Births, deaths and elephants!

Well this 2nd month into my Kenyan adventure has just absolutely flown by, and I cannot believe we are about to enter May. It has been a roller coaster ride of a month with births, deaths and Elephants; and I hope you like reading it as much as I enjoyed living it.

Looking out over the forest as the sun rises

Will kick off with the fact I helped write and host a monthly quiz held in a local beach bar the 40 Thieves. The quiz is mainly attended by ex-pats living in the area (who seem to be living very well by the size of some of their guts), but we also got some backpackers and two middle aged men with their lovely, much younger local girlfriends; its like they only just met, but I am sure that is not the case. The best bit about the evening was that I got to have free food and drinks, so I had their vegan falafel burger (very nice); also as a hardcore drinker I was knocking back a fair few mango juices I kid you not. A jolly good evening all in all, but the best was yet to come. On the way back we passed some workman repairing the road and all we had to notify us of this was a man dressed in no bright clothing waving a branch at us; that my friend is the Kenyan slow down sign. As we approached our site the driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid going straight over a new speed bump that had just been installed; that’s right, no signs, painted areas, nothing; the driver then said turned round and said “welcome to Kenya”.

Just enjoying hosting a quiz

I organised a trip to the nearby reef with the aide of a local fisherman and we went snorkelling. Nothing could prepare me for the calmness of the sea, the clarity of the water and the amount of fish that seemed so tame. It was like being in a beautiful, exotic fish tank where the fish were happy to approach and investigate. There were orange fish, black fish, silver fish, blue fish, big fish, small fish, I could go on. The highlight was seeing a clown fish (finding Nemo) going in and out of an anemone; just like the film. I am going to get a cheap underwater camera so next time I can try and capture some of these wonders. Also, the rainy season is now well and truly in as this video clip I took shows.

I took part in the Shimba Hills National Reserve clean up and got my first sighting of African elephants; definitely the highlight of my trip so far. Another big highlight, I was given the honour of naming the new male that joined one of the colobus groups I am following; what name did I choose? In the same group Chip, a 4 year old male, has returned after the group went through a bit of an episode. One was hit by a car and died, some members left (including Chip) and others joined like this new male I have recently named. Chip probably went off to look at getting his own group, but failed so has returned for now.

On entering Shimba Hills National Reserve

My first encounter with an African elephant

The new male I had the honour in naming

Chip has returned to colobus group 1

 A very tasty, gluten free vegan chocolate cake was made by me, that all the volunteers loved and ate very quickly. Safe to say the next one I made was double the size and had peanut butter in it, this went just as quickly. We also went to the local Indian restaurant here in Diani, which was cheap and super tasty, but you better like your food spicy because WOW; that’s coming from someone who likes his spice. Although ordering two drinks for myself seemed to confuse the waiter who thought I was switching between wanting a bottle of water and a Tusker beer; don’t worry folks I did get both.

I am very happy with my chocolate cake

I was present at the re-releasing of a Sykes monkey that we had taken in to patch up after a car accident. Luckily he survived and just needed minor stitches, safe to say he was mighty happy about going home. I watched the sunrise again, but this time at the top of a water tower, and so got some amazing views. I also went out to witness the meteor shower thinking we would have a great view over the sea. Well not only did I not see anything but within an hour clouds came in and rain started pouring down; got some pretty cool shots though.

Sykes monkey darting out back to freedom

Sunrise over the forest

The night sky over Diani, no meteors

Finally, I am now able to identify all the individuals of the three colobus groups that I am following (27 individuals), which makes me the first person ever to have done this; feeling pretty good right now. Now for some sad news - group 2 did have a new baby, but it must have been born dead which is a shame; the mother was carrying it around caring for it the whole day. Even worse, our beloved orphaned baby colobus Avi who was being hand reared passed away just the other day. He had been ill for a while and previous colobus babies lead us to believe this to be a likely outcome. He was a pleasure to have around and will be missed.

The baby was born dead, but the mother still cares for it.

Poor little Avi, he was a pleasure to have around and will be missed

 Now let’s finish with some good news, today I was tracking group 3 and when I found them I was greeted by a bright white, healthy colobus baby not one week old. It felt amazing to see and with the passing of Avi it was like we lose one, and gain one.

Bright white new colobus baby, healthy and well

What an end to a crazy month that I will never forget, bring on the next.

What did I get up to in my first month?

Check out all my posts from Kenya so far.

As always the pictures are owned by the author and under their copyright. They are uploaded at a lower quality as my internet in Kenya is slow.

