Other Projects / Contributions

Save The Primates has had the pleasure of working with and assisting the following projects…

MonkeyHelp Line – Durban South Africa

Save The Primates donated AU$1000 (R9000) to help complete a 288 cubic meter introductory cage opening onto a 1600 square meter open air enclosure.  The introductory cage is already completed but the open air enclosure still requires an additional one meter of wire mesh around the entire perimeter which is already fenced to a height of 1.8 meters.  Once the enclosure has been electrified the monkeys will be released from the introductory cage.  Total cost of the enclosure is R73 000, of which Monkey Helpline joint coordinator, Carol Booth has already personally contributed R40 000 for work done so far.

Who is Monkeyhelp Line??

‘To start with, we devote lots of our time to educating people about the reasons why the monkeys are here, why monkeys behave the way they do, the things people should do or not do when monkeys are around, and how to humanely keep monkeys away from those places where they are not welcome.  Just knowing that monkeys will NOT attack and bite people, and that they DON’T carry rabies, is enough to change antagonism and fear into tolerance and appreciation in many cases.

We also run a rescue operation and a “high care” unit.  We rescue an average of at least two monkeys every day, and their injuries range from wounds sustained during fights with other monkeys, dog bites, being run over by motor vehicles, electrocution, being snared, trapped or poisoned, and being shot with air (pellet) guns, catapults and firearms and being caught or injured on security razor-wire.  Many are babies who are orphaned or injured when mother monkeys are attacked by dogs or other monkeys, or are severely injured or killed in human-related incidents.  Over eighty percent of the monkeys we rescue, irrespective of the reason why, have got air gun pellets lodged in their bodies.  Lead pellets cause terrible pain, suffering and a lingering death and no person, adult or child, should ever shoot monkeys with a pellet gun.  As the only dedicated monkey rescue project in KwaZulu-Natal, the Monkey Helpline is available to do rescues 24 hours a day, every day!  On any given day we have twenty to seventy monkeys in our home-based high care unit.  Once they have recovered from their injuries these monkeys are released back into their home territory, transferred to a rehabilitation facility or placed in a sanctuary.’

Thank you from Steve Smit, Monkeyline Founder -
"Once again, thanks so very  much for pledging this donation to Monkey Helpline.  It certainly will be a great help in getting the sanctuary completed and housing a deserving group of about thirty to thirty-five monkeys.  We are very excited!."

Centre de Rehabilitation des Primates de Lwiro – Democratic Republic Of Congo

Save The Primates donated AU$2000 to help with the construction of the  fence around a 7.2 hectare patch of forest and savannah so that the chimpanzees can be in a more natural and stimulating environment.

The CRPL brings together a team of both government and nongovernment organisations which are committed to the confiscation, rehabilitation and care of the primates of North and South Kivu who have been devastated by illegal trade and forest activities in the region.

Centre de Rehabilitation des Primates de Lwiro known as ’CRPL’ was officially established on the 26th of February 2003 with the arrival of the first orphaned chimpanzee. The purpose of CRPL is to care for orphaned chimpanzees, monkeys and other animals that have been rescued from illegal trade and activities, with the intent, where possible, to return them to the wild. For those unable to survive in the wild, the CRPL will provide lifetime care for the term of their natural lives. The mission of the CRPL is to contribute to the quality of life in those environments in which we operate, by providing the best facilities and care to captive primates in DRC and ensuring their survival in the wild. CRPL is member of Pan African Sanctuary Alliance from September 2010 and is committed to following their recommendations. And as of February 2011, the CRPL has been admitted into the Conservation Action Plan (CAP) for the Eastern landscape of DRC. As a part of this commitment the existing sanctuaries will be reinforced and no additional sanctuaries will be constructed.

Thank you from CRPL: -
"Thank you so much for this donation, it will really help a lot!  And it's amazing that you want help Lwiro further!  Let me know if you need photos, I have a lot ;) Thank you so much again!  All the best."
~ Hilde

Darwin Primate Group – South Africa

In early 2012 Save The Primates received an SOS from Darwin Primate Group who were desperately short of funds and although there was a long wish list a new rescue vehicle was at the top. In March 2012 Save The Primates contributed AU$5000 to purchase a new rescue vehicle for Darwin Primate Group.

The Issue:
"The most pressing problem that was certainly keeping our project from moving forward at the moment, is the unreliable vehicle that I have been using for the last two years. It is a 230E 1987 Mercedes that breaks down constantly, needing new parts and requires an enormous amount of petrol (as Mercedes' tend to do). This vehicle has been sapping our funding instead of acting as a strong backbone to the project. It has also proved to be dangerous on a number of occasions when I have had no other option to transport a baby baboon or monkey – for example, I have broken down on the highway at night after fetching a baby baboon and have been forced to wander into the bush with the baboon to find safety while we have waited for help. Replacing this vehicle with a more reliable one has increasingly become a matter of urgency but I have not been able to sell it and certainly would not be able to buy anything remotely reliable with the money I could get for it. At present, I have been advised that I would be lucky to get R10 000 for it. To rectify this particular problem, my only hope lies in raising enough funding to buy a reliable vehicle...particularly a light weight van that will not use much petrol and be able to transport monkeys safely."
Karin Saks – DPG Director

Thank you from Darwin Primate Group -
"I have been bowled over by all your help in raising funds towards a reliable DPG vehicle which is necessary for us to continue with the most crucial aspects of our goals for South Africa primates. To Save The Primates in Australia for their very generous donation, thank you."