Colobus Trust

Category: Progress report, Research, volunteer | Date: Nov 07 2009 | By: colobus

The Vervet-Sykes hybrid data collection has become rather frustrating recently as he become quite hard to find. When he has been found, the hybrid has still been looking quite battle-scarred! The old injury to his front leg seems to be still hurting him as he holds it at an odd angle and limps on it. He has recently also received a bite to his tail, which whilst being superficial looks quite painful. The bad gash to the hybrid’s rear leg, however, appears to be healing up really well- especially considering how bad it looked initially. In other good news, the hybrid has been groomed quite often by one of the female Sykes. Rob, ever dedicated, has collected a faecal sample which we will be sending off soon so that we can get a genetic profile for the hybrid.

The Colobus Team

Tags: Colobus Trust, diani, Hybrid, Kenya, Progress report, sykes, vervet, volunteer

2 responses so far

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

No responses yet

Category: Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, Progress report, volunteer | Date: Oct 27 2009 | By: colobus

We have been nursing the two infant bush babies that were rescued here in Diani. They were so young that at first we were not sure whether they would both survive but we decided to try anyway. The first bush baby, who we eventually named Bahati (meaning luck in Swahili), was about 3 weeks old; the other one, who we named Gizmo, was about 2 days old. We all knew it was going to be a challenge, primarily because at their tender ages they critically need maternal care. We quickly included them into our daily schedule which meant they were always with someone who was feeding, cleaning or monitoring them. This was an eventful task because they had to be fed every 2 hours, 24 hours a day, needed to be watched and we also had to massage their genital area to facilitate defecation.

Everybody at the trust had already started to create a bond with Bahati and Gizmo, and they had become very comfortable around us but unfortunately the young Gizmo passed away last week after a week with us. He was just too young to survive without his mother’s care. We will continue to provide 24 hour care for Bahati who is doing very well and we will let you know how he is getting on.

The Colobus Team.

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

One response so far

Category: Human - Primate Conflict Resolution, Progress report, volunteer | Date: Oct 16 2009 | By: colobus

There were two surprise arrivals at the Colobus Trust this week in the form of infant Bush Babies. The first, and larger of the two, was brought to the trust by a concerned resident of Diani, who had discovered the Bush Baby abandoned on his terrace. Only a day later, another bush baby found its way into the house here at Colobus Trust. It was Rob, one of the volunteers, who should be credited for rescuing the bush baby. Rob heard an unusual clicking sound coming from the education centre. On investigating, he found Nala- our resident cat- playing with the Bush Baby a corner of the room. Had it not been for Rob’s sharp hearing, the infant, which we believe to be just a few days old, would certainly have been eaten. Fortunately, Rob was able to pull Nala away before any serious harm was done.

Above: The elder Bush Baby resting on Polly

Being nocturnal the Bush Babies (we believe these are Galago senegalensis) spend their day sleeping either in a large cardboard box along with a soft toy acting as a comforter, or held in a kikoi with one of the volunteers.  As luck would have it, the two bush babies are getting along together very well and could not be happier when snuggling up to one another for a nice long sleep.

Above: The second arrival!

While Polly has taken the role of mother for the babies, everyone is doing their part in helping to feed and look after them. We are giving the Bush Babies round-the-clock care in order to ensure their survival and hope to be able to release them into the wild eventually.

Please feel free to post any suggestions for their names, or alternatively email them to info@colobustrust.org- we’d love to hear them.

Stay tuned for their progress!

The Colobus Team.

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

One response so far

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: Progress report, Research, deforestation, volunteer | Date: Oct 01 2009 | By: colobus

In the last few days we have stepped up our data gathering on the potential Vervet/Sykes hybrid.

For the past three days the Sykes troop with which the hybrid associates has been located on the old nature trail at Leopard Beach Resort and Spa, close to the hotel’s southern boundary.

The hybrid can be differentiated from the rest of the troop by several factors. Its fur is much more Vervet-like in colour than that of the Sykes. The most obvious difference is that unlike Sykes monkeys but in common with Vervets it has blue balls. There is also the fact that it just looks a bit strange that makes it stand out. He is also currently carrying a few injuries which make him more readily identifiable. He has a cut on its left shoulder which he can often be seen trying to lick, as well as an older injury on his right front leg. The injury on his leg appears to be painful as he does not put his full weight on it and so limps along a little. A male Sykes in the troop also has a couple of recent injuries to its right shoulder and leg. Whether this is just a coincidence or the result of a fight between the two we don’t know.

