Limbe Wildlife Center, Limbe, Cameroon

Limbe Wildlife Center, Limbe, Cameroon 

Limbe Wildlife Center was founded in 1993 as a collaborative effort between the Government of Cameroon and Pandrillus. At that time, Peter and Liza were doing field work in Cameroon for the drill survey. In too many places, orphan primates were encountered with nowhere to go – chained on the roadside, locked in storage sheds, displayed in noisy hotel garden bars and kept as lonely individuals in private homes – from the most remote village to the upscale Bastos neighborhood in Yaounde. There was no facility for these animals in Cameroon and taking them all to Nigeria was not an option. The problem was particularly acute for chimpanzees; in just 6 months of field work we had compiled a database of nearly 50 chimpanzees needing a new home.

The original goal was to create a sanctuary for chimpanzees. The then-Victoria Zoo in Limbe seemed like an ideal location, with good land, water supply, plenty of visitors to be given the opportunity to learn about wildlife and, most importantly, sympathetic and sincere management. There was one chimpanzee living there, Suzanne, 3 drills, several baboons, red-capped mangabeys, guenons and Man Alone, the adult male mandrill, pictured above. The zoo was at the time under the Ministry of Tourism and their local delegate in charge of the zoo, Maria Mukete, was ready and willing to implement change. Pandrillus recruited its first volunteer for Cameroon, Kay Farmer, and the Limbe Wildlife Center was born.

Epic Cameroon Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound