Animal Rescue

Wild animals often get into trouble especially with humans and their machines. The danger comes from vehicles, electrical wires, angry people retaliating against raiding monkeys, as well as those who have become disenchanted with their pet monkeys.  In our leadership role in conservation and monkey studies, the local community, including wildlife authorities, often alerts us to these cases and expects us to take protective and care actions.  We do our best, but even good intentions need financial backing. See VIDEO of a recent rescue.

Photo: Andrew Chastney Rescue of an injured macaque baby

Photo: Wolfgang Dittus A baby mouse deer with an injured left leg

Help an Injured Wild Animal

Some injuries caused by road accidents, electrocutions or other human-related actions are treatable.  We recover the injured animal, transport it to our animal hospital and provide veterinary intervention and medications.  Animals are cared for in our facility to the point where they have fully recovered and can be released safely back to their environment. Learn more

Photo: Wolfgang Dittus
Wildlife hospital

Sponsor an Orphan

Monkey mothers sometimes die leaving their babies as orphans.  But that does not worry us too much, because normally in monkey society there is an elder sister, an aunt, brother or even the father, who step in to care for the orphan.  But a more sinister situation occurs where people have captured a young monkey and tried to raise it as a pet.  Monkeys are cute, cuddly, playful and social when they are young, but they require the kind of care that only a monkey mother and “monkey village” are adept at providing. Often enough, after the novelty has worn off, or the pet assumes adult behaviors, the pet owners abandon them.  Such monkeys are brought to us for care.  These psychologically and socially traumatized pets may take years of rehabilitation before they can be re-introduced into a wild group.

Photo: David Barron
Care for an orphaned Hanuman langur baby

Adopt a Monkey or Other Wild Animal

We can’t offer you to adopt a wild monkey as a pet, but the next best thing is to introduce you to a wild youngster that needs your fostering.   Here is how it works. You can select the species that you would like to adopt, and we will guide you in the selection of an individual. You can even select a unique name for it (maximum 8 characters). Or, you can select your own favorite individual from one of our television programs. Your support will help us to monitor your monkey’s welfare and assure its well-being in the wild to the extent possible.  We will send you photos and regular updates of its progress.  You adopt a monkey for one year at a time. At the end of each year you decide if you wish to continue your fostering.  You might even wish to come and visit it.

Photo: David Barron
Adopt a baby Hanuman langur

Photo: Wolfgang Dittus
Adopt a baby macaque

Participate as a Visitor

As a visitor you can learn first-hand about primates in the wild, our human affinities to them, and how best to protect and conserve these magnificent distant cousins. Learn more

Photo: David Barron
Volunteer monitoring Hanuman langurs

Conflict Prevention

Electrical wires look like normal vines in the forest, but they can be deadly.  To prevent monkeys from being electrocuted on high tension wires we have designed and installed “monkey barrels” to prevent monkeys from touching power lines. With new electrical wires being erected by people, new barrels need to be installed. In addition, the local community that interacts with wild monkeys needs to be educated of how best to deal with monkeys so that humans and monkeys can co-exist with a minimum of conflict.  Learn more

Photo: Wolfgang Dittus Nature education class

Your Donation Makes a Difference

Your support can make a difference in helping to protect, nurture and conserve wild animals.  The best way for you to help is to donate funds to our Association for the Conservation of Primate Diversity (ACPD).  It is a non-profit association registered in Sri Lanka.  There is no overhead or broker deduction  to your donation. Learn more

• your name and contact details

• what you have donated (so that we can trace your donation to your name)

• instructions of how you would like to see your donation used (help the injured, sponsor an orphan, adopt a wild monkey, prevent conflict, general support).

We will respond to your mail.

Photo: Wolfgang Dittus “Janet” thanks you