Born Free

After the long awaited arrival and opening of the container, the Primate Release Programme has finally been able to present the Anti-poaching Scout football team with a brand new kit from Brighton and Hove Albion FC, complete with football boots and matching tracksuits. As you can imagine, the team were very happy with their new kit and immediately ran off into the bushes to change into it – after all, ladies were present.  

The football team proudly displaying their new strip, with Mr. Davis Kalima acting head of Kasungu National Park © LLWC

The football team proudly displaying their new strip, with Mr. Davis Kalima acting head of Kasungu National Park.

In other news, just three days ago we had our scariest experience in Malawi to date. Whilst out following the baboons on Thursday evening, I literally stumbled across what we now think was a giant python. The baboons were moving away from us and there was a large ant hill in the way, to go behind it would mean we would lose sight of the baboons and to go in front of it would get us too close to the monkeys, so we stupidly decided to go over it (breaking one of the fundamental rules of bush walking!). Just as we got to the top we heard a very aggressive and deep hiss, at the same time I saw a large snake coil. The section I saw was about a 70cm length of mid-body that was almost as wide as my foot. I could also see its backbone with the muscles pulsating as the snake tried to move out of our way. We didn’t see its head or tail, but from the markings and size I think it was a python (I don’t know of any other snake in this region that gets that large). Keith and I both ran away like a pair of squealing girls – which of course is the wrong thing to do – but you try standing still and backing off slowly in that situation! This has now given me a very healthy fear of ant hills and has become our favourite bush tale, but I don’t think anyone believes us on the size of the snake.

Not the snake we nearly stood on, but a Green Mamba eating a frog and the only snake picture I have!

Best wishes from the Malawian Bush 

Andrea and Keith

There have been some major changes to the Primate Release Programme over the last few months. We have taken the very difficult decision to put all future releases on hold for the short term as the survival rate of our released monkeys has been lower than we would have hoped. For the next year we will be concentrating on assessing our protocols and undertaking an Ecological Survey of the Park. In short, this means collecting data on wild baboons and wild vervets, with special interest in what food species they eat, what types of trees they sleep in and the natural mortality rate.

This data will allow us to identify the most appropriate release sites to give the released monkeys the best chance of survival. You would think that everything there is to know about Baboons and Vervets has already been studied – but apparently not. There is almost no published data on either of these types of monkeys in Malawi or in the type of woodland they are living in here at Kasungu – Miombo woodland. This means that the data we are now collecting is not only vital to the future of the release programme but it is also new to science – exciting stuff!!

Over the coming months I will be sending you the antics of Shaky’s Baboon Troop and the yet to be located Vervet troop.

Shaky, self grooming while a friend keeps watch © LLWC

 Best wishes from the Malawian Bush!

Andrea and Keith xx

In December 2009, the Wildlife Centre was invited to the US by two individuals, both passionate about the Wildlife Centre and its work. Whilst Jason Brynes, a volunteer at the Centre on two separate occasions was keen to set up an annual fundraiser for the Centre in New York, Judy Cadman, a visitor to the Centre in early 2009 was keen to establish a link between the Centre and her local Florida based rehabilitation facility CROW. Judy was also keen to build on Jason’s yearly fundraising idea with Florida equivalents.

The trip was kicked off very professionally by Jason who organised a cocktail party in a swanky fourth floor art gallery in New York’s ‘very posh’ Upper West Side. The presentation, which covered all aspects of the Centre’s work, went down extremely well by the 70 odd people that attended. The bitterly cold weather of New York was however in sharp contrast to the humidity of Fort Myers and Sanibel Island which hit hard as I appeared from the plane….with a well deserved hangover from the previous evenings after party!! During my 8 day stay in Florida I was hosted by a number of fantastic families, both on and off the Island, and was extremely well received by a number of organisations including CROW (Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife), J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Corkscrew Sanctuary and Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife.

CROW, being our principle reason for being there was my first port of call. It is a fantastic organisation that mirrors our work here in Malawi in so many ways. It was extremely interesting to spend time with Dr. PJ, the facilities veterinarian, as it was obvious from the onset that the two facilities have a lot in common. Maybe the animals that arrive at the two Centres arrive there for different reasons but the two facilities retain similar fundamental philosophies with regards the animals they rescue; most importantly the welfare of an individual animal and its need to be returned to the wild and NOT to be kept in captivity.

