CERCOPAN

Category: Cercopan, Conservation, Rain Forests | Date: Nov 20 2009 | By: cercopan

The third day was supposed to be the last and we looked forward to a shower and a tastier meal, but a lot of surprises and events were waiting for us in the hours that followed.   We left early, carrying our loads, which were thankfully lighter than the first day.  My shoes were dry from the fire, but this became irrelevant after the first river we had to cross.  The rain had stopped in the morning though and the level of streams and rivers had decreased substantially.

Exactly like the day before, the nice, easy trail didn’t last and we soon had to short-cut some hill slopes and dense areas.  After about 2 hours of trek, the only wildlife tracks we had found were red river hogs footprints, although they were in very large quantities. We had passed several hills rich in Coula edulis, also known as Gabon nut, a tree that produces fruits appreciated by chimpanzees, confirmed by Osam’s anecdotes about chimpanzees killed in this area around 5 years ago.

We had travelled through the major hills and the topography had become smoother when we heard branches shaking.  We stopped, unloaded our bags, and approached quietly.  There were monkeys around, but it was difficult to estimate the number or to see them particularly well.  We could clearly see red-eared monkeys, probably because they travel under the canopy making them easier to observe.  The monkeys were moving from North to South and it seemed they had not seen us.

Soon after this sighting the path disappeared again.  We looked for it a while but decided to give up and go back to Agbor Iyamba.  As soon as we made this decision, Osam recognized a bushmango tree where he had met 2 people in the past when he was hunting, and while he was lost on an elephant trail. We found the trail close to the tree and we followed it.  A few minutes later, branch movements and shaking attracted our attention.  Monkeys were to our right side and we could see fast movements in the trees but we couldn’t distinguish them.  It seemed that they finally detected us, as three powerful threat booms were followed by a series of hack calls, making us realize we were in the presence of mona monkeys.  Immediately after the adult male mona calls, putty-nosed piows, another type of alarm/threat loud call, came from the same location.  There were mona AND putty-nosed monkeys, close by the red-eared monkeys we had seen before.  All were moving to the South, just like our trail. We stayed quiet and followed our track for a few minutes until we stopped again.

Putty nosed guenon

A strange unfamiliar sound, like scratching, was produced close to us.  Osam, reproducing his ex-hunting strategies, took off his sandals, crouched slightly, and approached where the sound was being emitted.  I stayed behind so as to not scare whatever it was, and waited in anticipation.  After a few minutes, the sound had stopped and Osam came back to me, illuminated by a large smile.  “Mangabey ! Red-capped mangabey, just like the ones we have in camp!” he said.  His description was precise enough to put out any doubt in my mind.  Osam had approached the sound and saw a large monkey on a branch, very close to the ground. The animal didn’t see Osam and he approached while the monkey was scratching at a big fruit.  Osam saw the grey/black back, and the tail with the white tip.  Then the monkey suddenly turned himself in the direction of Osam, saw him, and ran away.  Then Osam had clearly seen the white belly, the chestnut colored head, and the prominent black muzzle before the monkey could flee.

Red capped Mangabey       

We continued and arrived at a location where a shed had previously existed before being destroyed as it was too close to the Cross River National Park.  Here we were just on the boundary of the park.  We took a quick, well deserved rest and then carried on our walk.  Only 5 minutes after we left, familiar contact calls made us stop.  We could very clearly see mona monkeys foraging in the lower canopy.  There were movements on the ground too, and more monkeys higher in the trees.  Red-eared monkeys could be seen and it looked like the same mixed-group as before.  We had all advanced in the same direction and location.  Another red-capped mangabey was seen at that point but, even with so many eyes to see us, it still took some minutes before the monkeys detected our presence.  Then they all moved away, creating a lot of confusion in the trees and in our minds, while we tried to work out what species went where and how many of each there were.  In this situation, it is difficult to spot all the monkeys, and usually it is good to concentrate in one area.  Most of the monkeys were fleeing to the South, but some scattered in others directions.  I could spot the monas at 60 or 70m in front of me, about 30m high.  They passed one by one along a branch that I could see clearly through the vegetation, counting  11 of them.  All these sightings were extremely exciting, but it had delayed our progress a lot and now it was close to noon and we were still very far from camp.

