Practice English Speaking&Listening with: #106 Przez Świat na Fazie - Sanktuarium Szympansów | Sierra Leone

So yeah, I left Freetown

and am now on my way to a... chimpanzee sanctuary.

A very interesting place, it's not a ZOO,

but it's where they prepare,

well, rescued captive chimpanzees,

the ones who were hurt, and so on,

prepare them for their... return to the jungle.

So it's a dope place.

The problem is,

it's up in

the mountains.

And I couldn't drive there.

Welcome to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary.

These are the pictures of small chimpanzees available for adoption.

The reason they opened this place

is because several decades ago, the locals

hunted the chimpanzees for food

or to make them their pets,

ummmm, to sell them to a circus.

And so on. So, basically,

so the local government, or more like, what to call them... the volunteers,

caught these chimpanzees...

I mean, caught... took them away and brought them here

to prepare them for freedom.

Back in the day, there were about 20,000 wild chimpanzees in Sierra Leone,

now the number is down to 1,500 - 2,000.

So, basically, they were obviously decimated.

Yep.

I'm interrupting the guide- sadly their presence is obligatory.

The chimpanzee is going nuts.

They say they're here

in the cages to... recover. Guess it's a psychiatric ward.

From what I see.

Okay, lemme explain to you in simple words what this place is. Basically,

a quarantine area. I just found out why they bring them here, for other reasons than injuries

cause that... obvious.

It's also a place for those that won't assimilate.

We may say that the quarantine is like

well, like jail to them.

Any chimpanzee that beats up others

and shows in many other ways that it wont assimilate with other species,

wait, not species but...

with... its comrades,

is being locked up here.

The maximum sentence is 90 days,

but it'll be back here if it doesn't change.

And they say it works.

It works because they become more friendly

and cautious. It's amazing, really.

Truly.

Because... ummm...

well, fuck, anyone who doesn't fit into society,

well... goes to jail and will stay there

if they refuse to assimilate.

And if they won't change, they'll go back there.

So we know which one's Kyle.

We've got a Kyle here.

He's just stirring shit, looking for a fight.

He's a total dick. But hey I'm just joking, Kyles are cool dudes.

At least some of them.

Chimpanzees are the closest relatives to humans, genetically speaking.

They say...

They assumed that 98% of our DNA was identical in the past,

now the number's lower, let's say...

to reach a compromise let's say that it's about 90%, maybe more, maybe less...

What matters it the fact that we... many many years ago...

we had a common ancestor. They were not a part of the homo group,

if I may say so,

and they've been like this ever since. The best thing is,

for example, chimpanzees,

they have something like- well, they leave in groups, or in herds, let's call it that way,

And, of course, they need a leader.

Well, we, humans, also need a leader,

in Poland we have a leader that we voted for and chimpanzees also pick their leaders.

Or maybe... he took the power by force, who knows.

I'm not sure.

It's like that sometimes, in Poland...

there were also leaders who took the power by force, so basically,

you know how it is.

Chimpanzees are our closest relatives... uhh,

the best thing is they can be even 170 cm tall.

annnd... the good thing is I'm 1 cm taller so I'm not related to chimpanzees.

Luckily.

Umm, in the wild they can live up to 40 years.

And they say they can reach the age of 60

in, like, ZOOs or, basically, in captivity.

Well, I hope that at least...

10% of these chimpanzees go back to their normal life

in the jungle, that'd be a huge success.

Can't really say what the actual number is.

Seeing a chimpanzee in its... natural habitat

is possible, I may even see some tomorrow.

But it's...

really damn difficult, that's why I came here today, especially since it's not a ZOO.

It's wasn't made for the tourists but for the chimpanzees to

ummm, rescue them, and the good thing is, without a doubt,

that they... Even though they

are held in captivity here, they are being prepared for future freedom,

and, what's more,

wanna know why you gotta pay $15 to get in here?

So they can feed them.

It's fucking simple.

That's it.

This part here is more like the actual jungle. So,

they have a jail, or if you prefer, a hospital.

An isolation ward. Then they have a less strict isolation ward.

And this is the land of freedom. The good thing is,

I can tell you what's the deal with... the small chimpanzees.

