CERCOPAN

Category: Cercopan, Rescued neglected bush dog | Date: Jul 26 2009 | By: cercopan

Two weeks ago, the CERCOPAN camp staff visited our host village, Iko Esai, for an evening a way from camp.  Whilst having a quiet drink in the local bar two members of the group returned having seen a small puppy in bad condition hiding under a broken umbrella.  Upon inspection we realised this puppy was in a very awful state and close to death.  She was covered in wounds and blood, and was responding very little to the activities going on around her.  The CERCOPAN staff acted quickly, finding and speaking to the owner and arranging for the puppy to return to our camp to be cared for.  She was carried carefully in a jacket for the difficult 30 minute motorbike ride to camp, through rain and flooded rivers.

Upon arrival to camp we were able to better assess the condition of the dog and begin work on improving her welfare.  The poor thing was covered in sores and a vast number of parasites including ticks and fleas.  She was also painfully thin and extremely dehydrated.  She lay quietly as we treated her wounds and cleaned her up.  Four of us sat around her, all armed with a pair of tweezers, picking off the vast number of ticks, many of which had congregated in her ears.  The conversation with her owner had revealed that she was taken from her mother whilst still nursing and thus had grown weaker and weaker due to lack of food.  Over the coming days she was fed mainly on milk and biscuits.  We have built her up to more solid foods including rice and her now favourite dish, fish.  Our veterinary nurse came to visit her, treating her for endoparasites, such as worms, and giving us helpful advice on her further care. 

She has grown in strength over the last weeks and we get more and more excited every time she achieves new goals.  When she first arrived she was too weak to stand but in a few days we saw her little head peeking out from over her box as she stood up on her own for the first time.  She took her first steps, although wobbly, and is getting more and more inquisitive about her new environment.  She frequently tries to jump out of her box now (something we only allow when there is a volunteer to keep an eye on her) and is forging a friendship with our older camp dog, Simon, who has been particularly lonely since the passing of his camp companion Jami.

Since her vast improvement we have negotiated with her owner and come to an agreement that she will be better as a camp dog where we can continue her much needed care.  We have not decided on her official name yet although there have been many suggestions including; Wormy, Patchy, Ticky Waka Waka and Samo (local language meaning ‘Thank You’.  However, the most commonly used is Ticky, in memory of her first night and the long hours spent using tweezers…………

Tags: abandoned, africa, animal, Cercopan, cute, dog, neglected, Nigeria, rescued, saved

5 responses so far

Category: Cute rare baby otter | Date: Jul 11 2009 | By: cercopan

As anybody who works with animals will say, rehabilitating orphaned babies of any species comes with its risks. Trying to raise a baby who has been separated from its mother in an unnatural environment will inevitably be a difficult task, particularly when not much is known about the species. Two weeks in to our newest member’s arrival here at CERCOPAN we were reminded first hand just how delicate a young orphan can be.

After an extremely successful first week with the orphan she suddenly came down with an overwhelming lethargy just a few days ago. Having spent so much time with her, within just a few hours of noticing subtle changes in her behaviour we knew something was wrong and enlisted the help of a number of vets from across the globe in helping to diagnose the problem. After a few hours of careful discussion it became clear that the new milk we had recently started the baby on wasn’t being metabolised correctly by her body. The specialised milk was extremely high in fat and her little body couldn’t handle it and so wasn’t taking in any of the essential nutrients she needed. It was decided to begin treating the baby with an oral fluid therapy to keep her well hydrated and to switch her back immediately to the soy infant milk she had been taking before and to ensure she got plenty of rest. We watched and waited overnight desperately willing her to make it through the crucial first 12 hours and to our amazement she woke up the following day markedly improved. From that point on she has continued to gradually improve becoming more and more active and alert every day.

We have worked tirelessly around the clock to ensure she gets all of the milk, fluids and rest she needs to continue getting better. Whilst she is not quite out of the woods yet, we are delighted with the progress she has made over the past few days, she has proved herself to be a little fighter. She still experiences periods of increased lethargy but these are now interspersed with prolonged play sessions and a very healthy appetite and we are confident she will continue to go from strength to strength over the next few days.

We would like to thank everybody who has assisted us in diagnosing the otter over the past few days. The advice we have been given has been invaluable and we are almost certain she would not be here had we not received such help from Grace and the IOSF, Spanish vet Ainare, Vet Wendy Simpson in the States and Peter from Pandrullus here in Nigeria.

We will keep you updated on her progress and are also delighted to announce that she is officially named, “Eve”.  It is thought that the ancient Kindgom of Calabar was the original “Garden of Eden” because of its green and lush environment.  As such, we thought the name, Eve was fitting for this unique and strong willed little otter!

