Monday, March 30, 2009

Erik the invader.



There has been a change in the living arrangements for the three girls MonaLisa, Emma and Nancy. They have been joined by Erik and Chilin. This has not been organized by me. This was an internal revolution lead by Erik. I should explain that the two enclosures are side by side. They are almost identical in facilities. Both have a section with living quarters in the corridor of our house and both have a doorway into an outside garden. There is an interconnecting doorway inside the corridor. Erik has been attacking this doorway and on a number of occasions succeeded in breeching it. This time we decided to leave Erik and Chilin in contact with the three girls. Our picture tells the story. On the left you see Nancy. The pair of bright eyes in the middle is Erik for the rest who knows. MonaLisa and Emma are certainly there. There have been some minor arguments, particularly about who sits with whom. Chilin is not willing to give up his close friendship with Erik although Erik wants to play with Nancy and to be mothered by MonaLisa. As with all monkey relationships, the situation is dynamic and is developing. They have all spent a busy day. Both parties have spent considerable time investigating the facilities of the adjoining enclosure. They are sleeping together in the girls house both at night and midday. It is impossible to say whether they want this as a perminent arrangement or are just experimenting. But I believe they want it this way. After all they engineered it. I regard this as a good move. The three girls have always been suspicious of male company. Indeed on the occasions when I have tried to marry them to various males, their reaction has been aggressive and the match making attempts have failed. Clearly they are prepared to allow younger males. Erik they would consider to be a baby and Chilin is big for his age but also very young. Time will tell.

Friday, March 27, 2009

With a song in my heart.





These pictures went up some hours before this text. Did you guess who are in the pictures? The party of three picture is Schatov, Jaco and Lucio. The single picture at the bottom is Jaco.(hey! can't you tell I'm a lady?) Top right is Monito. Here you see them all in good voice and completely in unison. You really need to watch them at their call. They shake their heads and throw everything into the performance. The most interesting is Schatov's call. It sounds like a troop of monkeys.

Viernes, 27 de Marzo de 2009,
Con una canción en mi corazón.



Estas fotos fueron tomadas algunas horas antes de este texto. ¿Se imaginan lo que sucede en estas imágenes? La fiesta en tres imágenes, en el medio están Schatov, Jaco y Lucio. La de abajo es Jaco. (eh! ¿Usted puede pensar que yo no soy una señora?) En la primera foto de la derecha es Moñito. Aquí usted los ve a todos aullando y completamente al unísono. Usted realmente necesita mirarlos en su llamado estridente. Ellos agitan sus cabezas y todo en la actuación. El más interesante es el aullido de Schatov. Parece el de una tropa de monos por lo fuerte.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Yo me caso por la mañana.



Chiquitin en Give me a call I am in the book


Había una sorpresa especial para Chiquitin cuando él se despertó esta mañana. Él encontró que tenia a una futura esposa. Hace unos días nosotros recibimos una llamada de nuestra amiga Gabriela. Ella estaba de visita en Caracas y tuvo conocimiento por intermedio de una persona que había una hembra de Capuchino. La mona fue muy amada por su familia humana, pero estaba causando problemas. Ésta es una razón frecuente por la que las personas traen sus monos a nosotros. La amiga solicito si era posible para Cañaote aceptarla. Nosotros tenemos tres Capuchinos machos pero no teníamos ninguna hembra. Los machos son difíciles de aceptar para nosotros, porque ellos necesitan alojamientos separados. Los adultos masculinos siempre pelean y esto puede ser a muerte.

Ella es una muchacha peluda un poco blanca de aproximadamente tres años.

Nosotros esperamos que ella sea una compañera para Chiquitin ya que él también es joven con un pelaje ligero. Nosotros estuvimos de acuerdo en aceptarla. Gabriela la transportó amablemente ayer desde Caracas a nosotros y la muchacha pequeña se pasó la noche dentro de nuestra casa. Esta mañana la llevamos a conocer a Chiquitin. Afortunadamente todo fue bien con la reunión y yo estoy bastante seguro que ellos harán pareja. Ellos han estado sentándose cerca de mí aunque no interactuaron todavía. Se necesita mucha paciencia en esta fase. Ella está comiendo bien aunque todavía desconfía de todos los humanos alrededor de ella. Ella tendrá que acostumbrarse a una vida diferente aquí. Anteriormente ella usaba pañales pero aquí en un cercamiento abierto ella no los necesitará. Ella también esta acostumbrada a un champú diario. Aquí ella tendrá que lavarse. La gran ventaja para ella es que ella tendrá la compañía de un mono y vivirá en un área con árboles y juguetes grandes para balancearse, donde aprenderá a ser un mono. Su nombre es Zeus. Sí, usted dirá, Zeus es un nombre de varón. Típicamente se pensaba que ella era un muchacho y sólo después se dieron cuenta que era una dama joven bonita. Demasiado tarde para cambiar su nombre

I'm getting married in the morning.




Chiquitin on the right with a bowl of milk and Zeus wearing diapers.

...ding dong the bells are going to chime. Feather and tar me, but don't use the
army, and get me to the church, get me to the church on time!"

Words from 'My Fair Lady'.



