No room at the Inn.

I feel sad today because I have refused a monkey for the first time. I simply do not have the facility to accept him. He is a capuchin monkey and our facility for the capuchins is very limited. Unfortunately, love alone is not enough. It takes time and money to care for a monkey.

I have from the beginning funded the whole burden of care on my British pension. I am not a rich man. Occasionally grateful owners have made donations but in comparison with the actual cost of ongoing feeding and care, it is not enough.

Some time ago, we came to an arrangement with a local co operative. Which has been very beneficial to the security and safety of our work here. We sold the farm to them this deal allowed us to retain the botanic garden and the area occupied by our monkey enclosures. Originally they paid only half the value. The balance was to be ascribed to a number of buildings and equipment. This was to be paid for and transferred at a later date (August was agreed). Our friends in the Co op have exceeded their objective (I like to think with our help) and will be ready to complete full payment next week.

Yes wonderful BUT. I now need to replace the large area occupied by Sophie (the old cheese room and the attached garden. The co op will soon need to take over this area.

We have been considering the possibility of reliable ongoing funding and how it can best be effected.

If you have ideas about this please write to me.

Somehow we have to construct a new area for Sophie but more importantly make financial provision ongoing for the care of the children, both for food and staff.

It is no secret that the food for the children, like everything else has been subject to massive inflation. What was a minor expense has become a large number in our budget. The same applies to the cost of materials for constructing and maintenance of enclosures.
Wages for staff have also escalated.

If you know of anyone who would like to donate funds to us, please tell them about our work. A regular donation would be very acceptable.

We can provide a PayPal account or bank account details if anyone asks.

Truly I never thought I would write this letter. But never a week goes by now when we do not receive requests for a place here. I am broken hearted when I say ‘There is no room at the Inn’

We have plenty of room for constructing new facility; all it needs is the funds.

Our Photograph is Chiquitin taken this morning.

Lucio, Moñito and Schatov make the move and Chippy moves in.

Here at Canaote we are in the midst of our rainy season. The rains are very heavy and have reduced opportunities for photography. Nevertheless we are planning a shoot tomorrow so we should have some pictures to show you.
Chippy is settling down surprisingly well. I was predicting at least a week when she would be tearful and maybe off her food. Well it hasn’t happened. She is used to being hand fed and we have continued that. Another surprise was that she prefers to drink directly from a cup rather than a bowl. I have seen this before with Howler monkeys. MonaLisa is another monkey who likes a cup.

Schatov has given Chippy a warm welcome but Lucio and Moñito have been unhelpful. Moñito in particular has been very jealous. As the week has gone by they have clearly got used to her being with them. She has taken a liking to Rafael the helper. Whilst I had difficulty in getting her to take food in the first few days, she took from him eagerly. Towards the end of the week I found that she was less nervous and was willing to sit on my shoulder. She is on heat.

Lucio Schatov and Moñito are now living full time in the ‘Garden Lucio’. Up to this time they would spend the day in the garden and then I would transfer them to our house at night. This was becoming impracticable because of the double feeding arrangements that this incurred. It seemed an appropriate time, with Chippy joining them, to occupy the Casa Lucio full time. I was a little concerned at first because of the heavy rain but I need not have worried. The house is in full use. Immediately the rain starts they make a dash for the house. The four of them sleep together there. All tucked up and nice and warm.
Our picture shows Schatov on the left in full voice and Chippy on the right.

Chippy looks for new friends.

It wasn't really a secret but people do change their minds sometimes between asking for a place here and actually arriving. This young lady (she won't mind if I tell you that she is four years old) arrived here today but not for the first time. Over the last few years 'Chippy' has visited us with her owners, several times.
This is how it came about. At the beginning of the week we received a call from Gabriela, asking if we had a place for Chippy. We replied that we had. We have come to love this little lady on her visits here so there was no hesitation when we were asked to take her. We arranged to meet yesterday in the shop of a friend in San Carlos. We cause a scene in the shop as Chippy, somewhat unwillingly was transferred into a carrying box.
Quite a problem faces us, in as much as, Chippy is used to 24 hour a day contact with her human family. Frankly she is going to miss them. Typically she will only eat a little and will be very sad.

We counter this by giving her compatible friends to play with. Our options were (1) She might like to become mother to our two babies, Chilin and Eric. (2) She might enjoy the company of the 'boys' in Lucio's garden, Schatov, Lucio and Moñito. Option one was quickly disposed of when the children became frightened of this large lady. An embarrassing scene brought an end to this experiment. Chippy was on my left shoulder and a very nervous Eric on the other. Simultaneously they defecated. Many species of monkey do this when they are angry or scared. I stood still for a moment, completely shocked by what had happened but I stoically carried on. My pants and shirt were covered and the smell was rather unpleasant. Clearly they were telling us something. They did not want to be together, at least for now.

We picked up Chippy and moved her over to the enclosure 'Lucio's Garden'. Schatov immediately showed and interest as well as little Moñito. Lucio on the other hand did not want to know her.
Our pictures show 'Chippy' within minutes of arrival in the new location and a shot of Schatov sitting alongside her. They sat closely together, Chippy's back was often towards him but she leaned gently on him to indicate that his interest was not being rejected. He was aroused and paid her close attention. We will watch this relationship over the next few days. It may be that they will bond and become a couple.

