Colobus Trust

A Colobridge:

This is a simple ladder-like structure invented by the Colobus Trust which is put across the road to enable monkeys to cross safely between the forest on either side. As the number one monkey-killer in Diani, road traffic accidents continue to rob us of our population of monkeys.

In 1999 when I joined the Colobus Trust, I took a keen interest in wanting to know the significance of the Colobridges. My main focus was to see the factors considered before one was put up in an area. Territorial boundaries and crossing points formed the basis of my research and a Colobridge would be put up in areas where monkeys crossed more often. Diani has sixty eight families of Colobus monkeys; the Colobridges erected so far are only serving twenty two families. Helping more families of monkeys cross the road safely is ever challenging. More monkeys are still vulnerable to road accidents because there no Colobridges within their crossing points. The remaining families are still kept vulnerable to being killed on the road.

Galvanized wires, conduit pipes, rubber hose pipes, chain links, d-shackles, wire grips and turn buckles are what it takes to build a Colobridge. It takes passion to contribute towards building a Colobridge and it takes a great effort to help save the life of a monkey. To conserve heritage is expensive but it is almost impossible to regain it once lost.

John-Animal Welfare Officer and Field Assistant, Colobus Trust.

Last week we received information about a bush baby that had something stuck around its neck. Due to the fact that bush babies are nocturnal, a team was sent out to during the evening at about 7:45pm with everything prepared to try and capture it. We were treated to the rather surreal experience of listening to Queen while looking out in to the semi-darkness waiting for the bush baby to appear! During this time the gentleman who owned the house told us that he had been feeding this bush baby for several years. He first noticed at Christmas that it had what he thought was some plastic stuck around its neck and now it seemed to be causing it some problems. After about 30 minutes we were starting to get worried that the bush baby might not turn up when it was spotted making its way towards us.

After displaying some impressive acrobatic skills crossing from one tree to another on a telephone line (even more impressive when we discovered that one of its back legs didn’t actually have a foot) and then hesitantly sitting in the tree next to the table for a couple more minutes, the bush baby jumped down on to a chair and then up to the table. We let it eat a couple of chunks of banana, before Cara swooped the net down over it. As soon as the bush baby was in the net and we were able to take a closer look at what was around its neck, we could see that it wasn’t plastic but the top of a glass jar. Our hopes of a quick and easy re-release evaporated with this nasty example of human-wildlife conflict.

Above: The bush baby shortly after its capture

Having returned to the vet clinic at the Trust, there was much discussion over how the glass should be removed. Several methods were considered but rejected due to the potential injury they might have caused the animal. It was decided that we would attempt to slowly pull the glass off ourselves that evening. This procedure took four of us; one person to hold the bush baby, another to keep some gauze in its mouth to stop it from biting anyone and to hold its neck up straight, one person to hold its ears down and one person to slowly slide the glass off its head. This took a while as we were all very worried that if we moved too quickly we might cut the bush baby’s neck or possibly even dislocate it. Fortunately we managed to remove the glass without causing the animal any further injuries. All that the bush baby had to show for its experience was a very close shave of the hair on its neck and a small wound under its chin where the glass had been cutting into it. To prevent infection we cleaned the wound and then applied some antibiotic powder.

Returning the bush baby to the travel box, we noticed that while we had provided it with some nice blankets to curl up on it seemed to be much happier clinging on to the bars at the side of the cage. To give it a more comfortable place to rest on we managed to find a couple of branches which we arranged in the box so that it could move around a little and not have to go on the floor if it didn’t want to.

The next morning the bush baby was checked over and given an antibiotic shot to help ensure the wound would not get infected. That evening we returned to the capture site, applied a little more antibiotic powder to the wound under its chin and released it back in to the wild.

Above: A quick snap to mark Rob’s first release

This was my first release during my time at the Colobus Trust! May there be many more successes!

Rob,

Colobus Trust volunteer

P. S. A MASSIVE thank you to Roger W. for his generous donation- this will help a great deal in future rescues such as these!

Last week Peter, Kristy and I were doing our weekly Colobridge maintenance when we witnessed something pretty cool. Peter was up the tree changing the clips on the ‘S/B Construction’ bridge when a couple of Sykes monkeys came up to the bridge with the intention of using it to cross to the other side. Due to the fact that we were working on the bridge at the time, the monkeys sat down on the nearby branches and waited for us to finish! We assumed that they would be impatient and find an alternative route but to our surprise they waited till we were completely done on that section! Fifteen minutes later, as soon as we brought down the ladder from the tree they started crossing in a hurry (we had obviously taken much of their time and they were running late!).

