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 arrival: Vero

Last week, the 19th, another new arrival came to the CRPL. She is a young l'hoesti monkey about 2-3years old, and we named her Vero. She came with a military officer from the south near Uvira. He wanted to sell her to us, but we explained that we don't buy monkeys and it's illegal to keep. Luckily the cief of PNKB, South Kivu, came just then and explained to the officer about conservation and that it was illegal to keep monkeys and that they should be with other monkeys, not being kept as a pet. The officer agreed and the next day he came with the monkey and handed her over to CRPL. She is a bit skinny, but otherwise healthy and eating well. After her quarantine periode we will try to introduce her to a group wich has the three other l'hoesti females in the sanctuary.

In memory of Hombo

Hombo looking cute

Last week something really sad happened in the baby monkey cage. There was a big fight and Hombo must have fallen badly and hit his head. He was alive when the keepers found him, but died only a few hours later...

Hombo was a young blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) and one of the smallest residents in Lwiro. He was a sweet and careful character that arrived at the CRPL almost one year ago. He quickly found a good friend in the red-tailed monkey Bunyakiri. He also loved his keeper Jacques.

He arrived in Lwiro because his mother was killed for bushmeat and he was tried sold as a pet. The ICCN found him and confiscated him and brought him to us.

But he should have lived in the wild with the protection of his mother. Monkeys fight in the wild as well, and accidents like this is difficult to avoid completely. But living in small spaces means there is a lot more fighting. We do our best, but lack so much money to build the enclosures necessary.

We will always remember this sweet little monkey, Hombo- rest in peace.


Hombo hugging his friend Bunyakiri

Hombo having a nap

Hombo in the baby-monkey cage

Update on Hilton, the mangabey from Suena

Hilton is the last mangabey who arrived at the CRPL in January. He came from Goma where he was abandoned in a compound with the nose-spot monkey and the five Suena chimps. Hilton was kept alone in a cage and he was really malnourished and mistreated. When he arrived to the CRPL he was sick and he didn’t have hair and was terribly skinny.

These last months in Lwiro he has been treated with lots of care, love and attention. He is eating a lot (he specially loves milk, onions and mangoes!) and he is recovering pretty well.

Yesterday we decided to move him in the baby monkeys’ cage. He is more than happy with the company of his new cage mates and he has already established his role in the new group. He is pretty gentle with the others but he is strict specially during the feeding times…no one can touch his food!

Hilton enjoying the sunlight with his new friends
Bunyakiri and Nunuse

Hilton grooming Malimingui

Hilton protecting his food

HILTON GETS A NEW FRIEND

Hilton (left) and La Roche

Hilton, the 4 year old Mangabey who arrived from the illegal sanctuary in Goma has been introduced to another male Mangabey called La Roche. They are getting on very well and enjoying each other’s company. La Roche has become very protective of his new friend. Hilton is still very thin, but is improving on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the facilities are very limited at the sanctuary. We would love to build a new monkey cage soon, but we are yet to find enough funds for this project. If you would like to help us get Hilton and his new friend into a bigger cage please donate via this blog. 100% of the funds donated come straight to us at the sanctuary.

Monkeys Arrived!

Yesterday evening after a very long boat and car ride the two monkeys from the illegal “sanctuary” in Goma arrived safely at our door with Arthur one of the veterinarians from the North Kivu ICCN team! After many a mix up with the boat times, Arthur arrived safely at the port and was greeted by one of our own veterinarians. The monkeys are both thin, but thanks to the care the ICCN and PASA have been providing in the last few weeks, their condition was not as bad as we had expected.
PASA has provided all costs for the transport of these two monkeys and will also give the CRPL $1000 to help with their continued care. We are very grateful for their help not only in this case, but for all they do.
The first monkey is a 4 year old male Mangabey whose name is Hilton. He is extremely thin and his hair is in terrible condition. The second monkey is a 3 year old red-tail who is yet to have a name. They are currently in solitary cages with access to each other. They will stay in quarantine for one month to ensure that no diseases are passed on to the other animals in the sanctuary. With good nutrition and veterinary care they should both improve quite quickly!

New Monkeys Expected Today!

At about 12pm today we are expecting two new monkeys. The mangabey and red-tail have been kept in an illegal "sanctuary" for the last few years along with chimpanzees and other monkeys. PASA have done a wonderful thing and intervened along with the ICCN to confiscate the animals. For the last two weeks the ICCN have been providing food, water and veterinary care to all the animals (something they had not been receiving regularly for the last few months). PASA have worked tirelessly to find homes for all these animals and are supporting the cost to transfer them. I will post a blog tomorrow about their arrival. Sadly, we do not have a lot of space for new animals. With our current number of primates standing at 108! However, we will provide them with the best medical care, nutrition and husbandry we can! With your help we can make a bigger difference to the lives of all of these 108 primates! Please donate on our blog if you can!

New years suprise!

Happy new year to everyone!

