Thursday, January 31, 2008

Maniña's friends are mainly monkeys.


Maniña is by far the largest monkey we have at Cañaote. People often discuss whether or not howler monkeys adopt habits or characteristics of their human friends. Maniña came to us from a very loving family and he is highly domesticated. I am told that he went out to meals in quality restaurants. He lived in a house not a cage with his human family and was treated as a member of the family. He is house trained with never a mistake. He will quite suddenly and without warning deliver a kiss smack on the lips. He loves to roll over and invites you to rub his tummy. This is unusual, howler generally do not like their underside to be touched. He likes to hold hands. Whilst some monkeys avoid human contact, Miss Billy for example, he actively seeks you out. He is never happier than when he is sitting on your shoulder. These are all learned activities. This of course makes him very pleasant to be with. He is a charming young monkey.

Maniña is very athletic and runs wild over the walkways in the enclosure. He is also great rope climber. He is in the peek of good health; His coat has a fine sheen. He has made the transition from little boy to young adult monkey very well. He plays hard every day with his friends who are mostly monkeys

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Philip, me alegro mucho que Maniña este tan bien, tiene un hermoso y brillante pelaje, eso es un sintoma de buena salud, y salio muy bello en la foto.
Con cariño...

Gabriela.