Bush baby on the run again! |25 June 2019

The bush baby, seen here when it was last caught, is on the loose again

Yes, you heard it right! The bush baby that was captured on February 28, 2019 evaded from its cage last Saturday at Mont Fleuri.

This was discovered by one of the staff of the Conservation unit at the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC) who went to feed the animal on Saturday morning.

“After its capture, in February 2019, the bush baby was kept at the veterinary services at Union Vale, while procedures were being made to send the animal to its country of origin, Zanzibar. We have been in contact with the authorities in Zanzibar to organise the transfer but as it is, with transfer of wildlife, it is not always easy. During these times, it was decided that Union Vale was not the ideal place for the animal to be kept as domesticated cats and dogs use the facility as well,” said Ashley Pothin, conservation officer, Biodiversity Conservation Section at Biodiversity Conservation and Management Division.

He said that a decision was made to transfer the animal to a safe and secure place at the Nature Seychelles at Roche Caiman. Visits were conducted and a suitable location was agreed upon. Agreement was made for a new and bigger enclosure to be built for the animal.

In the meantime, the animal was being kept at the conservation office at Mont Fleuri until the enclosure was completed and set up at Nature Seychelles.

“On Saturday June 22, as one of our staff came to feed the animal and provide clean water, as this is our daily routine since the animal was captured, it was immediately observed that the animal was not in its cage. Immediately staff was mobilised to investigate and we came to the conclusion that the animal managed to squeeze out from its cage and unfortunately got out of the window that was not properly closed. Same day traps were set to try to capture the animals but with no success till now. This is a very unfortunate and disappointing situation. We are doing our utmost to try and locate and recapture the animal as fast as possible. We urge the members of the public to kindly assist us and report any sightings of the animal immediately on our Green Line 2722111,” said Mr Pothin.

He also explained that, since this evasion, some traps have been placed in the Mont Fleuri region. “If we do not catch him in the Mont Fleuri region, we will extend our search at Sans Soucis as it is an ideal place for him on account of the abundance of fruits there. The animal we are looking for is not like ‘King Julian’! He is smaller in size and has dark brown eyes, small ears with a long bushy tail.”

Having the bush baby in the wild, will it affect us? Mr Pothin said that the bush baby has many Zoonoses - infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites that spread between animals (usually vertebrates) and humans. But this one was at the veterinary services under quarantine for some time, and nothing unusual has been found.

The search is being done in collaboration with the biosecurity department and they want to capture back the animal safe and sound.

To recall after almost a year of its first sighting, the bush baby was caught by an inhabitant of Sans Soucis on February 28, 2019. Mr Pothin explained that negotiations to repatriate the animal have been quite slow. “To transfer a wild animal, there are many procedures that we have to do with the airlines and the authority of the country. We were trying our best to meet these recommendations but it has been a slow process. There is also a cost that comes with this transfer. At the MEECC, we tried our best to make the negotiations go fast but the authority of Zanzibar has been taking some time to answer back our queries, thus causing a delay.”

In captivity, a bush baby can live up to ten years, while in the wild they have a life of three to four years.