Success! Rehabilitated vervet monkey troop thrives in their first year back in the wild

In the face of devastating fires destroying Australian homes and wildlife, it comes as some relief to get great news from the Zambia Primate Project—one of our international partners.

Humane Society International has been supporting the incredible work of the Zambia Primate Project (ZPP) for almost a decade along with the Born Free Foundation.

The ZPP rescues and rehabilitates injured, orphaned and illegally held vervet monkeys and yellow baboons for release back into the wild.

Sadly, many monkeys are killed for the bushmeat trade in Zambia and orphaned babies are then sold as pets. These poor animals suffer miserable lives in small cages or chained to trees often tormented by village dogs.

The ZPP team travels across the region, working with local authorities, to seize these illegal pets, repair any injuries they have suffered and then takes the time to teach them how to be wild monkeys again.

The team has had tremendous success over the years and just this week we got news that they had completed a full 13 months of post-release monitoring of last year’s released troop of monkeys.

And what a result it was! A full 100% survival rate!

So take a moment in your busy day and enjoy watching these monkeys doing what they do best—being wild monkeys.

Thank you ZPP for all you do—we are so proud to support your work.

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Erica Martin is the CEO of Humane Society International Australia. Erica joined HSI in 2017 after working for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) as the Vice President of Global Communications based in the USA. Prior to that she was the Regional Director for IFAW Asia Pacific, based in Sydney. Erica also has a wealth of experience in government relations having previously worked for the Australian Federal Government as Director of Communications for the then Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts in Canberra.

Image credit: ZPP