FOREWORD

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | PROJECT MANAGER

No time for resting!

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Throughout the rainy season, the team at the Limbe Wildlife Centre has remained very active, and it is surely because of such hard work and discipline that we received twomajor recognitions of late. It certainly gives us great pride, and we hope that this interest and engagement from our supporters will convert into much-needed sponsorships for the Giving

Day for Apes on the 12th October 2021!

The funds raised will serve to support special care for disabled chimpanzees and gorillas to improve their daily life and mitigate the burden of their handicaps (p 25). Keep the date and share, so that thanks to you even more can be achieved in the next few months.

The first recognition we received is a personal honour given by Born Free Foundation UK, one of our most engaged and supportive donors. I am proud to have been nominated for the McKenna-Travers award (p 11). More importantly, this is the result of hard work and the success of a project run in close partnership with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife and all the team members atthe Limbe Wildlife Centre. They’ve all shown true dedication to saving the iconic African grey parrots from extinction in Cameroon. We hope to win the award and gain further support the firstever GPS-tagging of parrots. This will

dramatically improve post-release monitoring and help strategize the conservation of this species in-situ, in partnership with various protected areas in the country. I thank the Born Free Foundation for this confidence and increased support over the years.

Secondly, we were invited to give two presentations at the EAZA ’21 online annual conference. Our first presentation focused on the progress made in the past two years to improve the rehabilitation and release of the African grey parrot. We then presented our strategy to improve the conservation of the red-capped mangabey, declared endangered in 2019. We outlined plans to protect their critical ecosystem: the rapidly disappearing mangroves and coastal forests in the Cross-Sanaga region (p 12).

Even more happened on the ground: we thank Jane Goodall Institute who funded a brand-new ultrasound to the LWC. They also provided an X-ray machine, shared between the three sanctuaries in Cameroon (Ape Action Africa and Sanaga Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Centre) to strengthen our diagnostic capacities. We have already used this last generation technology to investigate a temporary paralysis observed in an adult chimpanzee. More investigations are ongoing. Meanwhile, Tinto-Mbu is receiving extra care and hourly attention.

The professionalismand team efforts made in this difficult period served as aninspiring model to the 50 honourable invited parliamentarians of the 6 countries members of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) who exceptionally visited the LWC and appreciated the successful collaboration between the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife and Pandrillus.

Support does not stop here this month, as we are thrilled that the donation of 150 high quality padlock by ABUS have finally arrived at the LWC. This is going to change all our life and ensure higher level of safety and security: Thank you ABUS!

We are excited to announce that the major construction project of 2021, despite some delays and a complex situation, has kicked off (p 18)! Thank you to all our donors, particularly long-term friend of the LWC, Ms Annelies Begas. The project is progressing well and should be completed by the end of the year.

This will be my last few months managing the Limbe Wildlife Centre, after more than 6 years of dedication. Recruitment is currently taking place and the next manager should arrive on the ground around November barring major issues. In the meantime, I will keep supporting the team and ensure we all continue to progress together towards making an even bigger impact. This can only be achieved by the team, with everyone keeping the focus on their respective roles and responsibilities to ensure the LWC “machine” runs fast and straight.

We are also pleased to report several more interesting developments of the last two months. We have strengthened our collaboration with the African Marine Mammals Conservation Organisation with the technical and institutional support we provided for the autopsy of a wild manatee wash up toDown Beach Limbe. We have also seen the arrival of new rescues, who immediately entered the strict rehabilitation protocol under the supervision of our head of quarantine. Finally, the rotation of the strip left fallow in the mandrill enclosure has been a huge success in providing them with a rich source of natural food!

We wish for you all to stay healthy, warm and safe.

Thank you all, as ever, for your unfailing support.

Stay safe and healthy!

Peggy Motsch

Project Manager