Chapter 10

The Congolese government went out of its way to make everyone feel welcomed. It also went to great lengths to squash any media coverage of the research team and it's objectives. I was happy to see that because it answered one of my main concerns. Even if Bonnie was unique among her clan, the last thing we needed was to have to deal with sightseers or worse. Once her clan was located and the base camp set up, there would be a need for intense security in that region to protect the habitat from any further disturbance. The US government would be supplying technology to facilitate that effort.

As the caravan of vehicles neared the area where Bonnie had been trapped, she grew visibly excited and anxious. Eventually, we ran out of road and had to backpack into a hilly area following Bonnie's lead. Probably four or five miles into the jungle, she stopped and signed to me that we should set up our camp at the edge of a clearing. She indicated her clan's territory was across a small, shallow stream and we could go no further without sending them fleeing into the jungle. She had already spotted them but nobody else had.

I relayed her instruction to Dr. Ndenga and he got the team busy setting up tents. As the work got underway, Bonnie signed to me to follow her. Drs. Springer and Ndenga started to join us across the stream but Bonnie signaled for them to stop. She made it clear that I was to make contact with the clan and try to earn their trust. Otherwise, they would just continue to move away from the research camp, making any observation and study nearly impossible. The joint heads of the research team weren't pleased at being left out but saw the wisdom of her plan.

Bonnie and I were probably two hundred yards into the trees and entering another clearing when she stopped and sat down, signing for me to do the same. I asked her what was happening and she signed 'We wait here. He come soon.'

It was maybe fifteen minutes later when Bonnie touched my hand and pointed between two large trees. She signed, 'Sit! Not move!' It took me a moment to spot him because he blended in perfectly with the background. It was a male standing upright with his hand on the tree. I could see how they had been overlooked; you could look right at them and still not see them. He stood perfectly still, staring at us and he appeared to have something hanging from his shoulder. Bonnie moved slowly toward him on all fours. When she was within a few feet, she sat and made several grunting and cooing noises. The male approached her and began grooming her fur. They kept making several different sounds and, at one point, Bonnie turned and pointed at me. After a few more minutes, they both slowly moved in my direction. Before they got close, she stood and signed, 'Sit still. Not make noise. He not hurt you.'

The male was somewhat larger than Bonnie. I could see he had some sort of woven bag hanging from his shoulder by a woven strap. He sat directly in front of me and reached out to touch my hand. Then he reached up and took my cap off my head and looked at it. I looked and Bonnie and signed, 'What should I do?'