Colobus Trust

Category: Education, Fundraising, Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Marketing, climate change, deforestation, good wood | Date: Jun 25 2009 | By: colobus

  The entire compound is full of tents and very busy people. Their tents are blue, green, and red, but their overland truck is yellow and always clean. They’re called Great Primate Handshake (GPH) and they’re here to help with our projects and share some knowledge - about the internet, digital media, film-making and teaching techniques. Monday morning one of the Colobus Trust directors, Luciana, was here as usual to greet her Colobus Trust ‘family’, but this morning she had more news than the daily greetings. There was a new member in our troop for adopters. On Sunday, a white infant Colobus was born! We named the new baby GPH in honour of the visiting volunteer group. I would like to inform those interested in adopting a cute new infant, to take this opportunity. Thanks to GPH group for choosing the Colobus Trust and we would like to welcome the young GPH into the family.  It’s my hope that other groups will be interested in the Colobus Trust, particularly our camping site and am looking forward for new adopters for the new member. Remember you can adopt through our website as well. So let’s say ‘long life’ to little GPH!

This week our education day was a little different with the involvement of GPH. Another Tuesday and most of the people around are busy preparing for the school workshop. But today we have more participants than usual. There are cameras at every corner of the Colobus Trust premises. The kids moved in through the cameras and immediately loved it. One of the Great Primate Handshake members showed an entertaining cartoon they had made on problems affecting Colobus and other monkeys in the area. The kids then divided in two groups, one were ‘animals’ and one were ‘humans’ and had a hot debate about how they use trees. Then it was off to the beach, where we managed to collect more than ten kilograms of sandals in less than half an hour - all this was waiting to kill our marine life at some point. This was on our waste management topic. Thanks to Magutu Primary for the dedicated beach clean up. The sandals will be used be local artists to make things - like the whale shark (shujaa) made from flip-flops which stands in Haller Park in Mombasa  Most of the kids loved the beach football, and they were all covered in sand by the end of it.  My request to you is, please wherever you are, avoid littering the beach and if possible pick up any rubbish while you are there, walking or jogging. Once again thanks for supporting our education programme through our blog.

Hamisi - Education, Marketing and Communication.

www.colobustrust.org

Tags: animal adoption, coastal forest, colobus, deforestation, environmental education, marine pollution., people and wildlife, primate birth, Primate conservation, volunteers

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Category: Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, deforestation, volunteer | Date: May 26 2009 | By: colobus

We had a busy weekend at the Trust; our hotline was as hot as the sun that finally came out through the clouds. On Friday around dusk, we received a call about a Colobus that was hurt, crawling on the ground with its troop nervously encircling it in the nearby trees. After quickly loading the rescue-truck with a cage, net, first veterinary aid, gloves and other equipment usually necessary on an animal rescue, like volunteers, we hit the road.

But upon arrival we were given some bad news, actually the worst news one can get on an animal rescue:

-         I’m sorry, you’re too late, the monkey is already dead, said a man without shirt while guiding us to the spot.

And there it was, the beautiful juvenile black –and-white Colobus lying sideways on the ground, like it had just given up while running. The surrounding air smelled like burnt meat, once again we were dealing with an electrocution. Our vet Rona examined the carcass just in case there would be any pulse, but in short we covered it with a white sheet and headed back home, after deciding with the owner to insulate the power lines close-by.

Next day, Saturday, the sun was still out so we all went down to the beach to get a nice tan. Or so we thought… The hotline rang again, this time our own manager had spotted a limping Sykes monkey, probably hit by a car. We threw the necessities in the truck and rushed to the site. There was no apparent sign of the Sykes, but after looking around in the nearby bushes, we heard a loud ‘thump’ and saw a much disoriented juvenile female Sykes try to flee on the other side of a fenced-in private property. To catch it, we’d have to get in to the property, so we called and called for someone to open the gates, but nobody answered. What to do? In the rush, Rona and I decided to ignore the possibility of a guarding dog and simply climbed over the gate, equipped with net and gloves. It didn’t take long for Rona to catch the poor thing, but as she looked up to head back for the gate, a rottweiler, and a pretty upset one according to the amount of barking, met her eyes. Dilemma: Were we going to just stand there with the dog, adrenaline kicking and an injured monkey in our hands, or try to reach the gate? As the rest of the team tried to distract the dog and persuade a person who suddenly turned up to hold it, Rona and I slowly sneaked closer and closer to the gate, until we could climb it again. The focus switched over to the Sykes. We put her in the cage and hurried back to the vet clinic, where Rona did what was in her power to diagnose and treat her. It seems like she has fallen badly from a tree, hitting her head. She is blind (temporarily we hope) and doesn’t want to use her left front leg, but she has no fractures and has recovered well from the big shock she was in when we found her.

