Firstly, Happy New Year all! We thought we’d kick off the blog in 2022 with some great updates from the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre. From the uplifting to the cute and those that will make you giggle, these updates should bring a little joy this Monday...
The Vervet Trio
In November 2021, we posted to Facebook and Instagram about three orphaned vervet monkeys rescued by the centre named Mvula, Joseph and Peace. A few days ago, we were updated by the centre that the vervet trio is thriving! After their final quarantine health checks, the centre confirmed they are all in excellent health, and Mvula already weighs over 1kg which is amazing for his age.
All three have settled in really well with their foster mums, Lulu and Karen, as you can see in the photos above! These youngsters are well on their way to being integrated into their new troop over the next few months.
Little Dzuwa and The Cubs
The vervet trio took the centres’ total to 128 animals rescued in 2021, the most received in any year, that was until the recent rescues of little Dzuwa and two adorable hyena pups in December.
Dzuwa was rescued from the illegal pet trade and was likely stolen from his mother. He is a healthy and fast-growing vervet baby, who is also adorable! Dzuwa is being taken care of by veteran foster mum, Rain, he is the youngest infant Rain has ever raised, so it has been a bit of a learning experience for the pair. At first, Rain would wait for Dzuwa to follow her just like her older babies would in the past, but he is still tiny and needs to be carried around. After some trial and error, they figured it out together and are now inseparable.
Not all the orphans the centre receives are monkeys, as you can see above, Leo and Milo are tiny hyena cubs, approximately 7-8 months old. Leo and Milo’s mother was chased away from their den and sadly never returned. They are progressing very well at the sanctuary, enjoying their time together and exploring their new environment. Both are quickly growing, along with their appetites!
Camera Trap Comedy
Camera traps are very useful tools in monitoring wildlife, especially rescued wildlife. It’s a non-invasive way of checking in on the animals and monitoring behaviours at night or during unsocial hours. Sometimes though, camera trap images or footage is just plain funny. The past two ‘Camera Trap Tuesdays’ have given the team and their social following a few giggles, and we are more than happy to share these with you today:
Here we see Leo and Milo at feeding time. You come for the cubs but stay for the mongoose!
It’s been a whole year since the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre launched the Biodiversity Monitoring Project in Liwonde National Park. And we’re ending this blog with our favourite camera trap throwback from the project archives, it’s one of our favourite camera trap snaps to date!
