Though we’ve been here for quite a while, there are always new staff members to amaze us!

This week, my focus was primarily on recording and editing a social media promotion video for World Chimpanzee Day. Creating a video from scratch was a completely new experience for me, and it turned out to be fun, despite the many tedious challenges.

I thoroughly enjoyed the video shooting process. It was magical to see everyone’s smiles through the viewfinder and to listen to their passionate voices advocating for wildlife. However, things became challenging during the editing phase, mainly due to technical issues. Since we didn’t have a professional microphone during the interviews, the audio was filled with background noise. Although there are several AI products available for noise reduction, the unstable Wi-Fi conditions made uploading take an eternity! Thanks to Evan’s brilliant idea, we managed to overcome these difficulties. Feel free to check it out through this link! https://laidlawscholars.network/videos/leadership-in-action-celebrating-world-chimpanzee-day-with-the-kasiisi-project-in-uganda

What truly made this week special were the activities on Friday and over the weekend. After hearing and talking about chimpanzees for four weeks, we finally got to see them in their natural habitat! What could be more exciting than an adventure in the mysterious African forest with wildlife? Each group was led by a guide and several armed guards to protect us from elephants—the real kings of Kibale National Park. We heard the roar of elephants almost as soon as we entered the forest, with fresh elephant dung along our path. Clearly, the “tembos” were nearby! The guards were loaded, and we ran as fast as we could, following the guide. Just as we caught our breath, a chimpanzee appeared right in front of us!

We trekked through the forest, following the chimps. It was fabulous to see them lounging, grooming each other, and even some pant-hooting from the trees. Throughout the trek, we wore face masks to protect the chimps from respiratory diseases. Fun fact: chimpanzees are humans’ closest relatives, sharing 98% of our genes. Due to this genetic similarity, diseases that affect humans can also be transmitted to chimpanzees, posing one of the major threats to their survival.