In June, I finally managed to get to Uganda with the intention of photographing the chimps in Kibale forest. Arriving without any luggage (thanks Qatar airways!!!!) wasnt a great start, but as I soon as I arrived and met my great guide Alex,I knew it would be a great week.

The chimps were simply amazing. They are wonderful animals and I cant express the enjoyment I had watching them. The behaviour and expressions are so similar to humans with whom we share so much DNA, it’s astonishing.

The group was over 100 strong and led by a 33 year old male known as ‘Mfuze’ (or ‘orphan’). He appeared a confident and very relaxed leader of his group.

I had very close encounters with many of the groups males. The females with youngsters tend to be quite shy and stay away. Within this dense forest, being just a few metres away makes them invisible! One female was not fussed and it was great to see her with her baby

There were a few young ones who were quite curious and happy to pose.

Although most of the time, they all just loaf around, they will suddenly all rise and move off into the forest at quite a fast pace, making it quite challenging to keep up with them!

The group can be very noisy at times as well. When they start ‘shouting’ , it is amazing.

There were other fascinating primates in the forest. My favourite is the red tailed monkey. So cute!

Black and white colobus monkeys also visited the lodge area every evening.

The other monkey that I saw was the red colobus, a favourite prey of the chimps!

There wer plenty of interesting birds around as well. The best was this lovely pair of pin tailed wydahs, with the male desperately trying to impress the female.

The chimps were the main target however, and they really amazed me all the time I was with them. They are large heavy animals but very agile in the trees.

My favourite image shows Mfuze sitting quietly in the forest taking a moment to reflect on some matter of importance in his life.