Alphie, the two-year-old chimp recently rescued from the man who smuggled him into South Africa, has been whisked away in style to an orphanage in the heart of the Zambian rainforest.

On his flight to freedom to the Chimfunshi chimp orphanage, 86km west of the Copperbelt town of Chingola, he was put in a cage on a seat at the back of the plane, where he was treated to a feast of fresh fruit.

Alphie's arrival at the orphanage ended an incredible 5 000km journey from a pavement in the Congo to a garage in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg and back to central Africa.

When he arrived at Chimfunshi last Friday, he squealed with delight and leapt into the arms of David Siddle, the man who will be his surrogate father until the day he dies.

Holding the "Chimp Man of Africa" around the neck, Alphie looked across the yard and yelped loudly as he laid eyes on other chimps who had been brought to the world's largest place of safety for chimps.

"He's a little madman," said Siddle, laughing, hugging and kissing Alphie. "This is a crzay place, but it's all right. We've got too many chimps already, but we've never turned one down," said David, who runs Chimfunshi with his wife, Sheila, who doubles as mother to the chimps.

Alphie has become the 70th member of the chimp family at the orphanage they started 16 years ago.

Alphie's initial nightmare stay in South Africa was brought to the attention of nature conservation officials by the neighbours of the Krugersdorp trucker who bought him in the Congo. They blew the whistle after hearing Alphie's screams.

"We made every effort to get the little mane back to his own kind," said Cora Bailey, who took care of Alphie while he was in South Africa.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare stepped in and got the wheels rolling by sponsoring Alphie's relocation.

On his first night at the sanctuary, he slept in a cage in the lounge of the Siddel home under the watchful eye of Sheila, who slept on a sofa next to him while holding his hand.

The folowing day was a big one for Alphie - it was the first time since he was sold in the Congo that he would come into physical contact with other chimps.

But Alphie, although nervous at first, surprised everyone, including the Siddles, by clambering up trees and having mock fights with his siblings only an hour after meeting them. And soon he was walking arm in arm with Louise - a chimp of the same age. ET, who has assumed leadership of the group, became protective towards Alphie.

"I couldn't believe it," said Sheila, when the chimps arrived back at the camp. "Normally, it takes a lot longer for strange chimps to be accepted by a group."

ET got her name because she has only one finger on her right hand after poachers smashed the other four.

Among Alphie's new playmates is Pal - the first chimp to be taken in by the Siddles, in 1983. Pal was confiscated from poachers in what was then Zaire and brought to the orphanage. Less than two years old and weighing only 7.5kg, he was very sick when he arrived. He was malnourished, had a gaping wound on the left side of his face and his back teeth had been smashed, presumably in an attempt to prevent him from biting his captors, according to the Siddles.

He was severely dehydrated, suffering from acute diarrhoea, and there was no hope that he would survive. But under the constant care, love and guidance of the Siddles, Pal's life has taken on new meaning.

And, although the chimps - ET, Stephan, Lousie, Roxy and Barbie - did not seem much bigger than Alphie, Bailey, like a nervous, protective mother said: "It's like whenever my own son played rugby at school, th eopposing teams always looked much bigger."

By the second night, Sheila was convinced that Alphie was ready to share quarters with the other chimps, but before being tucked in for the night, he was fed a specially brewed tea and baby porridge - his favourite.

Sarah Scarth, the welfare fund's emergency relief co-ordinator, who accompanied Alphie to Zambia, said: "It was incredible to see the elation on Alphie's face when he saw the other chimps at Chimfunshi for the first time.

"Hearing him cry and shout was really a privilege. I have also become fond of Alphie and will miss him when I leave. Chimpanzees are highly endangered and the fund is delighted to have been able to save this animal's life," she said.

The remote farm that the Siddles turned into an orphanage has been divided into one 3ha and one 6ha encolsure. Each is surrounded by huge concrete walls and electric fences keep the chimps in and poachers out. The Kafue River forms a natural boundary on one side of the farm.

According to Sheila, it sometimes took years for the more severely brutalised chimps to trust people again or to become part of a chimp family. But hours of gentle and persuasive therapy by her and her husband have proved successful in the treatment of the animals.

Most of the chimps have now fully recovered, both physically and emotionally, so much so that breeding has given the Siddles more mouths to feed. They have even bought a neighbouring farm to accommodate their growing family of primates.

On the new farm, the chimps will have the freedom to live as they would in the jungles that they once knew as home.

"Any one of our chimps that we have taken in are capable of living in the wild. But there is nowhere in the wild that is safe for them," said David. "Many people in African countries buy them for their meat, while others buy them to keep as pets. Although they're cute while they're young, chimps don't make good pets after about five or six years and they can also be dangerous to keep as pets," said David.

The trip tp Chimfunshi was sponsored courtesy of IFAW. Carte Blanche will broadcast an item on Alphie's journey this month.

- Santosh Beharie