A young chimpanzee has a new lease on a life thanks to an Edmonton-area teacher who helped him escape a zoo in war-torn Iraq for a chance at returning to Africa.
Spencer Sekyer spent three years negotiating with government officials for Manno’s freedom. He never considered giving up on the playful chimp with the soulful eyes.
“When I see animals suffering, it doesn’t matter where it is. I just feel compelled to act,” Sekyer told CTV Edmonton.
He travelled to northern Iraq in the summer of 2013, and met Manno on a tour of the Duhok Zoo. The connection was instant.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes. This little chimpanzee named Manno was being a delightful little brat, raiding all of the goodies from the store. Like an unruly spoiled child, Manno delighted in the savory snacks and loved his sunflower seeds,” Sekyer wrote in a 2014 blog post.
He figures something must have gotten lost in translation, because it wasn’t long before he was granted access to the entire zoo and tasked with caring for the baby chimp that would snuggle into his chest and fall asleep in his arms.
Manno seemed happy, but Sekyer worried about the conditions at the zoo. Footage posted to YouTube shows primates, bears, and lions living in small, sparse metal cages with garbage littering the floor. Locals seemed to enjoy provoking the primates and trying to get them to smoke cigarettes, according to Sekyer’s blog.
“I could predict what is going to happen,” wrote Sekyer. “Eventually Manno will be uncontrollable for the zoo or at the very least be confined to cement and bar prison.”
He knew he had to help, but had no idea where to start.
“(I) went back to my hotel room and immediately started emailing whoever I could think of,” said Sekyer.
It was a slow long process, but the hard work paid off. The two said their goodbyes at a bittersweet reunion outside the zoo, before Manno, dressed in a long sleeved T-shirt and rainbow coloured tights, was ushered into a custom-made crate and lifted on a cargo jet bound for Africa.
The young chimp lovingly nuzzled Sekyer one last time, a thank you of sorts for a return ticket to his natural habitat.
“I wanted him to be exactly where he is,” said Sekyer. “In Africa. In a sanctuary.”
With a report from CTV Edmonton’s Dez Melenka