As soon as we couldn’t see monkeys anymore, we continued on the journey and the rain started.  Not a light rain, but a strong shower worthy of any visions we have of the wet season.  Soaked in a few minutes, we walked for an hour before reaching a shed.  Unfortunately, this shed was only a shadow of its former self- no roof; no shelter for us.  Just the time to take a GPS point, which was a good 15min in this weather, and then we were back to walking.  The trail was easy to follow until we took a fork to the North.  This trail was mainly grown over so we had to cut our way through, which took a long time. We finally arrived to Ebin Iyura, a shed used for logging activities before logging was banned by the state. Logging sheds have a floor made of planks, whereas hunting sheds are much more rustic.  It was 3.30pm and we were about 5 hours from camp.  Again, each halt was short as the lack of time was praying on our minds.  The next trail fortunately was well maintained and we reached Rhoko river around 5pm without difficulties, except for the rain that was still pouring down.

Rhoko river is usually large, but what was in front of us looked like something else.  Maybe 25m wide and brown with earth, it ran extremely rapidly forming whirlpools in places, and carrying huge branches downstream.  Because of the darkness of the water, we couldn’t figure out how deep it was and where the “normal” bank should be.  We planted a stick on the edge to work out if the level was decreasing or still growing, and waited.

The rain had stopped and the Rhoko river was decreasing, but slowly. Too slowly.  Rhoko, as the major river on this side of the forest, had received the water from many adjacent streams, and was not forming an insurmountable natural barrier.  There was a shed on the other side of the river, called Ocambay, and we were only 30m from it, but blocked by these natural elements.  Night was falling.  Osam knew of another long abandoned shed on our side of Rhoko and we decided to verify the state of it. Unfortunately, we had to pass yet another stream that turned out to not even be running because it was too close to Rhoko, but instead had reached a stationary level over 2m.  Despite that, Osam could cross this stagnating, brown and forbidding water.  He crossed by a fallen tree still raised just above the water.  I waited on the other side until Osam came back, announcing there was no shed anymore.  Then we headed back to the edge of the river Rhoko.

The only solution was patience.  We set our wet camping mats on the ground, took off our wet clothes and tried to rest.  Osam fell asleep quickly but there was no way for me.  The ground was sloppy and I continually slid down slowly, finding myself off the mat.  The darkness and the night fell while the entire forest dripped water, even after the rain had stopped.  Consequently, between water drops, the cold, and the slope, I barely could find any sleep.

Sleeping next to the Rhoko River

Finally, at 2.00am, when Osam and I were too cold to rest any longer, luckily, the water had seriously decreased.  We could see the bottom of the river, which was still very powerful.  We figured out that the river was more than 2m high when we had first arrived, but now was only 1m.  Osam used my head-light, while I used my mobile phone for light, and we had to walk along a flooded tree trunk for 15m up the river and then fork onto a fallen tree trunk to reach the other side. Osam was standing without any problem on the trunks, while I had to crouch to avoid the heaviness of my load from carrying  me into the water.  Eventually we made it but it had taken us a good 30minutes to cross!

We stayed in Ocambay shed for the rest of the night.  A hot meal and warming fire in the shelter gave us so much relief.  We left in the morning and made it back to camp within 3 hours, exhausted but happy to conclude this weekend’s adventure.

Tags: African Wildlife, Cercopan, Nigeria, putty-nosed guenon, Rainforests, Red River hog, Red-capped mangabey

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Category: CERCOPAN staff fighting to save rainforest and endanger, CERCOPAN supporters saving rainforests and orphaned mon, Cercopan, Conservation, Monkeys, Nigeria, Rain Forests, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Oct 04 2009 | By: cercopan

On the 30^th September, one of our youngest mangabeys found his adventurous streak and took a trip to the ‘outside world’.  Despite being in a large 1 hectare, semi-free ranging forest enclosure Judim, approximately 6 months old, decided he was ready to explore a bit further afield.  The primate keepers at our Rhoko forest site were very surprised when they arrived one morning to discover the small mangabey climbing the trees outside the enclosure.  It is particularly rare that we have mangabey escapes at our forest site, mainly as their enclosure is so large they are usually quite happy inside, and also because we have an electric fence running around the outside making it particularly difficult to climb out without a little buzz!  The only time we worry about escapes is when a storm has caused a tree to fall on the fence and we have some teenage males looking to find exotic girls from another troop!