Anyway, this is to show how the monkeys in Diani have actually totally accepted the Colobridges as part of their ecosystem- they facilitate their safe movement daily from one fragmented patch of forest to the next which is a good sign that our conservation efforts in Diani are working.

Above: A Colobus using a bridge

Asante to those who have donated for the assembly or maintenance of bridges- Toby J. for a new bridge that we built in December, and Andrea S. for her donation to maintain a previously built bridge! Their contributions are highly valued. We’ll keep working to maintain the 28 bridges in Diani and hopefully we can build some more. If you are interested in donating towards building or maintenance of a bridge you can donate on this site or contact us at info@colobustust.org

Thanks,

Mavinya

Colobologist from Kenya

After the horrible story we told you last time on our blog we wanted to write a blog about the monkeys we have saved since we’ve been here.

We got a phone call on the hot line saying that a Colobus monkey had been hit by a car so we went to its location with the response team. You could see the Colobus was injured so we had to take it with us to the surgery at the project base. Using a dart and a net the monkey was captured and taken to the trust.

Above: The Colobus with its head injury

The Colobus had a big wound on his head and was bleeding from his ear. We did first aid and cleaned the wounds caused by the road accident and then waited for a one of the two vets that help the Trust with their work In the surgery we examined him together with the vet. At first we thought the monkey had an internal bleeding but he recovered very well after putting him on a drip and giving him medication. He stayed one day for observation in the rehabilitation cage. Then we looked out for his family so we could return him back into the wild.

A week later we responded to another call- a Colobus was hit by a car and had a head injury. When we arrived at location he was in the tree and we had to get the monkey down with tranquilizers. After first aid, treatment and observation we were really happy this monkey also survived!!

Another patient that came to the Trust required longer-term care. The day she was brought into the Trust by 3 boys she really looked like she was not going to make it. She was just lying in our arms even without being given tranquilizers. She was vey weak and had a swollen eye, so she couldn’t see anymore. We did first aid and prayed she was going to make it. She needed drops in her eyes every day and also needed injections. In the beginning we could only feed her some water with a syringe. After some days we started to give her some small pieces of fruit. We fed her like a baby and every day we saw she was getting stronger. Her eye was also getting better, but for some time she remained blind unfortunately…

Above: The Sykes struggles on

Eventually we put her alone in a cage in the rehabilitation. She started climbing and interacting with other monkeys outside the cage. After another week or so her sight gradually came back and happily she was released back to her troop in the wild!

Above: The Sykes being fed by Joyce

It is really great to see monkeys recover from their injuries. Sadly in these last weeks we’ve seen many monkeys die from road accidents but it really fills us with joy when the monkey actually survives and goes back to his family.

Protecting and taking care of all these monkeys is very costly. The project has to pay for the medicines and also for the vet when there are injured monkeys. We are making bridges so the monkeys can easily cross the road without getting hit by a car. People who would like to donate something for the project and bridges are welcome to, because it’s still needed!!! All donations, big or small, we really appreciate that!! Please let your friends and family know about what we are doing at this project.

Thank You! We wish you all the best for 2010!!

Greetings,

Joyce and Angelique

Eco-volunteers from the Netherlands

As a recent volunteer, I am taking to The Colobus Trust blog to explain what I have done so far. I am volunteering for the month of January as a part of my schooling. Home in Canada I have worked as a wildlife educator and a rehabilitator for a wildlife center, I am looking forward to putting my skills to use here at the Trust and learning about the important work that is done here.

On my first day of work I was put to work quickly cleaning and maintaining the cages for the rehabilitation animals. Currently the Trust has 4 Vervet and 2 Sykes monkeys that are getting ready to be released. Most of them are ex-pet or orphaned monkeys (their mothers were killed on the road). Within these cases includes a female Vervet that was rescued from Mombasa where it was found being abused by swinging it around by its tail. The Colobus Trust has also worked very hard with one of the Sykes monkeys which is only here temporarily. It was hit by a car and needed to be hand fed until it was able to eat on its own again. She also had many neurological problems, including loss of vision, which appears to be improving all the time. Thankfully, with the rehabilitation work done by The Colobus Trust, these once helpless cases can be released and live the life they always deserved. The situation helped by donors such as Arusha T., Mark S., Black C. and Susan B. who have donated what they can- it means so much to us, thank you!

While working with these cases the staff ensures that their cages are cleaned and maintained everyday, including replacing old branches and having ropes for them to swing on and participate in normal primate behavior. They are given a variety of food to ensure that they are familiar with a proper diet and increase their success rate upon release. Monkeys that are housed here together often bond and create their own troop to be released together and significantly increase their survival rate after release.

