Schatov's birthday party

The party began at four in the afternoon with carriages at six prompt. Schatov stood at the doorway to greet his guests as they arrived. Only a small fleck of cream at the corner of his mouth betrayed the fact that he had already snitched a bit of the birthday cream cake with strawberries. As the guests arrived he shook them warmly by the hand. First to arrive was Tutti; always first in the queue when there is grub about. He roughly pushed Miss Billy aside in his rush to the table with the cake and cucumber sandwiches. Lucio pressed something into Schatov’s hand as he entered and muttered,’ that is for you dear boy’, it seemed to be something wet and sticky. It could have been a sandwich left over from the last party. Eslabon and MonaLisa arrived together with Nancy and Emma not far behind. Maniña arrived very grandly in his own transport. Being the largest monkey at the party he caused quite a lot of titter, (mainly the young ones, Moñito and Chilin and Erik, who were not supposed to be at the party, adults only), as he strode down to the food and drink table. Sophie sang 'Monkeys gather lilacs in the spring again', whilst Lucio rudely pulled faces and put his hands over his ears. (Monkeys can be cruel.)
Naturally, as is the custom at these events, Schatov amazed everyone with his conjuring tricks. The rabbits he produced from his hat escaped and attacked the cake and this caused a lot of confusion as everyone tried to catch them and save the cake.
With the help of the rabbits, soon all the food was gone and after one more song from Sophie it was time to go home.
‘Wonderful party old chap’, said Maniña as he left the party. The MonaLisa said, ‘you don’t look a day older, how do you do it?’
So another year has gone by and Schatov gracefully said goodnight to his guests and thanked them for coming. ‘Please come again next year’ he said to each one as they headed for home.

In our photo, Schatov shares his cake with Lucio and Moñito.

Rescue, rehabilitation and liberation.

This posting is not about monkeys but is about people who also care for monkeys. Canaote is proud to be partners with ARFA, the Association for the Rescue of Animals. The people mentioned in this posting are the President,Lucy Alio, and members of that association. You will remember that Gabriela was responsible for the rescue of Pancho, our resident Capuchin Monkey.

Rescue, rehabilitation and liberation
of the King, The Cunaguaro.(small lion, native to South America)

By Gabriela Olivieri.

Last March, I received a phone call from a friend of my family, informing me that a friend of his had told him that she had a cunaguaro in their house and she wanted to set it free.
I telephoned my friend at once to see if I could help. We made an appointment to see what condition the animal was in.
I went to the following day to see it, and I found it in poor health, it was very thin, with external and internal parasites and with strong diarrhea.
They had him tied up with a chain in the back patio of the house.
When I saw the diarrhea, we took a sample and I sent it to the laboratory, where they confirmed my suspicions, that he had a great parasitosis and a lot of fat in the feces, due to poor feeding.
On the following day we began treatment with anti parasite medications for the diarrhea, after previously consulting with a veterinarian.
That day I talked with my friend Lucy Aliò, president of the Center of Rescue of Fauna, (ARFA) here in the State Cojedes, where I also live, to decide how we could help this feline
We place the information on the internet, in a animal help net, and we receive many letters offering to rehabilitate the cunaguaro, but the problem was that they were located in other states of Venezuela, very far from ours, and the transfer would be long and one ran the risk that he would be confiscated by the authorities on the highway.
We then decided to take it to the ARFA Rescue Center. Although not in operation at this moment, it had all the necessary facilities for the rehabilitation.
I put him in a travel box, at that moment he was meek, because he was very dehydrated, caused by the diarrhea, and transferred him to the rescue center, where he was placed in the quarantine area, so that he could receive care and veterinary treatment, and to be examined for any other illness, since, when an animal is liberated, he has to be completely healthy, so that he doesn't spread sickness to the wild cunaguaro.
He was given vitamins, anti parasite medicine and a balanced diet of meats and raw chicken.
After two weeks I went to visit him again and the improvement in the animal was impressive, He had put on a lot of weight, they were no longer bones sticking out of his backbone, his coat had improved very much, he was clean and brilliant, and his eyes had the shine of a healthy animal, and the best thing of all it was that his wild character came to the fore again, he growled at me and it tried to attack me, which is the normal behavior for this wild animal.
That day he was transferred into a big cage 12 meters long, where he could exercise, and jump and develop muscular mass in the paws.
On the 5th of May 2008, Mrs. Lucy Alio and I decided that the animal was ready to be liberated, because it was already showing neurotic behavior, by being caged, walking unceasingly from a side to another, we decided on a date, Saturday May 17 2008 for the release.
At ten in the morning, we put him again in a carrying box, covered with a lining, to avoid stress and so that he didn't see the road for where we were taking him.
We drove by tractor to a remote area of the property, where there is no livestock, but where there was a lot of wild fauna on which the cunaguaro could feed.
A shady place was chosen, with a small lagoon, and we made him a cave, opening a hole in the earth and placing enough tree branches at the entrance and we left him a good supply of raw meat, inside of and outside of the cave.
Then we place the box in front of the cave and we opened the door, he came out very slowly, looking in every direction and smelt the atmosphere that surrounded him, and then walked around, passing beside us and following the path his to his place in freedom.
I left at that moment to let him begin his new life in wild state, from which he should never have been taken.
I am very happy of having contributed in returning of this King Cunaguaro, to his natural environment where he belongs.

