Colobus Trust

Category: Habitat Restoration/Conservation, deforestation, volunteer | Date: May 22 2009 | By: colobus

The sacred forests on the Kenyan coast, so called Kayas, are under a big pressure from development. A lot of them have vanished or been largely reduced – like the rest of the forests around here - but some of them are still full of life, an oasis not only for our beloved black and white Colobus, but also for species like the bush-pig and the elephant shrew.

Kayas are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, not to mention that they host sacred places for ancient traditions amongst the people living in the forest. The Kayas are still managed in the traditional way by small groups of wise elders, making all decisions about the forest and its inhabitants, both human and non-human, what to hunt, where to cut trees and so on.  

But times are changing. New threats of development, like poaching, deforestation and privatization are tiring the elders, who are getting very old. Some of the remaining Kayas are being sold out due to lack of funds, and people from outside are beginning to look at the forests like a lucrative snaring-zone. National Museums of Kenya and WWF are already taking action, and a couple of days ago, a Youth-scout group calling themselves Mwakamba approached the Colobus Trust. They knew about our de-snaring and tree-planting programs and asked for assistance with their forest, the Kaya Diani. We arranged a day in the Kaya together with them, in an unusual attempt to work all together for the forest.

After loading our truck with tree-seedlings, tools, staff and volunteers, we took off from the main road and on to a bumpy dusty road headed towards the small village neighboring Kaya Diani. About 20 people, both men and women, awaited us in an open, sunny field enclosed by lush forest. After our staff member Peter held a short introduction, everybody started digging, whether they had a tool or not. Seedling after seedling was planted into the earth of the field, until the whole area was covered and all plants watered. Faces turned towards Peter again, who then explained what snares look like and how to discover them. He then instructed us to spread out and walk in a line, as we bent down and took our first steps into the green (and thorny) mass of Kaya Diani.     

It was surprising and very encouraging to see the dedication of this youth scout group. The forest cannot depend on foreign volunteers to survive as the elders slowly but safely pass their heritage to the next generation. It needs to be managed by the local community, which makes initiatives like Mwakamba invaluable. But neither the elders nor the Mwakamba scouts have the experience or the knowledge on development threats, such as poaching or privatization, like the Colobus Trust, NMK or WWF does, which makes us all a piece of the Kaya-puzzle. A productive day for everyone and a beginning of a future for Kaya Diani.

Filip Celander, Colobologist

Tags: de-snaring, Kayas, local community, tree-planting

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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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