Guamo machete and Mango

Strange to relate, Cañaote is very late with Mango fruiting this year. Whilst some of the trees have an abundance of fruit, ready to pick and eat, many are covered with young immature mangoes. Nearby villages have had ripe fruit for some time and are approaching the end of their season. Mango along with Guamo are natural freely occurring, foods for all our species of monkey. The forest here has a wealth of both. Where possible we introduce local naturally growing foods and fruits to our monkeys. The kind of diet that they would have if they were free to roam. One of the principal tasks of our helper is a dawn walk through the forest to collect breakfast for the monkeys and me too.
Our picture today is Totto, enjoying a sheath of Guamo.

N.B Guamo grows spontaneously in the central area of the north of Venezuela where it is known locally as ‘hairy Guamo’ because of the peculiar characteristic of the fruits which are covered by a rigid velvet ferrugineo (hair-guama). It has large fruits that look like hanging machetes, this is where their common name comes from.

Just Howler monkeys

There is a new post, perhaps of interest in 'Just Howler Monkeys'. The link is there on the left. Give it a click and you will be magically transported.

Negro steps out

Last Sunday, whilst the focus of attention was on Schatov a miracle occurred. Negro was introduced to Totto's new enclosure. Basically we wanted to see what his reaction would be when confronted with the bamboo walkways. As you can see from the photograph, he was quite confident and comfortable on the bamboo. When he arrived here some two months ago he showed no skill in anything needing strength in the wrists. In fact on that occasion he fell to the ground whilst attempting to negotiate his way across a small section of walkway. This is what most firmly indicated to us that he had rickets, which is a childhood disease characterized by softening of the bones (caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, and poor metabolism of calcium and phosphorus).
We received expert veterinary advice on his condition. Basically we were told to confine him to small secure area, where he could not fall. He was to have a calcium dietary supplement twice a day and as much sunshine as possible. We have vigorously carried out this routine and now we can
say that Negro is greatly improved. Yes, his back legs are still bowed and I doubt whether those bones will change but his wrists are greatly strengthened. He no longer walks on his forearms. This indicated that the pressure on his wrists is no longer giving him pain. The backbone was formerly quite sharp to the feel and now is somewhat rounded. Altogether, our opinion is that he is recovering noticeably. He now moves quite rapidly across the wire of his small hospital. This is just the beginning I am sure. He is nearly ready to be given a place with the others. We have been thinking about a companion for him. Possibly Sussy would like to adopt him or perhaps he would be better with the group around MonaLisa. We will be introducing him to the others gradually over the next few weeks to see where he will best fit in. Yes, truly a miracle has happened in these few short weeks.

We all had a wonderful day

Early on Sunday morning the enclosures were alive with excitement. Someone was at the gate, sounding their horn. The children began to roar so loudly that very soon it was above the level of the noise from the car. We were expecting Schatov’s family, Graciela and Erika, who were to motor down from Caracas on a special trip to see him and the other children. We were too slow getting to the gate because the family were already with Totto and Sophie. We greeted each other warmly. Their regular visits are always delightful and the children know that they always bring goodies. Rodrigo, Erika’s fiancé and Santiago, Graciela’s son and Graciela’s husband were also in the party.

Fairly quickly we moved to Schatov’s house and Graciela and Erika were standing in front of his enclosure, to see if he recognized them. I was watching from the other side of the enclosure and I noticed an instant change in Schatov’s attention. He recognized them both and ran towards them. As you can imagine, he was out of the enclosure and into Graciela’s arms in a moment. Just for comfort and safety we set up chairs and a table inside the new enclosure we have constructed for Totto. Additionally we allowed Negro to join the group. This is probably the first time since captivity that he has known such freedom.
Schatov was soon up on the bamboo walkways exploring with great curiosity the whole of the new site.
The family spent a lot of time with Schatov but the other children were not ignored. MonaLisa and Emma with Rosita and Nancy had their share of attention. Of course Maniña was a great show off and gave a big demonstration of his gymnastic abilities.

Totto and Sophie had their share of attention too. Most people are a little nervous of Totto. He always puts on such a stern face but he likes the grapes, apples and other tidbits that his friends have brought him. Sophie sat very close to him the whole time.

Sussy is always a star on these occasions. She greeted the family gracefully as you would expect from a Lady Dowager monkey but she had a firm eye on the presents that they had brought her. She loves grapes.
In the meantime Erika made some good footage of the children with her video camera. Rodrigo and Santiago went on an excursion into our botanic garden and later came back with yet more fruit.

