Two houses but they prefer the washing machine.

We have photographs of three good friends this morning. When Lala (top right) arrived I was not sure where we were going to place her. I mentioned that we aborted coupling her with Eslabon. Finally we found that Schatov and Maniña were compatible and they have formed a happy group with only the occasional squabble.

The photograph of Schatov (bottom center) is unusual because his fur is raised as for battle. When I took the photograph we had been play fighting and he was showing how macho he is.

The picture of Maniña (top left) shows that his facial color is slightly different to the others. If you look at the coloration around his eyes, you would almost say that he has a white face.

Lala has settled down well to the routine here at Cañaote. She sleeps in the washing machine with Schatov and Maniña in spite of the fact that I have constructed two houses for them. There is no pleasing monkeys.

Happy Birthday MonaLisa and Nancy

We should be celebrating two birthdays this week. Yesterday was Nancy’s birthday and she has been with us exactly one year. I believe she was about 5 months when she arrived.
Today is MonaLisa’s birthday and she came to us in October 2003 and she was one year and nine months old when she arrived. Which of course makes her five years and nine months old. We celebrate her birthday from when she arrived with us at Canaote.
These are important dates in our calendar. MonaLisa is now our oldest lady and she is still single. She has been asking a lot of questions about a new boy, Lucio, who is scheduled to arrive next weekend.

We decided that it was too soon after the passing of Sussy to have a party. We will have barbeque next month instead.

In our photo, MonaLisa is on the left and Nancy is next to her. Emma is on the right

Eslabon has visitors

Through the tears, life goes on.
I have related before that howler monkeys are very choosy about their friends. We spend a lot of time matching our children. The object is harmony in the home. Howlers sleep closely together when they are compatible. They also eat togther. Exactly what makes them compatible I have only a vague idea. Emma and Schatov were at one time inseparable. Several times I described them as being a marriage made in heaven. After they moved to their new home inside our compound they were suddenly at odds. We would say that they had fallen out and now spent their day quarreling. This was a big disappointment to us all. Subsequently we discovered that Emma has a bad attitude to all males and we have to keep her and in isolation from them. She is fine with MonaLisa and Nancy and they live together in harmony. But frequently she has a shouting match with Maniña next door. How do you find out if they are compatible? Try it out is the answer.
In our photograph today you see Eslabon with Rosita on the left and Tutti on the right. Rosita has a 'Hey! Why did you do that', expression on her face because Eslabon has just stolen her biscuit. Out of sight Miss Billy is in the trees above them and MonaLisa is on the other side of the enclosure eating leaves. This group is completely compatible. I would consider putting MonaLisa and Eslabon permanently together. The only fly in the ointment is Nancy. Nancy is the surrogate child of Emma but she also loves MonaLisa. When MonaLisa is visiting Eslabon, she cries all the time. Consequently, MonaLisa visits in the morning and returns to her own enclosure, with Nancy in the late afternoon.

I am hoping that Nancy will get used to the separation in time.
In the meantime a strong relationship is developing between Schatov and Lala. Lala is happy with her two cohorts, Schatov and Maniñia. But that is a story for another day.

Even in our sorrow we have cause for joy

Today I feel least like writing the blog, since I began a few years ago. I have so much I need to say but it is all painful to me.

Some months ago, you will recall that Sussy left Canaote on an extended visit to her original home with Gabriela at Manrique. She has been losing weight and muscle tone. We felt that an extended visit with constant attention would improve matters. Indeed she began to look a 100% better.

After a time her age began to show. You remember that she is 16 years old. The kind of infirmity that younger people are able to shrug off, were becoming mayor and difficult to treat. She triumphed over a blood infection and against all professional opinion began to recover.
Recently, she has had an inflammation in her neck and abnormality has been identified in her heart. She has struggled with these problems as the great fighter that she is. Numerous visits to a number of veterinary doctors have confirmed the seriousness of her condition. Gabriela has been constant friend of Sussy's. Making tests and seeking treatments. I have been an observer to this big effort to cure a monkey that I really love.

