Living the dream at Congo's chimp rescue centre

Midleton man Mark O’Riordan tells Caroline Delaney about his life at a Congo chimp sanctuary.

A TYPICAL day for one Cork man starts with doling out milk to 13 babies. Mark O’Riordan from Midleton then feeds dozens of adult guests, checks an electric fence, plants some fruit trees, takes some photos for Facebook, builds a few climbing frames, and dishes out more food before his day’s work is done.

The ‘very important guests’ are the rescued chimpanzees at a primate rescue centre in Lwiro village in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where Mark, 36, is sanctuary supervisor.