Colobus Trust

Category: Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, Progress report, volunteer | Date: Nov 20 2009 | By: colobus

Dear Readers,

We apologise for the lack of updates recently from the Trust! We’ve had a lot going on which we’ll update you all on in the next few days.

Regular visitors to our blog will know that we rescued a Bush Baby which we named Bahati. He was a favourite with the visiting school children as well as all the volunteers at the trust – even when we had to wake up every 3 hours to feed him! We taught him to jump over short distances and Marvo was building up to the ‘double jump’! Bahati was being fed on a diet of fruit and milk, but efforts to move him onto a diet of insects failed.

Last Monday he became a little weak but seemed to be improving and his appetite returned to normal. He was back to his noisy, active self on Tuesday. However when we woke him for one of his feeds on Wednesday afternoon he was very drowsy and would not feed. His condition did not improve and sadly he passed away later that day. As you all may know raising an infant without tender maternal care is very difficult and we did the best we could in order to see Bahati gradually become a healthy grown up Bush Baby but it was not meant to be.

Above: Our beloved Bahati with Marvo

He really was part of the family and his death has affected us all very strongly. We all miss him very much.

Thanks for reading and look out for our next update coming soon…

The Colobus Team.

Tags: bush baby, Colobus Trust, diani, Galago senegalensis, Kenya, primates, Progress report, volunteering

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Category: Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, Progress report, volunteer | Date: Nov 02 2009 | By: colobus

Bahati the bush baby has been with us for about 3 and a half weeks now- he is doing very well and things are looking up. He has started feeding on solid foods lately which is a good sign; he particularly seems to like bananas and papaya a lot. At least every volunteer at the trust takes turns to feed him everyday because he needs to be cared for and feed every 3 hours. Bahati has recently learned how to jump which is very impressive and he is gets better by the day. We have built him a wooden house, where he spends most of his time these days. We are all glad that we have been able to provide a home and the necessary love and care that he needs, and hopefully he will grow up to be a healthy self reliant bush baby who will take his rightful place in the ecosystem.

We will keep you informed about how Bahati is faring on in the near future.

Thanks,

Mavinya

Colobologist

Tags: bush baby, Colobus Trust, diani, Galago senegalensis, Kenya, Rescue, volunteer

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Category: Animal Electrocutions, Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, volunteer | Date: Oct 23 2009 | By: colobus

Last week we got a call from the Diani Sea Resort about a sick black and white Colobus monkey lying just outside their fence. We immediately rushed there to rescue the monkey and on arrival we were shown where it lay. At first glace we thought  that the monkey was already dead because it lay there motionless but as we went closer it started moving and we all were relieved. We quickly examined it and realized it had severe burns to its rear hind legs and possible infection.

Above: The infected wound

We immediately put her in a cage and brought her back to the trust clinic for further examination. We called Dr Allan (the vet) to come and take a closer look at the severally infected burn wounds. He cleaned them up but said they are extensively infected and the gangrene had gone into the ankle bone so we had no option but to put it down.

Above: Dr Allan working on the patient

This is the reason the trust is seriously advocating for the insulation of power lines to significantly decrease the cases of Colobus electrocution. The number of Colobus fatalities as a result of electrocution is very alarming to the trust. We are trying our best by insulating known hot spots and have kindly received some assistance from donations from various individuals and organisations towards this cause.  However, there is still more work to be done in regards to insulation if we want to save the endangered black and white Colobus monkey. Help now if you can- we appreciate any donation. 

Thanks,

The Colobus Team.

Tags: Colobus monkey, Colobus Trust, Electrocution, Human-Primate Conflict, Insulation, Kenya, power lines

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Category: Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, community, volunteer | Date: Oct 12 2009 | By: colobus

Last Tuesday we responded to a series of reports about a Sykes monkey that had been involved in a traffic accident near Leopard Beach Resort. We had been told that it was a mother and an infant that had been hit. When we reached the site we discovered that the mother was very badly injured and only able to drag herself on her fore-legs. The infant was alive but unconscious when we got to her. We transferred the mother to the cage and Rob took the infant in his hands and we rushed back to the trust. The infant did not show any obvious external injuries and seemed to be breathing ok. About half way back to the trust the infant started gasping and, unfortunately, she had died by the time we had made it back. The mother was taken up to the vet clinic, where it was decided that she had broken her back and we were forced to put her down.

Above: The mother and infant.

