Colobus Trust

Category: Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation | Date: Nov 28 2008 | By: colobus

By Fleur Downard, a volunteer at the Colobus Trust from 27 October – 14 November 2008

Part 3 – Hope for the future

Chuma is a wild animal, used to living either in his troop as the dominant alpha male or as a solitary male, in the forest foraging for leaves, flowers and unripe fruit for his daily meals.  His sad, dark eyes stare at you as you peer in at him in his cage.  I know and he knows he does not belong here.  I want him to survive and John (one of the Colobus trust staff members who will be looking after Chuma after I leave tomorrow) and I have adopted him.  However, I am aware that unless he regains his sense of balance and recovers to his previous health he will be unlikely to return to his previous life in the wild but will be dependent on the Colobus Trust for his food.  He has been seen by the local vets Dr Allan and Dr Oscar and also a visiting wildlife vet, Noni, who has arranged for an orthapediac vet to review his x-rays and they are all confident he can survive, although it is unlikely he could return to the wild.  The staff and volunteers at the Colobus Trust are doing everything possible to ensure his survival and I look forward to receiving weekly updates on his progress.

Even though it saddens me, I do understand that Chuma may not be happy living his life as a caged animal and unable to jump from branch to branch with careless abandon, so rather than looking at me with his sad caged eyes he may be better off in Colobus heaven where he can be wild and free.

Tags: , animal rescue, colobus, Monkey, road traffic accident