelling distance.  The old woman gasped and started hustling the children into the hut, while the other woman handed her the bonobo. Roger stopped. He stepped to the side so they could see Patty. He spoke in Swahili, telling them that he and Patty meant no harm and that they came for the bonobo. The woman answered him. The old woman came back out carrying the bonobo. She asked a question.

“She wants to know what happened to their men.” Roger spoke to the old woman and she answered back a couple of times. 

“Go ahead Patty. Go get the bonobo. She says we can have it.”

Patty looked at him incredulously.

“Go ahead. I’ve got your back.”  He smiled.

Patty slowly walked towards the women.  The bonobo was handed from woman to woman to woman.  Patty took it with a quiet nod and walked back to Roger.

“See?  Easey peasey.”  He spoke again to the women.

“What did you tell them about their men?”

“Oh no more than I had to. Let’s go.” They continued on the trail past the hut, down the trail beside the creek. Patty’s heart was still racing but gradually she calmed down.

Roger looked back at the women who had gone into the hut.  “Here, let me see the bonobo.”

Roger stopped and held the young bonobo up.

“She’s a year old, maybe a little older.”

“It’s a girl?  She’s adorable.” Patty laughed, her uterus flipping as she took back the bonobo.

The young bonobo was asleep, sucking its thumb while it curled up in a ball.  He handed it to Patty.

“We better get it to the camp unless you think you can feed it?”

Patty slapped Roger playfully. “Yea I don’t think so.”

“So what now?” Patty asked as they started walking again.

“Well unless you want a hungry bonobo on your hands, we better get back. I’m betting this trail will follow the creek right down the valley.”

Roger switched his radio on.  “Mike Cooper, are you on. Roger to Mike, over.”

The radio cackled for a moment.  “Go ahead Rodge, this is Mike.”

“Yes Mike, all is well. We have the package and are headed back down a trail along the creek.”

“Ten four. Stay in touch.”

Roger spoke to Patty.  “There. See?  I learned a long time ago that it’s better to ask forgiveness than it is to seek permission. All is well.”

Roger pulled a machete out of his pack and led the way down the trail. Patty followed a few steps behind as she watched out for the swinging machete and branches that snapped back at her face.  She was hopelessly lost and relying on Roger’s spacial awareness, among other things.

As evening fell on the Congo, the baby bonobo began to squirm. “I think she’s getting hungry” Patty called ahead to Roger.

“No problem. Let me find her something to eat.”  Roger stopped a few minutes later.  He reached high up over his head and liberated a bunch of bananas with a two-handed slash of his machete.

“Here.”  He handed a couple of smaller bananas to Patty.

“Will she run away if I set her down?”

“Maybe. Just wrap that tie on her leg around your wrist.”

Patty squatted down in the grass and released the young bonobo.  She spoke in a candy sweet voice, “Here you go….”

“Do I just give it to her or should I peel it?”

“Just break the end off of it for her.”

Patty went to break the stem off of the banana.

“No no, the other end.  Only humans open a banana from the stem. Just twist the top of the banana off.”

Patty twisted the top of the banana off and waved it under the bonobo’s nose. The bonobo snapped the banana from Patty’s hand. It sat up and took several bites of the banana, peeling it back.

“Good... very good. Yes she knows what she is doing.”

Roger opened his pack and pulled out a bottle of water. He offered it to the bonobo. 

The bonobo dropped the banana and began to drink from the water bottle with Roger’s help.

“Oh the poor thing is so thirsty.” Said Patty. She picked up the banana and handed it back to the bonobo.

Patty and Roger both ate a banana and drank some water.

“How much further?” asked Patty.

“Not far.  Do you see that brown spot on the mountain over there?” he pointed across the valley.

“Yes.”

“It’s right across from the second camp I think, so if we head this way, we will come onto the main trail up this valley.  I’d say it’s less than 2 kilometers.  If we don’t want to bushwhack our way across there, we can just stay on this trail and it’s bound to take us down to the river eventually. This creek will end up at the river.”

Patty shrugged.  “Whatever you think. I just don’t want to spend the night out here.” She listened to the croaks, howls, and screeches in the surrounding forest.

“No worries.” Roger stood up and shouldered his pack while Patty bundled up the bonobo.

“Let’s do some bushwhacking.” Roger said as he took a visual on the clear cut across the valley.  He headed out, chopping limbs and branches as he cleared the way. 

Roger and Patty slashed their way through the jungle until they came onto a trail which they followed down into the valley.  Just as the evening twilight faded into darkness they heard the beating of African drums and walked into camp somewhat exhausted.