1. CERCO‐NEWS
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8 A U G U S T 2 0 1 0
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Partners for Life 1
Partners for Life
The Cross River State remainder is Federal
From the 2 Forestry Commission has National Park).
Director assigned three staff full‐time Iko Esai’s community forest
to our programme for the
covers 200 sq km, and the
Steaming ahead 2 foreseeable future. First immediately neighbouring
arrival Christopher Imbush,
communities add a further
senior forest super‐ 400 sq km. Since Iko Esai’s
Give as you Live 2 intendent, is already on‐site. community forest is the only
This is another milestone one bordering the National
passed in our increasingly Park that has an active and
Education on 3 collaborative relationship
board successful conservation
with Forestry. programme, it is a role
The Forestry Commission is a model for how large‐scale
Interest rates rise 4 critical partner of ours in our protection of the state’s
hopes for protection of the globally‐important forest
state’s forests into the resource can occur. Capacity Odigha Odigha, Chairman
future. There are over 9,000 enhancement of the forestry
We are amused 4 Cross River State Forestry
sq km of forest in Cross professionals in the state in
River. This accounts for half respect of the practical Commission
of all of the remaining forest workings of community‐
Compassionate 5 education, alternative
Conservation
in Nigeria. The Oban‐Korup based environmental
livelihoods, community
forest block straddling the conservation is a critical‐
border with Cameroon is the path item for any ambitions agreements, primate
reintroduction, Community
Racing to 5 largest continuous forest to scale‐up.
stretch in West Africa. 5,000 Based Organisations, Eco‐
freedom The three Forestry members tourism, etc. so that they
sq km within Cross River fall on‐site will be actively
under the Forestry have a full understanding of
Want to be a part 6 engaged in all of the each of the elements of the
Commission’s jurisdiction –
of it ? practical activities of our programme and their
either as community forest working programme: forest
or as forest reserves (the interrelationships.
patrols, environmental
And from our side we will
have direct links into the
structure of Forestry’s
organisation, allowing us to
Chris Imbush (left) at maintain regular
communications, and take
work with research advantage of expertise
assistant Ayitu where it applies. One of our
current funding requests in
process includes a prototype
reforestation pilot, and if
that grant is awarded we will
have almost immediate
capability to implement.
2. PAGE 2
From the Director
‘Casablanca’, now there’s our programme in event at our Rhoko
a movie! I love the exit strength beyond Iko Esai. education centre in a local,
line: ‘Louis, I think this is Our upgrading of the direct and therefore
the beginning of a
education centre at Rhoko equally forceful way .
beautiful friendship’. (see article to the right) My beautiful friendship
I’m hoping the same for a will establish new friends with wildlife and the
number of new beginnings amongst the school‐ environment started the
started this month. With children the exhibits are day I was born. The reward
the arrival of staff from primarily targeted at. I have had from a lifetime
the State Foresty dedicated to the cause
The ability to bring about a
Claire Coulson Commission in Rhoko generational sea‐change in gives me the passion to
CERCOPAN (front page), we have the want to pass on that
attitudes towards wildlife
Director opportunity for building is the motivation behind opportunity to others.
strong ties at the working
our outreach programmes More a case of ‘It’s a
level with a vital partner. which touch over 8,000 Wonderful Life’. Now
Visits of opinion‐makers school‐children a year. there’s another great
from our neighbouring While I’d love to make a movie!
villages (page 4) could well
movie for them, we’ve
lead to significant new focussed instead on
progress if we can also
creating an experiential,
gain the funding to expand potentially life‐changing,
The Autoclave donated
to PASA by Fort Worth
Steaming ahead
Children’s Zoo Recent donations of Jonathan Heeney at care, in particular the
veterinary equipment Cambridge University. Its orphans who are brought
have given our lab more of use is to separate cells to us more often than not
a 21st century feel. An from plasma in blood in a pitiful state. We also
Autoclave (a device that samples prior to conduct r e g u l a r
uses steam to sterilise diagnostic testing. These monitoring and testing to
equipment) was donated are both expensive pieces determine if any of our
by Fort Wayne Children’s of equipment that we animals are carrying
Zoo in the U.S. and passed would be unable to diseases that require their
on to us by the Pan African purchase ourselves. isolation in quarantine. As
Sanctuary Alliance (PASA). a member of PASA we
Our veterinary work
Close on its heels we ensures the health of our have to exceed the
received a Centrifuge strictest standards of
170 primates in captive
donated by Professor welfare for our animals.
Give as you Live
Just by browsing the register, c h o o s e Give it a try! Go to https://
internet you could be CERCOPAN as your charity, fundraisers.everyclick.com/
making money for and then browse using the signup where you can
CERCOPAN. ‘Everyclick’ has Yahoo Search Engine. register. Under ‘Choose a
“…...every time turned your worth as a While the sums involved different charity?’ you can
you do a search, consumer into a means of select CERCOPAN as the
for an individual are not
you’ll be crediting gaining money for large, they add up to an charity to support. Then if
charities. The sites you visit important amount in total. make the site your
your favourite give money to Everyclick, homepage, from that point
charity” It’s a perfect case of ‘every
who in turn pass it on to little helps’, and it doesn’t on every time you do a
the charity of your choice. search, you’ll be crediting
cost you a penny.
