Monthly Report
May 19
Limbe Wildlife Centre: May 2019 by Guillaume LE FLOHIC Manager (Limbe Wildlife Centre) & Country Director (Pandrillus Cameroon)
Published in June 2019 Limbe Wildlife Centre, P.O. Box 878, Limbe, Republic of Cameroon
Limbe Wildlife Centre is a collaborative effort between the Pandrillus Foundation and the Republic of Cameroon, Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, MINFOF Pandrillus Foundation is a non-profit making NGO specialized in the protection, rehabilitation and reintroduction of primates, as well as management and sustainable financing of conservation projects in Africa Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife is in charge of implementing the national forest policy for ensuring sustainable management and conservation of wildlife and biodiversity over the national territory as enacted by forestry law No. 01/94 of 20 June which regulates all forestry, wildlife and fisheries activities
guillaume@limbewildlife.org limbewildlifecentre
+237 681 991 590 limbewildlife
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limbewildlife.org limbewildlife
Monthly Report
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Content
FOREWORD MAY 2019 HIGHLIGHTS ACHIEVEMENTS MAY 2019 & OBJECTIVES JUNE 2019 1. Pandrillus-GoC Partnership| Public Relations| Project Management 2. Infrastructures and development 3. Material & Equipment 4. Capacity building 5. Conservation and Environmental Education 6. Constituency for conservation 7. Conservation ecotourism 8. Management of animal population and well-being 9. Rehabilitation and release programme 10. Research, Monitoring & Health Safety rules 11. Communication & Visibility 12. Revenues generated
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Foreword
Dear Friends and Supporters, We are thrilled to share that this month we launched our #ProtectWildlife campaign! This is the first campaign of its kind in Limbe and possibly in Cameroon, where various partners and authorities came together to engage citizens in the urgent need to protect wildlife (p. 8-10, 13-17). The campaign is certainly timely as it launched during the same month that the UN reported that species extinction is accelerating at an unprecedented rate. We were very pleased that the campaign was supported by the most senior government official in the division – Mr Emmanuel Engamba Ledoux, the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako.
Our campaign was launched on 17 May which was on World Endangered Species Day 2019. Following an inauguration event, a series of 10 two-sided 3x2m2 billboards were unveiled to the authorities, media, public and private partners and the local community. The project was led by Pandrillus Cameroon, Da Nzimbistic Cultural Centre, and the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization (AMMCO), in partnership with the Divisional Delegation of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, and the Limbe City Council. We are grateful to our sponsors for their support and input on the project: especially the Programme for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (PSMNR-South West Region) and the Central African World Heritage Forest Initiative (CAWHFI) of the UNESCO, along
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with Save the Drill and Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (link to TV report). Why launch the campaign now? Cameroon may be well-known as a major hot spot for biodiversity, but the protection of its wildlife does not yet match up1,2. The illegal wildlife trade is rife, the effectiveness of conserving protected areas remain limited, poachers and wildlife traffickers are rarely arrested, prosecuted and/or convicted, illegal logging and deforestation are wiping out pristine forests, and corruption remains widespread which further permits crimes again nature. In order to further address these challenges, Pandrillus Cameroon is working towards instigating nationwide collaborative efforts to bring about practical solutions to effectively protect wildlife in Cameroon. This is, we hope, only the first step. Furthermore, several documentaries and reports were made by national (The Star Three recent articles from the National Geographic, Mongabay, and The Sun Cameroon respectively highlighted the threats to pangolins, great apes and the biodiversity in the Anglophone regions; 2 Other major articles published in recent years highlighted the conservation challenges in Cameroon and Central Africa: Reuters, The Guardian, CNN and National Geographic on massive elephant killings, National Geographic on the extinction of Cheetah and Wild dogs in Cameroon, The New York Times on the extinction of the Western Black Rhino. 1
