We’re back in the bird hide talking about monkeys with Pam Cunneyworth, Director of Colobus Conservation in Diani on the Kenyan coast. It was at the young age of 7 that a teacher planted the lifelong love of Africa in her. At university, a lecture by Birutė Galdikas, a *trimate (one of Dr. Louis Leakey’s famous primatologists) inspired Pam to take “the road less travelled,” a journey that led her to leave Canada for a life in East Africa.
In our conversation, Pam offers us a glimpse into a fascinating world of primates:
- The impact of “Colobridges,” aerial structures that help monkeys cross roads safely.
- Why you shouldn’t ignore the ‘eyebrow flash’ of a baboon (hint: it’s an important signal!)
- How studying a small population of monkeys on the Kenyan coast ties in with global projects to protect ecosystems.
- Practical steps hotels can take to minimise monkey and baboon encounters.
- Lastly, we list some of the many tourist attractions in Diani on Kenya’s stunning Indian Ocean coast.
Join me Charlotte Beauvoisin, author of Diary of a Muzungu | East Africa Travel Blog, in the birdhide at Sunbird Hill for a conversation about monkeys, tourism, future plans for the podcast – and some thank yous!
*Known as “the “trimates,” Louis Leakey was the first to commission the three female primatologists: Dame Jane Goodall (who specialises in chimpanzees) and Dian Fossey (mountain gorillas) and Birutė Galdikas (orangutans). Together, their research has rewritten our understanding of great apes.
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