“We found a patas monkey that was kept as a pet and then abandoned. There are no sanctuaries in Senegal. The situation is desperate.”
“We found a monkey that was kept as a pet and then abandoned. There are no sanctuaries in Senegal. The situation is desperate.”
This is from an email PASA International received from a compassionate person in Dakar, Senegal, who rescued Fatou, a little monkey in urgent need.
No one knows the conditions Fatou’s owners kept her in – many monkeys in Dakar spend their days tied to the roofs of buses, riding around in smog and traffic and enduring unimaginable stress – or why her owners abandoned her all alone in the middle of the city.
Tragically, stories like Fatou’s are far too common. Countless monkeys and great apes are orphaned by bushmeat hunters, kept as illegal pets, tied on top of buses, or smuggled into the illicit wildlife trade.
The PASA Alliance is comprised of 23 wildlife rescue centers and is the largest alliance of its kind in Africa. However, many countries in Africa – such as Senegal – still lack suitable facilities to care for rescued great apes and monkeys, which can make situations like this very difficult.
We reached out to our member organizations in the region and were deeply relieved to get a reply from the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project in the Gambia.
Transportation and permits were arranged, and little Fatou is now receiving outstanding care from CRP’s experienced staff. She is fascinated by the natural surroundings and other monkeys.
Fatou’s rescue was only possible because of compassionate people like you.