Of shoes ships and sealing wax.

 

Here are just a few practical hints about using our blog, in particular the buttons you see on the left hand side of this page.

The No data button you see, should give you a synopsis of the weather from our weather equipment at Canaote. It doesn't at the moment because the computer we use to transmit that data is out for repair. I hope to restore this as soon as possible.

The Donate button you will use if you want to make a donation to Canaote Rescue Centre using PayPal. It takes you to your PayPal account and holds your hand all the way through the painful process of giving away your money.

Google Translate is a new feature today which allows you to translate the current page into selected languages. You need to copy the Http address at the top of your Browser and paste this into the space provided on the translation page. It is a great feature for non English speakers.

Sitemeter can give you interesting statistics regarding the users of this blog.

 

Monkeys or Venezuela,please select below.

Will give you the choice of news published internationally about either Monkeys or Venezuela. Depending on what you select. Here I give you a warning. It looks literally for the word monkey and this may not be the  kind of monkey you had in mind.

That daring young man on the flying trapeze.

 

Two of our children don't get much of a mention here on our blog. So this morning I thought I would put that right. This is Tutti and he is very small for his age. He is just over one year old. Both his beard and his hyoid bone are not well developed. In every other respect he is a normal health Howler monkey. Very athletic and a lot of fun to be with. Just recently he has started to put on a bit of weight. I don't think he will ever be a big monkey. Well there you have it, just with humans, some of us are big and others small.

 

 

Eating the lechosa in our picture is Miss Billy. She was rescued in Caracas from very poor conditions. Miss Billy? Yes because when she arrived the former owners thought she was a he. We put the matter right and gave her the title MISS. She was suffering from very severe rickets. Her back was very curved as were both legs. Her gate was poor and was more like a crawl than a walk. She had been badly fed. Kept in a small cage and deprived of that essential element, sunshine. She is still withdrawn in her attitude but better in every other respect. She is now quite a gymnast. Especially at meal times. She is always first to the table. She is also a small monkey when you consider that she is nine years old.

Gabbie waits for her father.

Little Gabbie is making herself comfortable. She has made friends with Erik and they are sharing some mango leaves in our picture, Erik is off left in our picture and you can't see him. We have put an update on her injuries on Facebook in the Simian Samaritan group.Our other picture shows the swelling of her right elbow. She has the use of that arm and can manipulate with that hand. She has a dislocation on her left arm which is quite severe and will also need medical attention. We are hoping that before long she can have treatment so she is once again perfect as the Lord made her.

Gabbie arrives at ARFA Canaote

 

 

At twelve noon today, Gabriela and I went by car to the home of Chippy's family. Chippy greeted us at the gate and showed that she had not forgotten me. She jumped on my shoulder and gave my ear a friendly bite. She has a very fine enclosure in the front of the house and there is a tall mango tree nearby. She is allowed to climb the tree and eat the young leaves. We were so pleased to see her at home and happy. But that was not the entire reason for our trip. We came to collect the young injured little girl Howler. You will know from a previous post that we were collecting her so that we could pass her on  to her new human father.

We were horrified to see the vicious injuries that she has sustained during her capture. One arm is dislocated and the other has a serious wound. She is a darling little soul and already I can tell you that she will reward the person who takes care of her with an abundance of love. But it cannot be easy going. She will require immediate medical attention. I know the person who has volunteered to be her foster father and I know he will devote himself to her 100%. Here is a picture of her soon after her arrival at Canaote. She is a little confused, but that is bound to be. By weekend she should be settled in her final and permanent home. She will have a big brother to care for her whose name is Felippe. Her name by the way is Gabbie.

A new home and another chance.

We have been in touch with the friend who has offered a home to the little girl mentioned in our last report. She is to be brought here to Canaote on Friday. The plan is that her new parent will meet her here on Saturday. We are sure that this will be a chance of a new and and fulfilling life for both her and her new father. We have no pictures of her at the moment. We will take some to show you at the first opportunity.

The Simian Samaritans in action this weekend.

This weekend we heard of a baby girl Howler Monkey in need of a home. She is only 3 months old and will require a great deal of expert attention if she is to survive. We understand that she has received severe injuries in the process of her capture by miscreants intent on making cash out of the sale of this defenseless baby. Typically the mother was killed in this process and the baby has a dislocated arm and a deep scratch on the other arm. We are arranging to meet with the donor who originally rescued this baby and  will keep you informed on this blog of the outcome.

