African Animal Adventure!

2/2/2019

Today Farmer Tantoh drove us to the Mefou Primate Sanctuary, located in a forested area outside of Yaounde. A primate is a classification of mammals that includes gorillas, monkeys and other similar animals, including humans! Hunters, also known as poachers, have tried to kill these animals and sell them. They leave the babies, who can’t survive on their own, so the sanctuary rescues them and takes care of them in this natural environment. There are about 400 animals here, including gorillas, monkeys, chimpanzees, mandrills, baboons and guenons (a type of monkey).
Do you see the HUGE tree we are standing by? The wood from this type of tree is used to build ships. There were many other types of trees in the forest. The people in Cameroon have discovered how to use the leaves and bark for medicine.
As we drove home from the sanctuary, we saw a man selling handmade African drums, so we stopped and each purchased one. We stopped by the market and purchased more bright-colored African cloth, and headed home for a delicious dinner of spaghetti with a fresh tomato sauce made with fish. We ended the evening receiving gifts of Kaba dresses from the man whose house we are staying in, and we sang and played drums together.

45 Comments

Matthew Crounse

2/4/2019 09:23:57 am

Are you going to garden and harvest just like Farmer and if so, what is interesting about it?

Ms. Calarco

2/8/2019 08:14:12 pm

Dear Matthew,
We were able to visit a farm for two days. While we didn’t do much harvesting, we did prepare and eat the huckleberry plant.
Thanks for the great question!
Ms. Calarco

devlin

2/4/2019 09:35:26 am

what is it like to be close to all the different animals

2/8/2019 08:14:53 pm

Dear Devlin,
It was great to see the animals up close. However, the chimpanzees did not want to be friends. One of them actually took some poop and threw it at us! Gross! (And no, we didn’t take any pictures).
Thanks for the great question!
Ms. Calarco

Mr. Kennedy's

2/4/2019 09:56:14 am

How many gorillas is the sanctuary able to hold and what do they do to get them back living in the wild?

2/8/2019 08:19:28 pm

Dear Mr. Kennedy’s Class,
Right now, the sanctuary can hold about thirty gorillas. To get them ready to go back to their natural habitat, they get them healthy.
Thanks for the great question!
Ms. Calarco

Martina

2/4/2019 11:38:23 am

What where the drums made out of? :))))))))

2/8/2019 08:21:06 pm

Dear Martina,
That’s a great question! The drums were made out of wood, cow hide and rope.
Thanks for writing!
Ms. Calarco

Olivia

2/4/2019 11:42:32 am

What kind of fish did you use to make the spaghetti sauce.

2/9/2019 07:25:17 pm

Dear Olivia,
That’s a great question! The fish was mackerel (and it was delicious!)
Thanks for writing!
Ms. Calarco

Alayna - Herman Ave.

2/4/2019 03:00:56 pm

What is the name of the tree that you are standing by?

Mrs. Rice

2/9/2019 07:42:53 pm

Dear Alayna,

That’s a great question! It’s called an Obeche tree.
Thanks for writing!
Mrs. Rice

Hailey- Herman Ave.

2/4/2019 03:02:17 pm

How many hours was the flight to Cameroon?

2/9/2019 07:29:49 pm

Dear Hailey,
To get to Cameroon, we had to flight to Paris, France first which took about six hours. After we spent two days in Paris, we took a flight to Yaounde, Cameroon that took a total of — hours, which included a stop in Bangui, Central Africa.
Thanks for the great question!
Ms. Rice

loganwood

2/5/2019 09:12:34 am

Do you have any other songs?

Mrs. Mlod

2/9/2019 07:29:14 pm

Dear Logan,
Farmer Tantoh loves to sing and dance; he does have other songs, which we’ll ask him to sing when he comes to Auburn.
Thanks for the great question!
Mrs. Mlod

GraceRoseRaymond

2/5/2019 09:14:02 am

What is your favorite animal there?

