2016 Primate Conservation Field Course

Volume 37
October 2016
2016 Primate Conservation Field Course

This year our primate conservation field course was the most
successful to date! The course was attended by an amazing group
of young conservationists from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, El
Salvador, Mexico and Spain. The whole group showed an eagerness

and dedication to primate conservation that gives hope for the
future of neotropical primates. Also we were joined by an
excellent group of instructors from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
who shared their wealth of experience, knowledge and passion
about primate conservation with us and the students. For the first
time the course was held in Moyobamba, capital of San Martin
department, and finished with 3 days of practical field classes in the
locally protected area La Jungla de los Monos (The monkeys
jungle) where, every day, we were treated to views of squirrel
monkeys, tamarins, howler monkeys, capuchins and titi monkeys.
We are now organising next years course to be held at the same
venue.Watch this space for more information!
Volume 37
October 2016
Page 2
NPC at the joint meeting of

the International
Primatological Society and
American Society of
Primatologists 2016
At the end of August NPC Peru
president Nestor Allgas travelled to
Chicago to take part in the IPS precongress training program and to
present the results of our studies of
density and occupancy modelling of the
Peruvian night monkey at a special
night monkey symposium organised
English classes and environmental within the main congress. He was
accompanied by NPCs director Sam
education
Shanee who co-organised a symposium
on community conservation of
2016 Primate Conservation Field Course
Between March and July we were joined by Carmen
primates together with Community
Callejo who gave four months of free English classes in
Conservation specialist Dr Robert
the villages of La Esperanza, La Florida and Buenos Aires
Horwich. The symposium was well
near our main yellow tailed woolly monkey project site.
attended and the different invited
Carmen, who came all the way from Spain, did an amazing
presenters showcased the success of
job teaching in primary and secondary schools, winning
their
projects
working
with
the hearts of the students and showing excellent results.
communities for primate conservation
More than 300 children and teenagers learnt basic English
in Latin America, Asia, Madagascar and
conversational skills and an expended vocabulary. Most
Africa. Also in attendance was PhD
importantly Carmen managed to weave into her teaching
student Vinciane Fack who presented
environmentally important topics on issues of wildlife
preliminary results of her study in
conservation. At the end of the program the children from
geophagy (soil eating) in yellow tailed
the La Esperanza primary school wrote and performed a
woolly monkeys that she is undertaking
short theatrical piece about animal trafficking in English, a
at our main La Esperanza field site.
work that premiered during the village anniversary.
During August we participated in the Amazonas Regional
Governments annual farmers fair (FERAGRO) in the city
of Chachapoyas. At the invitation of the regional
environmental authorities we used the opportunity to
inform the public about the illegality and cruelty of animal
trafficking in the hope that they will use this information
to report any instances they find in the future, to the
proper authorities.
Volume 37
October 2016
Page 3
Animal Rescue
In the last 3 months we helped in the rescue, care and transport of
26 animals taken from the illegal trade of wildlife trafficking, this takes
the total to 233 since the beginning of the year. The rescued animals
we have cared for during these months include woolly monkeys,
tamarins, turtles and Lulu, a beautiful baby Hoffmans sloth!
Our nine years experience working with wildlife rescues and law
enforcement are both very encouraging and very frustrating. Regions
and cities we work in such as Amazonas, San Martin, Pucallpa and
Yurimaguas, all used to be full of wildlife in captivity, and much of it
out in the open, with no fear of interventions from the authorities,
this situation is rapidly changing with wildlife authorities starting to
function according to the law, controlling the trafficking and
prosecuting the traffickers. There is nothing more satisfying than
walking in areas that were once open trafficking centres and which
are now free of captive wildlife. We enjoy this feeling regularly.
However, we still encounter appalling cases of corruption and
deliberate
inefficiency within
the wildlife authorities
themselves,
and
2016
Primate
Conservation
Field
Course
we repeatedly report these cases to national authorities with no
satisfactory responses.
Volume 37
October 2016
Page 4
Supporting Chaparri Private

Conservation Area
The Chaparri Private Conservation Area (The
first to be recognised in Peru!) is struggling against
an invasion of land traffickers, with several areas
invaded; traffickers have subverted and taken over
legal control of the Communal Directive using
fake documents and corrupt officials. We are
trying to help the reserve and the founding
villagers who have been left powerless in their
Locally Run Conservation attempts to protect Chaparri. Despite repeated
reports, the Peruvian government has failed to
Reserves
take any legal action against the invaders. Even
though this area is not home to any primates we
We are really happy to welcome Yeissy
are doing everything we can in this test case for
Sarmiento back to NPC. Yeissy was a volunteer
the survival of community run Private
with
us
in
2014-2015
and
is
now
our
reserves
Conservation
2016 Primate Conservation Field
Course Areas in Peru. In a joint
coordinator, working in support of the 11
proclamation signed by many organisations we
locally-run protected areas we have helped
demand that the Peruvian government: rigorously
create and continue to support. Having Yeissy
enforce the law and stop invasion of protected
on the team gives us the opportunity to be a
areas; investigate, and prosecute illegal land
more involved in the continuing progress of
traffickers as well as corrupt officials; and support
each community group and reserve as well as
and protect local conservationists and their
helping with the bureaucratic procedures
valuable initiatives. If Chaparri looses its official
needed, environmental education activities and
recognition as a Private Conservation Area it
participation
in
regional
conservation
would set a terrible precedent for all private and
networking activities.
communal conservation efforts in Peru.
We would also like to praise the amazing

advances of APALP, the locally run association of
Sun Angels Gardens, a 7,000 ha conservation
concession, for their amazing achievements
both in conservation and in sustainable
development in the villages around the reserve.
They successfully and peacefully removed land
invaders from the reserve without needing the
help of the authorities, they secured their own
funding to sustain their work and they are
selling shade grown certified organic coffee in
beautifully designed packages.
Volume 37
October 2016
Page 5
2017 Primate
Connections
Calendar
With 2017 just around the corner
now is the perfect time to order
your
beautiful
Primate
Connections calendar from NPC.
All proceeds go direct to our
projects conserving threatened
primates and their habitats in
South America.
These calendars also make perfect
presents for loved ones, feature
beautiful photos of some of the
2016most
Primate
Conservation
worlds
spectacular
primate
species, and include educational
facts about each species and a
local charity helping to protect
them.
Field Course
Cost:
Large = 15/$20/17.50 + P&P
Small = 10/$13/11.50 + P&P
Postage:
UK (1st class)
small 1.20 / large 1.50
Europe (standard)
small 2.75/1.20 / large 4/4.65
Zone 1 (standard)
small 3.50/$4.55 / large 5/$6.50
Zone 2 (standard)
small 3.75/U$4.90 / large 5.50/U$7.15
ALL ORDERS
Please write to [email protected] with which
size calendar you would like, how many copies and
the postal address for us to send the order to.

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Volume 37

2016 Primate Conservation Field Course

Salvador, Mexico and Spain. The whole group showed an eagerness

NPC at the joint meeting of

Supporting Chaparri Private

We would also like to praise the amazing

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