All in all a weekend with way too much time spent in the vet clinic, an experience we are trying to reduce every day, every week, all year round. The human-wildlife conflict is growing, with less land for more people and more monkeys. This time a juvenile Colobus had to pay for it, and I wonder who is paying next time.

Filip Celander, Colobologist

Tags: animal rescue, colobus, Electrocution, sykes

2 responses so far

Category: Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation | Date: Mar 27 2009 | By: colobus

Eventful days at the Trust this week, we were happy to release two of the primates we had in our care today. Our first case was that of a female Vervet monkey that came into our care about two months ago. She was found on the grounds of the Indian Ocean Hotel in Diani, with a severe head injury. At first we suspected she might be blind and paralyzed, but gradually with treatment and the help of veterinarian Dr. Oscar Rerieya she improved immensely each day, her vision was back, she could move her legs and the only remnant of her unfortunate accident was a little lameness in her left hind leg. Unfortunately in the process of rehabilitation she delivered a stillbirth, but on the bright side not having to care for a baby sped up her recovery. Today was the big day and Tom and John took Female Vervet back to her home territory. We were worried about the troop not accepting her back after such a long period of recovery, but no cause for alarm, she recognized her troop instantly and they welcomed her back as if she had never left.

Our other story is that of a feisty Colobus monkey that got himself badly injured in a fight with the resident male of his troop. Usually we try not to intervene in such ‘natural causes’ but his injuries were too severe and deep, if left untreated he would contract tetanus and die like many unlucky cases we had witnessed in the past. This time the team decided to put the cart before the horse and brought patient Colobus to our vet clinic, this is after some impressive tree climbing skills by John and Peter our field assistants. We proceeded to suture the wounds and give him a tetanus vaccine, to be on the safe side, after he had woken up he ate a good meal of flamboyant flowers and the next day we brought him back to Diani Reef hotel were we found him. Good luck monkeys!

The Colobus Team

Tags: colobus, Kenya, vervet, volunteer

2 responses so far

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

Thanks to Dr. K.S. Rekhi from Diani Beach Hospital, The Colobus Trust received a generous donation today of much needed supplies for our veterinary clinic. These medications and supplies were vital in order to keep the clinic up and running and to treat all of those difficult cases we encounter on a daily basis.

Chairman Raymond Matiba, and board member Luciana Parazzi were there to collect the donated supplies from Dr. Rekhi at the Diani Hospital today and the packet was delivered to the clinic where John and Rona (Colobus Trust animal welfare workers) happily received them.

Your generous donations allow us to save more animals, treat them and release them back to the wild.

Thank you again Diani Beach Hospital and Dr. Rekhi!

The Colobus team

Tags: clinic, colobus, diani beach hospital, donation, Kenya

2 responses so far

Category: Blogroll, Uncategorized | Date: Mar 20 2009 | By: colobus

At last our new website is out and about …. after a long period of neglect, it has made its comeback with a new chic look and beautiful photos taken by our volunteers and staff members. You can easily access it by pressing this link http://www.colobustrust.org/  (best observed with an explorer browser) the main address remains unchanged. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters and donors for their generous contributions, every little bit helps!

The Colobus Team

Tags: colobus, Kenya, monkeys, Primate, volunteer, website

4 responses so far

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

One response so far

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

3 responses so far

Category: Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Human - Primate Conflict Resolution | Date: Jan 27 2009 | By: colobus

The month of January has sadly been a record breaker in terms of primate fatalities.

16 monkeys (Vervet: 2, Sykes: 7, Colobus: 6, Baboons: 1) have been lost in the 26 days January has so far seen. Not only is this a 533% increase on the 3 lost in the whole of December, but it is also a considerable proportion of Diani’s ever-dwindling primate populations. If this rate continues we will be looking at a complete population collapse within primates, over the next decade or less.

