Baobeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary

It was at the end of the dry season as we travelled down from the North, and it was both hot and extremely humid. The sky was full of threatening clouds as we turned off the metalled road to Kumasi on to red laterite. The dirt road to Baobeng-Fiema was dark red with dampness from a previous downpour as we bumped along towards the end of a hard day's travelling.

We found the rest house just outside the village with no trouble despite arriving in the gloom just after sunset, and next morning we set off with the guide into the forest surrounding the village.


Black & White Colobus	Colobus feeding in a tree at the very edge of the forest

Mona monkey eyeing up a food opportunity in the village	Coming close to see if we have anything for it

Mona monkey stealing food	Any monkeys found dead are buried respectfully in their own graveyard

Continuing the journey south - the heavens opened	Back to Hans Cottage and the egret's roost

A fascinating place, showing what can be achieved with wildlife when species are thoroughly protected. The monkeys are tame in a similar way to swans in this country, but they were much more inventive in the ways they could exploit the human population.

The tolerance of the villagers for the monkeys, by the way, far predates any tourism, and seems to be based upon religious beliefs regarding the nature of the monkeys.

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Stock photography by Pat Bennett at Alamy
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