She first came to Canaote four years ago and I immediately fell in love with her. She did not give her friendship easily. First I had to prove myself as a friend and then gradually she accepted me and would spend many hours sitting with me. For a long time we shared breakfast and sang morning prayers together. I looked forward to these mornings and I think she did too. These are the things that I will remember about her. The happy days.

Over the last days. Her condition has worsened considerable. She no longer eats or takes fluid without force. Her breathing is painful and noisy, her heart is racing. She is in pain and there is no longer a hope that tomorrow will see a better day.

Gabriela and I talked and finally we decided that she was in such pain that it was time for her to go to sleep. Gabriela took her to the veterinary clinic this morning to place her in eternal rest


We must remember the good days when she was well and played in the sun and not her parting. We remember that she was mother to a number of great Monkeys in her long life, like Teddy and Bungie. She accepted Marco as a surrogate child when he was only 300 grams in weight and brought him to adulthood.

Now we must look forward to the future, to the new life that stirs in Vicky, Marco’s child. How Sussy would have loved a grandchild. But more about that in another posting.

Here I offer a small prayer in her memory.

This we know: every living thing is Yours and returns to you.
As we ponder this mystery we give You thanks for the life of Sussy and we now commit her into Your loving hands.

Gentle Father, fragile is Your world, delicate are Your creatures, and costly is Your
love which bears and redeems us all.

Holy Father, give us eyes to see and ears to hear how every living thing speaks to us of Your love.

Let us be awestruck at Your creation and daily sing Your praises. Especially,
create within us a spirit of gratitude for the life of Sussy who has lived among
us and given us freely of her love.

Even in our sorrow we have cause for joy for we
know that we may be reunited with her in Your heaven.

Sorry folks

I got the weather station address slightly wrong. What I gave you will not work.

Press the weather medal alongside this posting.
or

Here is the correct address.

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=ICOJEDES2

We had a record amount of rain last night for this year. Over 2 inches or 51.8 mm
thought you would like to know.

All the children were wrapped up warm and dry. No leaks and everyone comfortable.

The British are always talking about the weather.

Most of you know that I am an Englishman. I have the same interest in the weather as most of my compatriots. Most people who live on small islands share this fascination. But here is something of interest. Recently we installed a weather station. The station is important to us for several reasons. In the general sense, we are just below the hurricane belt by about 300 miles. Most of the islands in the Caribbean are subject to severe weather conditions. We are lucky in that we are well below the ravages of the storms. But with the changes taking place in world weather, it is important to monitor locations such as ours. Permanent changes in our climate auger badly for world climate change.

Latitude 9. 42’ 42. 6954
Longitude 68. 20’ 31. 596
Elevation 220 Meters


In the particular sense, knowledge of and the ability to predict the climate is important for our Botanic Garden. It gives us a basis for planning watering and seed sowing. It also tell us when to take special precautions to protect our monkeys.

If you would like to know the current weather at Cañaote just type this address into your browser.

http://wx.findu.com/cw8891


The CW8891 is our call sign with the Citizens Weather reporting service. Our information goes online to the internet every 30 minutes.

There now, if you are planning a trip here, you can check the weather before you start out. Very handy, yes?

You could brush those cobwebs away.

My Day
I usually rise at 5 am, just before the dawn breaks. I am not sure that I know what wakes me but I think it is the slight sounds and movement of the monkeys in the enclosures adjoining my quarters. Then of course at 6.15 the morning chorus of the wild monkeys begins in the forest, with our own children joining in strong voice. It is difficult to say who has the strongest voice amongst our children; surprisingly it is either Schatov or Totto.
My first job is to attend to Miss Billy. She has a cardboard house on the sideboard in my room. I like to prepare her for the day. This means, firstly making her some milk, this is good wake up stuff for Miss Billy. She is very fussy. She won’t drink the milk shake that I prepare for all the others. It has to be milk, milk and only milk for Miss Billy. Then I prepare for her a small portion of either lechosa or bananas, with a few sheaves of leaves, kept fresh in a plastic container overnight. Finally a biscuit, this is usually Krakker. Just before I take her to her day nursery, I give her calcium supplement and Kiddi multi vitamins.

