Reelly good news for monkeys (From Oxford Mail)

Reelly good news for monkeys

8:44am Tuesday 10th April 2007 in News By Chris Kearney

Old reels of fire hoses could be used to make hammocks for chimp- anzees.

Ally MacDonald, who finished a masters degree in primate conservation at Oxford Brookes University six months ago, went to Cameroon to work for the Sanaga-Yong Rescue Centre and and discovered the best material for making hammocks, which the chimps would make with vines in the wild, was that used for hoses.

Abingdon fire station, which is responsible for maintaining and repairing hoses for the county fire sevice, has said it is willing to donate 20 disused hoses, but now funds are needed to transport them.

Miss MacDonald said: "It's very generous of them to donate the hoses. It's just so frustrating that we can't afford the cost of actually getting them here.

"It makes me so sad to see the chimps sleeping on the concrete floor when there are reels of fire hose languishing in a fire station that we could make into comfy, secure hammocks for them."

Firefighter Dave Smith said: "All the hoses we are donating were beyond repair, so it's nice to think that they will be getting a second lease of life. Unfortunately, we won't be able to hold on to them indefinitely and if they haven't raised the money to ship them within six months, we'll be forced to dispose of them."

Miss MacDonald said: "We're a charitable organisation so there are various grants that we can apply for. But there is no guarantee of getting the money, and besides, it might take months for a decision to be made.

"Perhaps there are some freight companies that could assist us?"

Anyone who can help with funding can get more information at www.ida-africa.org