From a young age, Galician veterinarian Rebeca Atencia (Ferrol, 46 years old) had a strong desire to save the world. Today she is director of the Jane Goodall Institute in Congo. He loved nature, birds, trees. He wanted to protect animals from the dangers of civilization. One event changed his life: the burning of the Serantes eucalyptus plantations on the outskirts of the city, where he played with his brothers. Jaime, his friend the ranger, showed the children the animals he had saved: baby foxes and eagles that he was able to save from the flames. This had a deep impact on the girl Rebeca and showed her a path in life that she lives with passion. “I had a great desire to do something for animals. I wanted to help them, like Jaime had done,” he says in a park on the outskirts of Madrid.
Attention, big eyes, bright smile, she is as tender as she is determined. At his side, you can easily feel the amazing strength and determination, but also the innocence of a person whose heart is moved. The girl who lives inside her and who knew from the age of nine that she wanted to be a veterinarian appeared at any time. And he seems to insist that his story about rescuing great apes in the jungle is informed by that childhood call. Many people ask him how he ended up in Africa to save chimpanzees. It wasn’t a decision overnight, he tells them. It was his life’s path. During his studies, he tried his best to work in zoos, safaris and rescue centers. In 2005, he went to the Congo to work with an NGO to reintroduce orphaned chimpanzees. There he lived alone in a small hut and dedicated his life to animals. For her it was lucky to live in the jungle like Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey, alone and surrounded by chimpanzees. There he crossed paths with Goodall himself. They both clicked. Rebeca reminded Goodall of herself at that age, chasing her own dream. The British primatologist was impressed by this young woman “who was unafraid to work hard and could live without the basic comforts of life,” she writes on her own website. He felt completely at home in the jungle. And Goodall knew how to look it. In fact, he immediately offered him the job of running the largest chimpanzee rehabilitation center in Africa, the Tchimpounga Center. Since then, he has dedicated himself to rescuing, caring for and rescuing chimpanzees that are victims of poaching and illegal trafficking.
The vet is the woman in the military shirt standing next to Jane Goodall in the now-viral video of Ulengue’s hug. In it, the rescued chimpanzee is seen hugging Goodall after leaving the cage before entering the jungle. It’s a shocking moment. The same animal that is excited at the farewell also jumps into the arms of Atencia, its rescuer. She was the one who took care of him when he arrived at the rescue center as a baby. He was extremely dehydrated, malnourished and depressed and she cared for him until he grew up and could return to the jungle. Atencia now lives between Congo and Madrid, where she has settled to focus on her efforts to raise funds and give her son the opportunity to have a more normalized childhood without losing the core of growing up free and wild.
In the city, he dons mountain clothing and drives around in a dilapidated car, which he abuses like his jeeps on African roads. His son is named Kutu, after a chimpanzee that he healed and with whom he developed a very special relationship. This animal saved her life by saving her from a violent specimen that bit her badly in the head. As he felt the blood running down his cheeks, he thought he was going to die right there. She cursed being there, lost in the jungle. She wondered who would tell her that she had gone so far to save wild animals that would end up killing her. But Kutu, his chimpanzee friend, appeared out of nowhere and made his escape easier. Remember he looked at her and said, “Go, you have one second to leave.”
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Atencia worked with Juan Luis Arsuaga to study the facial recognition technology the paleontologist developed in Atapuerca and use it to protect chimpanzees. He and his team taught him how to use programs that scan an object from photos and provide a three-dimensional image. This technology, photogrammetry, is used during excavations to obtain a 3D image of the site. Using the digitized faces of the primates, they can cross-breed them using an algorithm developed by the University of California and use cameras to recognize the primates in the jungle. The aim is to ensure that they do not fall victim to poaching.
She and Arsuaga met when the Spanish Society of Geography awarded her the National Prize and the paleontologist later called her to interview her on his national radio show. He is very interested in primates and always consults them on many questions. Atapuerca’s father, responding via email, highlights his courage and ability to lead teams. Many are calling her Jane Goodall’s successor, but she makes light of the matter. He says that Jane is unique, that she has inspired his life and that it is an honor to be with her. And he returns to his beloved chimpanzees, emphasizing that saving them is saving ourselves.
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