The majority of deaths occurred under the wheels of speeding vehicles, with 10 monkeys (Vervet: 2, Sykes: 7, Colobus: 1) being claimed by the road that cuts their habitat in half. A further 6 monkeys (Colobus: 5, Baboons: 1) have been electrocuted to death on the insinuated power lines and transformers that occur through Diani Forest. These two elements of habitat disturbance are unsurprisingly, the biggest threat to Diani’s primates.

Below is a picture of a Colobus we cared for after he was hit by a speeding car, as you can see his jaw was broken meaning he could only eat Bougainvillea porridge.

This notable increase in fatalities, when compared to last month’s figures, is sadly an explainable trend and mankind is irrefutably guilty. Although it has not been statistically proven, it is hypothesised to occur because of two factors. Firstly, the increased human traffic that occurs during this peak of the tourist season. This leads to an increase in not just road traffic, but the pedestrian traffic also makes monkeys more unlikely of coming to the ground. Thus leading them to come into contact with power lines more frequently. The second factor is caused by the current climate. We are in the middle of the “dry season” and therefore monkeys are moving further in search of food and water. These lead monkeys to pass more frequently through areas of conflict. Therefore explaining why our electrocution and road traffic accident hotspots claim even more lives at this time of year. People argue that man is not to blame for this, but reckless drivers and a failure to insulate power lines proves to the contrary.

This knowledge should serve as a brutal reminder to us all. We are facing a very real and imminent future where irresponsible tourism and development will cause the demise of this once glorious forest. Rest assured, the reality is bleak, but The Colobus Trust and its allies will continue the fight to save Diani’s monkeys from the future they currently face, but we need your help and support. Some of our readers will remember the days when Diani was a pioneering beach resort buried deep in the coastal rainforest. Now all that is left of this forest is confined to privately owned patches within hotels and peoples gardens. It is these vulnerable forests that make Diani such a popular tourist destination and something that only takes a little compromise to protect. Something that we should all recognise as our duty. If you need any advice on how to act responsibly please ask our advice. But for a start, simple things such as providing water dishes will make a difference.

Let us hope that, as in previous years, the death toll falls. However the many horrible sites witnessed by members of the Colobus Trust Animal Rescue Unit will stay with us for a long time. Those of you who have stopped for a dead monkey lying on the side of the road will know what we mean and feel our pain.

The Colobus Trust will continue its work with core projects such as Colobridge maintenance and Animal Rescue Unit as well as continuing with novel ideas. One of these will to push forward with our primate electrocution hotspot insulation project. This week we are hosting 9 Camp Kenya students, pictured above learning about the forest and undertaking a population check of Kaya Kinondo Forest. This will add to the team as we prepare the insulation material. On Thursday the 29th of January we will be insulating our second hotspot by Zawama. We will then move on to insulate more hotspots. We aim to complete one every two weeks!

Best wishes,

The Colobus Team

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

3 responses so far

Category: Fundraising | Date: Jan 09 2009 | By: colobus

It is no secret that the Colobus Trust has been struggling financially over this last year. Therefore when Assistant Manager, Gwili, went back to England to spend time with his family over Christmas, his family made it their mission to raise some funds for the new years upcoming projects.

Together with his sister Felicity and with help from Lindsay and Olivia Kennaway of Lalesso, and many many more, they arranged an event they called ‘Monkey Around London’. The event was successfully held on the 16th of December in the City of London. The event centred around a fashion show exhibiting the much anticipated Lalesso Spring/Summer ’09 collection which looks fantastic. Other highlights included a live band and DJ set, as well as a shop selling the Lalesso range and other africana.

The event went off with a bang and had over 200 guests. People came from all over Britain. Friends, families, ex-volunteers and many other Colobus Trust supporters, new and old, attended. It was a great chance for people to be united under one cause and lots of supporters met for the first time, such as long term Colobus Trust supporter, Chip Mitton who finally got to meet Gwili!

The fundraiser collected a fantastic amount of £1700 (KSh 200,000). This will prove to be a great Christmas present to the Trust and the monkeys and forest it looks after. As stated at the event, the money raised is going in to support projects such as the Diani Wildlife Census & Habitat Management Assessment, which is being undertaken in partnership with Camp Kenya in late January. This landmark study will pave the way for all much of the work the two organisations will do together over 2009.

Watch this space next month for more information on the study and its goals.

A belated Christmas wishes and blessed 2009 from all at the Colobus Trust

Tags: colobus, fundraiser, lalesso, london, Monkey

4 responses so far