Colobus Trust

Category: Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, volunteer | Date: Feb 28 2009 | By: colobus

Foremost we would like to kindly thank you for the warm welcoming we have received from all of you. We (Tom and Rona) are off to a busy start and have many things planned for the Colobus Trust, but one step at a time;

We had an interesting week here at the veterinary clinic many cases came in, some ending happily and some sad. Our positive story happened on Tuesday when our field assistant Peter found a young Sykes monkey on the ground exhibiting neurological symptoms (tremors and convulsions). After admitting and examining it we suspected he had been poisoned by a likely Organophosphate or Pyrethroid substance.

We managed to administer the proper Antidote and treat him, and by the next morning he had been well and ready for release. Poisoning such as this can happen when uncontrolled insecticide treatment is being given to crops and fields. It may also be a deliberate action against monkeys perceived as pests. We must remember they have a right to exist here just as we do (even slightly more) and we must keep that in mind when tending to our own activities. That night we also received a Bushbaby, which was sadly attacked by dogs and dead on arrival. We buried him in our compound. Another issue of human-wildlife conflict is the domestic animals we introduce to this habitat. Although Bushbabies are largely arboreal they do sometimes descend to the ground to forage and this noise may attract dogs to the area, as they are quite slow on the ground and are not so well equipped for self defense these cases may happen. The next morning we sent out a team to one of the hotels in Diani which informed us there was a sick Sykes monkey about their premises with a swelling of the lower jaw. After capturing and diagnosing him, we sadly reached the conclusion that he suffered from a malignant (cancerous) growth of the mandible (lower jaw). Despite his condition he seemed to eat and drink and was not neglected by his fellow troop members. It appeared he has had this condition since he was an infant, an estimate of about one or two years. We gave him some local treatment and then we were left to make an ethical decision; Would we release him back to the wild, as there was nothing medical that could be done for him (practically and financially) or would we euthanize him? We had so much respect for this little guy surviving this long that we didn’t feel it was our decision as to when and how he should pass. So after making sure that he was indeed eating and was not in any pain, we decided to get him back to his troop and let him die naturally as his condition would not pose a threat to any other monkeys or humans. We wish him well.

Another thing we are trying to do is get our veterinary clinic better equipped as we are missing some vital medical supplies and drugs. As the only first response center for wildlife in the coastal area it is vital that we do not lose any of our patients due to lack of resources, so any donations on your behalf would be very much appreciated and would get the clinic up and running. We mostly need very basic supplies and even small donations would help us greatly. With your help and our efforts we can really make a difference and do our best to protect Diani’s habitat and wildlife population.

Rona and Tom

Tags: Colobus Trust, diani, Monkey, release, sykes, volunteering

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Category: Fundraising, Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Marketing, volunteer | Date: Feb 24 2009 | By: colobus

The wind of change is blowing through The Colobus Trust. Much is happening here at the moment; sadly we have had a goodbye party here, dedicated to our now former assistant manager, Gwili Gibbon. After 1,5 years at the Colobus Trust he is now leaving to continue his career with Kenyan wildlife work in Chyulu Hills, so all of the Trust-members have now taken farewell of him. He will always be remembered and is welcomed back whenever he feels to visit the Colobus Cottage again. The goodbye barbeque was very nice though – we enjoyed grilled goat and Anna’s and Filip’s first home-made chapatis together with some Tusker beer. The staff, volunteers and board members of The Colobus Trust were present, and this also turned out to be a good opportunity to introduce two new volunteers that are taking over after Gwili – Rona and Tom, a veterinary and a photographer from Israel. We are very happy to have the chance to welcome these two enthusiastic and competent persons since the two of us (Anna and Filip) are leaving for some traveling in Kenya and Tanzania. However, we will be back for work at the Colobus again in the beginning of April.

Then we will also carry through a project that we have just initiated, which is a sign campaign where our aim is to put up warning signs on all the hotel yards around Diani, as a part of our Pest Management Program. Monkeys stealing food from tourists is an increasing problem both for the hotel guests and the hotel managements, and is a direct consequence of tourists feeding them, unaware of this unwished chain reaction. To inform about this and get the necessary hotel permissions, all the hotel managers in Diani have been invited to a short briefing that will take place at The Colobus Trust in April. We are trying to cope financially with this very important project, but our budget is tight and any donation that could contribute to the Sign Campaign would be deeply appreciated.

