CERCOPAN

Category: Cercopan, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Monkeys, Nigeria, Orphaned baby monkeys, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Oct 16 2009 | By: cercopan

On Wednesday (14^th October) despite doing everything we possibly could, we were unable to save a young male mona monkey brought to us at CERCOPAN.  This tiny mona arrived to us in a cardboard box, collapsed in a heap and shaking all over.  The man who brought him in said his brother had purchased the monkey that morning and it had been fine, but during the day it had become like this. As we continued to examine the mona, we found that he had a black eye, a wound on his upper lip, was dehydrated and highly disorientated.

A mona of similar size to the young male brought in
We questioned the man further, at which point he changed his story and said he had been like this when his brother made the purchase.  Realising we were going to get no closer to understanding the circumstances we carried the mona to our vet lab where our Vet Assistant, Austin, began trying to work out why the infant was shaking so severely, similarly to an epileptic fit.  We were mentally going through all the possible conditions that may have caused these symptoms.  The moment we took its temperature though we understood.  His temperature was 42˚C (nearly 108˚F). We quickly tried to cool him down,  gently wetting his fur and fanning him.  He was still ‘fitting’, a common side effect to such a high temperature, and we held his hands so he had something to hold on to and so that he felt comforted.  He was making small squeals, not like any normal vocalisation a healthy mona would make, and we could tell he was in a lot of pain.

We managed to get his temperature down to the normal level of 38 ˚C and he started to reduce his shaking while becoming more aware of his surroundings.  Relieved that he was becoming more stable we started to look in to the next stage of treatment.  We made up a sugar/salt solution to begin to combat the dehydration and fed it to him with a syringe.  Sadly, not long after, the mona started taking another turn for the worse, this time in the opposite direction with his temperature dropping.

We quickly gave him a hot water bottle and wrapped him up in blankets.  He was beginning to shake again and his whimpering told us he was still in pain. Pandrillus vet Ainare did everything she could to save him but despite all of our best efforts he passed away.  We were all desperately sad but also at least relieved the poor infant was suffering no longer.  A post-mortem revealed massive trauma to the head, likely due to being hit with something or kicked.  All of the staff of CERCOPAN had tears in their eyes and were disgusted that anyone could do this to an animal.

Later that evening the brother, who had originally purchased the mona turned up at CERCOPAN to ‘collect’ his monkey.  We explained to him the circumstances of his death and that, even if the monkey had survived, it would not have been given back to him under any conditions, as is protocol at CERCOPAN.  We gave him  tour of CERCOPAN and spent a long time explaining to him why monkeys should not be kept as pets, and the legal implications of doing so under Nigerian law.  A sad day for all here, but it made us all more determined than ever to educate people about wildlife and to provide safe haven for all of the monkeys out there that so desperately need our help.

Tags: African Wildlife, Cercopan, environmental education, mona monkey, Nigerian primates, Nigerin Wildlife, Orphan monkey, rehabilitation, Wildlife rescue

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Category: CERCOPAN staff fighting to save rainforest and endanger, CERCOPAN supporters saving rainforests and orphaned mon, Cercopan, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Nigeria, Orphaned baby monkeys, Saving endangered monkeys, love and friendship in monkeys | Date: Oct 10 2009 | By: cercopan

by Amy Baxter, Temporary Office and Finance Manager

CERCOPAN is pleased to announce that we now have two new additions to our monkey residents!  Saved from an uncertain fate, two young putty-nosed guenons, Flexy and Delight, were rescued by staff and brought to our Calabar compound.  We had a tip-off from a secondary school teacher who visited CERCOPAN with his class not long a go.  While he was here we explained to the class why primates shouldn’t be kept as pets and told them that it was even against the law in Nigeria.  After this short visit to our site, he walked past a compound where he could see two young putty-nosed guenons and he immeditely came to CERCOPAN to inform us.  We were very pleased that our educational messages were successfully absorbed and it gives us great hope for the future that we can continue to change the opinions of Nigerian residents!

His information indicated that the owner sold monkeys commercially and so we were even more concerned and determined to rescue the pair and to stop any more trade.  Our Education Assistant, Martina, stopped by the compound on the way to work to investigated the situation further.  She was very concerned upon arrival about the number of ‘area boys’ close by, a group known to be involved in criminal activities and often very dangerous.  She left without entering the compound but could see one putty-nosed guenon from where she stood.  Our bravest lads decided they would all go together to confiscate the putties, feeling strength in numbers was the best pproach on this occasion. They had expected a long debate with the owner to persuade him to give up the pair, but the whole situation turned out to be much easier than expected…….

