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Yesterday we had an animal welfare call at Leisure Lodge for an electrocuted young male Colobus that was still alive. When we arrived he already looked like he was in pretty bad shape, with a visibly injured arm and burnt fur on his face. During the time we were waiting for equipment and extra help to arrive, we had the unfortunate experience of seeing him get electrocuted once more and fall to the ground. It was quite awful, but we wasted no time and moved in quickly to get him while he was still on the ground. We did manage to catch him, but had to face a very large male on the way to the truck, who was very protective and very angry, which was quite scary. We finally got the injured colobus in the truck and brought him back to the Trust, where our vet Sal treated him. He is now in the quarantine cage for observation. The spot where this electrocution happened had been identified as an electrocution hotspot a few weeks ago, and Kenya Power had been informed. Unfortunately nothing has been done about this yet, which is very frustrating for all of us, as electrocutions will continue to happen as long as nothing is done about the uninsulated power lines. Isabelle
6 Comments posted on "Electrocution at Leisure Lodge"
Sherri S. on November 26th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
What bad luck for the colobus! I hope Kenya Power gets in gear and fixes the problem soon.
Wanda, Atlanta on November 26th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I am shocked that Kenya Electrical would let this happen — perhaps another spot but not Kenya — I hope they get there soon!
F. J. PECHIR on November 26th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Terrible news indeed! First of all thank you for saving that poor colobus, and its a shame that kenya power has done nothing to prevent the danger that this power lines represent. REALLY A BIG SHAME!
Paula on November 27th, 2007 at 1:49 am
This is terrible news. What can we in Nairobi do to help you get to the power authorities? Can you guys give us a full report and photos so that we can do a strongly worded letter and a press article in Kenya to put pressure on these guys?
Charles Tomalin on November 27th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Hi A couple of years ago I sent some foam pipe insulation out to you, for evaluation as an electric line insulator. I suspect it didn’t get used in the end, but please advise if this approach is useful and I can try to send some more out to you.
Isabelle on December 3rd, 2007 at 10:00 am
Thank you for all your comments. Unfortunately this colobus did not survive. We can only hope that this kind of thing will happen less and less. Paula, we don’t have photos of this incident but could send you photos of this particular hotspot with more information. Please send up your contact information. Charles, we will follow up on the material that you sent. Could you send us an email with more information? Thank you all again. Post a comment
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The Colobus Trust was established in Diani Beach, Kenya, in 1997 to save the endangered Angolan colobus monkey which was a frequent victim of roadkills. The Trust's trademark is Colobridges - bridges over the roads for save overpass. Gwili, a Welsh volunteer at the Trust reports on the day to day activities in an busy local primate conservation charity 