The hybrid is almost always found on his own and often on the periphery of the troop. Although other Sykes do move relatively close to him, the closest recent social interaction that has been observed is when the hybrid moved up to and sat next to an adult female Sykes. However she walked away almost immediately when he did this.

Above: The hybrid at Leopard Beach

Due to the density of some of the low-level forest vegetation, maintaining visual contact and following the hybrid at times have proved to be challenging to say the least! Fortunately there appears to be a pattern with their movement over the last few days so it has often been possible to head them off at the pass, as it were. On a number of occasions the resort’s staff have also been very helpful in locating the hybrid when he has been out of sight.

Most of the observations recorded so far suggest that the main activities the hybrid engages in are grooming himself and resting. This may just be a result of the time the observations have been taken rather than due to other factors. Most primates indulge in the majority of their direct social interactions, such as grooming and playing, in the early morning and late afternoon. So far the recent observations have been taken from mid morning till about 1pm, this might explain the lack of social interactions between the hybrid and other members of the troop. Hopefully a couple of early morning starts will show if the hybrid does interact with any other monkeys.

The question is how did this potential hybrid arise? We think that the hybrid may be the result of greater interaction between the Vervets and Sykes caused by the continued reduction in the availability of suitable habitat for each troop. Further study is needed to reveal if this is indeed the case. For example, however, just yesterday the Sykes troop and a Vervet troop met up with each other on a grassy area in front of the resort’s Spa buildings. The two troops freely intermixed but only two cases of direct interaction were observed. A juvenile Vervet and a juvenile Sykes briefly approached each other and touched before walking away again and there was a small fight between a Vervet and Sykes. The Sykes troop is also often in proximity to a couple of different Colobus troops but no direct interaction has yet been seen.

At some stage we are planning to dart the hybrid so that we can take physical measurements and to obtain a DNA sample so that we can have a genetics test run. However because we are currently critically low on our resources required for darting, they are being reserved for welfare cases only at the moment.

Hope to give you more information soon!

Rob

Colobologist

Tags: behaviour study, Colobus Trust, deforestation, Hybrid, Kenya, social interaction, sykes, vervet, volunteer

One response so far

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

One response so far

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

One response so far

Category: Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, deforestation, volunteer | Date: Aug 18 2009 | By: colobus

 Capture

Peter, Sarah, Sam and Tom went to the location where the report of an injured Vervet monkey was reported. After looking around the grounds it seemed that a capture would be unsuccessful today. Either way, the gentleman who reported the incident offered them drinks for their troubles…… Then what do you know? The monkey arrives! The capture was a relatively easy one which involved luring the monkey into the cage with fruit! Once it was trapped, it was sedated and brought into the clinic.

Treatment

Claire, Peter and Jody assessed the monkey on arrival. On examination, there were wounds visible on both arms and a major wound on the back of the right hand. All wounds were cleaned thoroughly by the team and Jody sutured the hand wound with dissolvable stitches. Claire gave antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and Tetanus injections intramuscularly. Iodine was applied to all wounds and the monkey was placed back in the cage to come round fully under observation. Once the monkey was awake water and food were then offered.

After Care

Following the procedure, antibiotic injections were given for another day and the monkey’s progress was monitored.

Release

24 hours after the procedure, the monkey was taken back the location where it was captured. Here, he was released successfully and roamed his natural environment back where he belongs!

All in all, it was a positive outcome for the monkey and team!

www.colobustrust.org

Tags: primate rescue, Primate Rescue/Rehabilitation, Veterinary clinic, volunteer

2 responses so far

Category: Fundraising, Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Marketing, Newsletter, deforestation, sustainable, volunteer | Date: Aug 10 2009 | By: colobus

The following article is the press release from Safarilink the new corporate sponsor of Colobus Trust. We at the trust would like to thank Safarilink for all there support and look forward to an amazing relationship. It is always inspiring when a company of this magnitude cares enough about the local environment and organizations dedicated to protecting it.