Anna Sandahl and Filip Celander, Colobologists

Tags: assistant manager, board members, Gwili Gibbon, Pest management, sign campaign, volunteering

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Category: Fundraising | Date: Feb 23 2009 | By: colobus

Last night when I checked our blog, I had to look twice and then rub my eyes just in case I was not seeing right. Alas, I was and the US 1,000$ donation that appears on this blog is indeed only part of a donation from Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands.

We were approached a while ago by Constanze Melicharek from Apenheul who will be visiting us in March and when he said that Apenhaul would like to donate a total of $2,200 to the Colobus Trust, you can imagine how excited we were. Last year as you know was extremely difficult and although we are still barely scraping by, there have so many new and exciting partnerships and we are only in February. Let’s cross fingers Kenya can hold it together and all of us can get on with all the necessary work we need to do…

Apenhaul Primate Park has been in operation since 1971 and I think the quote by Baba Dioum on their website sums up so much what we all believe:

“In the end we will conserve only what we love.
We will love only what we understand.
We will understand only what we are taught.”

I would like to also say a big thank you to all the people who have been dedicated supports to the Colobus Trust for so long. Every dollar counts and it means so much to have individuals donating because we know that it comes out of your own hardwork and savings. A big thank you to Pirjo, Anthony, Susan, Wanda, Sheryl and Colleen who have been here for us throughout. And anyone else whom I have not mentioned. I also want to thank residents of Diani like Chip Mitton and many others whom the Trustees have turned to in times of crises. We will be publishing our first newsletter of the year in the next couple of weeks so watch this space…

Tags: Apenhaul Primate Park, Donations, Fundraising, Supporters

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Category: Blogroll, Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, volunteer | Date: Feb 18 2009 | By: colobus

So far in 2009 The Colobus Trust has hosted two groups of Camps International students. This is just one example of how we work together with, and host, other organisations to facilitate and promote the vast majority of our work.

21 students aged 17-20 joined us at our base for two blocks of five days. Both programs started with an in-house education day during which students. This consisted of a morning of informative lectures focusing on introducing the students to Colobus Monkeys, Colobus Monkey conservation, and a general lecture on safety in the field. They were also told what to expect in the forest. This was followed by an afternoon walking in the forest where they learnt about the history of the local Digo people and their Kaya Forests as well as seeing firsthand the threats posed to the future of Diani Forest.

The remaining part of the week was spent working on practical conservation activities. Many of which would not have been possible for us without the increased number of workers we had. Days were spent desnaring, undertaking beach cleanups, caring for and feeding our ex-pet Vervet monkeys, preparing insulation material (above) and much more. Many of our volunteers joined in to help with this.

The extra hands provided by the students allowed us to prepare the insulation material in record time and both programs facilitated the insulation of a hotspot and we covered over a kilometer of cable! Below is a picture of the insulation material being put into place on the Zawama hotspot.

It is thanks to organisations like Camps International, who work alongside and support us, as well as providing core funding, that we are able to carry on much of our work. We look forward to working together again in the future!

The Colobus Team

Tags: Camps International, cars, colobus, Electrocution, Human-Primate Conflict, Insulation, kplc, road traffic accidents, volunteering, volunteers

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Category: Blogroll, Fundraising, Marketing | Date: Feb 16 2009 | By: colobus

I am writing on behalf of all at The Colobus Trust to thank all at Lantana - Galu Beach for their generous donation of KSh 100,000 toward The Colobus Trust. This is a very welcome gift for us all and will go a long way toward helping us continue our good work!

Lantana is a recently opened local development comprising of 48 holiday homes made up of eco-friendly houses, bungalows and villas. The cheque was handed over to The Colobus Trust on Friday the 13th of February at The Colobus Trust’s office in Diani, 5km north of this exclusive development. Below is a picture of Colobus Trust Chairman Mr Raymond Matiba receiving the cheque from Mr Hamish Govani, one of Lantana’s Directors. Stood beside them is Mr Onesmus Macharia, the General Manager of the Trust.

Sadly it is still generous donations like this that are keep us afloat but we hope this great start to a partnership between both our companies will trigger other organisations in Diani to take the same step. This donation will go a considerable towards funding our core projects and covering running cost for this month. We are still struggling to cover these monthly costs in the wake of the effects that post election violence and the credit crunch have had on us.

