Archive for the ‘Felix Lankester’ Category
March and April were very busy months for us all at the LWC and we were not able to update this blog as often as we would have like to have done. However despite this our readers have continued to generously support our ongoing work. Many thanks to Theresa S, Lucia C, Muriel T and Judd O’s who all made donations. A special thanks to the Animal Divulgation Trust (Italy) who made another donation of $250, and a huge thank you to Peter F. who dug very deep and pledged $750. Thank you to everyone. Its nice to know that people are out there reading the blog. Best wishes, Felix Lankester and Simone de Vries.
As always we are very grateful for all the donations that we have received through this blog site. Recently Muriel T. and Lucia C. have made donations to assist us with the costs of caring for Bolo. Thank you both very much for this help. I would also like to take this opportunity to make a special mention to Theresa S. who has made several one-off donations as well as committing to a regular monthly donation to our various causes (parrot rehabilitation, Bolo’s care etc.). Theresa, I know you are aware, but your donations are extremely important to us and we really appreciate the generousness of your repeated kindness. The LWC appreciates all of the donations received and is humbled by the support. Best wishes, Felix Lankester
Thank you to Rosemary L., Clizia P., Barbara M. and John S. who have all donated much needed funds to help with our ongoing costs with the African grey parrot saga and the new infant gorilla ‘Bolo’. With all that is going on we are really stretched at the moment financially (and for time!) and receiving your donations is a real shot in the arm to us all.
Thank you very much to George S. and Bruce D. for the generous donations that they made on this Wildlife Direct website. The LWC’s monthly running costs (feed, medicines, enclosure repair etc.) have been rising year in year out as we receive more animals and as the apes that we have hand reared over the years all get bigger. As such we are extremely grateful for this financial assistance. Thank you for your support.
Hi all, thank you for making comments on the LWC’s new site. It is great to know that there are people out there reading our profile and keen to know more. In answer to your question, Xavier, Limbe is very safe to visit and is really easy to get to. It is only 1.5hrs drive from the nearest international airport, Douala, and the town and surrounding area are very safe. Limbe, a bustling fishing port, is within the Mount Cameroon ecosystem, that boasts one of the highest levels of biodiversity in Africa (IUCN 1972). However this precious ecosystem is under threat from the high human population density of this coastal region. As such the LWC finds itself very well placed on the front line of conservation, at the interface between fragile ecosystems and a growing human population. Consequently we place a lot of emphasis on conservation education, utilising the captive wild animals at the LWC as ambassadors for their species. The responses that we get from local people who visit our project (over 30,000/year) and from the schools that we visit are very positive, with most people being very receptive to the idea that their forest ecosystems need to be protected for future generations. However creating conservation results from simple enthusiasm is the challenge that we now face. The future of the Cameroonian rainforests depend on how successful we are! Also in response to your request I am uploading some photos of our drills: The drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is one of the most endangered primate species in Africa, with current estimates reckoning that there are only 3,000 to 6,000 left in the wild. The LWC, which is situated within the natural range of this species, has the second largest captive breeding group of drills in the world and hopes one day to be able to release many of them back into the wild. The largest breeding group are found in the LWC and the Pandrillus Foundation’s sister project Drill Ranch in Nigeria.
What we are about The Limbe Wildlife Centre is a rescue, rehabilitation and release project situated in the South West Province of Cameroon, on the edge of the small fishing town of Limbe, within the Mount Cameroon ecosystem; an ecosystem that, it has been unofficially reported, boasts the second highest levels of biodiversity in Africa. Forest elephant, chimpanzees, drill monkeys, red-eared guenons, and Preuss’s guenons are a few of the endangered species that can be found on the slopes of Mount Cameroon. However despite this high level of biodiversity and local endemism the entire area of the Mount Cameroon ecosystem has no legal protected status and suffers from illegal logging and high levels of poaching for the bush meat trade that is currently ravaging West and Central African rainforests. In Cameroon the level of trade in bush meat is especially high and, as more and more animals are hunted and removed from their forest homes, the state of ‘empty forest syndrome’ has been coined to describe many of its forests. Contrary to popular belief however the bush meat trade does not simply enable poor local people to eat protein. Rather much of the meat is smuggled to, and sold in, large cities, such as Lagos, Yaoundé, Johannesburg and even London, as a delicacy for those wealthy enough to be able to afford it. Linked with the bush meat trade is the illegal pet trade, whereby the infant chimpanzees, gorillas and other primate species, that are too small to have a value as a meat source are, having watched their entire families being killed for meat, sold as pets. The LWC’s very existence is as a direct result of these illegal trades: Firstly the LWC provides a solution to the problem of what can be done with the infant primates, and other wild animal species, when they are lucky enough to be seized from criminal traders by customs, police or conservation officials. In doing so the LWC supports and encourages the enforcement of the wildlife laws of Cameroon. Without such support the confiscating agencies would soon tire of prosecuting wildlife crime as they would have nowhere to place the animals which they seize. The LWC provides a sanctuary for these seized individuals, placing them in family groups within enclosures that have outdoor spaces and extensive climbing structures. In doing so the long process of rehabilitation is begun, with a long term goal of the animals being returned to the wild should suitable forest homes be found. The second aim of the LWC is the utilization of the captive animals as a tool to drive conservation education programs for the local communities. Currently the LWC has three strands within its education program:
Living at the LWC Despite being home to numerous species of endangered wildlife, including duikers, vipers and tortoises, the primary focus of the LWC is the protection of Cameroon’s many endangered species of primate. Residents include the critically endangered drill monkey (Leucophaeus mandrillus), the critically endangered vellerosus chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes vellerosus), the endangered western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), the critically endangered Cross-River gorilla (G.g.diehli), and several endangered species of guenon and mangabey including the locally endemic and endangered Preuss’s guenon (Cercopithecus preussi). The Gorilla Enclosure
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My name is Felix Lankester, the Project Director of the Limbe Wildlife Centre and also the head veterinarian. I have been at the project since April 2004.