Gabriela of Olivieri.

A bit about where we live part two.

I am sure you will have notice what a mess I made of the last posting. The pictures of both the little green parrot(Houdina) and the Howler monkey, (Chilin) are missing.
Here is a repeat of the appropriate text.

The little green parrot
'The little green parrot in our photograph is very intelligent. They talk and mimic in the most realistic way. This one is female and we call her Houdina after the great escapologist. She loves opening padlocks and any type of enclosure. ‘Laurel’ is the local name for this bird. I always think of them as flying monkeys because of their great intelligence.'

Monkeys two pictures Capuchin (the grey monkey) Red Howler the brown monkey.
Regular readers will know that there are perhaps twenty families of Howler in the deep forest on the side of our small mountain. In a tree, only two hundred meters from our house, there is a group of forty Capuchins, young and old. The early morning call of the Howlers is deafening. At six in the morning you would need no alarm clock. Our pictures show two residence of our Center ‘Chilin’ a young Howler and Pancho the Capuchin.

A bit about where we live.

I would like to give you a background of life here at Canaote. I write about our monkeys of course but there are other occupants of interest and I will start off with the some of the animals to be found in and around our compound.

Snakes bathroom picture.
Yes we do have snakes and some very nasty ones at that. Yes we do come across them quite often. On several occasions they have been found in the house. The one in our photograph is a particularly venomous person and was slithering about in David's bathroom. Yet in the 13 years we have been here I know of only one local case of snake bite. A lad in a nearby village put his hand in a rabbit hole and was bitten by a Mumpanare, a very poisonous snake. Time is the important factor in treating snake bite. This boy had been some distance from home and valuable time was lost in getting back to the village before the alarm was sounded. Fortunately I was nearby and got the boy to hospital in good time. Apart from the very severe shock, the boy recovered completely with no ill effect. The fact is that these snakes are not predators of humans. Their prey are small animals like rats, mice and frogs. They avoid humans where possible. A good heavy footfall will send them on their way. We theorize that they enter the house only in the rainy season. They like hot and dry and the house is sometimes the only dry place around.

Monkeys two pictures Capuchin (the grey monkey) Red Howler the brown monkey.

Regular readers will know that there are perhaps twenty families of Howler in the deep forest on the side of our small mountain. In a tree, only two hundred meters from our house, there is a group of forty Capuchins, young and old. The early morning call of the Howlers is deafening. At six in the morning you would need no alarm clock. Our pictures show two residence of our Center ‘Chilin’ a young Howler and Pancho the Capuchin.

Birds Two pictures. Colorful Macaw and green parrots.

This is Macaw country. The red, yellow and blue are the national colors of Venezuela. This particular coloration is greatly sought after and brings a high price, although there are several variations including green and blue. Their popularity has caused them to become rare. They are trapped for sale. When we first arrived in Venezuela we bought two birds a boy and a girl. At that time we did not appreciate their rarity in the wild. However we allowed them to fly freely without caging them. To cut a long story short. Finally the disappear only to reappear some three months later with two babies. This has become quite an event for us. Every few years they disappear and return with yet more young. There are now eight Macaws regularly feeding at out bird table. I am proud that we have seriously repopulated this area with Macaws. The Macaw is of course the Bird always on the shoulder of ‘shiver me timbers’ Long John Silver the pirate from Treasure Island. We call her ‘Pieces of Eight’. The little green parrot in our photograph is very intelligent. They talk and mimic in the most realistic way. This one is female and we call her Houdina after the great escapologist. She loves opening padlocks and any type of enclosure. ‘Laurel’ is the local name for this bird. I always think of them as flying monkeys because of their great intelligence.

Ocelot a small lion

Ocelot s can be found on our mountain and are the principal reason we no longer keep sheep. On one night alone we lost three adults and four baby sheep. I am afraid the Ocelot often kills for sport rather than just for food. The Ocelot's appearance is similar to that of the domestic cat. Its fur resembles that of a Leopard or Jaguar and was once regarded as particularly valuable. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Ocelots have been killed for their fur. The feline was classified a "vulnerable" endangered species from the 1980s until 1996, but is now generally considered "least concern.

Well I could go one because I have only just touched the animal population of this area. We will save some of the other animals for another day.

Eslabon can make me feel guilty.

