00:00An Osain Kalbos monkey found dead on a tree.
00:04It got stuck on a branch after leaping from another tree.
00:09Residents of Boabim village recover the remains of the monkey.
00:18Then a traditional priest gives it a proper burial at a dedicated monkey cemetery.
00:26A sanctuary school practice which is still upheld here in the Boabim female monkey sanctuary.
00:36When any one of the monkeys die, they shouldn't eat it, they shouldn't throw it away.
00:41But we have to bury it the same as a very human being.
00:44That's why we use a hard collico to cover and then pull a bracing for remembrance of our ancestors
00:51and then to the shrine that, I mean, for the shrine to know that one of his son or one
00:59of his child is dead.
01:02This forest in the Bono East region of Ghana is home to Kambel Mone monkeys.
01:08An Osain Kalbos monkeys which are critically endangered.
01:13It is one of their few remaining sanctuaries.
01:17It's strictly forbidden to hunt or harm the animals because of a local legend that dates back to the 18th
01:24century.
01:25It says that the community's founder discovered a golden bull by a stream alongside a group of monkeys.
01:33The bull was made sacred and an oracle ordered that the monkeys must not be harmed.
01:40If you kill one of these monkeys, you'll be killed.
01:45So if your negligence runs you to one of our monkeys, your negligence will run to your death.
01:52And that is non-negotiable.
01:56To us, you have killed one of our own.
02:01Yes.
02:02So that is why it was decreed that don't harm these monkeys.
02:07While elsewhere monkey populations are declining, they have remained stable here in the reserve.
02:14But with villages expanding and humans coming ever closer, conflicts have emerged.
02:20Farmers like Moses Ajay once cultivated crops near the reserve without any problems until the monkeys began destroying them.
02:27Like many others, he has switched to casual farming as the monkeys leave those nuts untouched, but growing other crops
02:35is almost impossible.
02:37We are about to leave the land for the monkeys to live here.
02:43And we don't know where to go further or where to stay for our daily bread.
02:50We don't have anywhere to live for our coming children.
02:57And I'm asking, why should I be the one to leave my land for the monkeys to take over?
03:12Within the community, there are further challenges.
03:16Residents say the monkeys frequently invade their compounds, stealing food from kitchens and rooms.
03:23What might sound like cute, cheeky behavior is in fact a nuisance for residents and potentially dangerous for the monkeys.
03:30Some people want the leave-based laws protecting the animals to be loosened.
03:38We should change the laws a little because times are changing.
03:43I am not suggesting that we should use guns or kill them.
03:48But the leaders should also think about how to protect human beings.
03:56What we can do is to either poison them or kill them, otherwise we are tired of them.
04:03But the traditional leaders remain firm.
04:11We will not review the custom in a day.
04:14When we do that, the monkeys will be wiped out and the forest will also vanish.
04:22Once spanning 4.5 square kilometers, large pipes of the reserve have been degraded due to encroachment.
04:30And the village has asked the government to build the road for better access to the area.
04:35It could boost tourism and therefore generate revenue for conservation efforts.
04:40Hundreds of large trees have been felled in preparations.
04:44The community already has turned the monkeys and local tradition into an attraction.
04:51These tourists have traveled almost 100 kilometers just to see them.
05:01The revenue also helps locals to make a living and support education.
05:06Over the last decade, 10 students from the community have benefited from that, including Edu Solomon Sapong.
05:14Actually, with that support that they gave to me have made me able to complete.
05:20As I graduated last Tuesday, on the 17th of February, so I'm hoping to further my education.
05:27And all these were feasible because of the initial benefit that I get from the sanctuary.
05:33When humans and animals live in close proximity, conflicts often arise, especially when humans don't follow rules.
05:42But there are also opportunities like gentle tourism, reforestation and resilient agricultural practices.
05:50The Boabing-Fema monkey sanctuary will continue to work towards solutions with villages to allow for peaceful co-existence.
06:01A key revelation in this report is how belief systems can drive conservation.
06:06The people of Boabing and Fema protect these monkeys not because they cause no trouble, but because of the cultural
06:15bond they share.
06:16In a world where wildlife is disappearing, the monkey population here is actually growing.
06:23Thanks to the tradition.
06:24The task now is how to ensure the next generation keeps that belief alive.
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