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Nino,Gina and Fredo have been successfully introduced to Bertie and Ashmaels group.Two weeks ago Ashmael become a surrogate mother once again, taking a particular liking to young Nino who suffered terrible injuries when he was attacked by Max one of the alpha males of another group.
This attack resulted in Nino losing one of his eyes. Now not only has nino got a new family and a doting mother he has a large forest area which he can explore.
As soon as he was able to be free the first thing he did was climb the highest tree after Bertie, always under the watchful eye of Ashmael.His loss of an eye does not seem to hinder him and he has been accepted into the group.
We will keep you updated on all of their progress. NEW ARRIVALSTwo weeks ago we received news of a young orphaned chimpanzee around one and half years old.He arrived to cwaf in fairly good condition but was underfed and a little de hydrated.We named him Aidan after one of the camera men who was recently out here filming for the Going Ape series. Aidan is now with the other babies in quarantine but at night sleeps in his own area as he is still very small.He is a real hooligan and loves causing trouble.We will keep you up to date on how he gets along. UPDATES
Miko is still too young to join the other infants in quarantine as he still needs to be fed in the night.We hope in the next few months he will move out to Mefou to join the quarantine group.
October 20, 2006
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Miko our youngest chimp is doing really well.Miko was rejected by his mother yao and we had to hand rear.He is being taken care of by project Director Talila Sivan.He has now learnt how to walk and loves to explore.He has a small garden area where he spends his days playing.
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We are not sure who the father of the new baby is as we still have three males that we need to vasectomise, having said that Charlos has taken over the proud role of father and follows Yao around everywhere protecting mother and baby.Charlos is the alpha male of the group and has already been vasectomised.
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We have named the baby Miko,he takes his name from Miko Gilat who is the Director of Soltam company based in Israel . Soltam has donated all of the iron and materials to build our enclosures including the one Yao and Mikko live in.They have also donated a great deal of equipment to our project and we are extremely grateful.
We are all really proud and happy for Yao and Miko and will keep you all update on the pairs progress.
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Djakou and Dbambas arrival
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On the 24 th February we received news of an infant gorilla being kept with 2 young chimpanzees in the East of Cameroon.Due to our quarantine area being full Sheri Speede agreed to take the chimps leaving cwaf with the gorilla. Djakou is just over 1yr old and because he had been living with chimps was not stressed , usually gorillas at this age are extremely difficult to look after as they remember their trauma and die of unhappiness.The two other youngsters had kept Djakous spirit high enough to keep him going.
Djakou is now with the two infant gorilla keepers, Appolinaire and Terri.After he has finished his 3 month quarantine period he will join the other infants in Mefou.
Dbambas
A couple of weeks after Djakous arrivals a young chimp around the same age arrived.We named him Dbamba after one of the rivers in Cameroon . He arrived very weak, tired and dehydrated.At the moment Talila is taking care of him but he will soon go to one of our volunteers here, Diana from Germany.Everyday he gets stronger and stronger and slowly his character starts to show.
We will keep you updated on their progress.
CWAF does not only take orphan primates.Recently an infant duiker arrived from the East of Cameroon.She required feeding every 3 hrs and 24hr care.Slowly she is getting stronger and has started to play.
In January a new born mongoose arrived in Mefou.She was tiny and again required 24hr care, feeding around the clock.Now 3 months on she is huge, eating meat and playing with everything that moves!!!
Her name is Jamelia
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February 24, 2006
New story: Creepy Animals of The Forest
I have always had a passion for all wildlife and as a teenager kept many
unusual and exotic insects and spiders in my bedroom, much to my mothers
disgust! In January 2006 I came to Cameroon to search primarily for birds
of prey, which I work with in the UK . After spending one month in Limbe, I
decided to move to a new area and after sending several emails to different
organisations, I received a reply from CWAF, offering me the chance to
volunteer at their forest reserve in Mefou, working with their apes and
monkeys.
Continue the story
New story by Aviad
I am Aviad, an Israeli guy who recently finished his three year service in the military, at that time I decided that I want to accomplish a dream of mine, to go to Africa and so I went. I started in Uganda , ended up in South Africa after seven months. After an amazing six months passed by, I felt ready to go to the place that was the main reason of me coming to Africa, Cameroon
Continue the story
Wazak Returns
In December 2005, Wazak, our resident Houdini chimpanzee, escaped from his enclosure during a stormy night when a tree fell onto his enclosure fence, providing an escape route. Wazak headed straight for the forest, scaling huge trees and traveling long distances. Staff at CWAF and the local community began the daunting task of tracking him down early the following morning, when the chimp keepers discovered he was missing. Wazaks path through the jungle meant that the search team had to endure the extreme terrain of the Cameroonian rainforest, including wading through dangerous swamps and battling through thick, impenetrable bush. Several sightings were reported during day one of wazaks escape and throughout the following month, but he evaded all attempts of capture. After 4 very, very long weeks, our gorilla keeper, Bruno, skillfully darted Wazak using a tranquiliser gun and was able to return him back to the safety of his family and enclosure. After a nerve wracking and tiring 4 weeks, the staff enjoyed a celebratory drink. Many thanks to the hard working Bruno, CWAF staff and local helpers. Welcome back Wazak! Marshals Miracle Recovery
In 2003 a baby Spot Nosed Guenon, Marshal, arrived on CWAFs doorstep. Sadly it soon became apparent that Marshal suffered from a neurological disorder. However, all was not lost and he was successfully integrated into one of the monkey groups where he adapted well, although unfortunately he was unable to climb and stayed on the ground. He, unusually, took on the role of mother for any new arrivals to the group and provided support the often nervous and stressed newcomers. In July 2005, Marshal suffered a wound to the end of his tail, which, even after treatment, still remained badly infected. Unfortunately Marshal developed tetanus. The disease rapidly invaded Marshals body and caused him to have severe muscle spasms and he quickly became completely paralised. Tetanus normally kills, but due to the 24 hour care and attention from Talila, CWAF's director, Marshal very slowly recovered from the condition.