Like with humans,

During the first two years, the small ones

sticks to his mom

literally, by grabbing her hair, and won't let go.

And then the mom raises it for a few years,

they say that a chimpanzee will stay with its mom for 8 or 10 years,

so...

it's an important lesson

that they're just like us, we also stick to our moms for the first few years,

well, I was a total brat when I was barely 6 years old,

but, well...

let's say that my mom tried to keep me by her side.

You know how it is.

And they have...

a really fucking good life here.

They got food.

And learn about life.

Oh, and remember that chimpanzees are omnivorous,

which means they eat everything.

Everything that's not poisonous, of course. So they eat fruit and vegetables,

fruit, vegetables, ants...

they hunt as well, in their natural habitat,

they hunt...

uhhh, animals and eat meat, but it's not really common.

But they do.

What's more, the saddest thing I've got to mention,

well, decades ago,

the estimated number of wild chimpanzees was at two million,

now they say there are 50,000 wild Chimpanzees in whole Africa.

Honestly, it...

sucks.

Fuck, there are people who... eat chimpanzees, who hunt them

and eat them. Sure, during civil wars, like the one in Sierra Leone

20 years ago,

then, fuck, I can understand that, because if you're fighting to survive, you'd even eat your dog.

Ummm.

Or even your wife.

Cause you won't eat yourself.

I'm joking.

If I had children or something, I'd have to think hard... who to sacrifice.

Me or her, depends if she were good or bad. Were she bad,

if many years later it had turned out she were bad,

then I'd... fucking kill her to feed me and the kids.

But, generally speaking, it's true that...

anyone who eats them for fun or during some rituals

is just a human trash and...

no matter what

beliefs you have, you just can't do that.

Chimpanzees are the last animals I'd eat because they're our closest relatives.

Besides, uhh,

mr Cejrowski once explained that when it comes to visiting the jungle,

that's just not for everyone.

And why?

Because, uhh, imagine that

you're in the jungle and they serve you soup.

And a kid emerges from this soup.

Of course it's not a kid but a small monkey, but

a monkey in a soup looks like a newborn baby, a premature one even.

So basically- even an extremely premature baby.

But the thing is... you g... y...

Fuck, I couldn't swallow anything like that easily.

Of course I'm not saying I won't visit a jungle, I will probably do that.

But you gotta be tough.

Cause, I personally don't like meat, I just eat the ones I like, and

things like. I dunno, a goat's head or something is just too much.

And... If I were to eat...

a fucking monkey soup,

like, you know-

Can't really blame me though, I'd never eat a monkey but in the jungle you gotta eat what you can.

But, honestly, fuck, you know,

it'd be extremely hard to eat, but I'd be fine.

But now ask yourself

if you'd wanna go to the Amazon jungle

and eat a soup made of

a small monkey that look like a premature baby.

I believe that nowadays it's more of a tourist attraction so you won't really experience that,

but he probably talked about exploring the real jungle

and staying with the local tribes for months.

So not a typical tourist trip, but a true,

a true, you know, adventure.

Even though... some chimpanzees can be even 170 cm tall-

he's talking so I'll move,

they weigh...

two times less than humans, so

about 40 kg.

More or less. Yeah well, fuck, I took my own weight into consideration,

girls weigh like 50 kg, so...

The smaller ones, you know, not the 175 cm tall ones.

What I'm trying to say is, although they're

well,

as tall as they are,

even though they are, let's say, half as heavy as we are,

they're still about 7 times stronger than us.

so when- why it's a bad idea to keep a chimpanzee at home?

Until it's young, then all's good.

But then there's gonna be a tragedy, basically,

it can hurt you, even during a playtime he can fuck you up

and kill you or at least make you a disabled person.

One of the examples was Michael Jackson who owned a monkey.

Well, not a monkey but a chimpanzee whom he befriended, and he

well, was a true animal lover. And yes, I know about

the scandals that surrounded him, I dunno, I haven't

seen any proofs myself, I'm just talking about

the chimpanzee he owned and after a few years,

he had to give it away to a place like this one,

dunno exactly where, maybe even this one here.