CROW was just one of many organisations in the Sanibel Island area that are fighting hard to help conserve Florida’s native wildlife. I have to say, I have never been to an area before where it would appear Conservationists are winning the battle against human growth and greed, well done everyone. I have a lot of respect for all those I had the honour of meeting during my stay and I hope some of them may one day ‘hop across the pond’ to visit beautiful Malawi to see the Centre. I also hope this initial trip has created a foundation on which the Centre can build long term partnerships with individuals and organisations and has helped to launch yearly visits to both New York and Florida for the Centre which will help strengthen ties for all those interested in supporting conservation here in Malawi.

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone in the US that made my trip so memorable, especially Judy and Jason who helped arrange everything…thanks guys!!

The annual Wolf Day celebration which celebrates the rare Ethiopian wolf and its afroalpine habitat took place on Sunday 7th March in Dinsho, Ethiopia, a key area of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Programme’s efforts.

Anne-Marie Stewart, Field Director of EWCP reports on the day:

Fun and games (and no rain) at the 12th annual Wolf Day in Dinsho.

On Sunday the 7th of March, we held our 12th Wolf Day in Dinsho, and all anyone could think about was, “Please let the rain hold off!”

For the past two weeks it hasn’t stopped raining here – the normally tranquil streams have turned into raging rivers that are in danger of breaking their banks, while the roads and dirt tracks in town are slippery mud slides that threaten to send you sliding headlong into a puddle. So understandably we were all concerned that Wolf Day could turn into a mud bath!

However, the weather, for once, was on our side, and although the rain clouds gathered ominously over the mountains, in Dinsho we were treated to patches of blue sky and sunshine.

A very soggy field © EWCP

The day opened with a blessing from the village elders, and then the Bale Beauty Nature Club presented us with a cake they had baked, marking the 12th Wolf Day for EWCP (the cake didn’t last very long, as the invited guests and dignitaries were keen to sample the best of Bale baking!).

Receiving the cake from Bale Beauty Nature Club © EWCP

Numerous sports matches were held during the day, with the EWCP Wolf team facing the Dinsho Club in the football finals. Unfortunately EWCP went down one-nil, but all the players did very well while having to deal with a horribly sodden pitch.

Penalty shootout © EWCP

Two volleyball matches, the final of the primary school football league, and the 5000m race concluded the sporting part of the day. We were also treated to various plays and singing competitions, as well as an art display from the Dinsho Primary School. A pot-smashing game and a raffle brought the proceedings for the day to a close, and all the EWCP staff breathed a sigh of relief.

Smashing the pot © EWCP

Drama on Wolf Day © EWCP

Another successful Wolf Day, the rain stayed away, and the community came together once again to celebrate the Ethiopian wolf and the afroalpine. A big thank you to all the EWCP staff who ensured that the day ran smoothly.

The Ethiopian wolf is the most endangered canid in the world, and Africa’s most endangered carnivore. Less than 450 Ethiopian wolves survive today, in seven isolated populations in the Highlands of Ethiopia. There are no captive wolves anywhere in the world.

The aim of Wolf Day is to celebrate the Ethiopian wolf and its afroalpine habitat through games, sports matches and entertainment. One of the area’s largest public events in the area, Wolf Day brings communities and conservationists together to highlight the importance of biodiversity in Bale and the importance of rabies vaccinations to conserve Ethiopian wolves.

Born Free is entering its 15th year of support for the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) which has worked to protect this amazing, rare animal since 1995.

You can help ensure the survival of the Ethiopian wolf!

Every contribution made to EWCP through Born Free goes towards running the programme in Ethiopia. You can help EWCP continue their domestic dog vaccinations to stop the spread of diseases to the wolves – these vaccinations have also shown positive results in preventing rabies in the human population too. Your donation will also allow expansion of the education programme, visiting more schools and villages to increase their understanding about wolf conservation and the need for Afroalpine protection.

If you would like to make a contribution to the EWCP and help protect the Ethiopia wolf, please click here.

Or you can adopt the Sodata Ethiopian wolf pack here!

Click here for further information on the Ethiopian wolf and the work of the EWCP.

Titan’s Troop has now been living in the wilds of Malawi for 9 months, and to the best of our knowledge all seven monkeys continue to thrive. We now only visit our release troop 2 – 3 times a week to conduct a quick head count and try to monitor their ranging behaviour. Since the beginning of December, the troops numbers have been fluctuating between six and seven individuals due to Helena’s all too frequent disappearing act.