Judim our little adventuror!

What was even more surprising about Judim’s escape was that usually he was such a quiet, nervous infant! It is very rare to see him away from his mum, so where this daring notion came from is anybody’s guess!  We think he must have crawled under the electric tape to where the normal metal fence is and then started to climb up, being small enough to not touch the electric tapes about 25cm away.  Once he got to the top I don’t think he realised he would be separated from his mum if he played in the ‘adventure playground’ the other side of the fence. Once he was on the other side and this separation dawned on him he wasn’t too happy, nor was mum for that matter! Both mum and infant started to get distressed, and Judim tried several methods to try to get back in with the other mangabeys.  The CERCOPAN workers who had gone to help tried to reduce their stress by not getting too close and attempting to distract the rest of the group with food.  It would be impossible to pick up the infant and return him to the enclosure without being mobbed by the group, so everyone was forced to wait while Judim worked out a method to return himself.  Eventually, after several different tactics had failed, Judim cimbed a tall tree over-looking the enclosure.  Here he weighed up his options and chances of leaping back in to the enclosure and, with baited breath, the staff looked on. With every other possibility exhausted and now clearly desperate, Judim took the death-defying leap and luckily landed safely in his mother’s arms.  Both mother and Judim were extremely relieved and joyful about being united, but I’m pretty sure Judim got a serious telling off when these emotions wore off!

Tags: African Wildlife, baby monkey, Cercopan, Conservation, Red-capped mangabey, Wildlife Rehabilitation

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Category: Cercopan, Monkeys, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Jul 23 2009 | By: cercopan

It’s a sad fact that charities and organizations across the world are suffering the knock on effects of the global financial crisis. Donors are drying up and support from individuals is lessening as people look to solving problems closer to home. CERCOPAN tries not to rely on appeals of this nature but we have found ourselves unexpectedly forced into an extremely difficult situation. We have had to tighten our belts considerably in view of the fact that unrestricted funds for operating costs such as monkey food, enclosure repairs and utility bills are just not forthcoming at present.

We are still supported in educational and rural livelihood development projects, for example, but these funds are assigned to the activities the funding organizations have specified. Our desperation at this time is the need to find funds simply to continue our day to day operations so that we can honour these commitments and most importantly give the food and care that our rescued monkeys require. We have been cutting expenses in peripheral areas for some time now and have put all we can personally into making sure these demands are met, however, something can always tip the balance.

Yesterday we received a demand for the rent on the property where our Calabar office and education centre stand; in which we house all of the primates not currently in our forest based site. This annual rent has doubled without warning and is required to be paid by the end of next month. Unfortunately we have no right to appeal this increased demand; in the future we would have no such threat to our existence having agreed to move permanently to a free undeveloped site on the University of Calabar’s grounds. We have funding proposals out being considered at the moment to finance this move; but face an imminent and debilitating crisis if we cannot find the necessary money to keep us in place until then.

We are continuing to try exhaustively all avenues of funding we can hope to raise from here but we have reached a point where we need to ask our readers and supporters to help us if at all possible, through whatever means you may have at your disposal, to raise the funds required to continue our work in this difficult time.

Thank you from everyone at CERCOPAN for taking the time to read this.

Claire

Baby Sclater’s guenon - CERCOPAN houses the only known captive Sclater’s guenons in the world.

Tags: africa, animal, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, endangered species, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, rehabilitation, rescue, save, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, threaten species, wildlife

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Category: Monkeys, Rare monkey babies born | Date: Jun 27 2009 | By: cercopan

All here at CERCOPAN would like to congratulate Peace on the birth of her healthy little baby!  Peace’s infant was born two days ago, and while this is Peace’s first child and she still has a lot to learn, each day she grows more comfortable with her motherly duties.  Born just a few weeks earlier, Mercy’s baby boy is growing quite rapidly and it won’t be long before these two young managbeys are causing trouble together!    Stay tuned for more updates and pictures on this adorable and lively group of monkeys.

