Limbe Wildlife Centre

Category: Simone de Vries, endangered species | Date: Jan 27 2009 | By: limbewildlifecentre

All activities of the Limbe Wildlife Centre depend on donations and some people do the impossible in order to raise money for us. I would like to name two: Keith Norman and Doug Gratwick. They are going to participate in the ‘Race of Hope’, a run up and down Mount Cameroon, to raise funds for the LWC. If you want to support this incredible initiative, please make a donation with the paypal option on this page.

Mount Cameroon is a very important ecosystem, rich in biodiversity. The forests on the western slopes of the Mountain are a good habitat for the endangered drill and preuss’s monkeys, chimpanzees and other species. Once a year this mountain is taken over by runners. Starting in Buea (on the eastern side!) the runners go to the top and back, the fastest runners taking only a bit more then 4 hours. It is hard to describe how amazing this is. Let me tell you that I climbed the mountain taking two days going up and down and I though I was going to die. The picture below also illustrates well how tough it is. This man finished in second position two years ago and went the last 100 meters on all fours.

Keith and Doug live and work in Nigeria. Keith visited the Limbe Wildlife Centre a while ago and decided that this was the project he wants to run for. We are very grateful that the two of them do this for the LWC and we hope that many of you will decide to support them. The date of the race is not yet set, but it will be in February. We will keep you informed about how it goes.

Best wishes,
Simone de Vries
Assistant Project Manager

3 responses so far

Category: Cameroon, Guenon, Simone de Vries, endangered species | Date: Jan 21 2009 | By: limbewildlifecentre

This year we will start the building of new enclosures for our guenons. As you can see in the picture the old enclosures are mended many times and the monkeys are great in finding ways out through the damaged mesh. We have already received a large sum of money from Pro Wildlife in Germany, but we need more to be able to construct enough enclosures for all the guenons that are now living in the Limbe Wildlife Centre. If you want to help us build a great home for these monkeys, please give a donation through the paypal option on this blog.

The Limbe Wildlife Centre receives several guenons each year. Some are quite disturbed by the circumstances in which they were kept before their arrival and their rehabilitation takes time. In the LWC they are housed in large groups of mixed species. Already in quarantine we start the process of introducing the newcomers to other monkeys. One of the groups we have at the moment in quarantine contains three mona monkeys. The female used to show stereotypic behaviour when she was in another group: she was constantly dancing. This dancing was probably the only movement she could make when she was kept in a very small cage. This behaviour has completely stopped since we have given her a baby. Ngolle-ngolle, a male baby orphan, is now very happy to have a surrogate mom to hold on to. The third group member is an adult male that is very oriented towards people. He was released on the beach by a white man and consequently started steeling food from nearby kitchens. We had to catch him and bring him to the LWC. He is now, probably after a long period with humans, getting used to primate company again.

Rehabilitation is the first step on the way back to the wild. As the adult male mona monkey case shows, it is not easy to release primates after a period of living in captivity. The animals need to have the proper skills to survive in the wild. Also, it is not a good idea to release an animal on its own, as primates are social animals. It is therefore very important that we form stable groups. Off course we will also need an area with good habitat that is well protected against hunting and logging. We still have a long way to go before we are ready, but it is our ultimate goal to release our primates back to the wild.

To do this work we need bigger, better and more enclosures. We are very happy that we will start with this project soon.

Best wishes,
Simone de Vries
Assistant Project Manager

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Category: Bush meat, Cameroon, Guenon, Simone de Vries | Date: Jan 10 2009 | By: limbewildlifecentre

Although she is lucky to be brought to the Limbe Wildlife Centre, our new red-eared monkey (Cercopithecus erythrotis) is nothing like a normal, happy young monkey. The man who brought her in said he had found her in the marsh - ‘Marais’ in French – but later changed his story to a market in Douala. It is often difficult to find out the truth about the history of an incoming animal, but it is clear that Marais, as we call her now, has suffered.

She is very small, but probably older then she looks. She is so skinny that her ribs stick out, which shows that she’s not been fed very well. It would be good for her to drink milk, but she doesn’t want to take it. She likes bananas and other soft fruits.

When everything is normal, Marais makes soft noises: PRRR, PRRR. But when something scares her she let us know with an alarm call: KAKAKAKA! This morning I heard a new sound from her, a loud, deep CROO! It was the storm that scared her, the noise of the rain on the roof and the lightning. Surely her mother would have comforted her, but without doubt she was killed for bushmeat by hunters.

Marais does not quite know yet what to think of me and the other people who are taking care of her now. She is basically afraid of people, but she craves physical contact and she has found out that we can give that to her. Once she decides to come to me she completely surrenders, lies on her back and wants to be stroked. To see a monkey so mixed up makes me sad, but at the same time I am extremely happy and grateful that I can be bring a little comfort.

Best wishes,

Simone de Vries

Assistant Project Manager

3 responses so far