We first noticed her missing on the 2nd December 09. We spent the following four days searching the area but found no signs of her and began to fear the worse. However, there was something in the remaining troop’s behaviour that made us believe she hadn’t been subject to a predator attack and we never gave up hope of seeing her again. Shortly after Christmas, while back in the UK, we received a message from the field team that Helena had indeed turned up safe and well and was back with Titan’s troop. Keith and I were overjoyed knowing it would only be a matter of days before we were back in the bush and able to see her again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be; Helena disappeared again during early January, the day before we were due back at the field site!

To our amazement, approximately 10 days later we located Helena with a troop of wild baboons we had been watching. She appeared in good health and while she wasn’t fully integrated with the baboon troop they didn’t seem to mind her ‘tagging along’. This is not normal monkey behaviour – troops of baboons and vervets do mix and share space in many different types of habitat, but it is very unusual to see a lone vervet living as part of a baboon troop. Her behaviour had also completely changed. Helena has always maintained a human connection, much more so than any of the other release monkeys. She would always be the first monkey to greet the research team and would occasionally follow us back to the vehicle, but now she didn’t even show any signs of recognition. We were able to follow the baboons daily and saw Helena regularly over the following week.

Helena, just weeks before joining the baboon troop

It has now been two weeks since we last saw the baboon troop and Helena, and she has not as yet reconnected with Titan’s Troop. If nothing else, Helena has proven she is a survivor and we are fully confident that she is out there somewhere, living as a wild monkey.

Best wishes from the Malawian Bush

Andrea and Keith xx

Following months of planning and several weeks in transit, the Waste to Wildlife container, crammed from floor to ceiling with over 20,000kg of donated items, has finally arrived at its destination – the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre in Malawi.

The container was ceremoniously opened on Saturday 6th February after one and a half years of plotting, planning and hard work from all parties involved.  Incidentally Will Travers, CEO of the Born Free Foundation, was on hand to do the honours alongside the Wildlife Centre team, who let out squeals of excitement and sighs of relief when they saw it was crammed from floor to ceiling with the promised donations, and not something more ominous!

The container did in fact arrive at the Centre before Christmas, but when the juggernaut tried to negotiate the dirt road (from which we had removed over 100 tree stumps in preparation) it promptly sunk into the mud and wheelspan into a quagmire.  It took three more days, two more juggernauts (which also got stuck), a tractor and a team of guards and drivers to finally shift it.  By this time the driver was rather shaken and decided the front bridge would need reinforcing before he tried to cross it, but of course once customs got a hold of it again it took another month to wade through the paperwork to get it released!

Considering this and all the hard work put in by so many people the container has been all the more appreciated.    It’s taken two days to unpack it and we’re amazed by the amount and quality of the donations.  We now have the beginnings of a very good library and Catherine is super excited about all her new vet gear.  The construction team are enjoying work even more with their new tools and both the team and visiting school groups will benefit from the computers and office equipment.   The list goes on!

Most importantly we would like to say a huge thanks to all the donors and organizers who made this possible, there’s no doubt it will make a huge difference to the Centre. 

Department of National Parks Malawi
Malawian Revenue Authority
Body Shop Foundation
Green Standards Trust
Born Free Foundation
Microsoft
Stichting AAP
World Veterinary Service
RSPCA
Veghal Clinic
Transcom
Mediterranean Shipping Company
Manica
Aquarius Shipping
Everton FC
Earlswood Veterinary Hospital
Veterinary Instrumentation
Jewson
UK Fixings Ltd
Boots the Chemist
Middlesbrough FC
Boots for Africa
Sovereign Stainless
Northern Power Tools
Nottingham Wildlife Trust
Arun Office
Steve Knight
Liz McLaren
Des Thompson
Leroy Young
Remke Lasance
Lee and Rebecca Schofield
Tracey Dettmer
Andrea Donaldson and Keith Thompson

The remaining seven members of Titan’s Troop have now reached 6 months since their release, marking a real milestone in their survival success. At this point the research team now almost completely backs away from the troop, no longer collecting detailed behavioural data and just visiting the monkeys a few times a week to monitor the troop by conducting a head count and condition report. The research team all feel a little sad not to be seeing the monkeys every day, but appreciate this withdrawal is essential not to compromise their future success. Amusingly, on the day of our last behavioural data collection, Ben ceremoniously ripped out his ear tag as if declaring ‘I’m wild now’! Once the troop moved away I returned and retrieved the tags as a small personal memento.

We have included a collection of some of our favourite moments and snap shots of Titans Troop, we truly hope you have enjoyed hearing of their trials and tribulations as much have we have enjoyed witnessing them.

