In July 2006, 13 chimps died due to human flu and because of this there are strict regulations while viewing these animals. Only 6 visitors are allowed to be with the chimps at any one time, each group may only view the chimps for a maximum of 1 hour per day, everyone has to wear a mask and if anyone is unwell they are not allowed to view the chimps. We were also asked to try to keep at least 10m away from the chimps. If a chimp approached us we were told that we would have to back away slowly until we were 10m away.

Every day we walked into the Mahale Mountains forest to find the M group of chimps. Our 2 one-hour sessions with these extraordinary animals were unforgettable. We were able to see them “fishing” for ants using a small twig as a “rod” which they pocked into a hole in a tree. The ants would then climb onto the twig and the clever chimps would pull it out of hole quickly and eat the ants off the twig.

Here we see two of the older males engrossed in their morning ant “fishing”.