Primate conference in Summerville draws cosmopolitan crowd

[Guest guest]

http://www.journalscene.com/news/0402AAprimates1

 

Mangal Man Shakya of Wildlife Watch Nepal, Manoj

Gautam of Roots and Shoots Nepal, Dr. Karmele

Sanchez of International Animal Rescue,

Indonesia, and animal friends from Malaysia and

Cameroon,made presentations at IPPL-2008. A

special workshop was held on the traffic in macaques led by Dr. Ardith Eudey.

 

Published Tuesday, April 01, 2008 2:23 PM

Updated Tuesday, April 01, 2008 2:24 PM

 

 

Primate meeting draws global crowd

 

By David Berman

Summerville Journal Scene

 

It may not boast lush rain forests or remote

jungles but for primate enthusiasts from across

the globe, Knightsville was the place to be last weekend.

 

People from as far as Cameroon, Nepal, the

Netherlands and Australia ­ and as near as

Summerville and Clemson ­ gathered for the

International Primate Protection League's 10th members' meeting.

 

Held every two years, the meeting brings members

of the IPPL to Shirley McGreal's 28-acre

sanctuary, which serves as a haven for 38 gibbons

­ small, tree-dwelling apes native to Southeast

Asia ­ and as the epicenter of the organization's international efforts.

 

McGreal founded the nonprofit organization in

1973 while she was living in Thailand. Its

mission remains the same today ­ to promote the

conservation and protection of all nonhuman

primates including apes, monkeys and lemurs

around the world. Coordinating an international

network of 15,000 members, McGreal works to curb

illegal primate trafficking and encourage the

efforts of sanctuaries and protection groups

worldwide. England's Prince Philip is among her most devoted supporters.

 

The sanctuary was founded in Dorchester County in

1977 soon after McGreal's husband took a job in the area.

 

IPPL's diverse membership ­ which ranges from

casual supporters with a keen interest in

primates to those who are on the frontline

exposing the maltreatment of the beloved animals

­ was represented at the meeting.

 

Moving at a brisk pace, the three-day event

included more than a dozen lectures and open

forums on the most pressing issues facing primates worldwide.

 

On Saturday alone, the lineup included Ardith

Eudey, a primatologist and member of the IPPL

advisory board who talked about the birth of the

IPPL; Matt Rossell, an activist who secretly

filmed the mistreatment of monkeys in an Oregon

research laboratory; Mangal Man Shakya, a member

of Wildlife Watch Group who detailed the plight

of rhesus monkeys in Nepal; and a woman from Malaysia.

 

Jean Martin, Shirley McGreal's twin sister, said

attendance at the meeting grew over the years but

has stabilized. For three days, it's a tight-knit community.

 

" We all get to know each other, " she said.

 

Pam Dauphin flew down from St. Louis to attend

the meeting. A self-proclaimed " chimp person, "

Dauphin actively attends workshops and

conferences on primates, including those hosted

by noted primatologist Jane Goodall.

 

" This is more intimate ­ more grass roots, "

Dauphin said of the IPPL meeting. " Being every

two years, she [McGreal] can get better speakers. "

 

" We don't miss it, " Dauphin said. " We come every year. It keeps us going. "

 

Debbie Misotti, of Clewiston, Fla., was excited

to be at her first IPPL meeting. She said other

noted animal activists have buffers between them

and the public, but not McGreal. " She's accessible, " Misotti said.

 

During several lectures, Misotti kept her

notebook at arm's length in case she wanted to

jot down something she learned. The most

significant lesson she took away from the meeting, however, was outside.

 

Misotti took every opportunity to study the

sanctuary's expansive system of enclosures in an

effort to improve the sanctuary for gibbons,

spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys she runs with her husband.

 

" I've used up six cameras already, " Misotti said.

" She [McGreal] does such creative things with

caging. That's what I'm so interested in and I

want to recreate it at my facility. "

 

 

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Founder

International Primate Protection League

POB 766, Summerville SC 29484-0766, USA

Ph. 843-871-2280 Fax. 843-871-7988

E-mail: smcgreal, Website www.ippl.org

 

" Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a

pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used

up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW.... WHAT A RIDE!!!! "