Vet nurse Austin with Flexy and Delight

The owner knew CERCOPAN and had visited in the past as he loved monkeys.  He recognized Martina immediately and said he had expected to receive a visit from us at some point.  Our staff asked him is he knew keeping monkeys was against the law and he did, as did his wife who had been nagging him to take them to CERCOPAN for some time!  He had planned to go but had become so attached to the pair, that he had been postponing the visit.  He admitted that had previously  traded in monkeys, selling them for about 8000 naira each (approximately ₤30) but had often kept them for a while before selling them to enjoy their company.  When our team had arrived the monkeys were running around the compound, having escaped from their enclosure, but were quite happy to stay around the family home.  They were playing in the trees and climbing on the roof, not a bit disturbed by this large group of people watching their antics.

While arranging the hndover of the monkeys with the owner, we discovered one of them didnt actually belong to him. They had been placed together by the two separate owners to keep each other company.  He was very hesitant to give up the second animal, explaining that the other owner would think he had sold the monkey to make money. The next hour was spent trying to contact the other owner and then negotiating with him and his family. Eventually, our staff finaly talked him into releasing the monkey into our care and Flexy nd delight were brought home to CERCOPAN. They are a friendly and confident pair, even around humans.  So much so that they didn’t even need a travel box on the car journey home, cheerfully clinging to each other and Egu, our head keeper’s, arm.

Now they are waiting at CERCOPAN for their medical tests so they can be moved in to a big group with other puttys.  We have 3 other young puttys and 1 slightly older individual already waiting to move out from quarantine and they will form one big happy group once Flexy and Delight are ready.  They won’t be without their guardian though, making sure they all stay in line; Double Chief, an old male, with be put in charge of the nursery group and will make sure no one misbehaves!

Tags: African Wildlife, Cercopan, Conservation, Orphan monkeys, Primate rehabilitation, putty-nosed guenon

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Category: CERCOPAN staff fighting to save rainforest and endanger, Cercopan, Communities, Conservation, Education, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Monkeys, Nigeria, Orphaned baby monkeys, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Oct 05 2009 | By: cercopan

Usually a trip to Agoi is an anticipated event, often for an exciting occasion when the local community are even more cheerful than usual and their specially brewed, extra ‘hot’ spirit is more readily available.  This trip however, was quite different from those usually encountered.

We had received information that a drill monkey was being kept as a pet within the village.  Our first response was to inform Pandrillus, another primate organisation based in Calabar who specialise in drill monkey and chimpanzee rehabilitation.  Due to their current schedule and as Agoi is so close to our forest site, they asked us if we could go and remove the animal from the situation.  CERCOPAN will never buy an animal, as it encourages people to try to catch them for financial gain, and we try to avoid getting the police involved as it deters people getting in touch to donate animals already in their possession.  In these cases we try to negotiate with the owners and hope to persuade them to give up their animal, making them understand why it’s better for the individual and for them.

Rescued Juvenile Drill monkey     

When we first sent our CERCOPAN representative to see the owner we found it very hard to get our message across.  The owner, did not want to give up the animal.  He said he had paid 4000 naira for the monkey, now a juvenile male named Chris, from a hunter back in January of this year.  He had been caring for it since then and it had been living in a small wooden box constructed from wooden planks at the side of his house.  The box only had some small holes to see out of and soon he would grow far too big for the box, as adult male drills grow to a huge size.

Adult male Drill Monkey

When our first approach was not working, we attempted to negotiate with someone who had the power to sway the owner’s opinion; the local chief of the village.  The chiefs of a village often have the final say in many decisions and solve many disputes involving village residents.  After consulting the chief he spoke to the owner and began to change the owner’s position on the situation.  To begin with the owner still wanted a reward in the form of guaranteed employment.  Again we had to explain that if we agreed to such terms we would continually have this problem in future situations, and inadvertently increase the number of primates removed from the forest when others decided to use them as a means of getting a job.

Eventually he understood our position and we reached an agreement whereby he would receive a certificate stating that he had donated the drill monkey to us.  We left to prepare a certificate and returned, again to a big discussion about the situation.  Luckily we still managed to make him see he was doing the best thing and Chris was handed over in front of a crowd of around 50 people.  In addition to his certificate we presented him with information leaflets about why it is wrong to hunt monkeys and a poster urging people to protect the highly endangered drill monkey.

