To err is human, to forgive divine.

Our photographs today show Eslabon on the bamboo walkway and Tutti in the hammock.

Eslabon is a very gentle and loving monkey. He is second in the hierarchy of which Maniña is the chief, Eslabon being much smaller and younger. He loves to sit with me and demands my attention when ever I enter their garden. He has been ‘big brother’ to Tutti who needed someone to care for him and a friend to sleep alongside at night. Eslabon and Tutti are great friends and Eslabon really does look out for him.
When Tutti first came to us, he was suffering from a vicious mite attack which affected his tail and his forehead. To the observer he looked like a Gregorian monk. We treated this condition with a suitable shampoo and his hair was rapidly restored. In recent weeks we have noticed a thinning of hair on his scalp but not the same pattern as before. To treat this, we first needed to identify the cause. I had to take a sample of hair from Tutti's head. This involved applying a piece of sellotape or sticky transparent tape to his head to obtain a sample that is capable of being examined under the microscope. This process is momentarily uncomfortable and naturally Tutti was agitated and cried out. At that moment Eslabon was on my shoulder. He was angered by my apparent attack on his friend and made to bite my ear. I quickly pushed Eslabon to one side to avoid the bite. In the process Eslabon left my shoulder in a slightly undignified way. He was furious. This all happened several weeks ago. Since that time, Eslabon's attitude to me has been very different. No longer would he seek my company when I entered the enclosure. I could see that there was some conflict. He wanted to be with me because I could hear him saying so but his pride would not let him approach me. Gradually, as the weeks have gone by he has come back to me. I am not sure that he has forgotten, but I have been forgiven. He is again ‘Daddies Boy' and sits with me for long periods. As for Tutti, the infection has cleared up and there is now some strong new hair.

All people commit sins and make mistakes. God forgives them, and people are acting in a godlike (divine) way when they forgive. This saying is from “An Essay on Criticism,” by Alexander Pope.