Eslabon is a lovely monkey. We were told that he came from a loving environment on the 2nd of August 2007. Although his human family have not visited him or even inquired about his wellbeing since then. Even though his family are quite local. We assume he was loved because we were told so. He arrived penniless, without toys, bedding or anything to show that he was cared for. I have a feeling that he was just dumped here. Well that is their loss. He demands human company. Whenever he catches sight of me, even in the distance, he runs to the perimeter of his enclosure and cries out for me. I can't always oblige because we have fourteen monkeys in our care. But whenever I have the time, I make a visit. He is so happy when I do. He nuzzles against me and makes the typical happy noise. He sits very close to me and purrs like a cat. It is difficult to pull away, and I always feel bad when I leave him. I know he would like to be with me all the time. Sometimes during the day I bring him into my quarters, where he will sit patiently whilst I complete work on the computer or maybe he will do a mild investigation of the room. He is second in line in his group. He shares with Maniña, Miss Billy and Tutti. When he is not looking for me, he plays with the others. He is particularly adept at jumping into the hammock and displacing the colored balls. It really is a pleasure to spend time with this loving person.

We are broken hearted.

Sad to say that Ella died at 3.30 yesterday morning. She refused food and drink for the whole time she was here. We were able to give her small amounts of milk and suero. Cause of death unknown. She suddenly stretched out her arms and died. I believe that she did not recover from her separation from her mother. It really appeared that she did not want to live. Another tragedy caused by unscrupulous people who trade in their lives.

We tried really hard. She had attention 24 hrs a day. In particular from David who took her to his heart and cared for her night and day for all of the time. She was always being warmed to his chest.


Naturally even though she was with us such a short time, four and a half days, we are broken hearted.
How can we stop this terrible trade?

A dear friend wrote to me the other day.

'Dear Phillip,

Also, I believe that people are buying them to rescue the monkeys. But they are making a mistake. Last year, I went to Cumana City (Sucre state) and on the road I saw two Araguato monkeys in cages for sale.
I just wanted to buy them in order to rescue them, but I remembered the
talks with you and I decided not buy them. I was so sad, because I
left these monkeys in that condition and I knew their future'.

This is a major problem for humane people. When we see the monkeys on sale at the roadside it wrenches the strings of our hearts to walk away. But this is a catch 22 situation. Buy the monkey and save it and this will doom future monkeys. No buyer no trade.

How does it all begin?

Where do the monkeys at Canaote come from?

This is a real note although I have changed the name.

‘On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 4:24 PM, Juan wrote:

Dear Friends,

My name is Juan and I’m from Edo. Miranda, and I have a baby monkey very young, it have very few days of born, well I am interested in give it to your care, but I need to know how we can accord a meeting or a process in order to give him to you, my phone is xxxx-xxx.xx.xx. I don’t speak English so if you have some friend that speaks Spanish is the best.
Best regards.

Juan.’

This message is a cry for help. The young owner, now quite deeply involved in his school studies, was unable to continue caring for this tiny baby. I informed Gabriela and Lucy the president of ARFA. Between them they are ‘The Simian Samaritans’. They arranged to collect the child from near Caracas and with Professor Evelyn brought the baby to Canaote yesterday. It was first thought that the monkey was a boy. We planned calling him ‘Bravo’. But a look under the towel revealed that he was a she, a beautiful young lady, now called ‘Ella’. We have this picture for you.

All the monkeys at Canaote have been donated. The reasons for the donation are many. Some are acceptable reasons and others not.
Very often the reason is that the baby monkey is being sold on the side of the road and the person feels overcome with pity for the small red ball of fur being held up and offered for sale. There is a notion that they are saving this tiny monkey. Nothing can be further from the truth. The child captured the cute baby, by shooting the mother with a shotgun, then taking the child from the dead mother. This sale sends the culprit scuttling back to the forest to kill another mother. Older monkeys are not saleable by the roadside. This sale simply fuels another killing and another sale by the roadside.

Having bought the monkey, arriving home with the child is often a shock. There are other members of the family to consider. Who will look after the little person? Where can it live? What will it eat? Clearly, if the baby was bought on the off chance, there is no plan and no cage or facility will be available.

Presume for a moment that these problems are solved. They search the Internet and get a good idea of what the monkey needs to eat and what kind of enclosure to build. After a while the little person is allowed free run of the house. All monkeys are destructive. Unintentionally, but just in the act of their play they destroy furniture and equipment. (The author has an expensive new flat screen television with a great crack going the full length of the screen.)

Play always involves biting. This can be gentle but if applied to a small child it could be dangerous. Biting is not only restricted to play. Monkeys have moods just like humans. They can without warning attack the human friend quite viciously and without warning. Sussy, that wonderful old lady and mother, came to us because she had attacked the daughter of the owner's housekeeper. The girl had to go to a hospital for treatment and lost a great deal of blood. Again this applies to all monkeys and in particular when they reach early adulthood.
Biting is one of the chief reasons people finally ask me to take their monkey. Another is the time that care takes. Vacations become problematic if a temporary care person is not readily available. Yet again, a change in the family circumstances can cause an owner to dispose of their pet. One bridegroom to be, told me frankly,' It is either me or the monkey, she better make up her mind'. They left the monkey with me and the bride to be left in a flood of tears. The tales I hear are sometimes less than ingenious, like "found it wandering in the street', yes Caracas is full of monkeys wandering in the street, but they are not non human primates.