Vervet Monkey April 2012

Welcome to Scarlett's first blog report! 

At the start of December 2011 we received a call from the SPCA in Windhoek (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). They had been notified of a monkey making a lot of noise, clearly in distress, from someone's back garden. The SPCA called Rudie and Marlice and asked for their assistance in rescuing the animal. 

When they arrived at the house, they found the poor vervet monkey chained up on a 2 meter length of chain. She was understandably aggressive and bewildered. 

Rudie and the team from SPCA rescued the 2-3 year old vervet and brought her back to N/a'an ku se where the volunteers, Jo and Keith, had in the meantime built a small little enclosure for her to stay in temporarily. We called her Scarlett to match her feisty personality.

We then had a big decision to make. On two previous occasions in the last 6 months we have been called to rescue vervet monkeys but as we do not have current facilities to home vervets we have located other sanctuaries in Namibia to look after them. This process is lengthy and unreliable so Rudie and Marlice decided it would be in the animal's best interest (and that of future vervets) if we built accommodation for her. 

Keith set about building a proper home for her - a camp with ropes, trees and wooden levels, and even a special feeding area where she can sit and eat whilst the volunteers go in to clean her main area. Rudie darted Scarlett to move her from her temporary camp to the larger permanent enclosure. Scarlett is not tame and so interaction with her can only be made with caution. She has now developed a big grudge against Rudie as this was the second time he had to dart her - he has now become in her mind, the scary man with the big gun. She was very resistant to the drugs and tried to keep herself awake as hard as she could, but eventually fell asleep so he could move her. Needless to say, Rudie and Scarlett have a "special" bond.

She is now much calmer than when we first rescued her and likes the attention from people and will happily take food from your hand through her fence. She is fed a daily diet of mielepap, tomato, fruit and loves a local purple plant (which Jo calls the tortoise plant) which simulates her feeding habits in the wild where she would normally forage for berries and plants. We hope that she will be happy here, early improvements to her personality suggest that she is much better off in this environment and we shall give her all the care and love she needs.