Newspaper, The Sun Cameroon, Canal 2 International) and international (Agence France-Presse, Deutsche Welle, BBC World Service) media to increase the reach of our work and campaign. In addition to shedding light on the campaign, they highlighted Pandrillus’ long-lasting support to the Government of Cameroon to reach the highest standards of animal welfare and in engaging the local communities to better care for the environment (p. 22-24). Moreover, our behavioural research project on gorillas was presented by Dr Romain at the International Zoo Design Conference in Poland, hence increasing the visibility of our research unit (p. 22-23). Meanwhile, at the centre, we were very happy that after few weeks of close monitoring, female gorilla Emma was fully integrated into her new group, and that her relationships with silverback Batek and female Pitchou have strengthened (p. 1819). Although the construction team was mainly focused on building the billboards for the campaign, the team also managed to complete a major step in the building of the new bridge (p. 8, 10). The rest of the staff and volunteers were a huge help during this busy time to ensure all the animals were provided with enough enrichment and staple food, especially since our public partner has recently experienced some food shortage that it is currently trying to sort out. Pandrillus has been working closely with the acting
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conservator, in charge of managing public subsidies, and provided some advice to help him better plan and budget food provision, and more efficiently manage and control the nutrition department. Our vet team was also very busy with several health checks, undertaking training with chimpanzees Ngambe and Mayos, and doing a dart training course led by our Head Vet Dr John Kiyang (p. 11-12). The dart training aimed to ensure some of our staff know how to safely dart primates, especially during emergencies. Capacity
building has always been an essential part of the technical support that Pandrillus has brought to our partnership with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife in order to increase the standard of welfare, professionalise local and government staff, and enhance the functioning of the Limbe Wildlife Centre towards its future sustainability as a Government facility.
Thank you for your unfailing support,
With very best wishes,
Limbe, 31 May 2019
Guillaume LE FLOHIC LWC Manager, Pandrillus Foundation
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May 2019 Highlights
□ Launched the Protect Wildlife Campaign in Limbe on the Endangered species day □ Started the dart training programme □ Western Lowland Gorilla: Completed the 4th step of the longterm population management □ Dr Amélie Romain, Founder of Akongo, presented our gorilla behavioural research project at the International Zoo Design Conference in Poland □ Media coverage: 11 local and international reports made
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Achievements May 2019 & Objectives June 2019 1. Pandrillus-GoCPartnership| Public Relations| Project Management □ Completed 2018 Individual performance review □ The Senior Divisional Officer bestowed his patronage to support the Protect Wildlife Campaign launched on 17th May 2019in Limbe (Images 1a&b)
Image 1a&b. On behalf of the Senior Divisional Officer, the First Assistant SDO, Bejedi Otto II unveiled the first billboard highlighting the Western Black Rhino along Mile 3 in Limbe. The Western Black Rhino, one of the four subspecies of Black Rhino, was declared extinct in 2011. Cameroon was the last refuge for the subspecies, as it currently also is for the lion. June 2019 objectives: □ Validate internal rules and regulations (pending)
2. Infrastructures and development □ Built 10 two-sided education billboard for the #ProtectWildlife campaign (Images 29) □ Continued to build the bridge over the second arm of the Limbe River (Images 1013)
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Image 2. Crafting of the metal frame.
Image 3. Painting of pillar and frame.
Image 4. Preparation of pillar.
Image 5. Plywood and frame setup.
Image 6. Concreting the foundations of the Image 7. Transporting material to their main pillar. respecting position.
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Image 8. Setting the billboard on the pools Image 9. Final view of billboard before before the inauguration. the inauguration.
Image 10. Digging and preparation of the Image 11. Crafting the rod beam and second wall foundation. frame box for the concrete.
Image 12. Concreting of the second wall.
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Image 13. Final view of the second wall.