For more on the goings on at The Colobus Trust please await our next blog on our newest guest!

Thank you once again Lantana!

Gwili

Tags: colobus, donation, Kenya, Lantana, post election violence

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Category: Fundraising, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation | Date: Feb 16 2009 | By: colobus

As two of our volunteers just left to continue their journey (former Trust-bloggers Tracey Stenson and Tim Jukes), another baby vervet monkey just came in. This baby is even smaller than the first one; approximately 2 weeks old and still in constant need of a surrogate mother holding him tight. He was found left alone just outside the bush, shocked and depressed, somehow abandoned by his mother way too early. After having introduced him successfully to our first baby vervet (about 1,5 months old), he moved into the same cage, and the two of them became friends. They cuddled, groomed each other, and spent the night sleeping in each other’s arms. The smallest baby vervet still has some problems being fed, since he hasn’t learned yet how to suck but to bite and scratch quite hard, but he is now hand-reared every 3 hours together with the other baby vervet, something that has turned out to be a good solution.

The bigger baby Vervet, though, shows good indications of growing independent. Partly, he has started chewing solid food, e.g. watermelon and banana instead of infant milk formula, and if he doesn’t like something you do to him, he truly shows that his teeth are developing. His world is getting bigger and bigger too: yesterday his exploring curiosity took him to new heights, as he climbed halfway up a big Neem tree. Usually, the Vervet mother pinches the baby when it climbs too far away from her, but as we couldn’t reach our baby Vervet he just kept on climbing, until he realized he wanted to get down again, which apparently wasn’t as easy as climbing up… We got him down by holding a long branch (with a piece of banana on top if it) so close to him that he could grab it. He even proved his bravery by mocking with Nala - the cat of the house, twice his size - a situation that resulted in Nala being chased away, surrendering.

However, it is a lot to do for the two volunteers that are left. The two babies need constant looking after and to be carried around and held, and at the same time there are regular tasks, like giving eco-tours for the tourists, keep on de-snaring and other field projects. We strongly feel the need of more volunteers joining us as currently there is a lot to do at the Trust. Fortunately, a couple living here in Diani just gave the information that they are going to adopt the two baby Vervets and build a rehabilitation cage in their garden for them.

Anna Sandahl, Filip Celander, Colobologists

Tags: colobus, diani, monkeys, primate rescue, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, vervet, volunteering

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Category: Habitat Restoration/Conservation | Date: Feb 11 2009 | By: colobus

One of the activities we carry out regularly at the Trust is de-snaring in the local Kayas (sacred forests).   The use of snares within a Kaya is illegal; however when the locals find themselves in hard times feeding their family becomes top priority and setting snares is still seen as one way to do this.

Snares set in the forests are almost invisible, looking like the trailing creepers from vegetation.  They are set low in the ground, along animal trails and any animal using that route can become trapped.  As they struggle to free themselves the snare pulls tightly around their neck killing them slowly and painfully.

At least once a week, staff and volunteers spend hours walking through the forests looking for these indiscriminate killers and removing them.  For the Trust, eliminating these snares is an important project.  Our main aim is protecting any monkeys which are foraging for food on the forest floor from being trapped and killed.  Of course this also helps to reduce deaths of Suni antelope which are the intended prey of the local hunters.

Unfortunately we were unable to save one Suni which was found in a snare not far from the main Diani road.  A resident found her dead in a snare; a distressed baby near-by. The resident was too late to save the mother but brought the baby to one of our Trustees, Luciana, who has successfully hand-reared other Sunis before.  One of these previously rescued antelopes (very aptly named ‘Suni’), now lives with her and has free roam of the garden and small forest plot.

Over the next few days Luciana watched as the new baby (’Bambi’) began to calm down and deal with the trauma she had experienced in her own way.   Luciana was able to bottle feed her and Bambi stopped shaking and began to find some confidence in her surroundings.

In the last few days Bambi has begun to venture outside, watched over by Suni and Luciana.  Suni antelopes are unsurprisingly self-protective as in the wild they have a large number of natural predators and Bambi has already perfected her camouflage techniques, hiding when it is time to go back indoors.  The scent glands on the side of her nose have started to develop and she seems to be growing up fast.  In a couple more weeks Luciana hopes that Bambi too can live outside permanently and start to lead as normal a life as will be possible for her. Fortunately, she has a friend she can learn from and who will look after her, whether she appreciates the attention or not.

