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Monthly Report
January 2021
Limbe Wildlife Centre: January 2021
Published in February 2021 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 February which regulates all forestry, wildlife and fisheries activities
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ALL OUR REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE
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Monthly Report
January 2021
Accreditations & Awards
In December 2018, the Limbe Wildlife Centre has had its accreditation with the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) renewed for another five years. PASA is the largest association of wildlife centres and sanctuaries in Africa, founded by the Limbe Wildlife Centre, along with 6 other primate sanctuaries. Today, PASA includes 23 organizations in 13 countries which demonstrate exceptional commitment and the highest standards of animal welfare and conservation practices, to securing a future for Africa’s primates and their habitat.
In April 2018, the Limbe Wildlife Centre was voted Best Volunteer Abroad Project and chosen to feature in the Tutorful’s Wildlife Conservation editorial along with other prestigious organisations making a notable difference in wildlife conservation worldwide. The LWC gives people the chance to volunteer and assist experienced caregivers with the daily caregiving activities, offering the opportunity for volunteers to the experience of making a meaningful contribution to primate conservation (and all the satisfaction this provides).
In August 2019, the Limbe Wildlife Centre received a 2019 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award at the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Geneva, Switzerland, in recognition of the remarkable efforts the LWC has made to help combat wildlife crime.
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Content
ACCREDITATIONS & AWARDS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | PROJECT MANAGER OUR PRIORITY FINANCIAL NEEDS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 HIGHLIGHTS ACHIEVEMENTS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 & OBJECTIVES NOVEMBER 2021 1. Pandrillus-GoC Partnership & Public Relations 2. Population management & Animal welfare 3. Wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release programme 4. Infrastructures and development| Material & Equipment 5. Community Conservation, Environmental education & Ecotourism 6. Wildlife conservation research & Health monitoring 7. Capacity building, staff empowerment & Mentorship 8. Communication & Visibility 9. Revenues generated
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Foreword
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | PROJECT MANAGER Good Bye, Akiba Dear Friends and Supporters,
The year 2021 started with the deepest sorrow, and it is with a lot of pain that I am writing this foreword. For more than a month, our sweet Akiba, a female Western Lowland gorilla beloved in our community as a gentle and lovable soul, had been fighting for her life. Despite immense efforts to understand and treat her condition, our vet team were unable to save her. Akiba sadly passed away on the 1st of February, a date that will remain in our minds and hearts forever. I wish to thank the community of veterinarians who provided advice and great support.
Without them, we would not have been able to get her as far as she could before she could go on no longer. Despite limited veterinary capacities and equipment to perform thorough diagnoses, we successfully performed our first ever blood transfusion from the daughter Atimbi to her mother (same group was confirmed). We had hoped that Akiba would recover after this procedure. We pursued our efforts to understand the cause of sickness with several microbiological, biochemistry and hematological analyses. But as with humans, gorillas cannot fight forever. A few days after the procedure, she passed away (p.11-14). Akiba has had a long history of health issues in the past, but in the past 5 years, she had been very stable, active, playful and feeding very well. In mid-December, she started to show
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sign of gastrointestinal disorder. Of course, given that the COVID-19 pandemic is still very active in Cameroon and actually increasing, we were extremely concerned that it could be a first case of infection in our animal population. The Limbe Wildlife Centre is in town and implementing strict quarantine procedures are extremely difficult. The centre remains closed to visitors until all conditions are met to minimize the risk for our animals. Pandrillus is entirely dedicated to assisting and advising the Government of Cameroon in these matters, to prevent disastrous consequences. However, the test performed on Akiba came back negative. Though a relief, it left our vet team with more questions than answers. It is always frustrating to face our material and technical limitations in such cases, even if it happens very rarely. It serves as a poignant reminder that we always need to improve on our diagnostic capacity and to strengthen our vet team. We are always keen to receive expert wildlife veterinarians who wish to support us and build the capacity of our team on the ground.
Because running the centre is a full-time vocation, we do not have time to mourn our loss. We must keep our focus on all the other: great apes, African grey parrots, and many other primate species for which we maintain our level of care and encourage the government of Cameron to further support. Other activities were successfully achieved this month and gave us some satisfaction. While the Mandrills got access to the grassed strip, our Art4Nature programme has been progressing very well and a special project is currently under development! Other educational activities have been conducted in class and the construction team performed some muchneeded maintenance work (p. 21-23). This month, while going through this report, I am asking you to understand, sympathise with and feel our painful morning of Akiba. Join us in continuing to look ahead, and keep supporting us by contributing to conservation efforts. Thank you, as ever, for your unfailing support.
