Rachel Hogan

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Rachel Hogan

OBE
Born (1975-04-21) 21 April 1975 (age 48)
Birmingham, England, U.K.
NationalityBritish
Known forConservation of gorillas and chimpanzees, bushmeat activism
Awards IFAW Animal Action Award [1] [2]

Rachel Hogan OBE (born 1976), is a British primate conservationist, living and working in Cameroon in West Africa, and director of the charity Ape Action Africa.

Contents

Having moved to the Mefou National Park in Cameroon temporarily in 2001, Hogan decided to stay and has been there ever since, becoming director of the charity in 2010. She is well known for her work in the rescue and rehabilitation of gorillas and chimpanzees, as well as fighting the illegal bush meat trade in West Africa.

Biography

Rachel Hogan was born in Birmingham, England and her interest in animals started during her childhood, when she had toy gorillas instead of dolls. [3] [4]

Manager at Mefou National Park

In 2003, Hogan was appointed manager of the National Park. During her tenure, she and her team have transformed Mefou into one of the largest, most well known primate conservation charities in Africa. [5]

In October 2008, Hogan was awarded the IFAW Animal Action Award at a ceremony at the House of Lords. The IFAW awards ceremony was hosted by patron Baroness Gale and wildlife TV presenter Shauna Lowry announced the winners. [1] [2]

Having attracted several celebrities and renowned wildlife photographers to visit the Mefou National Park, Hogan organised a photographic exhibition at the Djeuga Palace Hotel in Yaounde in early October 2010. It was attended by Cameroonian Government Ministers, military heads and representatives from the British, US and Israeli embassies. [6]

Hogan has also mobilized support for Ape Action Africa through events in Britain. [7]

Director of Ape Action Africa

On 22 November 2010, the longstanding director of Ape Action Africa, Avi Sivan, was killed in a helicopter crash between Douala and Yaounde in Cameroon. [8] [9] [10] Sivan had long been a driving force within the charity and a close ally of Hogan. Just over a month later, the board of trustees of the charity announced Rachel Hogan as the new Director. [11] They also appointed Bibila Tafon (Babs) as the new Manager of the Mefou National Park.

One of Hogan's first moves was to bring the administrative offices of the charity back to the Mefou National Park from Yaounde, to improve communications between the conservation efforts and administrative necessities of the charity.

Bush meat activism and education

Hogan has campaigned against the illegal poaching and selling of rain forest animal species for many years - and particularly the exploitation of chimpanzees and gorillas in this way.

Many of the communities living around Cameroon have hunted primates for meat for centuries, but the recent commercialization of the trade has led to a large increase in the demand for bush meat, a trend that Hogan has been fighting at many levels.

Hogan has introduced a grassroots educational program, in which local charity workers visit communities and schools to teach about bush meat.

Local employment at Ape Action Africa has also helped to spread the message, as well as benefiting the community.

In February 2010, bush meat was discovered on a market in Hogan's hometown, Birmingham and identified as chimpanzee meat. [12]

Media and public speaking

Television

Media

Public speaking

See also

Related Research Articles

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The chimpanzee, also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close relative the bonobo was more commonly known as the pygmy chimpanzee, this species was often called the common chimpanzee or the robust chimpanzee. The chimpanzee and the bonobo are the only species in the genus Pan. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that Pan is a sister taxon to the human lineage and is humans' closest living relative. The chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair, but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. It is larger and more robust than the bonobo, weighing 40–70 kg (88–154 lb) for males and 27–50 kg (60–110 lb) for females and standing 150 cm.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ape</span> Branch of primates

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ape Action Africa</span> Animal conservation group

Ape Action Africa is a non-profit NGO founded in 1996 dedicated to the conservation of endangered gorillas and chimpanzees, threatened by the bushmeat trade in Central and West Africa. Ape Action Africa manages the rescue and rehabilitation of Great apes across much of Cameroon, with a large sanctuary in the Mefou forest. Some of these Apes include the Western gorilla, Western lowland gorilla, Cross River gorilla, and the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. With more than 300 primates in its care, Ape Action Africa is now one of the largest conservation projects of its kind in Africa. Many of the animals arrive at the sanctuary as orphans, mainly due to the illegal bushmeat trade, which has grown in recent years as a result of deforestation of the Cameroonian jungle.

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Mefou Park, also known as Mefou Wildlife Sanctuary and Mfou Reserve, is a primate sanctuary in the forested area of Mfou in Cameroon. Within it, Mefou Primate Park is used as a shelter for primates that are native to Africa: the monkey, chimpanzees and gorillas.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bristol Zoo - Animal hero wins award for saving the lives of orphaned gorillas and chimps". bristolzoo.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Z and A visitor - Bristol Zoo Supports Honoring Rachel Hogan For Saving Gorillas And Chimpanzees". zandavisitor.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  3. ↑ "Gorilla fascination started young". 24 October 2008 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ↑ "African Conservation Foundation - News". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Cameroon's gorillas find sanctuary". Public Radio International. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  6. ↑ "Ape Action Africa Photo Exhbition[sic] Launch - Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  7. ↑ "Bristol 24/7 - Bristol Zoo teams up with Womad for summer spectacular". bristol247.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011.
  8. ↑ "Ape Alliance and PASA - PASA Mourns Tragic Death of Cameroon Sanctuary Director". 4apes.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "CAMEROON HELICOPTER CRASH: EX- ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (IDF) TOP OFFICER KILLED. - Cameroon Today - Breaking News - Daily News Updates". cameroon-today.com. 22 November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  10. ↑ "Ex-IDF officer killed in Cameroon crash". ynetnews.com. 23 November 2010.
  11. ↑ "New appointments for Ape Action Africa". whogivesamonkeys.com. 5 February 2011.
  12. ↑ Mercury, Sunday (27 February 2011). "Chimp meat discovered on menu in Midlands restaurants". sundaymercury.net.
  13. ↑ "Home". yourdiscovery.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  15. ↑ "Gorilla fascination started young". 24 October 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2019– via news.bbc.co.uk.
  16. ↑ "From Birmingham to the jungles of Cameroon: How Rachel Hogan became the new Dian Fossey". mirror. 6 March 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  17. ↑ Gibbons, Brett (11 March 2011). "Birmingham woman's fight to save gorillas from hunters". birminghammail. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  18. ↑ "African monkey meat that could be behind the next HIV | The Independent" . Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  19. ↑ Winter, Stuart (3 August 2014). "I taught him to laugh! Brit saves gorilla after poacher attack". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  20. ↑ "Touching Photo Captures the Moment a Traumatized Baby Chimp Felt Safe for the First Time". One Green Planet. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  21. ↑ "A Baby Gorilla's Mom Was Killed, So This Woman Raised Him". National Geographic News. 4 May 2017. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  22. ↑ "www.ladigetto.it - Rachel's Promise. Negli occhi dei gorilla – Di Jo-Anne McArthur". www.ladigetto.it. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  23. ↑ "Friends of Ape Action Africa - Meet Rachel 2017". friendsofapeactionafrica.org.
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