Best wishes for the New Year from the Malawian Bush

Andrea, Keith and Titan’s Troop

On the 6th of December we celebrated our 2nd annual Arsi Wolf Day at the Huruta School in Arsi. The aim of Wolf Day is to celebrate the afroalpine and the Ethiopian wolf through games, sports matches, environmental debates and art competitions. And celebrate we certainly did!

It was a glorious day, and more than 500 students from the Environmental Clubs of eight different schools turned out to take part in the festivities. With over 800 spectators of all ages supporting the event, it could have turned slightly chaotic, but our Arsi Education Officer, Dejene Deme, and the principal and teachers from the host school made sure the day went off without a hitch. Before we settled down into the sports stands for the main events, we were shown around the school by the principal, where various displays and exhibits in the environmental science, physics, geography and sports departments had been organised for us. The principal was justifiably proud of his school, which has certainly come very far since its inception in the 1980’s. The number of pupils has increased from 200 to over 2000, and the teaching staff has grown from 8 to 60!

The elders from the local community officially opened the event for us, and we started the day with the judging of an art competition, where the students presented their posters of the threats and solutions to Ethiopian wolf conservation.

We then witnessed a debate between students from different schools, with the two teams arguing either for or against afroalpine conservation as a priority concern for Ethiopians. This was certainly very interesting and both sides had convincing arguments as to why their issue should take precedence. Even experienced conservationists sometimes have a hard time convincing others that environmental issues are as important as poverty, war or disease!

Throughout the day various football matches and volleyball games were taking place, with the finals held at the end of the end. There were sack races, 200m sprints, traditional dancing, and a poetry reading too.

Chris and I were presented with a gift of traditional Oromia clothing which we had to wear throughout the proceedings. I dare say we made rather convincing ferenji Oromo!

Huruta School dominated in the awards ceremony, taking first prize for the football, debating and sprints. Their environmental club was also presented with the award for best EE club of 2009, which is a wonderful achievement.

I think a highlight of the day for us was when one of the members of the debating team which had opposed wolf conservation came to us afterwards and said “Please Miss, we may have been on the opposing team but that was just for the competition. We really do believe that the Ethiopian Wolf is very important and must be saved!”

And really, that is what it’s all about.

Anne-Marie Stewart

Matondo season is upon us! For those of you who don’t know – and why should you? – the Matondo is a local delicacy, a large almost luminous green caterpillar – not dissimilar in appearance to a jelly sweet, and the monkeys LOVE them! They have gorged almost exclusively on the Matondo for 3 weeks now and all have permanently orange stained arms and legs (from the disposal of the insides of the caterpillar) and green lips. There appears to be a knack to eating these little creatures – bite the head off, empty the guts and shovel in what remains, while quickly preparing the next one. The field team has to be very careful not to stand under any Matondo trees at the moment as we have been hit more than once by falling caterpillar goo!

The Matondo caterpillar.

Ben, tucking in to a juicy Matondo!

The appearance of the Matondo has prompted Titan’s Troop to range far and wide. They seem to almost blindly follow the Matondo trail, which is making our job of locating the monkeys every day more difficult.

On the morning of the 11th November we set out to do the morning census followed by a behavioural study on the monkeys, but they weren’t where we had left them the previous evening. So while tracking through their usual hang outs I started to get a little spooked and could hear movement in the long grass along the path we were walking. I was distracted from the noise by the most awful smell and while in the middle of exclaiming ‘it stinks here!’ I saw a half eaten common duiker (little antelope). On closer inspection it became obvious it was a very fresh kill, probably less than an hour. We took a few photos and the GPS location and continued our search for the monkeys. Eventually, we found them and spent a lovely few hours watching them play, sleep and eat more huge Matondo caterpillars.

Later that day we returned with Duncan Yearly, from Carnivore Conservation, and his night vision motion sensor cameras. We placed them around the now not so fresh kill in the hope that whatever killed it would come back for it. The following morning we had some amazing photos of the most beautiful female leopard who had returned to claim her prize – only 30 minutes after we set the cameras and were still in the area looking for our monkeys.

The scout now tells us that the rustling in the grass we heard in the morning was most probably the Leopard who we had disturbed eating her breakfast!!!

Christmas wishes from the Malawian bush

Andrea and Keith
 

Thank you so much Derek H for your kind donation – what a lovely Christmas present! 

Also, a big thank you to all of you who have read our blogs, supported and donated to Born Free’s projects in 2009, your support is invaluable and much appreciated.   

We will bring more news in the New Year of Safia and the rest of the Born Free projects but in the meantime, seasons greetings to you all from the Born Free Foundation team.

Thank you and see you all in the New Year!!

Born Free Foundation team

www.bornfree.org.uk