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Our priority financial needs 1. Help us protect our rescued animals during COVID-19! We must boost the immunity of 15 critically endangered gorillas, 43 endangered chimps, and 75 endangered Drills and upgrade biosecurity measures vs. COVID-19. 35000
COVID-19 updates in Cameroon
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Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Cameroon (source: MINSANTE)
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The number of confirmed cases exceeds 30,000, with a marked increase of new cases detected throughout January 2021.
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DONATE NOW TO PROTECT THEM FROM COVID-19!
5000 0 Mar-20 May-20
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2. Help us free 112 parrots back to the wild in 2021! We are leading the National rehabilitation and release programme for the endangered African grey parrot. 125 birds were released in 2021. 112 must be released in 2021!
RELEASE PARROTS NOW! 3. Splitting the large gorilla enclosure Maintenance was sponsored!! Now, to enable our gorillas to enjoy an enriched outdoor every day, take part in this amazing project and help us divide and re-enrich the largest enclosure with climbing structures and shelter to rest, hide and play. Goal: €25,000
RE-ENRICH THE GORILLAS ENCLOSURE HERE! Contact info@limbewildlife.org to know more
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January 2021 Highlights □ Mandrill: Opened access to the grassed strip left fallow □ Online article: Washington Post website
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Sara is a long-term friend of the LWC and one of our most generous donors. She has also assisted us anytime we need her. This month, she shares with us why she has been supporting the LWC for many years. “Ever since I was a little girl, I have been passionate about animals. I grew up watching documentaries, wishing I could work with Dian Fossey or Jane Goodall, and generally in awe at wildlife in Africa. Now through adult eyes, and worried about my own children’s futures, I am even more aware of the irreversible damage that my generation is inflicting on the world. Humans continue to take more than we need, destroy critical natural habitats, poach and trade wildlife at staggering rates…. we're destroying our wildlife heritage. LWC’s singular mission is to counter that loss, and it’s why I started supporting them almost four years ago. Day in and day out for 25 years, LWC has been rescuing and rehabilitating animals from the illegal wildlife trade, educating future conservation leaders, and implementing wide-scale green-employment projects in Cameroon to remove the underlying drivers of wildlife trafficking and deforestation for lasting change. LWC is a small, but mighty. They are a model for successful conservation and proof that a small group of passionate and relentless people CAN make a difference. I hope more and more people will learn about and support their life-saving work. “
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January 2021
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Achievements January 2021 & Objectives February 2021 1. Pandrillus-GoC Partnership & Public Relations Funders
□ Pandrillus was consulted by the Regional Delegation of MINFOF South-West to provide technical advice to translocate 3 free-ranging ex-pet Mona monkeys to a more suitable and protected environment
February 2021 objectives: □ Validate internal rules and regulations (pending) □ Review the proposal of the national strategy to rehabilitate and release the African grey parrots (pending)
2. Population management & Animal welfare Funders
Ongoing activities □ Maintained frequency and diversity of enrichments in each section
Specific activities □ Mandrill: Opened access to the grassed strip left fallow (Images 1-2)
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□ Vet cares (January 2021): o Primates: 84 individuals treated (Images 3-6); 6 anaesthesia performed; 25 individuals sampled (5 blood samples for haematology and biochemistry analysis, 5 faecal samples for coprology analysis); 0 contraception; 0 identification with a microchip; 2 laceration repair; 24 drug therapies: 38% dietary supplements, 29% antibiotics, 13% fluid therapies, 13% painkillers and antiinflammatories, 2% antiparasitic, 2% fungicide, 3% other; 1 health checks; 1 death: Akiba (female adult Western lowland gorilla; undiagnosed sickness associated with deteriorating gastrointestinal disorder and causing severe anaemia (Images 7-12) o African grey parrots: 0 general health checks; 32 health checks before release; 31 transferrals to the soft-release aviary, 0 transferrals to the rehabilitation aviary; 13 individuals received intensive care treatment with 3rd generation antibiotic treatment and special diet; 0 death (Images 13-15)
Image 1. The mandrills nicely ended the Image 2. Males and females alike quickly month of January with access to the fallow approached the green and juicy grass land left to grow on one side of their and chewed it till the last piece. enclosure.
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Image 3. After some days of being down with constipation, the vet team anaesthetised Nicolene, an adult female chimpanzee, for a complete health check. Fluids and vitamin shots were given to boost her, while Akih Emmanuel was checking for vitals. She is now well and back in the group.
Image 4. A Covid PCR test is from now on done on all apes when a vet intervention is required. Quick and painless, it will allow us to stay up to date regarding the possible contamination in the Centre.
Image 5. An altercation between dominant male gorilla Arno and female gorilla Abbey led to a cut in the right bicep of this last one.
Image 6. Quick intervention in her cage allowed the vet team to suture the wound properly and to examine Abbey entirely. In good health, she recovered quickly.
