Colobus Trust

Category: Education, Fundraising, Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, climate change, deforestation, volunteer | Date: Jun 04 2009 | By: colobus

I arrived last week so apologies for the delay in writing my first blog.  I have been settling into this beautiful place quite nicely.  The Colobus Trust is located in Diani which is one of the most beautiful places in Kenya.  I was so happy to arrive here last week and see for myself all the work the Colobus Trust does to support conservation.

Arriving last week my first day at the Colobus Trust was quite busy.  I helped to plant some new indigenous tree seedlings in the nursery that will go to local hotels in Diani to support native trees for monkeys.  I also helped to clean the monkey cages (the only monkeys that are in cages here are ones that are currently in rehabilitation from being pets).  It is very sad to see the monkeys in the cages when you can easily see the rest of the wild troops jumping and playing in the trees all around the Colobus Trust grounds.  The staff explained to me that some of these monkeys have been pets for years and are currently being weaned off people food as well as learning how to forage for themselves.  They place large branches, flowers, seeds and other natural foods that are found freely here in Diani so the monkeys can get an idea as what to eat for themselves.

These monkeys look so sad but I know the Colobus Trust will do a good job to rehabilitate them and re-release them in their natural environment.

Re-release is such an important part of what the Colobus Trust do to support conservation.  They take in monkeys that were pets, sick or injured and help them rehabilitate so they can get back to their natural environment.  I happened to arrive on a day when one of the monkeys that was rescued by Colobus Trust was re-released.  He was a very young Sykes monkey and he fell from a tree and was seriously knocked unconscious.   A Diani resident called Colobus Trust and the Colobus Trust team rescued him from the road and took him in for assessment.  He stayed at Colobus Trust for a few days and was deemed to be ok after a thorough check up and fit for re-release.

Here are some of the pics I took on my first day at Colobus Trust.  I was so happy to see a success story on my first day and so glad I am here to help work alongside the Colobus Trust staff.  These guys are so caring and concerned about their environment and of course the monkeys.

If it wasn’t for volunteers like me and donors like you the Colobus Trust wouldn’t be here.  They make such a huge difference in their community in supporting the ecosystem and conservation.  Please support them even if you can only donate $5 or $20.   They are such a worthy conservation project that needs your support now more than ever as tourist and volunteer numbers are so low at the moment.  Thank you.

Heidi

Eco-Volunteer, Colobus Trust

www.colobustrust.org

Tags: Colobus monkey, Colobus Trust, diani, forest, Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Kenya, Monkey, rescued animals, trees