Ferdinand rests alone in the forest.
The Damage is Done
In a quiet moment, Ferdinand made it to the ground undetected and slipped away towards the beach, fleeing to the north and ultimately to a valley where he could not be seen. When Fudge and the others realized and went to the beach to find him, they were too late. The attack was over, and the former king had vanished.
Fudge is a young adult male with unbroken and sharp canine teeth, and his attack left Ferdinand with severe wounds. Ferdinand was very badly hurt: small cuts on his face, his right arm and leg, a central slash-wound on his hindquarters which bled profusely, a deeper puncture-wound on his left rib-cage (on the flank), bad cuts on his left foot, and his left hand had three deep lacerations below the wrist. Although he had managed to run away quickly, once he was in the forest he moved very slowly, often just walking on his hind-legs because he was holding both wrists out in front of him to avoid putting pressure on them. In great pain he moved north and uphill, sleeping on the ground (chimpanzees usually sleep in trees), as he was unable to climb. Ferdinand, defeated and injured, could hear the group calling for days as they moved north and would break into a sprint to get further from his former loyal group, who were now a danger to him.
Over the next days, Ferdinand continued his slow progress to the north, learning to eat and climb again, licking his wounds. Though after the eighth day Ferdinand could not be tracked, field assistants believe he likely went to the valley for water and will continue to recover.
All the other males, his rivals, have seen him in full defeat. Ferdinand will never appear invincible again. His confidence, the key asset in any dominance relations, can never be fully restored.