At the Trust we will continue with the relentless de-snaring programme and talking to the local people about the cost of setting snares.  Only yesterday we were in a Tiwi forest with a group of Camp Kenya volunteers where we found 25 snares.  The programme has been effective in reducing the number of snares set over the past years however there is obviously more work to be done.  As long as the Trust continues to receive support we will be out there removing the snares from the forests.

Tracey Stenson, Colobologist

Tags: de-snaring, habitat restoration, kaya, snares, suni, suni antelope

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Category: Fundraising, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation | Date: Feb 11 2009 | By: colobus

As mentioned in the earlier blog we, sadly, had a record breaking month at the Trust in January and were all hoping that February would have a much lower incident rate.  Unfortunately, despite a quiet first few days, it now looks like this month may see no significant reduction in the number of primate deaths in Diani unless something changes- fast.

On Monday 2^nd the Animal Welfare Team responded to a call about an adult Sykes which was suspected of being poisoned.  There were no obvious signs of injury but it seemed to be slightly paralyzed down its left side.  The vet treated him and over the next few days we regularly gave him Dextrose to keep him hydrated.  Unfortunately, although he looked like he was getting stronger; he died on Wednesday of Tetanus and was cremated in the afternoon.

On Thursday we had three new cases, the first one was a female Vervet which had a superficial injury on its right side, possibly from ‘in troop’ fighting.  The worrying thing was that although it certainly seemed more alert than the Sykes, it too was displaying paralysis in its left side and dragged its left leg.  Regrettably, she too died within 48 hours of being brought in to the Trust, another victim of Tetanus.

The second case, on the face of it, looks hopeful.  Just as the staff were finishing for the day a local resident pulled up with a small cardboard box with holes punched in the sides and there were some very strange noises coming from inside.

Call of Baby Vervet

When we opened the box a small Vervet face was looking up at us, an infant who had been brought all the way back from Tsavo (approximately 200km from Diani)!  It seems that the resident had been visiting and seen some children playing with the baby, its mother nowhere in sight, so had brought him to us for the correct care and attention. After a quick check up to ensure there were no obvious problems he was handed over to us, the volunteers, for feeding every 3 hours.  He’d had a long journey from home, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it is one which will have a happy ending.

Almost immediately after we had given him a feed and got him settled with a hot water bottle for a surrogate Mum; another Sykes monkey was brought in.  Disappointingly this was another victim of a road traffic accident.  We haven’t taken any photos as the whole face had been torn open with a large gash from forehead to mouth and the prognosis didn’t look hopeful.  Just the shock of what was obviously such a high speed impact would have been enough to prove fatal.  We called the vet to treat her and followed his direction for after care but unfortunately when we checked in the morning she had died.

Three-hourly feeding of the baby Vervet continued and late in the afternoon of Friday a juvenile Sykes was brought in, a further RTA victim.   This guy looked in bad shape and after a visiting vet had looked him over the diagnosis was possible internal bleeding with regular check ups required through the night.  Unfortunately this was much too traumatic for the small Sykes and he died the next day.  After such an investment of time and emotions it can be hard to accept.

On Monday two more dead monkeys were found.  One, on the road not far from the Trust, had obviously been killed on impact by a hit and run driver.  Thankfully a resident had called to let us know what had happened.  The other, a victim of electrocution that will be investigated further.

Despite all these sad stories the baby Vervet continues to go from strength to strength (if his bite is anything to go by).  And although he does require a lot of care and attention, as all babies do in the early months, we have to think that he will have a long future ahead of him.  To dwell too much on the trauma of him being taken from his mother, or indeed what her fate might have been, does not help remedy the situation and we are doing what we can to find him a suitable home where he can play and learn with other monkeys.

Only with your continued help, support and donations can the Trust continue to provide care for injured monkeys and monkeys in need of rehabilitation.  If you are planning a holiday why not plan the experience of a lifetime and come to volunteer at the trust.  You will be helping to prolong the life of the primates in Diani.

Tracey Stenson, Colobologist

Tags: Electrocution, infant, road traffic accident, RTA, sykes, Tsavo, vervet, volunteer

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