All you have to do is your favourite charity. you
3. VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8 PAGE 3
Education on board
Our Education Centre at Nature Walk that
Rhoko is undergoing a demonstrates biodiversity Two of the new
transformation thanks to a they seldom encounter (the
posters designed
grant from the International trail has been upgraded with
Primatological Society (IPS). improved signs and for Rhoko
Our exhibits, rather worn handrails thanks to funding
and aged by humidity, are from IUCN).
being exchanged for a A conservation message at
beautiful new set of state‐ the education centre of
of‐the art Dibond boards. what can be lost by the
continuation of existing
High‐resolution photos and
supporting text are community practices
threatening primates is
mounted onto a lightweight
aluminium plate with a there to close the event.
permanent bond that is
weatherproof and produces
a finish that is perfect for
images of nature. Environmental
We developed the posters Education is a key
using a very classy graphics stream within our
software package, but even integrated set of “Our new posters
we were taken aback by the activities to ensure are striking and
quality of the final result protection for modern, and we
when we took delivery of 23 primate populations think they will
new boards shipped in from in Southeastern
Nigeria.
place
the UK recently.
conservation in
Quality counts in this The IPS funds will not
only provide a high‐
the same light in
setting. We host
schoolchildren and their quality upgrade to the hearts of our
teachers from the the Education Centre audience.”
neighbouring villages for a Our new posters are striking at our field site, but
day‐out event where they will also allow
and modern, and we think
can observe socialised they will place conservation transportation for school
primate groups interacting in the same light in the groups to the site that
within their natural hearts of our audience. otherwise would not be able
environment, and take our to attend.
Schoolchildren from Iko
Ekperem enjoying their
day out at Rhoko
4. PAGE 4
Interest rates rise
We have just concluded Our guests from Agoi, Iko deeper partnerships with
visits to Rhoko Camp by Ekperem and Owai came to these villages in the future.
Chiefs, hunters and womens see CERCOPAN’s operation Raising the interest on the
groups from three first‐hand. For the Owai benefits of sustainable
surrounding communities . hunters it took a 5‐hour trek forest m a n a g e m e n t
through the forest to arrive. practices to a community
The groups toured the will in time lead to future
monkey enclosures and exchanges to understand
education centre, and then more about conservation in
spent time with our staff practice.
discussing the importance We presently have funding
of maintaining a healthy applications in process
forest for f u t u r e which, if successful, would
generations. allow us to build on the
These visits represent early strong interest generated by
discussions that may lead to these visits.
Iko Ekperem
visitors on their
way home
We are amused
Monkeys need to play just need to ensure a variety of Unfortunately we don’t
as much as humans do, and props and challenges are have a lot of money to buy
in the wild there are available for our inquisitive fancy equipment, but we
endless opportunities to and energetic lodgers. have become imaginative
Geizmo: first into exercise their minds and in making use of what
To make sure that they are
the new swing bodies through play. So for people throw out.
entertained and happy, our
our captive primates we keepers develop Monkeys love swinging
activities for them and climbing, so cage
referred to as furniture that enables this
‘enrichment’. tends to be very well used.
This past month We particularly make use
we’ve been of old tyres and thick
having a push to lengths of rope.
improve and A major hit with the mona
rejuvenate the monkeys was an old
enrichment for shopping basket strung up
each enclosure to from the roof. Their new
keep the monkeys swing has been a constant
fully amused source of amusement for
during the day them and their keepers,
with a new set of and has sparked endless
playthings. fun and games.
5. VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8 PAGE 5
Compassionate conservation
With an active research of the species is a less of our agenda.
programme at Rhoko, we straightforward decision if the Protecting the
frequently take the evidence is that the individual habitat of the
opportunity to present our animals suffer high levels of species and
work at international stress and reduced mortality. reducing hunting
conferences, to showcase Then again, the release of to address the
our programme and to gain animals into the wild to original cause of
learnings from practitioners enhance the well‐being of the problem led
in the same fields. Our individual animals may be to CERCOPAN’s
Mona Research Coordinator detrimental to conservation if growth into a
Sylvain Lemoine has just they carry diseases that conservation
returned from giving a threaten the wild populations. organisation. The
poster presentation at the reintroduction of
Welfare science and
Compassionate Conservation science are not animals in captive
Conservation symposium in care back into the
necessarily in conflict, but
Oxford together with Zena they have developed as two wild marries both
Tooze our founder. independent disciplines. the welfare and
The symposium debated CERCOPAN’s programme, conservation
ethical issues related to however, is firmly involved in aspects, and this
conservation which arise both branches. Originally was the subject
when seen in the light of founded to address the of Sylvain’s
the welfare of individual welfare of primates orphaned poster. Sylvain, Zena and
animals. As an example, the by the bushmeat trade, the AAP Stichting provided funding CERCOPAN’s poster
breeding of rare animals in care of each individual has to help both participants attend presentation
zoos to ensure the survival always been at the forefront for which we are very thankful.
Racing to freedom
With no new orphan our care. The tortoise was She is currently tucking into a
monkeys rescued or being kept as a pet, but was plate of fruit, veggies, grasses, “…we can
brought to CERCOPAN this originally a wild tortoise earthworms and snails while
celebrate
month, we can celebrate picked up by hunters. The we check her over and organise
because that means fewer ‘owner’ who had paid money transportation for her to get because that
animals out there suffering for the tortoise at a market back home. At her pace it means fewer
from the consequences of decided he could no longer would be a long and dangerous animals out
the bushmeat trade. look after it. walk. there suffering
But our reputation in the Shelly is a medium sized from the
region for responsible care species of tortoise, found in consequences of
of wild animals in need did Nigeria, the Congo and the
the bush meat
bring us one new arrival. Ivory Coast. Hingeback
tortoises are omnivorous and trade.”
Shelly, a female Home’s
Hinged Tortoise Kinixys in the wild eat a variety of
homeana a species of molluscs, insects and other
invertebrates, fallen fruit and Shelly: born to be
African hingeback tortoise
has been surrendered into various plants species. WILD!