To make the entire event official, various traditions had to be adhered to.  After the exchange of monkey and certificate, further exchanges had to be made involving kai-kai; the locally brewed spirit that happens to be particularly strong in Agoi.  This isn’t the kind of exchange where each party buys a bottle and the other takes it home to drink leisurely in their own time - this is when both parties buy a bottle and both bottles must be finished by the end of the gathering.  A little speech was made by both sides and then each departed, swaying slightly from side-to-side!

Chris was brought to our Calabar site late the next evening where he remained in our quarantine area overnight and where he had more space than he had been used to before.  He seemed to enjoy it so much that, by the next day, he was so eager to run around more he managed to escape our trained staff and cause havoc around the office.  After destroying several office items, chewing keys off computer keyboards and peeing on important papers, we finally managed to calm him down and return him to a travel box.  After that he was taken to Pandrillus and reunited with those of his kind.  Now he is busy making new friends and learning what it is really like to be a drill monkey!

Tags: African Wildlife, Cercopan, Community Conservation, Drill monkey, Endangered primates, Nigeria, rehabilitation

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Category: CERCOPAN battles illegal loggers, CERCOPAN helping communities in Nigeria, CERCOPAN staff fighting to save rainforest and endanger, CERCOPAN supporters saving rainforests and orphaned mon, Cercopan, Communities, Conservation, Education, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Monkeys, Nigeria, Orphaned baby monkeys, Rain Forests, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Oct 01 2009 | By: cercopan

 The October edition of the CERCOPAN monthly newsletter can be dowloaded from the link below

cerconews-october-2009-edition.pdf

Hope you enjoy it! Look out for the next issue on the 5th November.

Tags: African Wildlife, Cercopan, Community Conservation, Conservation, Endangered monkeys, environmental education, Guenons, Mangabeys, Newletter, rehabilitation

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Category: CERCOPAN helping communities in Nigeria, CERCOPAN staff fighting to save rainforest and endanger, Cercopan, Communities, Conservation, Education, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Nigeria, Rain Forests | Date: Aug 07 2009 | By: cercopan

Hi, I’m Carrie and I am just coming to the end of a six week stay as a short term volunteer at CERCOPAN. I am currently working on my PhD at the University of Florida focusing on Environmental Education and Primate Conservation and hope to come back for a much longer period next year as part of my studies. I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Rhoko camp, but the definite highlight of my trip was working with the Rhoko education officer, Mike, and organizing an overnight stay for 12 members of the Iko Esai Conservation Club.

Conservation Club group

CERCOPAN has initiated the formation of over 20 conservation clubs in rural and urban schools; encouraging the youth of Nigeria to actively promote and participate in environmental campaigns and events such as the annual June 5th World Environment Day celebrations and tree planting programmes. This rainforest adventure however, gave the children a chance to experience the sights and sounds of the rainforest first hand and to gain a solid background to conservation and primate ecology…using the forest as their classroom!

Conservation club members learning about monkeys

The students were amazing and I was extremely impressed with their knowledge and their desire to learn more. Everyone was sad when the activities were over and it was time to leave, but all agreed they had a wonderful time and that we definitely do it again soon. CERCOPAN hopes to run such trips for conservation clubs from urban schools in the future, as some of these children have never seen the rainforest before.

It took a long time to persuade the children that this snake was plastic!

Special thanks to Jan Valkenberg (a former CERCOPAN volunteer) who raised the funds for this and other education activities. I would also like to thank the principle of Iko Esai secondary school for allowing the students to attend, Mr. Hans the science teacher, and the students themselves: Nkoyo, John, Promise, Patricia, Peace, Regard, Gabriel, Oboon, Uso, Redual, Erong, and Akima.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Tags: African Wildlife, Cercopan, children, Communities, Conservation, Conservation clubs, Education, environmental education

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Category: Cercopan, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Monkeys, Nigeria, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Jun 11 2009 | By: cercopan

Story by: Daniella Mancini
Pictures by: Sam Trull

It’s approaching dawn on Friday 5th June and my mind floats peacefully through a dream filled sea. Thoughts of the past few forest trekking, monkey feeding, bush researching days filled my mind as I lulled gently further into a restful sleep. Suddenly, amidst the bananas and mangabeys that have thus invaded my subconscious, the dulcet tune of Mozart’s 5th Symphony begins to resonate through the trees. That’s strange. I’m used to the sweet ticking of crickets and the mild hum of sand flies; I didn’t know there was a natural classical overtone in the wild too; my dreams must be playing tricks on me. The tune gets louder and louder and within just a few minutes the sound is inescapable….damn. It’s my alarm. I forgot. It’s 5am and time to drag my weary head out of bed to travel to Calabar for World Environment Day. This had better be worth it.