You can see all my photos of my time in Kenya on my Flickr page here -http://bit.ly/1dpb3gd

Or on my facebook page here - www.facebook.com/diaryofaprimatologist

Disclaimer:

"The views and opinions expressed in the Diary of a Primatologist blog (except guest posts) are purely my own and are not in any way linked to any organisations I may represent or work with unless otherwise stated. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated and a source will be provided where other photos are used. If they are your photos and you would like them removed please just ask. The author retains full copyright for all content and photos and written permission is required before their use. The owner of the site is not liable for any content accessed through links posted."

Guest Blog Post: Saving Spider Monkeys from the Mexican Primate Pet Trade.

Jess Hooper is a primatologist who is just finishing her MSc in Primate Conservation at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England. Jess is working closely with a Mexican monkey sanctuary (Ecoparque el Fenix) to rehabilitate spider monkeys from the Mexican primate pet trade. Jetting off to Mexico soon Jess writes about the work she is about to embark on.

 

"I'm very excited to have been asked to give my first guest blog, and I thank Luke for this opportunity to share my current work with primate rehabilitation in Mexico." - Jess Hooper

                            

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Primate welfare

I wanted to write a little about the importance of primate welfare and rehabilitation for those monkeys and apes with low conservation value-i.e. those which have unknown genetic value, are psychologically compromised, unsuitable for breeding, and/or release. I strongly believe that it is our duty, as primatologists and as human beings, to provide the utmost of care to those whose fate we have been responsible for. It is the human-primates of this world that extract our primate cousins from the wild, pluck babies from their mother’s chests and sell them on within the various ill-controlled wildlife trades. The trade I wish to discuss in particular is the illegal primate pet trade within Southern America, namely Mexico.

The Mexican primate pet trade

Spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) are an arboreal primate, endemic to Mexico. Pet spider monkeys are illegally captured and transported to cities where they are sold in unsavoury market conditions to become a pet. It is national demand which stokes this market-untouched by the CITES convention which only influences international wildlife trade.

Like chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), spider monkeys naturally exploit a fission-fusion society, whereby daily social groups vary in size and composition. Thus socialisation is fundamental to their psychological well being. A lack of intra-species socialisation whilst living as human-pets can cause severe implications to their development resulting in abnormal (or 'stereotypic') behaviour.

Spider monkey rehabilitation

I work closely with spider monkeys rescued and donated from the illegal pet trade at a Mexican monkey sanctuary Ecoparque el Fenix. I work to reduce stereotypic behaviours in ex-pet monkeys as well as to improve species-typical behaviour. Some monkeys I work with are unable to climb, the majority walk bipedally upon the ground like humans, and many are fearful towards other monkeys which they have never encountered before.

Nino, the monkey who walks bipedally like a human

I have taken a focal approach to studying these monkeys, to look at each monkey as an individual: with individual needs, past experiences, fears, and emotions. In doing so, I can understand them on a personal level, and determine which approach to use for each monkeys rehabilitation. Not all methods are suitable for every monkey. Some monkeys are unable to be socially integrated because the stress induces self-harming behaviour, whereas others benefit greatly from monkey company and quickly learn to cuddle, play and even share resources. Enrichment offers exercise to both the body and mind, swinging platforms encourage climbing and leaping behaviour, and novel enrichments provide stimulation.

Creating an enriched enclosure

Is it worth it?

Rehabilitation takes time, and there is limited support for such projects where the monkeys may never be ready for reintroduction. I desperately urge people to see primate rehabilitation as a separate issue from conservation-one of moral significance, one of responsibility. Only once we tackle the issues of rehabilitation can we bridge the gap between the welfare of abused individuals and conservation by restoring their conservation worth. These monkeys are still ambassadors of the forest and represent an educational tool of emotive power.

Spider monkeys

Meet the monkeys Jess is working with: ecoparqueelfenix.org

Keep informed with updates through her blog: http://primateworld.wordpress.com/ 

The pictures are owned by the author and under their copyright. 

Disclaimer:

"The views and opinions expressed in a guest blog post are that of the author and are not in any way linked to any organisations the site may represent or work with unless otherwise stated. The owner of the site is not liable for any content accessed through links posted."

Help save the mountain gorillas by watching a movie.

Virunga: The Movie has now been completed and the trailer can be viewed below. It is up to us to support their efforts and make sure we do not lose this key habitat.