It is often the case that these deaths are accidental. It is known, however, that some people take matters into their own hands and speed up when they see a monkey in front of their car. It’s important that we work with the local community to make this minority of people understand the work that we do here at the trust, and how they can help us to help them for the future! Conserving the wildlife here will ultimately provide for them and their families through tourism.

These cases are sad enough to report but even more so for us as volunteers, as the infant was only slightly bigger than Erica (our orphaned Sykes) is now. The trust has already put up more signposts encouraging the adherence to the 50kmph speed limit as well as putting in speed bumps in problem areas. Let’s hope we can bring the number of road traffic incidents down even further than we already have.

Rob and Cara

Tags: Colobus Trust, Human-Primate Conflict, Kenya, road deaths, sykes, volunteer

One response so far

Category: Animal Electrocutions, Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, volunteer | Date: Oct 02 2009 | By: colobus

On Tuesday 29^th September there were three awful electrocutions at Diani Sea Resort, resulting in the death of a young Colobus, who was approximately a year old. The young Colobus was seen climbing the poles of the power line and electrocuting itself; the mother and another Colobus jumped after it, also injuring themselves.

Above: The juvenile Colobus

When we tried to remove the young Colobus from the forest floor the mother became agitated and attacked me, jumping onto my back and attempting to bite me. This is a sad state of affairs as it illustrates the strong bond between mother and young and for this relationship to have ended so soon is completely unnecessary. The other two Colobus were not injured so badly and remained in the tree. We will be returning to the troop to check their injuries regularly.

Above: The badly burned hand of the Colobus

Diani Sea Resort has an area of forest beside it that has an un-insulated power line running through it. In the power line there is a join and this is where the electrocutions occur when the Colobus climb the poles. We are now hoping to work with Diani Sea Resort and KPLC (Kenya Power and Lighting Company) to develop a solution to this problem because in the past six weeks there have been six cases of electrocutions resulting in two known deaths.

We will update you on any news concerning the other Colobus at Diani Sea Resort, as well as our progress with insulating the power line and connectors.

Please donate now to help with future animal rescues.

Polly

Colobologist

Tags: Colobus Trust, Electrocution, hotel co-operation, Human-Primate Conflict, Kenya, Primate death

3 responses so far

Category: Education, Marketing, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, volunteer | Date: Sep 30 2009 | By: colobus

Hi, it’s Eva- a Wildlife Clubs of Kenya student on attachment in Colobus Trust. This my second week in Colobus Trust and I am really excited by the marvelous activities carried out. Some of the activities I have participated in are tree trimming and also last Wednesday we rescued a monkey. I am also assisting in marketing department whereby we advertise in hotels within Diani, then we bring tourists for an eco-tour.

I am really enjoying my stay in Colobus Trust. All can come participate in this primate conservation centre for a better tomorrow.

Eva

Marketing Volunteer

Tags: Colobus Trust, Eco-tourism, Marketing, volunteering, Wildlife Clubs of Kenya

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Category: Education, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, Progress report, volunteer | Date: Sep 24 2009 | By: colobus

Erica, our orphaned monkey here at the Colobus Trust, has been spending the vast majority of her two months here in the company of humans. Now that she is getting bigger and more independent it is important that she spends less time with humans and more time with monkeys.

As part of the process or her being released into the wild, Erica has been spending more time in the rehabilitation cages with our older rescued Sykes monkey, SF1. They get on very well and so far have been happy to spend a few hours or more in each other’s presence. They play, jumping around on the ropes and branches that are there as part of their enrichment, as well as learning how to groom.

Above: Erica and SF1 eating in the cage

Our eco-volunteer Becky has been working on Erica’s tree-climbing skills and ensuring that the orphan has confidence in her abilities so that she climbs higher and more independently. Becky is also finding ways of introducing Erica to the food that she would eat in the wild, such as neem fruits.

We will build up the time that Erica spends in the cage and in the trees over the next month or so, in order that she relies less on human contact. The whole process of her release is likely to take up to a year, after which she will hopefully be fully wild.

Keep checking the blog for more updates on Erica and SF1!

The Colobus Team

Tags: animal rescue, Colobus Trust, learning, Monkey Rehabilitation, progress, sykes, volunteer

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Category: Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, Progress report, volunteer | Date: Sep 11 2009 | By: colobus

We welcomed a new addition to the Colobus Trust yesterday- a Sykes monkey who had been kept as a pet. When she was an infant, her mother was killed in a traffic accident and the driver took pity on her and raised her himself. She is probably one and a half or two years old now and her owner decided that she was becoming too difficult for them to handle, so she was handed over to the National Museums of Kenya, who in turn contacted us.