2/9/2019 07:31:23 pm

Dear Grace,
I think my favorite animal is the colorful lizards that we see (although the gorillas and chimpanzees were pretty cool, too!)
Thanks for the great question!
Mrs. Mlod

cameranpellett

2/5/2019 09:15:58 am

how is it down there have fun

2/9/2019 07:43:38 pm

It’s great here, Cameran!
Thanks -
Mrs. Mlod

Lacie Grant link

2/5/2019 09:21:22 am

How is Cameroon are you having fun.What it like,how many kids live there, how many people live there.What it look like.Thanks.LacieGrant

2/9/2019 07:33:22 pm

Dear Lacie,
You asked some great questions! There are about twenty five million people who live in this country! It is called “Little Africa” because the different regions of the country have different climates and cultures.
Thanks for the questions!
Mrs. Mlod

Skylar Hogan

2/5/2019 10:16:44 pm

Was The Fish Spaghetti Atleast Good Also Whats The Diffrent Cultures They Have That We Have?

2/9/2019 07:34:36 pm

Dear Skylar,
The fish spaghetti sauce was really good! I think I might try to make it when I get home. I’ll tell you more about the culture when I get back.
Thanks for writing!
Mrs. Mlod

Rielly link

2/6/2019 08:42:40 am

What is your favorite food you have ate there?

2/9/2019 07:35:40 pm

Hi Rielly -
Hmmm - I would have to say my favorite food has been the fried plantains (although the grubs were pretty good too :-)
Thanks for the great question!
Mrs. Mlod

Ms. Rose'S Class Genesee Elementary

2/6/2019 09:06:15 am

What is the name of that type of tree?

2/9/2019 07:44:11 pm

Hi Ms. Rose’ class,
The tree is called an Obeche tree.
Great question!
Mrs. Mlod

Mr. Annal's Class Genesee Elementary

2/6/2019 09:09:13 am

What has the highest temperature been since you've been there?

2/9/2019 07:50:15 pm

Dear Mr. A’s Class,
Cameroon is hot most of the year because it is so close the the equator. The temperature every day ranges from the 70’s to the 90’s. The higest temperature we had when we were there was 95 degrees!
Thanks for the question!
Mrs. Mlod

Grant

2/6/2019 09:31:06 am

Did the little gorilla in the photo lose his arm from a poacher?

Mrs. Mlod, Mrs. Rice & Ms. Calarco

2/9/2019 07:47:02 pm

Dear Grant,
Yes, the little gorilla was shot a couple of times by poachers, in the head and in the arm. Unfortunately he lost his arm. We were happy that he was rescued and placed in the Primate Sanctuary.
Thanks for the great question!

BRADEN

2/6/2019 09:32:50 am

did you see any humans and why were they in there.

Mrs. Mlod, Ms. Rice & Ms. Calarco

2/9/2019 07:48:01 pm

Dear Braden,
Yes, we did see humans at the Primate Sanctuary. There were workers who took care of the animals, and there were also visitors like us who came to see them. We saw Western Highland Gorillas; the ones with the silver hair on their backs are the adult males and called silverbacks.
Thanks for the questions!

Bella

2/6/2019 09:33:50 am

vary epic.

nate bennett

2/6/2019 09:37:45 am

how did the kid learn to play the drums

2/9/2019 07:45:52 pm

Dear Nate,
The kid playing the drums was Farmer Tantoh’s son, Godwill. He learned how to play the drums from Farmer Tantoh. Farmer Tantoh is going to play for us when he comes to Auburn.
Thanks for the great question!

Mitchell

2/6/2019 09:39:20 am

How did the animals interact when they saw you?

2/10/2019 10:43:47 am

Mitchell,
I will tell you about the chimpanzees. When the chimpanzees saw us they became a bit upset, in fact one chimpanzee even threw poop at us!
Thank you for the great comment,
Ms. Calarco

Charlie Carbonaro

2/6/2019 09:39:37 am

How many species of primates live at the sanctuary?

Aisha

2/6/2019 09:41:59 am

Are all of the gorillas rescued?

2/9/2019 07:49:06 pm

Dear Aisha,
Yes, all of the Gorillas have been rescued. Many were orphaned when there parents were killed by hunters and poachers.
Thanks for the question!

Braden

2/6/2019 09:43:26 am

i read it wrong what types of gorillas did you see

Emma

2/6/2019 11:01:08 am

The animals are so cute did you see the animals homes are like.

Olivia Clarkson

2/6/2019 11:33:12 am

whats the most interesting animal you have came across?

Where you able to pet any of the animals that were there?

African Animal Adventure!

Leave a Reply.

About Us:

Archives