Under normal circumstances we would accept her here but we have a dear friend who has shared his home for many years with Howler children. Some months ago he contacted us saying that one of his Howlers had died. He was completely distraught. He told us that his remaining Howler was also in severe grief. He asked us if we could locate a baby girl to add to his family. This friend is also well known to the Veterinary Services in Valencia. He is acknowledged to be a good and caring owner who gives his Howler children an excellent home. He has visited us at Canaote and we agree that he is a suitable person. We have e-mailed him with this information and await a reply.

Singing in the rain.

 

 

It's raining hard outside but Schatov is not in the least disturbed. As you can see from his beard, he has already had breakfast and now is relaxing in the comfort of the house he shares with Lucio and Monito.

The house is a two story affair with a ladder leading up to the second floor. It was a gift from the human family of Lucio. They had it constructed by an expert carpenter in Caracas then transported to us here at Canaote by road. The expertise of the craftsman who made it is obvious. A great deal of care has gone into its construction. During this wet weather the children have every reason to be grateful for the gift.

Join the Simian Samaritans on Facebook.

Become a Sam and join the Simian Samaritan group on Facebook. It's interactive and you can make comment on photographs. Add to discussions or just sit and watch the others. Always fresh comment from me and new pictures of the monkeys at Canaote.

Erik and Chilin eat maniroce fruit for supper

Chilin (top) and Erik are enjoying a rare treat. They are eating maniroce fruit from our botanic garden.
They have also made an appearance on Facebook. You should check out a group called Simian Samaritans. Look for Philip Cordrey on Facebook and you will find the Simian Samaritans. Or just look for Simian Samaritans under groups. Become a Sam, join the group.

St Francis of Assisi day visit

 

 

Sunday the 5th of October  is traditionally celebrated as the day of the patron Saint of animals, Saint Francis of Assisi. So it was a good coincidence that the day coincided with a visit by The family of Lucio. Lucio is the monkey on the left in our picture. He is sharing lunch with Moñito.  As you can see from the picture, the meal comprised of a wide mixture of vegetables. Carrot, Pumpkin, Apio, lettuce with a sprinkling of spaghetti. In addition the meal always includes a protein, usually tuna or meat or chicken.

 

 

 

Well monkeys will be monkeys and although we wanted a good picture of Lucio with his human mother, Gilda. What we got was Schatov being very attentive and photogenic and Lucio's back end.

All creatures great and small.

If you scan the web, you will find that many churches now are holding blessing services for pets. The usual date for this is the Sunday nearest the fourth of October, which is St. Francis of Assisi’s day. Some sites on the web give a complete liturgy and order of service for the blessing. One site describes the progress to the altar, of horses and dogs, parrots, pigs, and well why not, monkeys. This is of course controversial. Are we just blessing as we would bless the corn, or the harvest? Or are we going much further than that and saying that we recognize that animals have an immortal soul and that one day we will be together again in another place? I have read the work of some very learned theologians that define what is meant by a soul. They argue that the bible makes it clear that God created man in his own image and therefore he has an immortal soul. I am of course making the point very briefly. They argue from this that animals cannot have a soul because they were not created in the likeness of God. I consider this to be a very spacious argument. Well of course a couple of points arise. One is that I don’t find anywhere in the scriptures where it tells us that you must be created in the likeness of God to have a soul. The argument becomes even more tenuous when you realize that we, the human race are descended from Monkeys. Now there is no doubt about that one. If we have an immortal soul we inherited from our beloved friend the Ape. I say go with confidence to a service of blessing for our pets, monkeys in particular, in the sure knowledge that we will meet again in the kingdom of the hereafter.
I love the reasoning in the Fitzgerald translation of the Omar Khayyam Paragraphs 61 and 62. Where it says and I quote:

There said another, surely not in vain
My substance from the common earth was ta’en
That he who subtly wrought me into shape
Should stamp me back to common earth again.

Another said, why ne’er a peevish boy
Would break the bowl from which he’d drank in joy
Shall he that made the vessel in pure love
And fansy, in an after rage destroy?

Wonderful and profound those lines. Try downloading the whole poem.