The Chief Warden Emmanuel de Merode can be seen and heard during the trailer, this makes it all the more emotional to watch as he is currently recovering from being shot while on duty - more here

Taken from http://virungamovie.com

“VIRUNGA IS THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF A GROUP OF BRAVE PEOPLE RISKING THEIR LIVES TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE IN A PART OF AFRICA THE WORLD'S FORGOTTEN AND A GRIPPING EXPOSE OF THE REALITIES OF LIFE IN THE CONGO.”

“In the forested depths of eastern Congo lies Virunga National Park, one of the most bio-diverse places in the world and home to the last of the mountain gorillas. In this wild, but enchanted environment, a small and embattled team of park rangers - including and ex-child soldier turned ranger, a carer of orphan gorillas and a Belgian conservationist - protect this UNESCO world heritage site from armed militia, poachers and the dark forces struggling to control Congo's rich natural resources. When the newly formed M23 rebel group declares war in May 2012, a new conflict threatens the lives and stability of everyone and everything they've worked so hard to protect.”

Virunga - Official Trailer 2014 from Grain Media on Vimeo.

History:

Founded in 1925 by King Albert I of Belgium the Virunga National Park (VNP) now stretches over 7800 square kilometres that includes active volcanoes, forests, savannas, lava plains, swamps, erosion valleys and mountains. VNP is home to around a quarter of the worlds Mountain gorilla population and also contains eastern lowland Grauer’s gorillas and chimpanzees. This makes it the only park in the world to contain three different taxa of great apes.

VNP’s history has been a difficult one, the DR Congo and the surrounding countries have had a series of civil wars and uprising’s, like the 1994 Rwandan genocide sending 1 million refugees out of the country. This type of pressure on the VNP means the wildlife is in immense danger from bush meat, de-forestation and human activities. Also, several critically endangered mountain gorillas were killed by a charcoal mafia in 2007, which promoted VNP to improve its ranger protection program.

Thank you for reading and watching now please share this with everyone you know and get the story of Virunga out there. These men and women put their lives on the line everyday to protect this precious area and the wildlife that lives within. The least we can do is make sure their plight does not go unnoticed.

Photos – credit to http://virungamovie.com

References:

http://virungamovie.com

http://virunga.org

Disclaimer:

"The views and opinions expressed in the Diary of a Primatologist blog are purely my own and are not in any way linked to any organisations I may represent or work with unless otherwise stated. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated and a source will be provided where other photos are used; if they are yours and you would like them taken down then please just ask. The author retains full copyright for all content and photos and written permission is required before their use. The owner of the site is not liable for any content accessed through links posted."

Hence forth you shall be known as.....

I am currently following three different groups of the Angolan black & white colobus monkey, two largely unknown and one known extremely well. So well in fact that they all have names and are seen almost every day in and around the Colobus Conservation site.

Following the colobus group around the site

I have been given the honour of naming a new male that has entered into this well known group, and to release him from the shackles of his old name (or code to be more accurate); C115.

After deliberating for a few days on whether I should go English name, Swahili name or Swahili word I opted for the latter. Before revealing this name I should probably go into a bit more detail regarding his personality; as that is what I wanted to represent within his new title.

He is a large adult male and has more than likely joined the group with an idea of taking it over. He sits on the fringes of the group, a tree or two away, biding his time before moving in closer to perhaps rattle the current alpha male. He gets chased away regularly by the resident alpha, but slowly and surely he makes his way back to the fringe. On thing is for sure, while C115 is around you can guarantee there will be trouble.

Hence forth C115 shall be known as:

 Matata 

(means trouble or trouble maker)

C115 or now Matata

Matata in his more relaxed state

The colobus group with Matata down the bottom on the fringe

Check back to learn more about the group and how Matata is getting on in the coming weeks.

As always the pictures are owned by the author and under their copyright. They are uploaded at a lower quality as my internet in Kenya is slow.

You can see all my photos of my time in Kenya on my Flickr page here -http://bit.ly/1dpb3gd

Or on my Facebook page here - www.facebook.com/diaryofaprimatologist

Disclaimer:

"The views and opinions expressed in the Diary of a Primatologist blog are purely my own and are not in any way linked to any organisations I may represent or work with unless otherwise stated. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated and a source will be provided where other photos are used; if they are yours and you would like them taken down then please just ask. The author retains full copyright for all content and photos and written permission is required before their use. The owner of the site is not liable for any content accessed through links posted."

You've heard about Elmo from Sesame Street, well here is the primate version; Sykes.