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June 2019 objectives: □ Complete the re-enrichment Red-capped mangabey enclosures (pending) □ Continue the construction of the bridge over the second arm of the Limbe River □ Continue the foundations of the new African grey parrot aviary □ Build a rehabilitation enclosure with the Savannah-dwelling guenons enclosure to facilitate new individuals integration
3. Material & Equipment □ None
June 2019 objectives: □ None
4. Capacity building Ongoing activities □ Professionalised & trained staff, students and volunteers on behavioural (quarantine & stage 1) and social (stage 2) rehabilitation □ Empowered our vet nurse at capturing veterinary records in our database □ Started the dart training programme, by Dr John Kiyang, Head Veterinarian (Images14-16)
Specific activities □ Monthly Workshop: How to identify and characterize Drills based on physical criteria following observational protocol to enhance individual monitoring and group management, by NoéCampagne (Technical assistant for the Drill population) (Image 17)
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Image 14. Introduction of the first session of dart training led by our head vet, Dr JohnKiyang. Four staff participated in the training: Head of Quarantine Killi Matute, Head Keeper Jonathan Kang, Drill caretaker ArmelMbakop and Vet nurse TanaOssomba.
Image 15. A lesson about the different drugs and dosages used for darting. Later on, an evaluation of the knowledge of the methods learned during the past two darting sessions was made.
Image 16. Our vet nurse, TanaOssomba, studying the different drugs to use to dart, according to the emergency and the species.
Image 17. NoĂŠCampagne, our Drill expert who re-identified more than 80 individuals between 2016 and 2019, taught our animal caretakers and volunteers the basics principle to scientifically describe and characterize an individual. This rigorous method is applicable to any other species of Primates.
June 2019 objectives: â–Ą Continue with the above ongoing activities
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□Organise the monthly staff workshop: Batoke Family Nature Club: goals, activities and expected outcomes to engage the local
community in
biodiversity
conservation, by Laura Craddock (Family Nature Club project coordinator)
5. Conservation and Environmental Education □ Nature's Club:Continued the 2018-2019 programme: 111 kids registered; monthly effort: 51children.days; Themes: the different climates on Earth, Endangered Species Day, Insects and their importance, Parrot Day(Images18-19) □ School outreach programme: the programme will resume in September 2019 □Event: Participated in the celebration to mark the anniversary of Bob Marley’s death: ArmelMbakop, our educator, was invited to speak on the link between culture, arts and environmental protection and the need to stop bushmeat consumption □ Behaviour Change programme: Launched the Protect Wildlife Campaign in Limbe on the Endangered species day, 17th of May (Images 20-26)
Image 18. Drawings made by the kids of our Saturday Nature Club to illustrate their understanding of the 4 different climates on Earth. Our activities are not limited to environment protection: it is critical that each kid general knowledge reaches a minimum standard to enable them to understand the issues at stake and the actions to take to protect Nature.
Image 19. For the Endangered Species day, our educator ArmelMbakop explained the behaviour of endangered chimpanzees and the threats hanging over them in the wild.
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Image 20. Several schools were invited to Image 21. The campaign aims at bringing the ceremony organised with the local all citizens together and engage them to authorities to launch the campaign. protect wildlife.
Image 22a&b. The first three posters of the campaign aim at informing the community that species extinction is already ongoing in Cameroon: in the past ten years, the Western Black Rhino, the Wild dog and the Northeast African Cheetah have disappeared from Cameroon's wildlife. But "Other species can still be saved": this message, also written in pidgin English, serves as a transition to highlight the main species of the South-West region, from the mountain to the sea, that must be protected from several threats: habitat destruction, pet trade, pollution, and poaching for ivory, scales, bushmeat and other use of illegal wildlife products.
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Image 23.Divisional Delegate of the Ministry or Arts and Culture unveiling the poster highlighting the Endangered African grey parrot, threatened by the pet trade. Pandrillus seeks to engage all ministries in the fight to save wildlife in Cameroon.