During this operation I have been in the kitchen, preparing the milkshake for the others. As you may know this is a grand mixture of bananas, merengada, Ne-Nerina, Multi vitamin Kiddi, Mirapol oil and quality milk powder.

This is all in readiness for when the helper and the housekeeper arrive at 7 am.

The housekeeper prepares the breakfast, which is either bananas, crude or cooked on alternate occasions or lechosa, chopped into mouth size pieces. Whilst the helper tours all the enclosures collecting the previous night’s plates and dishes, and washing down the tables, ready for breakfast.

After breakfast I begin my tour of all the enclosures. I start with Lala and her two friends, Schatov and Maniñia. They all love to be brushed. This is not an orderly event because monkeys don't know about taking turns. I start with Manina only to find that it is Schatov that I am brushing. There is a bit of shufling then it is Lala on the brush and so it goes on. This of course takes quite a time, usually about 20 minutes per child. During this process I look around to see that their bedclothes are clean and that excrement has been cleaned away. Nearly always I find that Rosita has found her way into the enclosure, she loves to move around the other enclosures and in spite of her small size she is a great robber of other children’s food.

Next on my tour is MonaLisa, Emma, and Nancy. Rosita is normally here also but at this time in the morning she is ‘on tour’. More brushing of course but the ladies like to play games with me as well. Nancy and Emma pull my hair, whereas MonaLisa an older friend, likes to sit on my shoulder and groom me. I often find the bedding on the floor and the food trays upturned, but that is all part of the days chore. I love being with these ladies and they know that I love them.

My next stop is Totto and Sophie. They are a great couple. Totto always very proud and Sophie is mischievous. Totto is a new client for brushing. Until recently I did not realize that he liked this attention. You can imagine how pleased I was when he made it clear to me that he would like this interaction. I really feel that now we know each other very well and that there is a mutual trust. It is a highlight of my morning to visit this monkey. I feel safe in spite of his obvious power. I love watching him enjoying my brushing.
My last stop is Eslabon, and Tutti and by this time Miss Billy. Master Tutti is very young and loves to be with me. Quite often I let him sit on my shoulder for the rest of the morning. Eslabon is quite a character, he swings around on the bamboo and the ropes and comes at me suddenly from every angle but there is no harm in this, it is all for fun. He is a comedian and a charmer. At this time there is little interaction with Miss Billy. This enclosure is very large with many tree branches and she hides in these for a good part of the morning. She loves the sun and positions herself to get the benefit. This of course is a great for her ailment, she needs the sun. I sometime get a little depressed when I see her walking so badly and hesitantly but each day I see a small real improvement in her mobility. I am sure that we are pursuing the right course with her.
At five in the evening, I collect Miss Billy and bring her to my quarters for the night. She is becoming more active in the house. Occasionally venturing into the big room and even looking around in the kitchen, this is of course very new. I am certain that the long term prognosis for her is good. I can’t wait to see her enjoy her day.
Well that is a brief run down on my day. If you feel like joining me for a few hours, I have a spare brush waiting for you.

Totto and the big brush off.

Many of you will have met Totto on your visits here. Others will have seen photographs of him. Either way you cannot fail to notice that he is a big mature monkey. He is very proud and a stickler for the hierarchical protocol. He tolerates human company but hardly acknowledges our presence. He cares deeply for Sophie his wife and allows her all kinds of liberties including pulling his tail. One would not readily decide to stroke him or touch him in any way.

Over a long period, he and I have developed a mutual respect. He knows that I care for him and give him deference. He knows that I bring him special tidbits and that I spend time talking to him. Recently we discovered that Lala loves to be brushed. I know that howlers in common with most monkeys like to be groomed and that this is part of the hierarchical protocol. I have been testing the theory around all our children and without exception they enjoy being brushed.

With a little trepidation I decided to ask Totto if he would like to be brushed. His response was immediate. He loves it. He turns from side to side to allow me access and in particular he loves his very full beard to be brushed. I use a fairly stiff brush. You can see it in this picture of Totto.

The only downside to this service is that it takes me a long time to go around all the children. But It is well worth the effort. Their coats are now looking outstanding and I get the satisfaction of seeing their enthusiastic welcome when I enter with the brush.

