"Fana", the oldest chimpanzee in Guinea and one of the last monkeys of a threatened species, has died alone at the age of 71, according to the local environment ministry.
Fana was born around 1951 in the jungles of Poso, one of the first places where scientists have proven the use of chimpanzees for tools, including stones, which these monkeys use to break oil palms.
With Fana´s departure, the number of chimpanzees in Poso is now limited to six or seven, half of them female, and two of them are no longer able to reproduce. There are even greater numbers of these monkeys in the Mount Nimba Reserve (where Boso is located), on the border between Ivory Coast and Guinea, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its unique and diverse flora and fauna.
Fana has appeared weak in recent months, the Guinean Ministry of Environment said on Facebook. She was paralyzed in her upper left side after she fell from a tree about a quarter of a century ago. She stopped climbing trees a long time ago, suffered from slow movement and lived alone.
She was found dead on September 19 in the sacred forest of Jabal Gabban.
She was buried on 20 September in the presence of actors in Poso. The news website "Guinea News" published pictures showing two men burying "Fana" in the ground, wrapped in a white cloth, surrounded by forest rangers and other witnesses.
This area is known for the special relationship between the people and monkeys in Poso, as chimpanzees live in the wild, but for generations they have shared land and resources with humans who view these animals as reincarnation of their ancestors and consider them to protect them from destruction.
Fana leaves two sons behind, after her daughter dies.
Fana, the largest chimpanzee in Guinea, dies