Image 24. The forest elephant, along with the pangolin, the most trafficked mammal in the world, are both presents in the Mount Cameroon but unfortunately relentlessly extirpated to supply the illegal wildlife trade: more than 60% of the African forest elephant disappeared between 2003 and 2013 (Maisels et al., 2013 in Plos One)
Image 25. Marine wildlife is also threatened but often forgotten. Pandrillus also partner with the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization (AMMCO) in order to highlight the major threat to whales, turtles and others.
Image 26. The campaign aims at engaging the community to take ownership of their natural heritage as part of their culture. Engaging indigenous people and local communities in conserving protected areas, effectively enforcing the national and international wildlife regulations and fighting against organised crime are compulsory if a change is to occur.
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June 2019 objectives: □ Continue with ongoing programs □ Organise the 6th session of the BatokeFamily Nature Club □ Organise an exhibition of the critically endangered red colobus in Nyango’s Exhibition Hall, in partnership with the University of North Carolina Willington
6. Constituency for conservation □ Community-based Green Economy:15 ex-hunter members sustainably harvesting wild herbaceous plants:799.5 kg ofAframomum stems and 670kg of Costus stems; 50women members harvesting crop by-product: 776kg of cassava leaves, 3,502kg of papaya leaves, 3,624kg of potato leaves,567kg of invasive Trumpet wood shoots, corresponding to 126trees hand cut; 995,695 XAF (€1,520) paid directly to the local community association this month;4,518,630 XAF (€6,899) contributed to alleviate poverty in 2019. □ Behaviour Change programme: Launched the Protect Wildlife Campaign in Limbe on the Endangered species day, 17th of May (Images27-29)
Image 27. The Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, the Government Delegate of Limbe City Council, the Divisional Officer for Limbe I, The Honourable Parliamentarian for Fako East, The Lord Mayor of Limbe I Council, the programme Coordinator of the PSMNR SWR, the Divisional Delegate of the
Image 28. The Pandrillus Country Director, Guillaume Le Flohic, answered to some interviews and underlined the urgent need to protect wildlife. He insisted on the role that each actor, the administrations, their partners, the private sector and all citizens must take together to instigate a positive change. Cameroon must dramatically
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Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife and the Ministry of Arts and Culture, the Conservators of the Limbe Botanical Garden and Limbe Zoological Garden/Limbe Wildlife Centre, as well as traditional rulers, especially the His Majesty the Chief of Batoke were represented to lead the launching of the campaign at the Jungle village of the Botanical Garden.
change the way biodiversity conservation is conducted if a positive change is to occur. This campaign is just the first step, to start from the beginning and do better than previously. Part of the interview is available at BBC Newsday (starting 34:25)
Image 29a&b. The President of Da Nzimibistic Cultural Centre, NgweseNzimbiKoge, speaking at the Jungle village tribune, at Limbe Botanical Garden, during the opening ceremony in front of local authorities, traditional rulers, local communities, and children (left) and giving an interview (right). NgweseNzimbiKoge insisted on the fact that "wildlife is facing major difficulties as the cheetahs and wild dogs have disappeared since 2010, the rhinos also disappeared in 2011. Now, the elephant is threatened because of its tusks, the pangolin is threatened because of its scales, and the chimpanzees and the gorillas are threatened by habitat destruction and the bushmeat trade". NgweseNzimbiKoge continued: "This project