Just like human people, howler relationships are complicated. You cannot predict their interaction, literally you have to wait and see. We did not expect Lucio to be anti. He may feel threatened in some way. She is a big monkey and he is quite young. I will bring you reports and pictures over the next days, so that you will be able to follow her progress. First we have to deal with the grief of loss of human family.

One reader guessed that our new monkey was Ramona, the street monkey we often visited in Tinaco. Sadly we have lost track of her in spite of some serious efforts to find her. She bit a passing child and was sent to a new address in Topo but we have been unable to find her.

Back to school

My apologies for the light posting over this last week. I have been busy taking a continuation education course CE including three quite tough exams. It has been a fascinating learning experience which will certainly aid in the care of our children. Last Sunday, of course was fathers day. My friends have been ribbing me about whether I got fourteen presents, one from each of the children. Well I got fifteen, so work that one out! It is strange but I had the distinct feeling that the monkeys knew it was a special day. Without exception they are all looking well. We have finished installing their new swings and they love them. It puzzles me, when I see their amazing gymnastic abilities, on ropes swings and walkways, compared with their much more lethargic brothers and sisters in the forest around us.
There may be a new sister later in the week. A fully grown young lady who has been an occasional visitor to Canaote over the years and perhaps now has decided to live with us permanently. She will have to find her place. Will she live with Lucio, Schatov and Moñito, or will she become a mum to Chilin and Erik. They will decide as ever.

A new resident and a RED FACE

On Saturday morning a family arrived at Cañaote with a young Capuchin monkey. The family had rescued this little monkey from a fruit shop in Caracas. After several attempts the fruit shop owners agreed to give up the monkey and allow him to be brought here. Now this is where I have to admit that I have an extremely RED FACE. This monkey is a BOY not a GIRL as I first supposed. In all fairness, when I first examined him, he was inside a carrying case and of course frightened. I used a torch to get a better look but obviously not well enough. On this erroneous basis I released Chicatin (we formerly called her Chicateena), into the enclosure with Pancho. There is a lot of excitement of course. There is a great deal of establishing rights. Whose food, whose toys, whose house etc. But generally this just amounts to chasing and tail pulling. There is no overt aggression being shown. I will keep you posted but I think they will settle down and realize the benefit of having a pal.
The Capuchin photograph top right is of course Pancho. The one alongside shows Chicatin in the front and Pancho behind him. Bottom left is the very hansom young Chicatin.

The family who rescued him wrote to me

About the monkey
He was found in a fruit shop in Caracas. How did he get there? A family had her since he was little but, once he grew up, and it stopped being their perfect pet , they decided to get rid off him, so then it was given away to the fruit shop owner. Once at the fruit shop, he spent about a month inside a small cage, which I had already noticed just few days after they brought her in. I asked them several times to find a better place for the monkey but I did a research by my own over the internet and it's when I got to ARFA's website. I contacted Mrs. Lucy asking for help and guidance about what to do. Her brother-in-law put me in touch with you, Mr. Philip. I got the approval and permission from the fruit shop owners to take the monkey to Cañaote. The trip I made to the shelter let me see with my own eyes the beautiful work you guys are doing and I'm sure the monkey will be loved, happier, and in good health from now on.

An exciting Sunday .

We had an exciting Sunday in more ways than one. We expected Moñito’s family to arrive because they called the night before. Carlos and Patricia have just returned from their honeymoon and their first duty was to inform Moñeto that they had a great time. But a few moments after they had settled down in the enclosure with Moñito, Schatov and Lucio, Lucio’s family arrived. The enclosure was very busy with both monkeys and humans. Lucio’s family brought swings sufficient for all the enclosures, but being Sunday we only managed to put up a couple of them. I can tell you that they were a resounding success with the children. They always like new toys and this was no exception. All three of them demonstrated their innate gymnastic skill. All of them kept good balance whilst jumping from swing to swing. Soon after the families arrived, the rain started in earnest. This didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. They just carried on playing. The roof area above the Casa Lucio is covered with a sheet of clear plastic. This made it possible to stay with the monkeys even though the rain was very heavy. Lucio has been watching Maniña. Maniña is a Casanova he loves to kiss the ladies. Today was Lucio’s turn to woo the ladies. He repeatedly put a big wet smacker on his human mother’s lips and anyone else he could grab hold of. It is difficult to avoid his lips, whilst he is pulling your hair tightly, me Tarzan you Jane fashion. The highlight of the morning was undoubtedly the action with the little white poodle. He is now a regular visitor with Lucio’s family. He provides a lot of entertainment by allowing the monkeys to ride on his back. We have some video footage of this rodeo, and I hope one day I can put this material up on the blog. At times this is rodeo style with him trying to dislodge his rider and the monkeys trying to hang on. The visit lasted for about 4 hours and finally everyone was exhausted with the games and the rain. The humans got ready to leave for home and the monkeys played on.
Top and middle photographs show Schatov on the two new swings. Bottom picture shows Moñito and Lucio resting between games.