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Conserving Nigeria’s primates and rainforests

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Luck of the Irish

Category: Cercopan, Education, Monkeys, Nigeria, Uncategorized | Date: Jan 19 2008 | By: admin

It has been another amazingly busy week at CERCOPAN and despite trying every day to find the time to write our blog, this is the first spare minute I have actually had! The highlight of the last week was the arrival of another Mangabey on Wednesday, this time a 7 month old infant male. The call came in at around 9.00am, from Abraham, one of our night security guards. On his way home from work, he had spotted the baby playing with a dog and a group of children in someone’s backyard. As soon as I put down the phone, Richard, Jerry and Egu (one of our primate keepers), prepared a travel box and headed off in the truck to meet Abraham. Speed is always imperative with confiscations, even a slight delay can mean that the animal is no longer on view, or worse still, it has disappeared altogether.

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Undercover photo taken at confiscation site

The team arrived at the compound to find a tiny Mangabey, drinking from a bowl of stagnant water. The monkey, later known to be called “Murphy”, was not chained, but looked very malnourished and dirty. After introducing the team as CERCOPAN employees, Jerry asked to speak with the owner of the monkey. Nobody immediately stepped forward, so our staff handed out educational materials, including a poster entitled “Why monkeys do not make good pets” whilst they waited. After about 15 minutes a man approached Jerry and proclaimed that he was the rightful owner of the animal, having bought the creature from a hunter and subsequently paid for its feed.

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“Why monkeys do not make good pets” poster

Despite Jerry’s generally very persuasive manner and his repeated pleas for the monkey to be donated to CERCOPAN, the owner stubbornly refused to part with the Mangabey without some form of financial compensation. This is a common problem, as people tend to feel that they should be repaid for having bought and fed the animal. In most cases, the owners relent once they are certain that we will not pay, but this man held firm and threatened that he would rather kill the monkey and go to jail than hand him over for free.

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Murphy after his first bottle of milk

As time passed, the crowd grew and tempers began to fray, with all bystanders supporting the owners claim to compensation. Jerry however, remained calm, firm and patient, explaining repeatedly that buying the monkey constituted trading in endangered wildlife and that we would rather solve the problem via calm discussion than involve the police. After approximately two hours of negotiating, the mood finally changed and the owner handed Murphy to Richard, along with a smile and a hand shake. This little Mangabey is very lucky that we found him when we did, given that he is approximately half the size that he should be at his age. Thankfully he is already taking to the bottle well, so I am sure that it will not be too long before he catches up to his age mates at CERCOPAN.

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Claire with baby Murphy after his arrival at CERCOPAN

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Marley, a captive born baby Mangabey approximately the same age as Murphy but double his size

9 Responses to “Luck of the Irish”

Claim Blog » Blog Archive » Luck of the Irish, on 19 Jan 2008

[…] MAKE: Blog wrote an interesting post today on Luck of the IrishHere’s a quick excerpt…despite trying every day to find the time to write our blog, this is the … fray, with all bystanders supporting the owners claim to […]

sheryl, washington dc, on 19 Jan 2008

Aw, I’m so glad it all worked out for little Murphy. Jerry sounds like one smooth talker.

s.

Virginia, on 19 Jan 2008

That is a very cute baby!

Wanda, Atlanta, GA, on 19 Jan 2008

Wonderful post - made me happy today!

cathy-california, on 19 Jan 2008

What a wonderful ending to another sad story. I do feel so sorry for the puppy in the photo. Claire, I know you don’t want to pay for confiscated and endangered wildlife, but, if Jerry (a true hero) could convince this stubborn gentleman to hand over little Murphy, it seems that you might be able to convince others as well. Have you ever considered hosting a lecture where you pay a small stipend for everyone who attends the lecture–similiar to the one given by Jerry–and at the end of this, see if any animals are turned in? I view this as something different than simply paying for illegally confiscated animals. If you were interested, how much money would be enough to entice people to listen to a lecture? I’d be willing to fund a pilot project. Thanks.

Hi Cathy,
Thank you very much for your comment and your offer to fund a pilot project. In Calabar however, ensuring that people attend such lectures is not difficult and does not require cash incentives. Over the years we have actually discovered that the most successful means of reaching people is by visiting schools to give lectures or by handing out posters such as the example shown in the “Luck of the Irish” blog. As such, we are currently seeking funds to support the 2008 environmental education outreach programme, the theme of which will be “Monkeys belong in the forest” (i.e. they are not pets and should not be eaten). As part of this programme 1 1/2 hour lectures will be given to over 4000 12-17 years olds in approximately 50 schools (in town and rural communities). When many of our orphans are brought in, their owners inform us that they decided to bring the animal in as a result of a CERCOPAN visit to their childs school. We are able to visit 50 schools and provide them with educational materials for $1100 and $80 buys 200 “Why primates do not make good pets” posters for distribution. If you still feel that you would like to contribute therefore any help you could offer towards either of these activities would really make a difference.

Thanks
Claire

Pam/Shell Beach, CA, on 20 Jan 2008

I agree with Sheryl. Jerry is quite the negotiator. I’m remembering the intense story of how he secured the release of Abonema. And now another amazing rescue, this time little Murphy. Nice work you guys!

THERESA SISKIND, on 20 Jan 2008

Claire, little Murphy is so adorable, I pray he gets stronger quickly. Jerry, you are my hero, I know I wouldn’t have been able to keep my cool undr those trying circumstances. Will Murphy have to be kept in quarantine? Boy, I sure wish I could hold him and give him some lovin!

Hi Theresa,
Yes Murphy will now be going into quarantine for three months where he will receive a tetanus injection and undergo one TB test every month (he had his first today!). We will also conduct regular faecal analysis to monitor parasite load and the vet will closely monitor his health to ensure that Murphy is not carrying any transmittable disease. We then hope to introduce him to Abonema.

cathy-california, on 23 Jan 2008

Thank you so much for the reply. I would love to lend support for your educational program. One more question. Should I assume that you are relying on children to educate adults? It is so hard to believe that the gentleman you referred to in this post would have listened to their teenager–it took Jerry hours to negotiate Murphy’s release. I am not doubting your years of experience but I am just wondering if there is any additional role for lectures geared towards adults? Thanks again and hoping to hear more good news.

cathy-california, on 23 Jan 2008

Claire, I am having trouble getting into PayPal so I will try again later or tomorrow. You do not need to answer my last question about additional lectures…I guess the posters are pretty convincing.

Thanks Cathy. In addition to the posters and schools outreach, we are also approaching corporate sponsors at the moment in the hope of obtaining funds to enable us to place a jingle on the radio and three large billboards at key locations in and around Calabar. I agree with you completely, we must reach out to as many different sectors of society as possible. Hopefully I will be able to update you on our progress with this over the next few months.

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