Maybe somewhere else, dunno, but he did,

umm, give it away cause it became too strong and dangerous.

And I saw a documentary where he visited it after a few years and the chimpanzee...

well, recognized him, so

it's a nice story. And it's a great documentary,

I forgot its name but if you google "chimpanzee Michael Jackson"-

fuck, that sounded kinda racists cause...

he was born black but died white.

See? It's possible.

But the thing is,

he did have a chimpanzee that was his best friend and...

then was forced to give it away.

This board has some crucial information.

That... what we have in common with chimpanzees are the...

facial expressions.

Expressions, gestures.

Imagine that they express affection to each other.

And by that I mean they kiss, maybe not like us...

like, all the way... but they do kiss and

hug and are just...

fuck I dunno how to say it,

they're just cool with each other.

Of course some end up fighting, but

numerous elements of their behavior are similar to that of humans.

Sure, other animals such as dogs

also hug you with their heads, or something,

dunno if it's their natural behavior or not, but

in the case of chimpanzees,

it really...

is...

dope.

Hear me out,

the guide just said something that made me think of Poland, of Polish women,

of Polish mothers,

basically, if you try

killing

the chimpanzee kid,

you'll have to kill the whole family first.

Cause they will defend to the fucking death.

With all their strength.

To... defend the child. And only if you kill them all,

the kid's yours.

But if you don't,

then you'd have, I dunno, use a bow.

But if you planned on doing it with bare hands,

or something like that, then

no way Jose.

An interesting trivia with chimpanzees- about chimpanzees

is that they have their own language, a primitive one but still.

Well, not really a language, but

a set of gestures...

the word gestures, if I may say so, not even words but things like 'oo'.

But they still have one and they say if they're angry,

if they want something, if they're hungry...

They can alarm each other if a predator appears and so on.

Check this out.

It teaches us the... well... uhh...

what their 'hooing' means.

It's so dope. You know, a dog barks just for the sake of it,

sometimes because it's happy, or because

there's some dude by the fence,

and squeals when it's sad, wails when it's, dunno, worried,

although I'm not sure if it's like that, but what I mean is

that's kinda like that.

But chimpanzees share information.

With their 'hoo hoo'.

Like, "A lion's coming".

Although I'm not sure if

lions live where chimpanzees do,

so before you say "fuuuuuck you don't know shit",

well I'm not an expert, I dunno where everything, where...

every animal lives.

This is amazing. This dude's calling the chimpanzees

by their names

and they come and go over here

and that's their house, I believe,

and it's amazing, because... because they know what he wants.

Oh, there's an old,

old chimpanzee over there, it's clear he's an old male.

But you can't see him. Just like that snake back in the jungle, remember?

I saw it, you didn't.

It bothers me to this day, cause peop- you guys still ask

where that knase- snake is.

It's coming.

You know, maintaining such sanctuary

and taking care of the

chimpanzees who feel free while in captivity

is very easy, and why?

All you need is a fence.

Well, to be totally honest with you... I believe it's an electric fence.

I see some wires attached to it that might be vile- live wires, but I'm not sure.

Here's the deal.

Sure, chimpanzees can jump, but not as... far as other monkeys.

So I doubt it could jump from that tree to the one over here.

So?

If it cannot jump over an electric fence, and no it's not like the ones in... the concentration camps,

it's just like,

you know, fuck, the ones we have for cattle,

If you've ever been to a countryside and saw cows grazing in the field

surrounded by a wire,

and if you'd touch it you'd feel like 9 volts kicking your ass,

some of us even touched it with a tongue,

but I prolly shouldn't brag.

That way, they're just

protected

and it prevents them from running away and being caught by the locals.

So it's dope. And yeah, all the... typical monkeys...

the, let's say, 'flying' ones,

could not be... contained...

with such measures, they'd easily jump from that tree to this fucking one using just one hand.

Yep.

Did you see that?

I'm sure it's an electric fence.

And I saw some bulbs- well, not bulbs, something like an indicator in...

fuck, where was that...

an indicator in... in a beetle van.

That's what these bulbs look like.

All over the fence. So I'm sure it's electric.