Talila developed her own treatment for Marshal, he was bathed in warm water several times a day and his muscles massaged gently to try and encourage them to relax. He was also kept on a drip to provide fluids and was given a strong course of antibiotics. Even through all of this. Marshal was completely aware of his surroundings and how he was being helped. It took a month before any improvements were noticed, first his head began to regain mobility and slowly the rest of his withered body began to follow.
Now, 7 months on, Marshal is walking, eating, playing and hopefully, in the next few months will return to the forest where he will be given a specially adapted area, allowing him to be completely independent again. Unfortunately, he still suffers from his neurological problems and on occasion has trouble walking, however this does not particularly affect his quality of life. Marshals recovery was a true miracle and a tribute to the dedicated care provided by Talila.
Bertie and Ashmals Move to the Forest
For ten years, Bertie and Ashmal, two adult chimpanzees, lived in Mvog Betsi Zoo, Yaounde . Their cage was dilapidated, small and completely unsuited to their needs. For many years, CWAF has been trying. in vain, to move them to the forest reserve. Finally, in February 2006, CWAF completed the construction of a new enclosure specifically built to house Bertie and Ashmal and a plan was made to move them to Mefou.
The chimps were sedated, removed from their cage and given a thorough health check. They were then transported to the forest where they are being housed in a satellite cage. This allows them to become comfortable in their new environment, learn about the electric fence and generally settle in. Understandably, the two chimps were initially quite stressed, however Big Joe, their keeper from the zoo was moved to the forest to stay with the chimps. They are now settling in and becoming used to the new surroundings, the presence of Joes familiar face has helped the process.
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During her time in the Zoo, Ashmal found a friend, a kitten. She took care of it and mothered it as though it were a baby chimp. Ashmal is looking forward to finding more friends in the forest.
We hope that in the next two weeks we can open to the door to their forest enclosure, allowing the pair to experience trees, flowers, sunshine, rain and all other natural forest experiences. The two have a long road ahead of them, they have never seen a tree and will have to learn to climb, learn which plants are suitable to eat and even how to shelter from the rain! We wish them all the best and will keep you updated on their progress.
Mandoumbi's Story
Mandoumbi is a baby Mandrill which arrived at CWAF in a cardboard box at the end of January 2006. He was completely bald had no teeth and was around 3 weeks to 1 month old. He was completely helpless and a baby mandrill of this age in the wild would normally still be attached to its mother. Rachel, manager of CWAF Mefou, took over the role of mother. Mandoubi required 24 hour care and he was permanently attached to Rachel. Six weeks on, he is now walking, playing, laughing (apparently unheard of in Mandrills!), changing colour and growing hair. His character is starting to show, he is very mischievous and has become close friends with Marshal. We will keep you updated with his progress.
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Italian Mob
On January 3 rd 2006 CWAF received a call from an Italian forester informing us of three chimpanzees he had been keeping for a number of years. A 7 year oild female named Gena and 2 young males, Fredo and Neno, due to their Italian names we have named the group "The Italian Mob". After a meeting with the forester, we were given the exact location of the chimpanzees, which were located in the Central Province ( Cameroon ). It was a ten hour drive to the location, Babs, the veterinary manager traveled to NGambe Tikav to collect them. Fearing the worst, as in most cases, Babs will meet the animal in a deplorable state, in which one of the young males was in very poor condition. They passed the night Ngambe and at 6 am the following morning had put all three chimps into their transport cages and began the long journey back to the Zoo. To avoid stressing the chimps they stopped half way through the trip to sleep, this was necessary to avoid traveling at night on the dangerous roads and to allow both the staff and chimps to rest. The group finally arrive at the zoo the follong day at noon where they were placed together in a quarantine area. The three are doing well although the one young male is still very nervous and tends to spend his days sitting alone in the roof of the cage. After a 3 month quarantine period they will be moved to Mefou. We will keep you updated on their progress.
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CWAF Warriors
CWAF are proud to announce the creation of our new football team, The CWAF Warriors. Training began early in February and under the guidance of their coach, the team went on to win their first match of the season, beating Metet village 2 - 0. After a slow first half and several dubious decisions made by the referee CWAF dominated Metet during the second half of the game when the two winning goals were scored. CWAF could be on there way to Mefou Cup victory. Good luck!
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