ENHG Lecture Sept 22nd: The Role of the Limbe Wildlife Centre (Cameroon, West Africa) in Conservation and Education of Local Communities

Welcome back to the 2020-21 season, in our new socially-distanced format. This lecture will take place via Zoom. A link will be sent prior to the talk for all who register. We will also endeavour to host a Facebook livestream via our Facebook page. 

***KINDLY NOTE UPDATED DATE! Tuesday, September 22.  

About the Lecture: Glenn will discuss the Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC), a collaboration between the Pandrillus Foundation (NGO) and the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) since 1994. With conservation and education being the priorities of the collaboration, the ultimate goal of the project is to release healthy animals into protected areas within the forest zone of southern Cameroon.

About the Limbe Wildlife Centre: When Pandrillus Co-founders Peter Jenkins and Liza Gadsby were working on a Drill field survey in remote areas in the countryside of Cameroon, in West Africa, they found high numbers of primates being kept under horrible conditions by private owners along the roadsides. The number of rescued animals increased fast, and the Old Victoria Zoo in Limbe, a small beach town in Southwest Cameroon, was chosen as a suitable place for a sanctuary and became the Limbe Wildlife Center (LRC).  Since 1994, former zoo animals being kept under poor conditions, as well as rescued animals (mainly from the illegal wildlife trade), also live in the LRC.

About the Speaker: Glenn John Ewole Motumba started volunteering at the Limbe Wildlife Centre at fifteen as an after-school activity. He received onsite trainings with the education department of the Limbe Wildlife Center, which involved providing guided tours to visitors and school groups. During his volunteer years, his passion for primates made him focus more on the behavior and ecology of the endangered Drill monkeys (Mandrillus leucophaeus), and he became employed in the wild life center.

He participated in the study of Drill behavior in captivity conducted by the Forest Research Institute of Cameroon. His experience in the behavior of Drill Monkeys in captivity and identification have been recognized by Rettet den Drill. E.V, an NGO that raises funds for survival research and sanctuaries that care for Drill monkeys in Africa.

 After 16 years of experience in LWC, he moved to Emirates Park Zoo in Abu Dhabi in 2016, where he became the Lead Keeper of the Primates and Small Mammals section. His role is to develop the husbandry of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and other primates in Emirates Park Zoo. Currently he is enrolled in a Diploma in management of Zoo and Aquarium Animals (DMZAA).  Meanwhile, the zoo has recorded successful breeding of different primates, among them endangered mandrills. The protection of native species and nature education in Cameroon remain important to Glenn.