The 31th of December we got a new years suprise at the sanctuary, as a red-tailed monkey gave birth to a healty baby. All our monkeys now have contraseptive implants so this was a big suprise. Nature will always find a way... The baby was called Bonne Annee, wich means happy new year in French. Welcome to Lwiro Bonne Annee!

Also please read our first official newsletter! http://www.sjimpanser.net/newsletter/december2009.pdf

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

Roots and shoots in Lwiro

Roots and shoots Lwiro club

We have started the first Roots&Shoots club in Lwiro! This group is formed for 9 girls and boys between 8 and 14 years old. All of them are sons and daugthers of CRPL staff. They are really interested in nature and they know well the work their parents do at the sanctuary. They also know a bit about the Kahuzi-Biega National Park and the wildlife found in this area.

Frank reading a tale for the rest of the group

Their activities take place in a new educational room that Coopera has close to the sanctuary. And some stationary material was bought with part of the donation from Jane Goodall Institute Spain to start educational activities in South Kivu throught the Roots&Shoots Program.

The first day we started the R&S activities talking and learning about chimpanzees and some facts about them. We used some educational books and tales from JGI. After that all the kids draw chimpanzees and we could decorate our new educational room.

The group in action

We also received an unexpected visit from Mr. Dieudonné Boji, the conservator of the national park, who brought a baby red tail monkey to the sanctuary. He explained to the kids the huge problem of bushmeat and the importance of the CRPL in the conservation of the primates in this zone.
The conservator of Kahuzi-Biega brought the confiscated monkey, Malimingi

The group R&S will meet up every week to learn more about wildlife, the problems it face and they will try to find solutions!

We would like to thank Jane Goodall Institute Spain for their collaboration and support to start this Roots and Shoots Program in Lwiro.

-Laia-

New arrival, Malimingi

Malimingi on arrival with monkey keeper Jacques.

Yet another monkey arrived today. She had also been confiscated from the militaries in Goma. She's a little red-tailed monkey and we called her Malimingi, wich means big riches in swahili. She was scared and hungry, but seems ok. She'll move in with the other baby monkeys tomorrow. The four babies Nunuse, Hombo, Coco and Bunyakiri had moved into a cage together and she will move in with them. They are all about the same size. But she'll get tonight to eat and settle in a bit. And then there was 104 primates in Lwiro...

Malimingi eating a mango

New arrival, Maisha

Maisha


The 29th of september yet another monkey arrived in Lwiro. This time, a young female owl-faced monkey. The ICCN had confiscated her from some soldiers in Goma, so she had a long journey behind her. We soon saw that she was missing her right foot, but it is an old injury and she seems used to it. Otherwise she seems healthy but very thin. She is almost adult as the characteristic stripe the owl-faced monkeys have in their face has started to appear. She is very sweet natured and loves being groomed. She is now in a cage on her own, but soon we will put her together with another lone female owl-faced monkey, June, and hopefully they will get along.

We desperatly need more space though....

-Hilde-

Balume with Maisha on arrival

Eating her first banana after arrival

New arrival, Bunyakiri

Bunyakiri

A new baby Red-tailed monkey arrived 13th of September. He is currently living with Hombo, the new baby Blue monkey. The two have become best friends and can be seen hugging and holding hands all day. He has been named Bunyakiri after the village he was confiscated from by the ICCN. We have now reached 103 primates in the sanctuary. Our facilities and budget are extremely limited but we are doing everything we can to give these animals the best life possible under the circumstances. If you feel you can help, please donate through this blog site. Every little bit helps!

-Bunyakiri grooming Hombo-

Hombo hugging Bunyakiri

-Andrea-

Murijiza - miracle

A couple of weeks ago the keepers got a big surprise while feeding the monkeys in the morning. There was an extra head to count! Overnight, Vienna, a female Owl-faced monkey had given birth. The strange thing is that only female monkeys are currently living in this cage. However, five months ago Sidney (who has passed away) was also in the cage. After the females hurt him he was removed from the cage for one month to recover and afterward was place back inside the cage. The next day Sidney was found dead, with no injuries at all to his body. We can only assume that Sidney is the father of this new little monkey who has been named Murijiza (miracle in Swahili). Of course, it is not ideal for sanctuaries to breed animals, and we do what we can to prevent this. However, we have limited recourses and facilities. At present we are working on implanting all of the female monkeys with contraceptives.

-Andrea-

New arrival, Hombo

A baby Blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) arrived on the 8th of September with the staff of the ICCN. He has been named Hombo as he arrived from the Hombo forest in South Kivu.

Hombo

New arrival, Coco Kalonge

On Sunday the 2nd of August the ICCN arrived with a new Red-tailed Monkey. This monkey is a very small male – only 6 months to a year old. We have put him in the cage with Nunuse (the baby Owl-faced monkey) so that they both have some company. They are doing well together. His name is ‘Coco Kalonge’, as he was confiscated in Kalonge. But Coco will be his daily name, as we already have a baboon called Kalonge!
Andrea

Coco Kalonge Coco giving Nunuse a hug