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Image 7. A specialist came from to observe Akiba’s internal status to check for any organ abnormalities. Nothing worrying was detected on screen.
Image 8. Thanks to the ultrasound, we were able to have images of Akiba’s kidneys (on-screen), liver, stomach, etc. The size was all organs was calculated to compare it with the size fork of healthy individuals.
Image 9. For the first time, the LWC organised a blood transfusion between 2 great apes. The Vet team joined by a transfusion expert pulled 450mL of blood from Akiba’s daughter, Atimbi. An amount sufficient to bring back strength to Akiba, and small enough to avoid any side effect for Atimbi.
Image 10. Mother’s and daughter’s blood were immediately checked for compatibility type, rhesus and antigenic reaction. Both females were O+, and we were able to proceed with the transfusion.
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Image 11. Akiba was brought to the vet Image 12. Akiba’s transfusion went fast clinic for a 2h long transfusion. She was less and smoothly. pale after the procedure and ate correctly the next morning.
Image 13. Quarantine head-keep Killi Image 14. Once the parrots are awake manipulates safely the parrots for the vet again, a shot of ant parasitic is deposited team to check on their health status and in their crop for quick absorption. feather condition under light anaesthesia.
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Image 15. Several individuals are still recovering from wounds and trauma they endured at the hands of poachers. Unable to fly, those parrots were put back under special care at the quarantine after the health check. February 2021 objectives: □ African grey parrots: Continue to provide special care for the last individuals with difficulties to improve their body conditions □ Vet cares: Contraception: Chimpanzee (3), Drills (4) and Guenon (1).
3. Wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release programme Funders
Arrival & quarantine □ None
Behavioural rehabilitation □ None
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January 2021
Monthly Report
Social rehabilitation □ African grey parrot: Continued to maintain the care and enrichment to the 112 African grey parrots in the large aviary □ Drill: Continued integration process of juvenile male Drill Mbigou with adult female Jafita and 3 other females in a satellite cage of the Drill enclosure
Release (ecological & environmental rehabilitation) □ Transferred 28 individuals to the soft release cage (Image 16)
Image 16. Twenty-eight (28) parrots were in ideal condition and were transferred to the Soft-Release Aviary inside the Botanical Garden. We leave them a couple of weeks to get used to their environment before opening the hatch toward freedom. February 2021 objectives: □ African Grey Parrots: Continue the rehabilitation process of the rescued individuals and release the 5th flock. □ Drill: Continue the social integration of juvenile male Mbigou into the Drill group □ Chimpanzee: Transfer Suzanne to the Special Care & Rehabilitation enclosure.
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4. Infrastructures and development| Material & Equipment Funders
□ Chimp Island Enclosure: Replacement of broken pressing tap and sliding door ballbearings (Images 17-22) □ Quarantine Special Care and Rehabilitation Enclosure: Plastering of the additional lines block added on the old wall to add more height (Images 23-24) □ Gorilla Enclosure: Started the project to split and re-enrich the enclosure (Images 25-36) □ Mandrill Enclosure: Changing the position of the electric fence to access the fallow land (Images 37-38)
Image 17. The construction team had Image 18. View of the damaged pressing to break the concrete around the tap. The water was flowing non-stop. damage pressing tap.
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Image 19. A new tap was installed, Image 20. Concrete was put around the preventing any leak. new tape to protect it against damage by the chimps.
Image 21. Sliding door maintenance at Image 22. Replacement of broken door the chimp island satellite cage. ball bearing of the chimp island satellite cage. With it, the door is now sliding smoothly, facilitating the keepers’ daily work.
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Image 23. The wall of the Special Care enclosure was heightened with 2 new lines of concrete blocks, preventing Jacob, the new male chimp, to escape. Ndanji Richard, our builder, is seen plastering the additional block lines.
Image 24. With this new wall height and the basket around the tree installed in December, the Special Care enclosure is now perfectly escape-proof. Jacob enjoys it with his two females, Mayos and Ngambe.
Image 25. Crafting of tunnel rod mesh Image 26. Crafting of tunnel sliding door rail for preparing the splitting of the gorilla for preparing the splitting of the gorilla enclosure. enclosure.
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Image 27. Metal pole preparation for Image 28. Crafting of tunnel sliding door rail the splitting of the gorilla enclosure. for the splitting of the gorilla enclosure.
Image 29. Crafting of tunnel mainframe Image 30. Crafting of the sliding door the for the splitting of the gorilla enclosure. splitting of the gorilla enclosure.
Image 31. Welding ball-bearing to the Image 32. View of work progressing for the sliding door for the splitting of the gorilla splitting of the gorilla enclosure. enclosure.