Too soon it was time for them to leave on their journey back to Caracas. I know that Schatov enjoyed the visit. Because I spend so much time with him I can readily detect changes in his mood and I know that he was a very happy monkey on Sunday. The family left behind them generous gifts for the children and two really excellent bottles of genuine French wine for David and me. I admit it is a long time since I enjoyed a glass of wine of that quality. Thank you.

A Dynamic Society

In these notes I have several times said that our Howler monkey society is dynamic. When Schatov and Emma lived together we thought they were young lovers and their marriage was made in heaven. When Schatov became unwell they were separated for a while but once reunited their relationship had changed. Now Emma was very antagonistic to Schatov. He was the younger and recovering. He tended to run away when Emma was aggressive. Recently that has changed. He is now stronger. He has established himself as a male. It is Emma that runs away when there is a conflict. He is growing in size and mental stature. The same is true of Maniña. When we first set up this household of Schatov with Maniña, MonaLisa, Emma and Rosita and Nancy, there were fairly frequent altercations. Always with Emma on the attack. Now the situation is reversed. She has learned that there is no advantage in bad behavior. Their quarrels were either about food or position. The sudden flare ups very quickly subside and no one gets hurt. Basically, this is a happy group. They spend their day playing on the ropes, walkways and hamocks with a lot of attention to their tree house. The dynamics currently show that Nancy spends time with Schatov. He is also liked by MonaLisa. Maniña is also favored by Nancy and Rosita and MonaLisa. Emma and MonaLisa are like twins, where you see the one the other is almost always there.
In the other enclosures, Totto and Sophie are the perfect pair. They are always together. Totto is by nature a stern fellow, but he shows deference and love for Sophie.
At this moment Sussy is alone in a very big enclosure. She is so happy when we visit her. We do this every day, taking her fresh leaves and other goodies that she likes. But she is lonely. Formerly she has attacked other monkeys that have been placed in her vicinity. But remember that she has been a mother many times and has the maternal instinct. She adopted Marco and did a fine job of bringing him up. Remember he was a mere 500 grams when he first went to her and travelled everywhere on her back. Even though towards the end of his stay with her he was a little boisterous. I am planning for her to meet with Negro. I wonder if she would like to adopt this little fellow. More about him shortly.
Our photograph was sent to us by Gabriela and is of Marco at his new home in Manreque. I was so sad to loose him but now I see him free in the trees with a lady that he loves, I am happy at his fulfilment.

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Oh! boy what a party

Everybody was invited and everybody came. Maniña was the life and soul of the party. After he welcomed his guests he gave us a song that he had written specially for his birthday. MonaLisa organized several games, which were enjoyed and there was a lot of laughter. Clearly Maniña is a popular fellow. Everything was calm and good natured until the cake arrived. Maniña said 'hey there is only one candle on the cake'. Then all hell was let loose. Emma, not known for the elegance of her table manners took a first swipe at the cake. A sizable piece went down on the floor and Emma went after it. Sussy got a piece of cream stuck on top of her nose and made her look as if she was giving a rendition of 'Mammy I'd walk a million miles for one of your smiles'. Rosita bit off a piece of cake that was at least as big as she was but as soon as she held it in her hands, Nancy stole it and ran to the other side of the room with it. Schatov gave up trying to get everybody interested in his card tricks and joined the crowd around the cake. Everyone was a little nervous when Totto arrived with his wife Sophie. But they need not have worried he was only interested in getting to the front of the cake. Negro being a baby had his cake served at his high stool.
At this point Totto took charge 'Just a moment everybody, we have to sing 'happy birthday', and everybody joined in a rousing but slightly irregular version of the well known song. And so a wonderful party came to an end. Maniña, the perfect host, stood at the door and waved farewell to his guests. "Goodbye and come again next year'.

There is an important birthday today.

There is a lot of excitement in the enclosures today. Word has got out that it is Maniña’s birthday. A party is planed for later in the afternoon. There is a promise of a cake with three candles and lots of jelly (for throwing of course). Our cameraman will be there, so expect some lively shots later today.

There is a new Blog about Howler Monkeys

'Forget me not' is a blog about the children at Canaote. We try to give you a day by day account of their lives. This is of interest to us and the people who have brought their children here.
There are other matters concerning Howler monkeys in the world outside. I have always felt that this was not the place to talk about those concerns. FGMN is about the children of Canaote.
I decided that I would experiment with the idea of a second blog which would have a more general appeal. This would allow me to comment on Howler Monkey activities in the world at large. I have no intention of changing the routine on FGMN. This will continue always as before. But this new blog will allow me to talk about activities concerning Howler Monkeys in general.
If you would like to support this new blog, the address is shown here.

www.howlermonkeyhome.blogspot.com

I will arrange a link to the site from here. Take a look, you might like the layout because it has some new features like News searches. If there is anything you see that you would like me to incorporate here, just tell me.