Next in my series of introducing the Diani primates is the cute, the comical and the silly, it is of course the one and only Sykes monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) or Kima in Swahili. In Diani we have a south coast sup-species (Cercopithecus albogularis ssp albogularis).

Although I know them as Sykes they are also called blue monkeys or samango’s and what’s great about watching them, is that anything they seem to do makes me laugh as there facial features and body language are very comical; and I will try to depict this within the photos I show you.

Sykes monkey

Distribution & Habitat:

The Sykes monkeys are far more common than the colobus monkey and are widely distributed all over the Kenyan coast and seen everywhere. They are semi-arboreal semi-terrestrial and are comfortable in both environments, they often come down to the ground where the youngsters love to run around and play. Their habitat mainly consists of thick forest areas, which includes the coastal forests.

Happy grooming in the trees

Equally happy playing on the ground

Anatomy:

Sykes monkeys have an average life span of around 27 years in the wild. They can range from 50 to 70cm in body length the males can weigh between 6-9kg and females 3-6kg. The majority of they colouring is grey, but they do have a blackish tail, limbs and shoulders with some chestnutty patches on their back and face. Finally they have a white chin and throat and a white ruff that extends around part of their neck. They have gorgeous brown/orange eyes with a slightly large squashed nose; it reminds me of Elmo from Sesame Street.

Diet:

Unlike the colobus Sykes eat a wide range of foods and are omnivorous and opportunistic; especially when it comes to unsuspecting tourists. Their main diet is shoots, fruits, leaves, flowers and berries, but they do also consume eggs, insects and as mentioned before any human food they can get their hands on. Don’t be surprised to see them hunting through bags and raiding hotel rooms for snacks. I was watching a group ransacking an office that someone had left open, things were being knocked over, chewed on and Sykes were running out the door/window with their prize.

I don't think that medication is for you

Social Structure:

Sykes are very territorial and live in female bonded; single-male troops and the group size can vary between 4-65 individuals averaging around 20 in Diani. The groups are very stable and peaceful with the resident male maintaining dominance for years and the sub-adult males being evicted readily.

Sykes group

Sometimes an outsider male will learn to imitate the call of the group’s dominant male to attract the females away. I personally believe this would also attract the dominant male as he might think, oh another big male nearby better defend my territory.

Sykes showing they are not always cute and cuddly taking on 3 Vervets

Sykes can often be seen in and around other primate species especially the colobus monkeys and it is not uncommon to see the young of both species actually playing together. It is thought the colobus tolerate the Sykes as they are extremely vigilant and are usually first to notice any danger. Their calls are varied and interesting to hear. Soft like trilling sounds given by the sub-adults are a sign of submission and you have loud chirps for alarm calls. The dominant male’s throat call is, in my opinion, the coolest sound they make, like he is booming out a swallowing call.

Sykes grooming a Vervet

A Sykes playing with a colobus

As a species C. mitis are rated as ‘least concern’ by the IUCN as it is widespread, common, present in numerous protected areas, and there are no major threats. However, when considered at subspecies level their rating ranges from data deficient to critically endangered.

Overall a pretty sweet little monkey that can sometimes have human confrontations with it’s sneaky stealing skills. Sooner or later all will fall in love with this monkey’s charm.

As always the pictures are owned by the author and under their copyright. They are uploaded at a lower quality as my internet in Kenya is slow.

You can see all my photos of my time in Kenya on my Flickr page here -http://bit.ly/1dpb3gd

Or on my Facebook page here - www.facebook.com/diaryofaprimatologist

References:

www.colobusconservation.org

Disclaimer:

"The views and opinions expressed in the Diary of a Primatologist blog are purely my own and are not in any way linked to any organisations I may represent or work with unless otherwise stated. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated and a source will be provided where other photos are used; if they are yours and you would like them taken down then please just ask. The author retains full copyright for all content and photos and written permission is required before their use. The owner of the site is not liable for any content accessed through links posted."

Picking up rubbish and seeing...... in Shimba Hills National Reserve

Today we joined the Shimba Support Group (SSG) at Shimba Hills National Reserve, Kenya, to do a big clean-up. There were four of us from Colobus Conservation that were joining SSG and we were very excited. Not about picking up the rubbish, although it is good to do so, but the fact we could possibly see Elephants, Sable Antelope, Giraffe and if we were unbelievably incredibly ridiculously lucky a Leopard.

