Meet Lolabu
Gender:
Origin:
Arrival Date:
Age at Arrival:
Surrogate Mama:
Fun Facts:
Male
Sankuru Province
February 10th, 2019
3 years
Mama Micheline
Lolabu is kind to all and loves to eat surgarcane!
Kind-Hearted Lolabu
​
Meet Lolabu! This little guy arrived at Lola ya Bonobo in March of 2019, and has adapted well to sanctuary life. He is very playful and was kind to everyone in the nursery, bonobos and mamas alike.
The Search
​
Like many of the other nursery bonobos, Lolabu was a victim of illegal wildlife trafficking. His captors had hidden him away in a dark warehouse, but thankfully, local law enforcement received a tip about his whereabouts.
With their help, we tried to rescue him, but when we arrived, he’d been moved. Law enforcement kept at it until they finally found Lolabu and confiscated him. Immediately after, we were able to bring him to Lola ya Bonobo and welcome our newest baby with open arms.
​
Path to Lola Ya Bonobo
​
Fortunately, Lolabu’s time with the wildlife traffickers was short, and we were grateful to see that he was in relatively good shape when he arrived. Although he was very shy and very stressed, he wasn’t too malnourished, and he had a great appetite from day one. After his initial health checks, Lolabu was paired with Mama Micheline who was his devoted surrogate mother from that day on.
​
Lolabu was rescued around the same time as another baby bonobo, Ingende. To ease their transition, the two boys were introduced to each other during their period of quarantine from the other nursery bonobos. They quickly became fast friends and remained close until Ingende's heartbreaking, sudden death from EMCV in late 2020.
​
Flourishing Days
​
Today, Lolabu is doing great. He’s made amazing progress since his arrival, and we have big hopes for him in the future. Here at Lola, little Lolabu has found a loving family and many friends to run and play with. Although he is afraid of human men, he trusts all the mothers in the nursery. We hope someday he will be a good candidate for release into the wild, where he can roam free and start a big family to help his endangered species.
​
In November 2021, Lolabu and four of his friends (Tshimbulu, Diyoko, Omandja and Mpongo) graduated from the nursery, departed from their surrogate mamas, and joined the adult and older juvenile bonobos in Enclosure 2.
​
At Lola ya Bonobo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we have a team of caregivers for rescued bonobos. Meet our other Bonobos Omandja, Balangala, Diyoko, Tshimbulu, Lutula, Semendwa, Lolabu, Loto, Ikela, Maya, Bola, Owila, Ikoto, Lenda, Lombo.
To join our mission to save lives and Rain forest please Donate here.