Personally, I'm satisfied.

Glad I came here, even though...

No, it's not really a tourist attraction, we're in Sierra Leone after all.

No one fucking comes here.

No one. Besides,

I've got about 200,000 followers on Facebook and I think...

that maybe 200 of them could've been here.

Doubt the number could be higher.

Out of those 200,000.

I could be wrong, though.

So, generally speaking, it's not a place like Gaaambiaaa...

like Thailand and so on.

I mean, country.

So, umm, I think this place's main purpose is to help.

But since whites want to come here-

Frick, she almost fell.

I'm following this lady in case she... falls and needs help.

I had a grandma too.

And I'd want someone to help her too. If she had troubles during a walk.

Sadly, both of them passed away.

So, basically,

A girl joined us

and she's kinda like a guide.

I'm guarding... the back.

She's at the front.

If there are some hurdles, we take the lady by the hands.

It's amazing that she's traveling at her age. But...

it's not that easy.

That's and example I wanna share

so that you can move your asses

from your fucking chairs.

Go and make your dreams come true, don't wait till you're 60 or 70.

Maybe you'll afford it,

but you won't have any strength left.

Well, what kind of country is Sierra Leone?

You prolly know it from a movie called Blood Diamond.

Personally, it is

one of the best films I've seen in my life

about...the...

Afric- No, it's the best movie about Africa I've ever seen, and before you say "The White Masai, duh!".

"The White Masai". For fuck's sake, it's a romance that's not really romantic later on.

But speaking of drama movies,

DiCaprio is... he's my role model, that's why I look like that.

DiCaprio was... just... really freaking dope.

Sierra Leone... had a civil war in the 90s all the way to 2001.

People had their arms cut off... It was a total disaster.

Imagine that it was so catastrophic

that tens of thousands people lost their lives.

I think that about 2 million people flew the country.

Due to the ethnic cleansing

carried out by the rebels.

So, basically speaking, the rebels, or the mafia,

the mafia that, of course, supervised the

diamond trade and excavation, just like it was shown in the Blood Diamond movie.

So, they looted the villages,

killed the grown ups

and took away the children.

They separated the children from... from the grown ups.

In order to brainwash and train them to be soldiers.

Similarly to Hitlerjugend.

So they simply brainwashed them.

And it was easy when these kids were young, like 9, 10 or 11 years old.W

Easy to manipulate.

That's the case.

And all the... adult... strong males who avoided murder,

they were, imagine that... sent to work in the diamond mines.

And what can I say... Horrible things happened here and to this day,

to this day there are

some illegal mines

but all the big ones now belong to some Sierra Leone Diamond Company or whatever.

Basically, uhh... We may say it's now fully legal, they don't cut off arms anymore.

Uhh.

I'm sure murders still happens, and prolly on a bigger scale than in Poland.

But still,

it's... quite... safe here.

Of course, it's still easy for them to mug us, tourists.

But I doubt they'd kill you...

Unless you end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But that's up to you.

I like this place. Not because it's like, you know, 'omigosh what a wonderful place',

but...

I could see chimpanzees not in a ZOO-like place,

but in their semi-natural habitat,

minus the fact that people feed them.

Fuck, not sure if I can film this.

It's really steep here.

Couldn't drive here on a motorbike.

But I KNOW I'm a fatass.

But I was... born that way.

No I wasn't, I just didn't take care of myself.

First, I love cooking.

What's more, I fucking love to eat.

Even when... I'm on a trip, I eat as much as I can

because America

was a different story.

I can't starve like that again, that was the worst time of my life.

'I've got money but I won't eat, I'm gonna starve

because it looks good on camera". Nope.

Got money? Eat. Got no money? Starve.

It was like that cause I had no choice.

Not saying I'm hella rich, but I can afford a 5 zlotys dish

without worrying that

I paid too much.

I talked too much.

But it's good. You prolly don't know but I had a crisis, spent the last 2 weeks in bed.

I cried, felt miserable, complained about my unhappy life.

Fuck, I'm only human.

Depressive thoughts fuck me up as well.

And it happened again.

Two weeks.

But I'm back among the living.

Here I am.

And will always be!