Her story is like that of many other pet primates who become unmanageable as they become older. While when very young primates are very cute and relatively easy to deal with, as they grow and mature they become more difficult to control. As they reach sexual maturity they will try and establish for themselves a position in the group in which they live. They do this as they would in the wild by threat displays and attacks. This can result in severe injuries to their owners. Primates can also carry diseases which can be lethal to humans.

Above: The new addition is settling in well

Most primates are highly social, and when deprived of sufficient interaction become bored, and because of their strength and intelligence they can do a large amount of damage to any area they are left in. The lack of interaction with other individuals can also cause psychological problems which can result in the animal indulging in self harming and other detrimental behaviors.

The aim of the rehabilitation unit at the Colobus Trust, which is the only primate rehabilitation unit in Kenya, is to ultimately return any animals back to the wild. To help achieve this interaction with people is limited as much as possible, with the hope that the animals will ultimately no longer associate people with providing for them.

The Sykes was given some vaccinations before being released into her new cage, where she appears to have settled in well. We hope that her stay here with us will be as short as possible and that we will be able to get her back out in to the wild as soon as we can. We will update you on her progress!

The Colobus Team

Tags: Monkey centre, rehabilitation, sykes, wild release

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Category: Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, Progress report, volunteer | Date: Sep 05 2009 | By: colobus

The orphaned baby Sykes monkey that Andrew reported on back in July is doing very well. After finding out she is in fact a girl, not a boy, the monkey has been renamed Erica instead of Eric!

After her initial struggle to survive, Erica has been going from strength to strength. In her first few weeks at the Colobus Trust, Erica was only drinking formula milk. However, in the last month we have added non-acidic fruits and vegetables to her diet. Her favourites are definitely mango and cucumber! What’s more, Erica has been venturing out into the trees at the Trust, exploring what she likes to eat in the wild. She was timid at first when it came to venturing on to the branches, but with a little tree-climbing on our part, she was soon clambering through the vegetation. The volunteers at the trust all enjoy being surrogate mothers to Erica, and take it in turns to have her sleep with them in order that she doesn’t become too attached to one person. In spite of this, our volunteer Michaela always gets preferential treatment from Erica!

Erica gets acquainted with the trees

Whether she is leaping around playing, suckling on an earlobe or lip, giving warning calls when there are baboons in the garden or even when she wants someone to groom her, Erica ensures that life here is always entertaining!

Watch out for an update on Erica’s next steps…..

Tags: primate rescue, progress, sykes, volunteer

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Category: Animal Electrocutions, Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation | Date: Aug 28 2009 | By: colobus

The Colobus Trust runs a 24 hour hotline which enables local residents and businesses to report any injured, sick or dead monkeys in the area. To the best of their ability the Colobus team then resolves every situation, which may include a Vervet monkey injured at a hotel, a Sykes’ monkey caught in a snare or even a Colobus monkey killed in a road traffic accident.

In this instance, a hotel made a call to let us know that three Colobus monkeys had been electrocuted on the perimeter of their plot. Upon arrival, only two of the three Colobus were still in the area. Unfortunately, one of them was already dead- a large adult male with burns to his hands and feet. Our main concern was now treating the other injured Colobus, an adult female. Catching her was relatively easy compared to other captures due to the injuries on her back legs preventing her from climbing a tree.

Michaela, Andrew and Jody with the Colobus ready to get back to the clinic

Once back at the trust, Andrew, Cara, Jody and Michaela sedated and then examined the Colobus, during which time we discovered that she was heavily pregnant- all the more reason to ensure her successful release back into the wild.

Above: The injury to the Colobus

Below: Treatment being given at the Colobus Trust clinic

Her external wounds (burns to her feet and rump) were treated and multivitamin and tetanus injections were administered. She was then placed in quarantine under observation until she came round from sedation. Later in the day when she was fully alert and able to move adequately, we released her near to the location where she was found.

The Colobus being released by Andrew and Cara

The Colobus trust is working with the Kenya Power and Lighting Company to insulate as many electricity lines as we can fund in order to reduce and even eradicate cases such as these. The public can help us with this by making any donation, large or small, which we would greatly appreciate.

Luckily for this Colobus, and her unborn baby, her encounter with the electricity lines was not fatal- unlike her fellow troop member who lost his life.

Please help now,

The Colobus Team

Tags: Animal Electrocutions, Habitat conservation, human-wildlife conflict, primate rescue, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation

One response so far