Lala loves being brushed but what of me?

Our first picture shows Lala, our newest resident, relaxing in the sun, in her garden. The transition from new girl to resident did not take long. The first few days she was nervous and hardly interacted with the other monkeys at all. I was in some doubt about where to place her. The first couple of days I tried to introduce her to Eslabon, but this had to be aborted. He was terrified and just could not see that she was making friendly overtures.
A whole different scenario emerged when she was introduced to Schatov. They were immediately interested in each other. There is a big difference in their ages of course but this does not seem to deter them. She is obviously very fond of him and he shows her, in a macho way that he is interested. ‘Toy Boy’. She has settled in much quicker than I supposed and has already become a member of the community. Maniña shown in our second picture also shares this enclosure. He takes part in the games and they all sleep together at night. But clearly, in Lala’s eyes, Schatov is number one.

One interesting thing has come out of this. I heard that Lala likes being brushed. I obliged and indeed she loves it. She holds my hand a gently presses me to brush the places she wants brushed. Unfortunately Schatov, observing this activity, decided that he would also like to be brushed and then Maniña wanted this attention.

Foolishly I tried out the brushing idea with Totto and he loves it as well. Grooming is an important part of a monkey’s day. It also places the groomer and the groomee in their hierarchal positions.

I have got myself into an unplanned situation with this brushing and I now urgently need volunteers to help with this work. Otherwise my days of leisurely bogging and pursuit of things academic are numbered.

Do you recognise this plant?

We try to give our children the most natural diet possible. Given that they are in semi captivity for reasons that I have often talk about. The howler monkey forages daily for food. They range through the forest searching for suitable trees for the days feeding. We have to emulate this activity to give them the most healthy and natural environment possible. Foraging also means rotation. They never feed on the same tree two days in sucession. How clever they are. They do not exhaust their supply, always leaving enough for another day. Our helpers go into the forest every day and come back with armfuls of fresh leaves, berries and fruits. The children recognize this and the happy sounds we hear from their enclosures when the boys arrive back with their days collection, is wonderful to hear. This sound tells us that we are doing the right thing. Who know better than the children themselves? This is of course in addition to the balanced diet that we give them.
Sometimes the children know better than we do. They love the leaves of the plant in our photograph. It is thorny, but this does not worry the monkeys, although I have had several sore fingers from handling it. What is its name? The locals call it 'Uña de gavilian', or 'fingernail of the hawk'. This seems like a good name, the thorns are very like the claws of the hawk. I know this because I had a young rescue hawk and her family with me for many months and her claws, grasping my hand were similar. (this story another time). I don't yet know what the children call it. What do you call it? Please tell me.

Miss Billy's best friend stays over.

When Miss Billy arrived she was in quite a distressed state. Unwashed she has a strong body odor and her coat was matted. Her crouched appearance told us that she was probably in pain. She was very internalized, not wanting attention or affection. She just wanted to be left alone to sleep. She did not want the company of either me or other monkeys. Attempts to get her to socialize failed. When I allow a newcomer to share my room, almost always they want to sleep in the bed alongside me. Not so Miss Billy.

On her first night I had been unpacking some equipment and the box lay on a sideboard in my room. It so happened that the front of the box was a circular cutout. This made it look cave like. Miss Billy went directly to it, made herself comfortable and it has become her night time home.

Since that time she has improved. Her diet is strictly controlled by me. She has a calcium supplement twice a day to aid in bone recovery and multivitamin with her breakfast. We have constructed a low rise bamboo walkway in one of the enclosures, so that she can sit in the sun during the day. This is all good stuff for creating vitamin‘d’. During this time she has been sharing with other monkeys, in particular, Eslabon, Tutti and Rosita. Well you can’t be anywhere near that joker Eslabon without sharing his games. I cannot say that she is cured because she is not. I can say she is showing a definite improvement. Her mobility is better and she now enjoys the company of Rosita and Tutti, making happy noises whenever they approach her. Quite often Rosita come to see her quite late and stays over, just like young human children do with their best friend. The cameo like photograph was taken last night on such a stay over.
I am tolerated as a means of transport and giver of good things to eat. I have not yet been invited to stay over.