Tags: africa, animal, baby monkey, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Conservation, cute monkey, endangered species, infant monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, primates, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, threaten species, wildlife

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Category: Cercopan, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Jun 22 2009 | By: cercopan

Everyone here at CERCOPAN would like to send a sincere thanks to Christine, Brenton and Brigitta for their recent donations.  Thoughtful people like you, keep CERCOPAN running.  Every dollar counts and helps us to care for each of our monkeys, especially by keeping them fed.  As you can see, they really do appreciate it!  As always, please stay posted for more updates and pictures.

Tags: africa, animal, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, endangered species, 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, threaten species, wildlife

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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

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Category: Cercopan, Monkeys, Orphaned baby monkeys, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Jun 16 2009 | By: cercopan

by Dani Mancini

As my time at CERCOPAN goes by, I am finding myself being given more daily duties and responsibilities and, after returning from the bush to CERCOPAN’s centre in Calabar, I was only more than happy to be given the daily duty of feeding the infant monkeys throughout the day. 

Bella

There are many different groups of young monkeys who all need a milk supplement to their normal fruit diet in order to continue developing properly. Amongst the monkeys I have been put in charge of preparing milk for are 6 juvenile monas, 1 juvenile red tail, 1 juvenile putty and our newest baby orphan putty, all of whom range from just a few months old to around 4 years. In the wild, the monkeys we have here at Cercopan would continue nursing for a few years after birth so, when in captivity, it is important to continue to supplement their diet in the same way to ensure they do not miss out on any of the essential vitamins and minerals they require for growth.

Dani giving infants milk  

The milk given to the monkeys is made from the vitamin rich powdered milk, Nan, which is given at 2 hour intervals throughout the day between the hours of 9 and 6. In order to imitate the milk the infants would naturally receive from their mothers the milk is served lukewarm and, for the youngest of our infant monkeys, in a little milk-bottle to simulate their mothers’ teat. The best part about being able to feed the young monkeys here is that it is the perfect opportunity to get to know each individual personality. I always try and take a few moments to stay and watch the infants when they feed as it is the most fantastic way of learning first hand  just how unique and complex each individual can be. I’ve also gained a slight amount of trust from the infants - one of the young monas, Tina, now even insists on giving me a little groom each time I go to deliver her group’s milk!. It has also shocked me just how intelligent these young monkeys are, if there’s a way of getting to the milk before they are supposed to, they will find it. Even the monkeys in neighbouring cages hatch cunning plans to steal the infants’ milk. Billy the one eyed mona, who neighbours the young red tail, for example, has found a way of reaching through his cage mesh to get to the milk bowl next door. And when he’s got it…he certainly isn’t prepared to let go!  Whilst all volunteers here at CERCOPAN are more than willing to invest the time needed to dish out these milk supplements, I am growing to understand that it is proving to be a huge financial strain. Each day the young monkeys work their way through a whole tin of Nan and, given that it is a high cost item, it is one of CERCOPAN’s largest food expenditures. It is, however, integral to our young infants’ development that we continue to enhance their diets in this way so in some cases, cut backs are having to be made elsewhere. 

However, I have to add that the more time I spend here, the more I am inspired by how much NGOs such as CERCOPAN can achieve with so little funds and, whilst I am volunteering here, I am determined to do all that I can to help.

 Bella and Jerry

Tags: africa, animal, baby monkeys, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, endangered species, infant monkeys, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, orphaned monkeys, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, primate nutrition, primates, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, rescue, save endangered species, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, threaten species, wildlife

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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

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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, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Jun 09 2009 | By: cercopan

We would all like to say another huge thank you to Wanda for her kind donation to Cercopan in May. As always, your donation was greatly appreciated and has been put towards helping to feed and care for all of our monkeys including our newest edition, a baby orphaned putty. We have posted a picture of our new baby putty (who is yet to be named) below. More information and pictures to come about our special new arrival so keep checking for updates!

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

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