In 3 days I have already learned so much about primate care. The people are so kind and the work is so important. I can’t wait to see what else this month at The Colobus Trust will bring!

Kristy Bailey

Eco-volunteer

All the staff at the Colobus Trust would like to say a huge thank you to all who have helped and supported us in 2009.  Whether you’ve bought a bridge, adopted a Colobus, become a member or sponsor or given your time and energy to our cause, we would like to send our heartfelt thanks to you! You enable us to carry on our work here in Kenya to save the Colobus monkey and it’s habitat!

I would also like to say a huge thank you to the staff at the trust. They work so hard and always with a smile!

Wishing you all Happy Holidays and all the best for 2010!

Cara,

Assistant Manager

Below: Some of the staff and volunteers at the trust

Dear Readers: Some pictures in this blog you may find distressing.

We are Joyce and Angelique and we are volunteers at the Colobus Trust. In Holland we both work as nurses and here we’ve been helping John in the vet clinic. Recently we’ve been really shocked by seeing an electrocuted bush baby and an electrocuted colobus.

Last week someone brought a bush baby to us that had been electrocuted. Both his legs and feet and one hand were affected. One of his lower-legs had gone completely, the other was badly maimed and on his hand only the bones remained. Due to the fact that the bush baby didn’t have any feeling in his arms or legs he started eating himself in his cage. The only thing we could do is to put him out of his misery because he was suffering too much. It was terrible to see the bush baby electrocuted and in pain like that.

Above: The Bush Baby with his injuries

Today we got a phone call on the Colobus Trust hotline. We were told that there was a Colobus which had fallen down into a room of a derelict hotel. The person who called told us that the Colobus’ leg was broken. We responded to this call and went to the location and when we arrived we saw the Colobus was sitting on a balcony. We tried to capture him but yet he was still strong and tried to get away. Staff members John and Peter captured the colobus with a net. At that moment we saw his injuries were very serious. Both his legs and his arm were broken. It was discovered that he fell down from an electric wire after being electrocuted. His feet and his hand were still there but one of his legs was only hanging by a bit of skin. It was really horrible to see how the Colobus was suffering.

Above: The Colobus in the clinic

Below: The injuries caused by electrocution and the subsequent fall

We put him in a cage and brought him to the surgery. The vet gave him an injection directly straight into his heart. The Colobus died- unfortunately we couldn’t save him. He would never be able to survive in nature without his feet and his hand.

It has really been a sad week to see these horrible things happening. There are huge lengths of electricity wires here everywhere and primates don’t know they can’t touch them. Obviously the human population need the wires but many animals die because of this. The trust adapts tubing for insulation which goes around the wires so monkeys can pass without getting electrocuted. The trust has already done some good work on the wires but we still need funding to get more wires insulated to save more monkeys.

Help us helping and donate to the Colobus Trust.

Thank you,

Joyce and Angelique

Eco-volunteers

Last week, construction of two new Colobridges was completed. Along with the existing bridges, these latest additions will help the Colobus Trust in our efforts to ensure that the local primate population can roam their territories more freely and safely.

Above: The first bridge up and ready for use!

The first bridge to go up was kindly donated by Diani residents and is located in their grounds at ‘White House’, Diani Beach. The second bridge has been bought as a Christmas present, and not wishing to spoil the surprise, we are keeping the identity of the kind sponsor a secret!

Above: The ladies working hard on the bridge construction

Sponsorship of a Colobridge or adoption of a Colobus Monkey makes a great gift for any special occasion, and is very easy to do. If you would like to have more information on both, please feel free to email  info at colobustrust.org.

Our deepest thanks to San Antonio Zoo for their generous donation to the Colobus Trust!

Their contribution will hugely help in the conservation of primates and habitat on the south coast of Kenya.

A major part of what the Colobus Trust does is raise awareness through our educational program. On average 1,200   local school children from 33 different schools will visit the trust every year. In just the last two weeks alone, six school groups have visited the Colobus Trust. The program aims to teach the students of all ages about the various problems facing the wildlife in Diani (with particular focus on the monkeys) and what we do to reduce these problems or their effects. The information session is followed by an eco-tour that takes them round the rehabilitation cages, the nature trail and the tree nursery. The excursion is rounded off by some beach games by the sea.

It’s great to have the opportunity to encourage children to get enthusiastic about what we do here. Hopefully by educating them about the environment they will learn to interact with it in a more thoughtful manner and encourage the community at large to help conserve Diani and its furry inhabitants.

The Colobus Team