SafariLink Helps Protect Diani’s Primates

Nairobi, Kenya xx August 2009 - As part of its ongoing corporate social responsibility programme, SafariLink, Kenya’s premier safari airline, has announced that it will donate $2 to the Diani Beach based Colobus Trust for each passenger it flies into or out of the Diani airstrip.  In addition it has sponsored the purchase of a ‘tuk-tuk’ which will be used by the Trust to collect tourists from their hotels and take them to their headquarters where they will be able to learn about the Coast ecosystem and the work of the Trust. The airline, which commenced daily flights to Diani on the 1st July 2009, has taken the decision to assist the Trust which runs the primate conservation and rescue centre on the south coast of Kenya.

The Colobus Trust was founded in Diani in 1997, initially to come up with a way to prevent the high number of monkey ‘road kills’ on Diani Road.  Today, the Trust has expanded to become a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre, focusing on primates, with both Kenyan staff and international volunteers. The Colobus Trust also helps to educate local schoolchildren, gives guided eco-tours and provides a rehabilitation programme for monkeys that have been kept illegally as pets.

“The rapid growth in tourism infrastructure and growing human population in the area has had a significant negative impact on the remnants of a once large and rich coastal forest ecosystem and hence a decline in the primate population,’ said John Buckley, Managing Director, SafariLink Aviation.  “For more than ten years the Colobus Trust has been dedicated to the conservation and welfare of primates living in the Diani area.  SafariLink, as a socially responsible company, is therefore happy to help the Trust in order to help safeguard the environment for the remaining primates and hopefully thereby stop the decline in their numbers.”

In support of the donation, Raymond Matiba, Chairman of The Colobus Trust said, “75% of the Trusts core revenue comes from tourism.  But sadly the Kenya Coast has suffered a  decline in tourists in recent years and hence our income from visitors to the Trust has decreased.  We are therefore particularly delighted that SafariLink have made this very generous donation to the Trust and their pledge of long term financial support will help us plan for the future.”

“In addition, the introduction of the SafariLink daily flights to Diani is in itself a very positive move which we believe will result in an increase in tourists as well as being beneficial to the residents in the area,” added Matiba.

SafariLink is involved in other socially responsible initiatives that include an indigenous tree planting exercise on the foothills of Mount Kenya National Reserve in conjunction with the Bill Woodley Mount Kenya Trust.  This project aims to compensate for the carbon-dioxide emissions from their aircraft and hence minimize the company’s operational impact on the environment.  Additionally the company has an agreement with the Lewa Conservancy, www.lewa.org, whereby approximately 5% of the cost of each ticket to Lewa is donated to help their conservation research.  In addition, SafariLink assist the Safi Lamu group who are tidying up Lamu and provide flights for the charity Medical & Educational Aid to Kenya, www.meak.org, to help them reach disadvantaged persons in remote areas who need medical attention for heart and eye conditions.

-ENDS-

About SafariLink

SafariLink is a Kenyan company established in 2004.  Based in the ALS Building, Wilson Airport, SafariLink offers a network of scheduled services that cover the main ‘safari’ tourist destinations of Amboseli, Tsavo, Chyulus, Naivasha, Nanyuki, Lewa Downs, Samburu, Loisaba, Shaba, Masai Mara, Kiwayu and Lamu in Kenya and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.  In addition, SafariLink can provide you with charter flight within Kenya and throughout East Africa.  SafariLink currently operates a fleet of Cessna Caravans, a Let 410 and Dash 8.

About The Colobus Trust

The Colobus Trust is a conservation organization designed to promote the conservation, preservation and protection of primates like the rare Angolan Colobus monkey (Colobus angolensis palliatus) and its coastal forest habitat in southern Kenya. The Trust was established in 1997 in response to an outcry from local residents about the high number of deaths of the Colobus in the Diani area. Now the Trust has numerous projects concerning the wildlife and the citizens of Kenya, including animal welfare, biological/ecological research, community development and education, forest protection and enrichment and eco-tourism awareness programs.

Tags: deforestation, Fundraising, habitat restoration, Marketing, Safarilink, sustainable, volunteer

One response so far