In 1989
the plight of the vervet monkey species in South Africa
first came to light when an orphaned baby monkey, only
hours old was discovered. Inquiries to recognised authorities
re the fate of such animals revealed that there were no
facilities to provide for its care and welfare, instead
they were told to ‘kill’ the monkey because,
such animals were regarded as vermin.
As environmentalists and
humanitarians, they saw that the solution to this problem
did not lie in the ethunisation of these orphaned primates
but, rather the need for an organization to provide a
sanctuary for them and to holistically investigate what
was in fact happening to this indigenous primate of South
Africa.
It soon became apparent that very little was in fact known
about this
species. Most of the data available at that
time was negative, contradictory, incomplete and inaccurate.
This void was due to its classification as vermin and,
this lack of knowledge had portrayed this indigenous primate
in a very poor and negative light. At that time there
was also very little information pertaining to the rehabilitation
of this primate species.
As conservationists they could see that the solution to
this problem was not the senseless killing of these primates
but the need for a program incorporating:
- A facility to research the life style and environment
of this species.
- A program to rehabilitate orphaned and injured primates.
- A program
to research the claims of damage and problems caused
by vervet monkeys and offer possible solutions for
co-existence.
- An education
program to inform the public of the role that the
vervet monkey plays in the eco system.
- A sanctuary for primates unfortunate enough to be unreleasable but, manageable enough to be used for educational purposes.
As a high priority they
began to research the possibility of rehabilitating
these
orphans and to develop a much need rehabilitation programme
and sanctuary where injured and miss-placed vervet monkeys
would be humanly treated.
During the past decade the Foundation has developed a
unique rehabilitation programme that has helped revolutionise
the way in which primates are rehabilitated.. Our enclosure
designs are now utilised in similar primate projects.
Fundamentaly, the Foundation has saved and improved the
lives of more than six hundred vervet monkeys.The foundation
has also achieved many firsts in the rehabilitation of
this primate species.
