Linda Howard

[Guest guest]

Many animal workers in Asia, especially those who have attended IPPL

meetings, know Linda Howard and many others have worked closely with

her by e-contact and through her wonderful web site at

http://www.aesop-project.org/. She was very active in the case of the

" Baby Monkeys " shipped illegally from Indonesia to Chicago, USA. Only

years of persistent efforts brought about a prosecution of this case.

 

Linda died last night and the world has lost a wonderful animal friend.

 

Here is a tribute to Linda that I posted to Primfocus.

 

" We at IPPL are just devastated and stunned at the tragic passing of

our friend and colleague Linda Howard on 27 July 2006. Linda was just

39 years old. The primates never had a better friend and the primate

abusers never had a more formidable foe.

 

Despite her years of selfless struggle on behalf of our primate

cousins, Linda had never seen a wild monkey. In fact she had never

left the United States till recently. I felt she should have a chance

to see the monkeys for whom she had worked so diligently for decades

living in freedom as they were meant to live, and invited her to come

with me to attend the International Primatological Society Congress

held in Entebbe, Uganda, in late June, and to travel with me

afterwards to see monkeys. Linda was so excited. She got her first

passport and endured the battery of shots needs for travel in

tropical Africa. We set off for Africa on 23 June. Many field

primatologists attend these conferences to present their observations

and Linda listened to their talks - and also we heard from some experimenters.

 

In Uganda they still serve a soda called " Bitter Lemon " not available

in the United States. Linda became addicted to this refreshing soda!

She was also happy at the availability of good vegetarian food on

this carnivorous continent.

 

After the conference we went up to Murchison Falls National Park in

northern Uganda. On the drive up we saw many baboons and every time

Linda would insist the driver stop and we would watch the troop until

the baboons disappeared from view. We saw the spectacular waterfalls

and lots of elephants and hippos along the banks of the Nile. Then we

went on to Jacana Lodge in the forested area of Queen Elizabeth Park.

Our days there were surely one of the greatest thrill of Linda's

life. The trees were full of exquisite colobus monkeys and the more

elusive redtail guenons.

 

One night I was in the lodge reception area and Linda stayed in the

room. There was a knock on the door. Linda knew it wasn't a staff

member, because they always knock and announce their names. She

opened the door and there stood a mother and baby baboon. It was as

if they somehow knew there was a friend behind that door. The baboons

made no effort to enter the room, they just stood there a few

moments, and left. Linda was totally overjoyed.

 

Now she has left us. I have been talking with her family and her

husband has asked that memorial donations in honor of Linda be made

to Cercopan (www.cercopan.org), a guenon monkey sanctuary in Nigeria,

for construction of an enclosure for guenons rescued from trade. IPPL

and Linda's husband will be making the first donations in memory of

one of our best friends and one of the best friends the primates ever

had. If you need help making a memorial donation, please let us know.

 

Goodbye, sweet Linda. May you rest in peace. Shirley and everyone at IPPL. "