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Image 33. View of work progressing for Image 34. First layer painting with antithe splitting of the gorilla enclosure. corrosion paint for the splitting of the gorilla enclosure.
Image 35. First and second layer Image 36. Wire meshes preparation for the painting of pillar metal pipe for the splitting of the gorilla enclosure. splitting of the gorilla enclosure.
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Image 37. To allow the mandrills to enjoy the densely grassed strip, the temporary electric fence was removed…
Image 38. …and then set up on a different strip that will remain fallow for 3-4 months, allowing grass to grow and an ecosystem to be restored.
February 2021 objectives: □ Continue the maintenance and re-enrichment of the western lowland gorilla enclosure □ Maintain structural enrichment in the drill enclosure
5. Community Conservation, Environmental education & Ecotourism Funders
□ School outreach programme: Continued the 2020-2021 programme: 6 schools, 22 classes and 908 children; monthly efforts: 40 men.hours (Images 39-42) □ Saturday Nature Club: Postponed the 2020-2021 Nature Club □ Community-based Green Economy: 15 ex-hunter members sustainably harvesting wild herbaceous plants: 1,950 kg of Aframomum stems and 439 kg of Costus stems; 22 women members harvesting crop by-product: 519 kg of cassava leaves, 3,035 kg of papaya leaves, 2,529 kg of potato leaves, 296 kg of invasive Trumpet wood
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shoots, corresponding to 66 trees hand-cut; 848,330 FCFA (€1,295) paid directly to the local community association this month; 848,330 FCFA (€1,295) contributed to alleviate local poverty in 2020 □ Art4Nature: Toh Bright and Pandrillus, with support from UNESCO, started a new partnership to produce a series of animated videos, billboards, posters, and radio podcasts to promote forest ecosystem preservation. The project uses an innovative approach combining science, culture and nature with visuals of high quality to instigate a change of behaviour (Images 43-44)
Image 39. Yvette Sokoudjou went this month Image 40. The lesson given by the LWC to Sonara school, to do 30 to 45min lessons educator to the 4th grade included for the children. revision about apes as well as an introduction to tropical forest ecology.
Image 41. Sensitization and information Image 42. The children are always very sharing is important among the youngest enthusiastic during the LWC rd generation (ex. 3 grade) interventions, which break their routine and bring them to join the Saturday Nature Club.
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Image 43. First draft billboard made by Toh Bright. Once finished, these billboards will be produced and displayed as a tool to sensitize the youth in Central Africa.
Image 44. Toh Bright and Pandrillus team have been working hard to create storyboards as the basis for animated videos that will be realised for the Art4Nature project in partnership with UNESCO.
February 2021 objectives: □ Continue with ongoing programs □ Send first posters and animations for UNESCO overview
6. Wildlife conservation research & Health monitoring Ongoing activities □ Recovery monitoring of the rescued endangered African grey parrots: Continued to collect data during health checks and through direct observation □ Monitoring the soft-release of endangered African grey parrot: Resumed the collection of daily data on the parrot movement and use of the environment □ Establishing Haematological Reference Values for the endangered Drill: Continued to build the dataset of haematological data extracted from 18 years of analysis (2002-2019), corresponding to 199 samples, and including a total of 21 haematological parameters.
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Activity achievement □ None
Data analysis □ None February 2021 objectives: □ Continue with the above ongoing activities □ Starting behavioural data collection on Chimps Mainland group before the integration of Papa and Nanga
7. Capacity building, staff empowerment & Mentorship □ Staff workshop: Establishing the protocol supporting the future reopening of the Centre to visitors and feasibility assessment to guarantee the safety of staff and animals
February 2021 objectives: □ Staff workshop: Presentation of the project to splitting gorilla enclosure by Vallarine Aforlica, Head of Construction.
8. Communication & Visibility □ Digital communication (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter): As the new year 2021 has started, our followers are excitingly still increasing. Currently, our total number of followers across all of our platforms is 27,334, an increase of 3.52% from December 2020. The LWC YouTube channel is increasingly gaining more subscribers as well as views, amounting to 1,788 at the end of January 2021.
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□ Media coverage: 1 international report made. o Online article: Washington Post website: “A virtual menagerie: How conservation and rescue efforts can connect us with wildlife around the world” (15 January 2021) (available here)
February 2021 objectives: □ Continue advocating the missions of the LWC within the Central African Conservation Landscape in Cameroon
9. Revenues generated □ Entrance fees (January 2021): FCFA 0 (0 visitors; 0% children, 0% Cameroonians) due to the closure of the Limbe Wildlife Centre to visitors
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Adult Nationals
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Children Nationals
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Adult Foreigners
Children Foreigners
Figure 1. Visitor statistics January 2019- January 2021
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