Mama colobus and her little boy have now been in our care for almost three weeks. Her paralysis has been diagnosed as related to nerve damage and she is receiving daily medication to help re-stimulate movement in her legs.
Staff at Colobus Conservation are working very hard to care for this female. She is exceptionally aggressive due to the infant she is caring for and this does not make the job of treating her easy. To aid her recovery she is being moved regularly for physiotherapy, however this has to be carefully balanced against the effect the stress of human contact has on her well being.
Unlike the other monkeys found in this area, colobus monkey’s only eat wild leaves, seeds and fruit and will not eat human fruits and vegetable. Naturally, colobus adults spend up to 60% of day light hours foraging and browsing for food. In order to support the dietary needs of the mother and therefore her infant Colobus Conservation has hired a new staff member solely dedicated to collecting large quantities of appropriate wild foods.
We predict Mama colobus will need a minimum of two weeks further treatment, possibly as long as four weeks before she is fit enough to be released back to her troop.
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