COLOBUS CONSERVATION CENTRE

A Refuge for the Colobus Monkey

The rare colobus monkey lives overhead – you can spot them high in the forest’s trees. Unfortunately, these forests are being decimated, threatening the monkeys’ survival. Enter Colobus Conservation Centre, an organization started by the local residents in Diani, after they became aware of the threat of human encroachment on the Angolan black and white Colobus monkey. Now, with the Centre’s programs of education and rehabilitation of both the monkeys and the forest, there is hope for the survival of the colobus and other species like the vervet, sykes, and baboon.

You Can Visit, Learn and Help – Colobus Cottage

Tucked away in the coastal forest, a visit to Colobus Cottage can be a fun and exciting day of discovery. This information centre also serves as a primate rescue clinic and home to a troop of colobus monkeys.

Take the country’s only Guided Primate Eco-Tour through the facility’s nature trail. Along the way, look for the wild colobus troop that lives here, plus other species. The knowledge gained from observing these monkeys at the Centre helps understand their behavioral patterns and furthers conservation efforts. The tour includes lectures and visuals informing visitors about the Centre’s activities. You may come across volunteers here building special “colobridges” – rope ladders created for the monkeys so they can safely cross over roads at the forest’s edges. However, outside accidents do occur, and then the injured are brought to the Centre for care and rehabilitation.

The Centre also receives colobus monkeys purchased as pets that have been abandoned or were confiscated from their owners as it is illegal to own them. Then it’s the Centre’s task to rehabilitate the animals so they can eventually be released back into the wild.

This means these domesticated animals must learn the behaviors of the wild monkeys – what foods to eat and how to socialize. They must also learn that humans are not their friends. In short, they must learn how to be monkeys again. To accomplish this, they are brought in contact with the wild monkeys living at the Centre to observe their social structure, their calls and the foods they eat. In time, they can be introduced into the forest.

Reforestation

Saving and regenerating the forest is another initiative where the Centre works with local communities. Organizing tree planting workshops, the Centre helps reverse deforestation, working with local schools and businesses to plant 500 trees regularly within Diani.

If you wish, you can help by sponsoring the planting of an indigenous tree for $10.

About Colobus Conservation Centre

Climate: The temperature range in Diani is 24^oC/76^oF to 32⁰C/90⁰F. There are two rainy seasons – the long rains happen in May and the short rains October/November.

Location: The Centre is located in Diani, about 30 km (18.5 mi) south of the Likoni Ferry.

Operating Hours: Eco-tours run from 8:30 hrs. to 18:30 hrs (4:30 pm) Monday through Saturday.

Getting there: You can book a tour with Natural World Kenya Safaris in Mombasa.

Things to Do and See

Guided Eco-Tours – Learn about the endangered colobus monkey in a forest setting and view those that are currently being rehabilitated.

Forest Walks – The Centre will organize forest walks for you or your group if you’d like to explore the various primates.

Sponsor A Tree – for $10 you can sponsor the planting of an indigenous tree to help regenerate the local forest.

Gift Shop – At the Centre, browse the gift shop for a souvenir of your time here.

Discover Colobus Conservation Centre

Discover the coastal forest and the Colobus Cottage nestled in this captivating environment. Here you’ll find wild and rehabilitated Angolan colobus monkeys in their natural habitat. This is at once an opportunity to learn about and help this valuable but threatened species.

Colobus Conservation Centre with Natural World Kenya Safaris

Take a Natural World Kenya Safaris tour of the Colobus Conservation Centre to see and learn how the monkeys are being saved and rehabilitated.

We have safaris departing from Diani to this and other special Kenya Parks and attractions for your Africa holiday.

Please click here to view all our safaris throughout Africa.