I should introduce myself for this all to make sense. My name is Daniella and I am a 19 year old British student staying here in Nigeria for two months as a volunteer for Cercopan. As someone who’s never been involved in conservation work before, I was advised by Rhoko’s manager, Richard, that World Environment Day would be a fantastic way to go and see firsthand just what conservation really means to the Nigerian people, particularly the Nigerian youth, of today. Eager to find out how Cercopan’s work reaches out to society, I was thrilled to accept the invitation. If only we didn’t have to leave so early. Like I said, I really hope this is worth it.

Three hours pass and before I know it we arrive at the cultural centre in Calabar where the day’s events were to take place. Still rather bleary eyed, I stumble out of the truck into a giant car park where, before I could even say ‘environmental awareness’, my tiredness was knocked out of me with the quickest of blows. Out in front of the truck was wave after wave of colour, hoards of children had grouped en masse dressed in the most fantastically imaginative costumes ready for a parade. The rhythmic pulse of a drum beat echoed around us and children danced like they had no other purpose in the world but to dance. They danced as though the rhythm of the drum had taken over their very soul, a dance that came from deep within and told the most extraordinary story. Culture, history and pride entwined and mingled into one unified expression, it was a breathtaking scene.

Then the carnival began. Line after line of dancing troupes paraded around the streets of Calabar waving banners promoting the plight of Cercopan and the importance of being environmentally aware. The streets came to an absolute standstill as the masses of eager school children rhythmically processed around town. Above the drum of the instruments, poignant chants and messages could be heard. The air was electric, the atmosphere engulfing. You couldn’t help but be sucked into the excitement of it all. Heck, I even had a little dance and a chant myself. The procession lasted for the best part of an hour under the relentless heat of the Nigerian afternoon sun yet not even that could dampen the spirit of these passionate youths. As the sun rose higher, the children merely danced and cheered harder stopping only for a quick “snap, please” and then dancing off as I fumbled around rather pathetically with my camera. The whole parade really was the most exhilarating of scenes.

When the parade had ended we returned to the cultural centre where the children were to march back into the car park group by group and give a final performance in front of a panel of judges. I then realised that the schools were competing for the coveted, “Best in carnival” prize. One by one the schools marched back into the car park putting on theatrical and sometimes very traditional shows, body popping their way to the finish line and their reward – a much needed drink of water. Never in my life have I seen such impassioned young people, the sheer pride they had at representing their school was nothing short of inspirational and I was left in awe at their absolute determination. Coming second place was not an option; they were in it for the win. But more than that, these children were proud to be a part of World Environment Day. They were proud to spread the word of something they clearly felt was massively important. And it worked. The general public came out en masse to see what the parade was about and as such, Cercopan were able to deliver hundreds of information leaflets to those who may otherwise have been unreachable.

After a small break the children were ushered into a large hall where a panel of Nigerian high rankers in the environmentalist world gave speeches educating the young people even further on the topic of environmental conservation. The children sat through each speech intently, understanding the absolute importance of, not only being educated in the importance of wildlife preservation themselves, but relaying that information to their elders and neighbours back home. It seemed Cercopan truly was spreading its conservational branches right into the very heart of society in the hope that this generation will be the catalyst of sustained change and development for the future.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more electrifying, Cercopan’s Acting Operations Manager, Jerry Akparawa announced it was time to declare the winners of the prizes: Best banner, Cleanest school and, the highly anticipated, Best in Carnival. Whilst I’m normally a bit of a sceptic on such things (a cynic, I’ve found, is a very British thing to be) there was no doubt in my mind that the awards Jerry had organised were perhaps what enthralled the children most. Even if I had tried I couldn’t have anticipated the reception the awards ceremony would achieve. Counting down in the normal fashion from 3rd to 1st, a number of awardees handed out the prizes, each time arousing the most fantastically euphoric roar of joy from the winning participants. As each winning school was announced the entire hall would erupt into a frenzy, the children jumped up and danced, the runners up offering equally hearty congratulatory cheers and dances in return. It was the most incredible sight. I realised at that moment that, so long as Cercopan and other conservation charities continue to target young people, there will be long and sustained change in the future. The young people I met during World Environment Day left me in no doubt that the mindfully active young Nigerians of today are receptive and ready to make changes and it is for this reason that the work Cercopan is doing with them right now, is undeniably essential.

