Out and About with Silke

We take you out and about with premier primate rehabber Silke at Bambelela.

This week

This week saw the arrival of two babies into Bambelela care. The first orphan to arrive, Beau, was found by the team with his mother, who had been killed by human beating. He had a nasty injury as a result of this, but has already healed and settled in nicely, playing with the other orphans in the Nursery.

Another arrival, approximately 14 weeks old, was found very frightened and anxious, having lost his mum to hunters. Now at Bambelela, he is slowly relaxing and will be taken care of for the next few years until he is able to be released with a troop into the wild. Becoming a guardian angel to an orphan would help towards their care, vaccinations and freedom, subsequently enabling them to live the free life they should have.

Also this week, the team visited Nkawu’s troop, which was released into the wild on 30^th December 2014, and are receiving weekly visits so that the team can monitor the safety of the troop. The team are really pleased with the progress the troop is making and all seems to be well.

A very generous donation was made to Bambelela this week in the form of a camera, which enables the team to monitor the safety of the troops, without being two places at once! Donations such as these are incredibly helpful to the organisation, allowing close monitoring of each troop and therefore allowing the team to spot any potential problems before they escalate.

Also this week, the team had to conduct a number of relocations for dispersing males, one of which had made himself comfy amongst humans at their stay in a lodge. Males transfer up to 7 times in their life, often facing conflict with people whilst in the search of a new troop. With increasing habitat loss they find themselves settling amongst humans and built-up areas. This is where Bambelela helps, as they trap and relocate these dispersing males to monkey-friendly wild areas, minimizing their chances of injury and therefore increasing their chances to live a long and happy life.