Bernard, the Treasurer of SSG, picked us up at 7.30am in his air conditioned Range Rover (Oh My God air conditioning) and off we went for the 45 minute drive. It was very comfortable and a pleasant change to be cool and not sweating. Driving through Ukunda (local town) and the other villages was a new experience in itself, as I was asleep for a lot of the journey from Mombasa airport to Diani when I first arrived. It was fascinating seeing everyone going about their daily business, and the general hubbub of the area.

A Matatu, standard transport in Kenya.

Leaving Ukunda (local town) heading to Shimba Hill National Reserve

Shimba Hills in the background

We were all experiencing childlike excitement on reaching the gate of Shimba Hills, the terrain was much different from what we were used to; like we were going into Jurassic Park. Bernard had warned us that due to the thick bush like terrain it is not likely that we would see much, if anything; so we were holding out for lady luck. Well not more than 5 minutes in and what happens, we spot 3 frigging elephants 15 metres away and walking towards our position. I was so excited and started snapping away to make sure I could remember this moment and share it with everyone who wasn't there. It was three youngish elephants and they moved with purpose towards us, but they wanted the water (not us thankfully). They splashed the water and mud on their body’s and then within a few minutes had disappeared into the bush never to be seen again. It was like they were saying, OK here you go have a quick look, take a photo, tell your friends about us. Safe to say we were now buzzing and wondering what else we would see.

Approaching main gate to Shimba Hills

Entrance to Shimba Hill National Reserve

Two young elephants

Elephant having a mud bath

Elephants crossing the road

I sometimes feel I should just enjoy the experience of the event that is unfolding in front of me rather than snap away to grab a photo. I would agree in some circumstances yes that is lovely to do; however I had wanted to see African elephants for a long time and they were not really stopping so I knew I had little time; does feel like I didn't really take it all in though.

We arrived at our rendezvous point and met the other people (mainly ex-pats and workers from a local community project) and then got a briefing for the day. Minibuses took us to the starting point and we began picking up what rubbish we could find. It was quite a privilege to be walking through a National Reserve as it is not normally allowed, to be more specific it was the public road that cars/buses use to go to Nairobi (but still technically in the park). About fifteen minutes into the litter pick the heavens opened and we got absolutely soaked. As this was an open road there were not really any trees around so we just had to take it. Once the rain had moved on the glorious sun came out and it wasn't long before we were dry again.

Briefing before clean-up begins

The four of us and a coupe of others were near the back getting further and further away from the other group; and for good reason. We were properly looking around for bits of rubbish, found many plastic and glass bottles, wrapper bits, car parts etc (goodness knows what the main group of around 30 people were doing walking past all this waste).

First bit of rubbish

The group and our guard

It took us just over 2 hours to complete the section we were instructed to sweep and that brought us back to the main gate; our starting point. Everyone else was already there, including another group that did the other direction with a local school group. The amount of rubbish we all collected was impressive (I personally got a bag and a half; thank you) and was nice to know it was all going to be recycled and disposed of properly. The plastic bottles were going to a community project where they use them to build bottle benches. Group photo then we went to a nice spot in the Reserve for a spot of lunch, or my homemade peanut butter sandwiches, (palm oil free of course-find out why click here) After an hour or so we went our separate ways and ours just happened to be a trip around the park, thanks to Bernard.

Final group photo, look at all that rubbish

A school group learning about protecting the environment

Unfortunately, seeing the elephants right at the beginning had raised our expectations. We did see a small deer called a Dik-Dik (I believe), with a small bright white tail and a bound in its step that would put Usain Bolt to shame, and a large group of Baboons, which apart from seeing them in a more natural setting was not really a big deal as I see them everyday in Diani. The views from some of the stopping points were breathtaking and it was peacefully quiet and a nice change of scenery.

Me in front of a breathtaking view

A group of yellow baboons in a more natural setting

This rounded up our clean-up day in Shimba Hills Nature Reserve and not only did we feel we had done our part in making the reserve a better place; we saw ELEPHANTS!

As always the pictures are my own and uploaded at a lower quality as my internet in Kenya is slow.

You can see all my photos of my time in Kenya on my Flickr page here -http://bit.ly/1dpb3gd

Or on my facebook page here - www.facebook.com/diaryofaprimatologist

Disclaimer:

"The views and opinions expressed in the Diary of a Primatologist blog are purely my own and are not in any way linked to any organisations I may represent or work with unless otherwise stated. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated and a source will be provided where other photos are used. The owner of the site is not liable for any content accessed through links posted."