By Serge K. Soiret, GAP correspondent in Africa

In 2006, a young female chimpanzee called Fanta belonged to a man who lived in Taï Park. One day a group of students who was doing a research in the park proposed him to send her to Abidjan Zoo, so she could receive more proper care.

Since then, Fanta is in the zoo with other four young chimpanzees. They are practically maintained with funds collected by generous private donators. Today Fanta is 7 years old and is well. An Ivoirian (people from Ivory Coast) colleague called Simone D. Ban is in charge of voluntary work that organize the funds received and the small amount provided by the zoo.

The enclosure that homes Fanta and her friends is very small. As long as there is much more space in the zoo, it would be better to build a larger one, so that the group of chimpanzees can feel better. The zoo has an area of 20 hectares, but only 4 hectares have facilities.

The Zoo of Abidjan was opened in 1955 and has suffered a lot from lack of attention and financing. Since its creation, very few enclosures were rebuilt or reformed. The zoo is surrounded by a fragment of forest which is occupied by buildings and uncontrolled urbanization.

The number of primates in the zoo drop drastically during the last years, mainly because of diseases and wounds. Ten baboons and nine chimpanzees died since 2000, for instance. The primates and other animals are nourished, in general, only once a day, because there is no much food available. Another problem faced is lack of security on the enclosures, which leads to frequent escapes of primates. In 2006 the oldest chimpanzee of the zoo ran away and was taken in a neighborhood 10km far away from the city.

In consequence of these conditions, the animals in the zoo show a high level of abnormal and destructive behaviors. For the chimpanzees, with the German assistance of NGO Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) and of generous private donators private, the situation improves and they are nourished several times a day.