Special mention absolutely must go to Cercopan’s Acting Operations Manager, Jerry Akparawa. The sheer scale of event he achieved this year on such a low budget was astounding and the impact that it will have made is colossal. Whilst events like World Environment Day must, I’m sure, be impossibly difficult to organise, he achieved an indisputable success. One which I’m sure will be the first stepping stone on a long journey of change for the young Nigerians of today.

So, after all my moaning in the morning, was it worth it? More than anything I’ve ever been involved in before. I was touched, moved, inspired and overwhelmed by what I saw on World Environment Day, not least at the thought that such a small charity as Cercopan could have achieved such giant things. Whilst it is true that no man can move an island, it also remains that when a group of people think big despite all the odds, the outcome can be more than anyone would have ever dreamed possible. It struck me on World Environment day that, if Cercopan did not exist, environmental conservation education in Cross River State would be drastically different.

It leaves me with nothing other than to say that World Environment Day was an incredulous success. The more charities like Cercopan reach out to the very core of communities as was done during this event, the more likely things are to change. If any potential volunteer is wondering whether to come out to Calabar and do some work with Cercopan I can’t encourage you enough. The work that this charity does is invaluable and, particularly after seeing Cercopan’s might in full force on World Environment Day, I am proud to be here now myself.

Tags: africa, animal, Calabar, Calabar festival, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, endangered species, environmental education, environmental rally, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, primates, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, threatened species, wildlife, World Environment Day

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Category: CERCOPAN helping communities in Nigeria, CERCOPAN staff fighting to save rainforest and endanger, Cercopan, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Monkeys, Nigeria, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Mar 09 2009 | By: cercopan

Short term volunteers Sacha, Jan, Richard, Henk,
Rob, Jeanette and Ruud recently departed
Nigeria after three weeks of hard work.
The group arrived from Holland in early
February to assist CERCOPAN in a community
development initiative involving schools in
our host community, Iko Esai. The group
was well received by all and will be sorely
missed.
 
 

Men hard at work!
 
Most notable of their contributions was their work
with Iko Esai’s primary and secondary schools.
Before arriving they raised USD$1200 to be put
 towards the cost of renovating and sprucing up
the schools. In addition to their financial
contribution, they also offered their time
and effort to see the work through themselves.
 As mentioned in a previous blog entry,
part of the group painted the interior
 and exterior of Iko Esai Secondary School.
The other half of the group worked at the
Primary School, cementing the floors,
transforming the previously dirt flooring
into a more modern cement composition.
Thanks to the hard work and caring nature
of this group from Holland, a smoother path
to learning has been paved.
 
 
The completed flooring
 
Do you want to volunteer with CERCOPAN? Visit our website at 
www.cercopan.org or email info@cercopan.org
 
 
Farewell party
 

Tags: africa, animal, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, community development, Conservation, endangered species, environmental education, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, Nigerian wildlife, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, primates, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, threatened species, volunteers, wildlife

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Category: CERCOPAN staff fighting to save rainforest and endanger, Cercopan, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Monkeys, Nigeria, Rain Forests, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Feb 08 2009 | By: cercopan

Im sure you have all read about Jerry in previous blogs. Jerry officially started at CERCOPAN as a part time education assistant on 5th February 1997, having completed his diploma in Environmental Education at the University Of Calabar. At the time, Jerry was instrumental in setting up CERCOPAN’s highly successful education program, which now reaches out to over 70 schools annually in Cross river State.

Jerry at Henshaw Town School

Jerry was later promoted to Education Officer in May 2002 and once again to Senior Education Office in November 2004. In 2007 his hard work and utter dedication to conservation and environmental education was rewarded when he won the  Charles Southwick Award fro Environmental Education from the International Primatological Society.

Jerry has now been promoted to Acting Operations Manager, and in conjunction with the Office and Finance manager will be managing day to day CERCOPAN operations in Calabar. I am sure you will all join me in Congratulating him, on this much deserved promotion. We are, as always, very proud of him.  

Jerry at World Environment Day 2006

Tags: africa, animal, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, endangered species, Jerry, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, Nigerian wildlife, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, primates, promotion, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, staff, threatened species, volunteers, wildlife

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