is a campaign of behaviour change because people eat bush meat and kill the animals without knowledge. We want to teach them, to make them understand that they must protect wildlife to protect themselves because it is their cultural inheritance." For a few years, Da Nzimibistic Cultural Centre has worked with Pandrillus Cameroon to transfer knowledge to children because they are the leaders of tomorrow. The partnership aims to bridge the gap between nature and culture. “From the mountain to the sea, our nature and African identity are one, and together, we must protect wildlife", he ended. June 2019 objectives: â–Ą Continue with the ongoing programme
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7. Conservation ecotourism □ Continued with the ongoing activities
June 2019 objectives: □ Continue with the ongoing activities
8. Management of animal population and well-being Ongoing activities □ Maintained frequency and diversity of enrichment in each section □ Chimpanzee: Continued the new positive reinforcement training plan to improve behavioural and social skills of Ngambe (adult female): stimulated social play behaviours with Mayos (adult handicapped female) (Images 30-31) Specific activities □ Western Lowland Gorilla: Completed the 4th step of the long-term population management plan to rebalance the group sizes and increase cohesion: Integrated adult female Emma from silverback Chella’s group to silverback Batek and adult female Pitchou (Image 32)
□Vet cares (May 2019): ◌21 Primate individuals treated; 9 anaesthesia performed; 11individuals sampled (3blood samples for haematology analysis, 0blood samples for biochemistry analysis, 12faecal samples for coprology analysis, 0 exudate sample for microbiology analysis); 5 identifications with microchip; 0 minor surgery; 1 laceration repair (Image 33); 20 drug therapies: 35% arthritis supplements, 20% dietary supplements, 20% antibiotics, 20% anti-inflammatories, 5% antiparasitics; 0% others, 5 health checks:Drill(5); 0 death; 0 euthanasia ◌6 African grey parrotshad health checks (Images 34-37); 1individual died (unknown cause)
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Image 30. TanaOssomba, our vet nurse, using positive reinforcement training method to encourage chimpanzee Mayos and Ngambe to strengthen their social bonding.
Image 31. For each order given to our animals, there is always a reward! That is the basics of positive reinforcement training: frustration must always be avoided and motivation is always preferred. Therefore, each session an enrichment for our animals undergoing special rehabilitation procedures. Chimpanzee, in particular, are usually fond of such interactions with humans and actually serve to facilitate humanchimpanzee trust and understanding.
Image 32. Emma (left) and Pitchou (right) now form a cohesive group led by Batek. The procedures were strictly implemented by the team to enable smooth integration and success. Monitoring will continue to ensure the group is stable.
Image 33. From left to right: TanaOssomba (Vet nurse), Anna Ciezarek (volunteer Veterinarian from the UK) and Akih Emmanuel (Assistant Vet) preparing male drill Joffi for laceration repair after a fight.
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Image 34. Our LWC vet team during the Image 35. All rescued African grey health check of our African grey parrots parrots are identified with a unique ring. and under the supervision of our Head Vet, Dr Kiyang (on the right). On the left: TanaOssomba (Vet Nurse); in white shirt: Akih Emmanuel (Assistant Vet); in the blue shirt: KilliMatute, Head of Quarantine and in charge of Parrot's rehabilitation.
Image 36. During the health check, African grey parrots in rehabilitation are kept under anaesthesia and respiratory assistance. Here, wings are checked.
Image 37. All rescued parrots are forming a group that enables them to maintain and display their natural social skills.