There was a fine surprise for Chiquetin when he woke up this morning. He found that he just got married. A few days ago we had a call from our friend Gabriela. She had been contacted by an acquaintance in Caracas during her visit there. The friend had a Capuchin female. The monkey was very much loved but was causing problems with the neighbours. This is a frequent reason why people bring their monkeys to us. The friend enquired whether it was possible for Canaote to accept her. We already have three male Capuchins but no females. Now males are difficult for us to accept because they need separate accommodation. Male adults always fight and this can be to the death.

But this was a little white haired girl aged approximately three years.

We hoped that she would be a mate for Chiquetin since he was young also with a light coat. We agreed to accept her. Gabriela kindly transported her from Caracas to us last night and the little girl spent the night in our house. This morning she made the acquaintance of Chiquetin. Fortunately all went well with the meeting and I am fairly certain that they will make a pair. They have been sitting close to each other although not as yet interacting. Patience is needed at this stage. She is eating well although she is still suspicious of all the humans around her. She will have to get used to a different life here. Formerly she uses diapers but here in an open enclosure she will not need them. She is also used to a daily shampoo. Here she will have to wash herself. The great plus for her is that she will have monkey company and live in an area with trees and toys on a big scale. Her name is Zeus. Yes you guessed it. Zeus is a boys name. Typically she was thought to be a boy and only later found to be a beautiful young lady. Too late to change her name.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Visita de la Unellez


Viernes, 13 de marzo de 2009,


El miércoles nuestro Centro de Rescate de Monos Cañaote y el Jardín Botánico recibió una visita del Personal y estudiantes de la Unellez, (Universidad de los Llanos Ezequiel Zamora). Tres profesores locales y un profesor visitante de Brasil estaban entre nuestros invitados. Las personas llegaron en un autobús de la Unellez.
Fue un placer para mí presentar al grupo a todos nuestros niños. Algunos de los estudiantes entraron en los cercamientos y fueron saludados por nuestros monos Aulladores. En una de nuestras fotos mostramos a Maniña que da su saludo tradicional a un estudiante. David estaba disponible a dirigir al grupo alrededor de nuestro jardín botánico. Después él dio una demostración de como hacer el híbrido de las plantas del adenium. El grupo disfrutó claramente el viaje y de nuestros niños, quienes siempre llaman la atención de los visitantes. La visita consolida la relación amistosa que existe entre nosotros y las dos universidades en San Carlos. David y yo hemos dado conferencias en ambas Universidades La Salle y Simón Rodríguez.

Unellez Visit









On Wednesday our Monkey Rescue Centre and the Canaote Botanic Garden received a visit from Staff and students from Unellez.(Universidad de los Llanos Ezequiel Zamora). Three local professors and a visiting professor from Brazil were among our guests. The party arrived in a Unellez bus. It was my pleasure to introduce the group to all our children. Some of the students entered enclosures and were greeted by our Howler monkeys. One of our pictures shows Manina giving his traditional greeting to a student. David was on hand to conduct the group around our botanic garden. Later he gave a demonstration of hybridizing adenium plants. The group clearly enjoyed the trip and our children, as ever loved the attention that visitors always show. The visit of course cements the friendly relationship that exists between us and the two universities in San Carlos. Both David and I have lectured in both Universities La Salle and Simon Rodriquez.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Una palabra sabia.


Lunes, 09 de marzo de 2009,



Gabriela hoy nos envió esta fotografía maravillosa de Marco. Usted puede ver la barba larga y abundante que él tiene. Él es un compañero guapo. Marco vive en las tierras de la casa de Gabriela, con su esposa Vicky. Ellos están libres en los árboles. Durante su niñez él vivió con Sussy, aquí en Cañaote. Nosotros tenemos una fotografía de él cuando era un niño entre nuestros arboles de limones. El era una persona muy pequeña.
Ésta es una palabra sabia. Si cualquiera ve un bulto rojo pequeño de piel que se vende por la orilla del camino y piensa "cómo listo", Sólo eche una mirada a esta foto para que vea cómo él crecerá en unos pocos años.

A word to the wise.




Gabriela today sent us this wonderful photograph of Marco. You see what a fine beard he has. He is a handsome fellow. Marco lives in the grounds of Gabriela's house, with his wife Vicky. They are free in the trees. During his childhood he lived with Sussy, here at Canaote. We have a photograph of him as a child, in which you see him among the our lemon trees. A very small person.
This is a word to the wise. If anyone sees a small red bundle of fur being sold by the roadside and thinks "how cute", Just look how he will grow in a few short years.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Un Mono no es sólo para Navidad.


Viernes, 06 de marzo de 2009,

La respuesta de “Por favor colocar un penique en el sombrero del hombre viejo” que nosotros enfocamos durante el periodo de Navidad tuvo mucho éxito más allá de nuestras expectativas. A todos aquéllos que contribuyeron yo les he dado las gracias. Pero merece la pena recordar que un Mono no es sólo para Navidad.
Si usted puede, por favor done de nuevo, sobre todo si usted prometió que intentaría hacer su donación regularmente.

Foto es Saco.

Friday, March 06, 2009

A Monkey is not just for Christmas.

The response to ‘Please put a penny in the old man’s hat’ appeal that we focused on during the Christmas period was successful beyond our expectations. To all those who contributed I have already thanked. But it is worth remembering that a Monkey is not just for Christmas.
If you are able, please give again, especially if you promised that you would try to make your donation regular.