Tags: africa, African Clawless Otter, animal, Aonyx capensis, baby, Cape Clawless Otter, Cercopan, cute, endangered species, Nigeria, orphan, rare species, rescued, threatened species, wildlife

2 responses so far

Category: Cute rare baby otter | Date: Jun 30 2009 | By: cercopan

On 27th June a tiny baby otter was brought into CERCOPAN after her mother was shot by fisherman in Bakasi. We think she is approximately 50 days old are are hoping to rehabiitate and release her back into Rhoko, our bush site. Immediately after she was brought in, CERCOPAN staff contacted the International Otter Survival fund in the UK who have not only provided advice on rearing the young cub, but have also offered to send special milk and vitamins out to Nigeria for her to get us started. We are also receiving advice from Helene Jacques an expert on African otters. A big thank you to them for all of their help. We are not entirely sure yet whether she is a Cape Clawless otter, a Congo Clawless otter or an intermediate between the two and to be certain we will need to wait until she is a little older and her markings become more pronounced.  Either way these otters are very rare in captivity and very little is known about them so we are recording as much information as possible. Keep checking back for photos and updates on her progress over the coming weeks.

Tags: africa, African Clawless Otter, animal, Aonyx capensis, baby, Cape Clawless Otter, Cercopan, cute, endangered species, Nigeria, orphan, rare species, rescued, threatened species, wildlife

7 responses so far

Category: Cercopan, Monkeys, Orphaned baby monkeys | Date: Jun 18 2009 | By: cercopan

By: Sam Trull

Our newest orphaned arrival here at CERCOPAN finally has a name…Maya!  When she first arrived here on May 26^th she was estimated to be only 6 weeks old and didn’t even have her white “putty nose” yet (see picture in previous post).  She was rescued from a local market where someone was trying to sell her for a profit after undoubtedly killing her mother.  Very shy and scared on her first day here, Maya has since become very outgoing and while she mostly enjoys the comfort of my arms, she has taken quite well to having play sessions on the couch with anyone who will give her attention.   

It is so much fun watching her grow up and learn.  Each day she gets stronger, bigger and wiser.  She has recently started taking quite large leaps, making keeping her in-line quite difficult.  She is so curious, always wondering what different things taste like, trying to put everything in her mouth after touching it with her hands and staring at it for a second.  She is also becoming much more confident during her play sessions.  Initially, barely leaving me to venture out onto the couch, and then returning to the safety of my lap after each step.  She is now running all up and down the couch with increasing velocity and only checking in with me for a quick running leap into my arms or to have a wrestling session with my fingers. 

Wanting to give her the attention that she needs, but still be able to keep up with all my other daily tasks often requires that she sit upon my shoulders while walking around the office or working at my desk.  Taking advantage of the sudden close proximity to my head, Maya often starts to groom me by rummaging through my hair or nibbling on my ears.  To say that this is adorable is an understatement and while I will be happy on the day that she joins one of our putty groups here in Calabar, I know that it will be hard to let her go.  I look forward to sleeping a little more and having cleaner clothes, but I will miss her calling for me, snuggling into my chest and most of all knowing that I am doing everything I can to make up for the tragedy she has already experienced at such a young age. 

Because of CERCOPAN Maya has a ‘mother’, she has a safe place to live, all the food she could want and most importantly, because of CERCOPAN, Maya has a chance. 

Tags: africa, animal, baby monkey, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, cute, endangered species, infant monkey, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, orphaned monkey, 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, rescued monkey, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, threaten species, wildlife

3 responses so far

Category: Cercopan, Monkeys, Nigeria, Rare monkey babies born, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Jun 12 2009 | By: cercopan

All here at Cercopan are delighted to announce some wonderful news: one of our resident Mangabeys, Mercy, has given birth to healthy baby infant! The new arrival, who’s sex is yet to be determined, was born during the early hours of Wednesday 10^th June without any complications and has been progressing well since. Mercy has proven herself to be a very watchful and attentive parent, as has the baby’s father, Callistus, who is being duly protective. We are all exceptionally pleased with how well the baby has been integrated into the group so far. Brother, Marley, has been seen grooming the child as has the unrelated Mangabey, Peace, who is also due to give birth any day. We will be keeping a watchful eye on this special new arrival to ensure it continues to progress so well and eagerly anticipate the birth of Peace’s infant within the next few days. We have posted a few pictures of the baby Mangabey below but keep checking the blog for further pictures and updates!

Tags: , africa, animal, baby monkey, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, cute, endangered baby monkey, endangered species, infant monkey, 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

2 responses so far