June 2019 objectives: â–Ą Continue with the ongoing activities â–Ą Chimpanzee: Continue the positive reinforcement training plan for Ngambe (adult female)
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□ Vet cares: General health checks: None; Contraception: Drills, Chimpanzees, Olive baboons; Microchip identification: Drills
9. Rehabilitation and release programme Arrival & quarantine □ None
Behavioural rehabilitation □Large-spotted Genet: Continued the behavioural rehabilitation of Mbappe
Social rehabilitation □ None
Release (ecological & environmental rehabilitation) □ Released 2 African grey parrots (Image 38)
Image 38. Two African grey parrots were successfully released in the Limbe Botanical Garden this month. June 2019 objectives: □ Large-spotted Genet: Continue the behavioural rehabilitation of Mbappe
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10. Research, Monitoring& Health Safety rules Ongoing activities □ Continued the behavioural study of space use and social relationships in our gorilla’s groups, in partnership with AKONGO | Wildlife connection (www.akongo.fr)
Activity achievement □ None
Data analysis □ None
June 2019 objectives: □ Continue with the above ongoing activities
11. Communication &Visibility □ Digital communication (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter): Overall reach increased to more than 111,000 through our social media platforms compared to last month. The biggest reach coming from Twitter where we reached nearly 60,000. □ Conference: How to make the best of limited available resources? Example of redesigning gorilla enclosure
at
the
Limbe
Wildlife
Centre,
Cameroon,
by
DrAmélieRomain, Founder of Akongo, presenting our gorilla behavioural research project, started in February 2019, at theInternational Zoo Design Conference in Wrocław, Poland (Images 39a&b) □ Media coverage: 11 local and international reports made(Image 40a&b) Articles on the activities of The Limbe Wildlife Centre ○ Online report: Face to Face with Victor Veseke, Assistant Head Keeper at the Limbe Wildlife Centre (available here, page 10) ○ Online report: Rescuing African Grey Parrots (available here)
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○ TV report: The Limbe Wildlife Center, A Hub For Wildlife, Planet Rise, Canal 2 English, presented by Environmental Journalist, Regina Leke Tandag (available here) The article made by Agence France-Presse on gorilla Pitchou was used in: ○ Online report:Cameroun: une nouvelle vie pour des primates rescapés du braconnage, Agence France-Presse(availableat epochtimes.fr, eluniverso.com and lejournaldudeveloppement.com) Articles and reports covering the Protect Wildlife Campaign ○ Online report: Ground-Breaking New Campaign Encourages Wildlife Protection In Cameroon (available here) ○ TV report: Limbe Protect Wildlife Campaign Launched, Canal 2 International, presented by Environmental Journalist, Regina LekeTandag(available here) ○ Newspaper: Pandrillus, Da Nzimbistic Cultural Center launch Protect Wildlife Campaign in Limbe, The Star Newspaper, 20th of May 2019, by Solomon Agboren ○ Newspaper: Nzimbistic Cultural Center Launches Change Behavior Campaign To Conserve Nature, The Sun Cameroon, 28th May 2019, by Simon NdiveKalla(available here) Article highlighting the challenges to feed animals at the Limbe Wildlife Centre ○ Newspaper: Anglophone crisis a treat to endangered animal species, The Star Newspaper, 27th of May 2019, by Solomon Agboren
Image 39a&b. The International Zoo Design Conference in Wrocław, Poland aimed to develop cooperation between landscape architects, zoologists, managers and education staff to improve animal welfare and conservation through exhibit design. For this 2nd edition, over 200 persons participated in this 3-day conference. An entire session was dedicated to rescue & rehabilitation centres, during which Dr Amélie
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Romain presented the project conducted in partnership between AKONGO and the Limbe Wildlife Centre.
Image 40a&b. Journalists from the international news agency Agence France-Presse came to the Limbe Wildlife Centre to highlight the 25 years of financial and technical assistance provided by Pandrillus to the Government of Cameroon (left: interview with the Manager of the LWC), and the perception by public of the efforts made for the welfare of rescued animals (right: interview of a Cameroonian visitor). The report focused on Pitchou’s story. Pitchou, a female western lowland gorilla (sitting on the left), was rescued at 1.5 years old in 1998. Since then, she has received standard care and health monitoring, enabling her to express natural behaviours and to evolve in a natural social environment. June 2019 objectives: □ Continue advocating the missions of the LWC within the Central African Conservation Landscape in Cameroon □Event: Protect Wildlife Charity Night, at the Lynk Garden Café, Douala, Cameroon
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12. Revenues generated â–Ą Entrance fees (May 2019): 451,000 XAF (928 visitors; 76% adults, 24% children) 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 May-18
Jun-18
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Adult Nationals
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Children Nationals
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Adult Foreigners
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Children Foreigners
Figure 1.Visitor statistics May 2018-May 2019
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