What is 'Zoonotic'?

Sussy is sixteen years old and MonaLisa is just five. Sussy came to us from Gabriela in Manrique during August 2003 and MonaLisa arrived with her owner in October the same year. You will notice from the two very recent photographs that Sussy’s coat is much lighter than MonaLisa’s. But that is not the only difference, Sussy’s human mother visits her at least once a month, bringing with her loads of Sussy’s favorite nibbles but MonaLisa’s owner, just visited the once, just to get rid of her. Her name on arrival was Mona, the Spanish word for female monkey. How thoughtful, how caring! They are the longest stay monkeys that we have here at Canaote. All the previous inhabitants were gradually released into the wild.
In 2002 we changed our policy. We decided that we would be a shelter rather than a release point. Formerly our monkeys were allowed to roam freely in the forest and when ready would join other local groups in the area. They were fed twice a day by us and slept on the upper floor of our house which is open plan and without windows. Basically, they could come and go as they wished, choosing their own moment for release. Now when walking in the forest we frequently encounter old friends. They are completely integrated into the forest and show no sign of recognition. In 2002 we had some discussion with a number of veterinary authorities. We became aware of the danger both to the monkeys and to humans of the release program. All our children have lived in close proximity to humans, most of them sharing living accommodation with their human owners. They were just like human children around the house. Very few of them were restricted in cages. That was not all they shared. They also were subject to influenza and other diseases that humans contract. Influenza in a monkey can be very serious. It has been substantiated that it can cause brain damage in monkeys. The problems do not end there. Monkeys are able to contract the whole spectrum of bacterial and virus infections. Releasing monkeys into the wild can be disastrous for the wild colonies. They have no resistance to human ailments. There is another little researched aspect to this problem, viruses can modify and return to attack the human community through pets captured in the wild. These are known as retrovirus and are part of the zoonotic cross species viral problem. Mad cow disease, AIDs and Chicken Flu are all examples of this danger.
We give our residents the closest to a natural life as we can. All their enclosures are large and contain several fully grown trees. We provide fresh leaves from the forest frequently. Their sleeping and eating areas are kept clean and insect free. We have staff who have no other duties and have that most important quality, LOVE.

For those who would like to know more about Zoonotic diseases, I have found http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/pbs/zoonoses/ a most informative tutorial and very comprehensive.

Sussy, one year on.

One year ago today. Sussy went home to Gabriela for convalescence.
Sussy had been diagnosed with an infection. She was listless and she suffered a loss of hair on her tail. She responded very well to treatment and was soon back here. Our picture shows her one year on. Her coat has recovered and she is vigorous and completely healthy. She is not keen on having her photograph taken and avoids the camera. I was lucky to get this good shot.

The world is a safer place, amen

There is more news on the attack that we sustained, actually the last two attacks. You will remember reading that two of the attackers were shot dead by some unknown vigilante. I published the story on the Blog with a gruesome photograph. Well the latest on that is that there was another miscreant and that he was involved in both attacks. Well to my surprise he has met the same fate. This happened only yesterday. Again a vigilante has crept up on him in the night and blown him away with a shot gun. (Not guilty my Lord). Those that live by the sword etc.. It would not be Christian to laud his death but it would not be human if I did not sleep sounder as a result. I pray for his immortal soul. Clearly this gang has upset someone in a big way and he/she has wiped them out. By the way, my wound has completely healed up and gives me no trouble at all.

The forest claims its own.

I am very sad this morning. My dog Shakira died. She was ten years old and the mother of innumerable litters. I say my dog but really she belonged to the forest. I should explain that all the dogs at Cañaote are semi wild. They come to the house at mealtimes and stay in the locality of the house at night. They are excellent guard dogs. They bark furiously at any intruder. They are certainly not lap dogs. All of them, without exception are her children. We have six dogs and as of yesterday eight puppies, Shakira’s grandchildren. The wildness is good in a sense because the dogs are free to roam the forest and mountain like their ancestors but bad in that it is impossible to get close enough to treat them when they are sick. Although there has always been a special relationship between me and Shakira, it is only recently that she would allow me to stroke her. She disappeared over a week ago, returning last night thin, weak and ill. She allowed me to treat her but it was all too little and too late. My beautiful Shakira returns to her forest for the last time.