Enrichement!

Keeping the monkeys and chimps active and happy is a constant challange! Here are some photos from the last couple of weeks of the monkeys and the Goma-group enjoying some enrichement!

Shumbi the baboon, enjoying his banana tree stem

Bamboo with her fire-hose filled with goodies

Monkeys rooting through gras

Irangi with a big banan tree stem

The Goma group enjoyed their stems of banan threes

New enclosure for the baby monkeys

People that have been following this blog might have noticed that we've had a lot of new monkey baby arrivals in the last few months. We did not have appropriate cages for them and the little cages was getting very crowded. We tried to introduce some of them to the existing bigger groups, but with now luck, as the cages are allready full of monkeys. We desided we had to build a new cage. Luckily we had some materials from former projects so we only had to pay for some, plus the work and it turned out quite cheap.

We want to thank Raúl Cabrera a member of AICAS (Asociación Ibérica de Cuidadores de Animales Salvajes) for his kind donation which helped us build this much needed cage for the monkeys.
Putting trees inside before putting the mesh on.

Starting to put on the mesh.

Cage almost finished, only the door missing.

Yesterday the cage was finally finished and we moved 6 young monkeys, Bamboo, Nunuse, Hombo, Bunyakiri, Coco and Malimingi in. Malimingi was the first one to explore the enclosure and Bamboo, Nunuse and Coco quikly followed. Nunuse and Coco was running around playing after only minutes, and Bamboo was finding insects and grass that she liked to eat. Hombo and Bunyakiri were more scared and went into the little cage we have put into the enclosure to provide shelter for the rain. They stayed there for a while, but watching the others having the time of their life they soon came out and started exploring and playing. Soon they were ready to enjoy their first meal in their new home. They look very happy with the new cage!

-Hilde-

Putting four of the new residents inside with their old cage.

All this space is a bit scary at first

Malimingi contemplating the new space.

Hombo and Bunyakiri feels safer in a smaller space at first.

Nunuse

First meal in new home, Bamboo, Coco, Hombo and Bunyakiri.

Bamboo

New arrival, Bamboo

On the 19th of June a Cercopithecus monkey was surrendered to the sanctuary. A lady who was working in the west of DRC two and a half years ago found the monkey in a village, tied to a tree. She was told that the monkey’s mother had been eaten. She estimated the baby was 2 weeks old when she found her. She took the baby to care for it.

She moved to Bukavu about 6 months after she had first obtained the baby and heard about the sanctuary. She had intended to give the monkey up, but had become so attached that the time flew by and before she realized it, ‘Bamboo’ was over two years old. A few weeks before the lady surrendered ‘Bamboo’, she had started showing signs of aggression- both to her career and other people. ‘Bamboo’ was starting to have monthly estrus cycles; this change in hormones often causes aggression in pet primates toward their ‘owners’.

It is of course illegal to have any primates as pets in DRC. Therefore, we are happy to see that this lady did surrender ‘Bamboo’. We have explained to her that ‘Bamboo’ will have a much happier life with other monkeys. We do not, however, have any other moneys that are the same species as ‘Bamboo’ as she came from very far away. However, she still should integrate into one of the other monkey groups without problems after she has seen out her one month in quarantine.

Andrea