Commando Morris, the Grandpa of our Colony!

 We made a visit to the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary this morning on our way to Santrakofi Gbodome. The monkeys did not disappoint! Our guide, Sylvester, provided a wonderful description of the True Mona Monkeys and the village that is their sanctuary. True Mona monkeys are a species that only lives in this part of Ghana. They are identified as "true" by two white patches of fur at the base of their tails. Other Mona monkeys live in northern Ghana and Cameroon. 

The villagers of Tafi Atome have migrated from the north and they strongly believe that the monkeys are messengers for their ancestral gods in their homeland. They protect the monkeys and do not kill them or abuse them in any way. 

The monkeys are free-roaming.  They do not live in cages and are welcomed into homes and throughout the village as signs of the presence of their ancestral gods. The Sanctuary is developed as a tourist attraction and charges a nominal fee for visitors. The fee supports the villages and through the tourist center income, they have been able to develop schools, a library and computer lab, a medical center, and other village services.  Sylvester is a volunteer at the center, and his only compensation is through tips after the tour. It cost us 100 cedis per person (about $10) for the tour and tip.

The monkeys are organized into families or colonies. There are 16 colonies in Tafi Atome with up to 150 monkeys per colony. The colony is headed by a grandfather or Commando who establishes the territory.  Colony territories do not overlap and are defended.  When eating, the Commando eats first and will defend the food from others in his colony until he is satisfied. At his signal the others will join in. 

Mona monkeys eat bananas, pawpaw, papaya, ants, grasshoppers and other fruits and bugs. The sanctuary uses bananas to bring the monkeys in for tourists. Sylvester explained that when we have the bananas the monkeys are our friends. We hold the bananas in our hand and stretch out our arm for the monkeys to jump up onto us. It is important that we hold the banana firmly with about 1/3 of it sticking out of our fist because if they can, the monkeys will grab the banana and retreat to the trees. The monkeys are very friendly and will not steal phones or classes, but their friendship lasts only as long as the bananas. When the banana is gone, the friendship as ended and the monkey retreats. 

We were only a few minutes into our walk when a small monkey darted down the path to steal a banana from the bucket. Sylvester held them close until we reached a clearing and could feed them together. We could see and hear monkeys jumping through the trees, following us and calling the others to tell them we have bananas. 

As we walked, Sylvester made a sucking, kissing sound to call in the monkeys. When we stopped, the trees were full of chattering monkeys.  Respecting our Commando, we encircled him and he offered the first banana to the monkeys. It was a daring little one who was early on the seen before the grandfather arrived, but the surprise on Osofo Commando Pat Yao Ga's face when the first monkey jumped on him was enjoyable for the rest of us! (I didn't catch it in a photo, but here is the more settled version!)

Bananas were handed out and we all delighted in monkeys jumping on and around us. Soon we heard the low growling call of the grandfather and the action slowed - actually the young monkeys were still trying to get their bananas but they were being pushed off by their elders. Once again, we gave a lone banana to our leader and watched in merriment as he fed the monkey Commando.

We moved a bit down the path and were sharing the bananas when a low growling alerted us that we had crossed into the territory of a new colony. It turns out the Commando was just passing through and he ran off, to allow a new Commando and his colony to eat. 

The history of the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary had not yet been discussed by the group, but I can give our readers the scoop.  It's a pretty cool story of grassroots organization. Recall how we learned that the people in the village are migrants and they strongly believe that the Mona monkeys are messengers from their ancestors and their gods?  The short version of the story I was told goes like this: 

When the electric companies were installing power lines in the areas, the monkeys were interfering with the work and being killed.  The local villagers were very angry and offended. They organized a protest and pushed back against the electric companies, eventually getting the company to support the sanctuary and using the entire village as a safe haven for the monkeys.   

I'm sure there are more details to the story, but regardless, it is a pretty great tale of localized environmental action. All told it, was only about 40 minutes in the bush, but we had a wonderful experience. Check out our photos and video clips below and in the comments, as our group posts their favorite photos from the trip.