Photo by: Melissa Batson

And how they put a snare in the plan for chimps and humans to live together.

In the Budongo Forests of Uganda, a large group of Chimpanzees, named by researchers The Sonso Group, attempt to thrive in their natural habitat, eating plants and small prey. At the same time, humans who live around the forest are also trying to survive, working at places like the local sugarcane plantation and living in straw and mud houses. For food, they set out into the forest with small snares and aim for duiker and or pig.

Most of these snares are made from wire. As chimpanzees walk through the forest, their hands or feet may become trapped in the snare. In two of the forests where chimpanzees are studied, researchers have observed up to 25 percent of chimpanzees are maimed due to snare injuries. More die.

This problem is typical all over the world. How do the chimps and people live together? How do elephants and people live together? Wolves and people? Mountain Lions and Bay Area people? Though solutions seem impossible at times, I am impressed by many of the solutions, one being that of the Budongo Snare Removal Project.

In January 2000, the Jane Goodall Institute in collaboration with the Budongo Forest Project initiated a snare removal program in the Budongo Forest Reserve. The objective is to reduce the number of snares set, reduce the number of animals caught in snares and traps, and increase the number of local people who obey wildlife laws and understand the need for protecting wildlife.

Teams of two men locate and remove snares. After the first year of operation, they found that the number of snares being set within the grid system of the research area dropped. The census teams found heavy poaching and illegal activities were being carried out in the southern end of the forest reserve, so the team near the research site extended their range.

A new education center reaches out to the local community and provides education around ecology, wildlife and the treasure that is the chimpanzees.

The Oakland Zoo adopted this project in 2001 and the support covers the salaries for four field assistants, two educators, two eco-guards, and allowances for transportation and bike repair, gum boots, rain gear, backpacks, and compasses.

Funds raised at an annual fall lecture and silent auction and on Primate Discovery Day go toward this project.This year’s Primate Day is September 27^th and the lecture, featuring Shirley McGreal, is on October 2^nd.

The Oakland Zoo also supports connection and awareness of this project by visiting the site in Uganda. Teens will be traveling there in July and adults will embark on the journey (including gorilla trecking) in October.

More spots are available on this once in a lifetime adventure. For details, email: amy@oaklandzoo.org.

And how this metamorphosis saves Monkeys!

Colombia: a beautiful country, with incredible forests and diverse wildlife, but like many other countries, a trash problem. With no formal trash collection system, the forests and villages suffer from scattered plastic bags, endangering wildlife and creating a mess on village streets. One such village was Los Limites, until they came up with a most transformative solution: Eco-Mochilas!

The Eco-Mochila project was invented by the organization Proyecto Titi (Project Tamarin), a dynamic conservation program that combines field research, education, and community programs in an effort to protect the endangered Cotton Top Tamarin.

An Eco-Mochila is a bag made from crocheting 100 plastic bags into a colorful beach bag or purse. The innovative woman who create the bags are called the Asoartesanas. They encourage villagers and school children to collect plastic bags and as they go door to door to collect, they educate the people about their local wildlife. Then, they cut the bags into strips and begin their craft.

Eco-Mochilas are sold throughout the world at various venues and bring in a suitable salary for an artist. Of course, the collecting of thousands of plastic bags has other benefits: a more beautiful village, and a forest clear of trash, which makes a certain one-pound monkey very happy.

The endangered Cotton Top Tamarin is found only in the forests of Colombia. Deforestation and capture for the pet trade are the species’ greatest threats. The Eco-Mochila project creates sustenance for villagers, an alternative to using the forest for such, and of course, offers a cleaner forest for all wildlife.

The program has been so successful that the Asoartesanas have trained people from other countries to begin similar project in their communities…

And in case this is important to their case, eco-mochilas are cute, come in different sizes, can be personalized, make great presents and are water resistant. I have three!

Click here to purchase an Eco-Mochila and help Cotton-Top Tamarins; and come visit the Tamarins at the Oakland Zoo anytime.