CERCOPAN

Category: Cercopan | Date: Jul 25 2009 | By: cercopan

CERCOPAN is now on Twitter! Follow the daily exploits of Director Claire Coulson  (http://www.twitter.com/CERCOPANHQ) and Office and Finance Manager Sam Trull (http://www.twitter.com/CERCOPAN) as they work to save monkeys and rainforests in Nigeria.

Tags: africa, animal, Cercopan, Conservation, endangered species, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, rainforest, rare species, threaten species, twitter, wildlife

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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: Cercopan | Date: Jul 18 2009 | By: cercopan

CERCOPAN is now a Facebook Cause!

For those of you who are regular Facebook users, why not join ….

We hope to encourage informal discussion and to post regular news items on the facebook cause page as well as on the blog.  I hope to see you there!

Here is the link: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/308596/68398117?m=6987e7df

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 mongabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, 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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