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.