Prayers for St. Francis of Assisi day

St. Francis, the patron Saint of animals.

Heavenly Father, our human ties with our friends of other species is a wonderful and special gift from You. We now ask You to grant our special animal companions your Fatherly care and healing power to take away any suffering they have. Give us, their human friends, new understanding of our responsibilities to these creatures of yours.
They have trust in us as we have trust in You; We are on this earth together to give one another friendship, affection, and caring. Take our heartfelt prayers and fill Your ill or suffering animals with healing Light and strength to overcome whatever weakness of body they have.
( All the children of Canaote )
Your goodness is turned upon every living thing and Your grace flows to all Your creatures. Grant to our special animal companions long and healthy lives. Give them good relationships with us and if You see fit to take them from us, help us to understand that they are not gone from us, but only drawing closer to You. Grant our petitions through the intercession of good St. Francis of Assisi, who honored You through all Your creatures.

Post script.

As the day has worn on, Schatov continues his interest in Lala. Our picture showes them quietly sitting together in the afternoon sun. This is siesta time and shortly I expect them to take a break from what has been a very interesting morning. Lala is the larger monkey on the left.

Who would deny them this?

There are three monkeys in our pictures. All of them from good human homes, each one of them loved. For one reason or another they find themselves here at Canaote. Contrary to what many people suppose, you can't just take a bunch of monkeys, put them in a cage of suitable size and leave it at that. Monkeys are just like humans in that they have their likes and dislikes. They get on well with one monkey and hate another. We have to find out who likes whom and try to put them together in groups that will work and in which they will be happy. For certain a lonely monkey is an unhappy one. They like to play hard together in the daytime and sleep very close to each other at night, it is warm that way.
Our picture shows our new young lady Lala, getting to know both Schatov and Manina. They are playing hard. At first may think that they are fighting in an antagonistic way but signs mainly given by voice and gesture with the mouth, tell you that they are getting to know each other. All the early signs are that they will make a harmonious group. An earlier experiment with Lala and Eslabon, did not work out. Maybe he was just to frightened of this big lady.
Just across the way, there is another experiment in progress. Eslabon with Miss Billy and little Tutti but more about that soon.
Who would deny these children this chance to be together, To share their lives with other monkeys. To breath the forest air and play in the sun?

There is not much Spaghetti in the forest.

Yesterday the 3rd of October 2007, we had a great trip to Valencia to visit Nancy the Veterinary at Los Colorados Veterinary Clinic. The purpose of our visit was to give Miss Billy a medical check up and to diagnose her problems with mobility. Well, Miss Billy voted it the best medical visit she has ever had. No anesthetics, no needles, no knives in fact nothing frightening at all.
The result was that our original thoughts were confirmed. During her growing up, she had rickets. She has all the classic symptoms. Bowed arm and leg bones, curved spine, elongated face, and a barrel chest. The chest bones did not grow long enough so they tend to bow outwards to cover the cavity. This can give a greater propensity to pneumonia in later years.
The laboratory test also showed that she has some intestinal parasites.

Nancy told me that she had seen monkey’s far worse and that in spite of her age (5 years) the prognosis is good. She will start a calcium supplement to be administered daily for the next 5 months. By that time we should see an improvement. The crouched gait should broaden out into near normal. This gait is caused by Miss Billy trying to avoid movements which give her pain. The bones of course will not straighten but her motility will improve.
With all the love in the world, a person or a monkey cannot achieve good health if the ingredience are not there. Monkeys need a specialized diet. This need has been refined over centuries of existence, mainly in the process of foraging in the forest. The metabolism is modified by evolution to use and accept these substances and without them the body fails.
Miss Billy has been brought up on human food, (she gets excited by the sight and smell of spaghetti).
FACT: There is not much Spaghetti in the forest.
Human food is not appropriate for monkeys, and they cannot thrive on it. Nor were they designed to live in the sitting room of an apartment, devoid of sunlight and trees.

Lala, a most beautiful and sophisticated lady arrives at Canaote

This has been a busy month at Cañaote. At the beginning we started an added calcium and vitamin program for Rosita. In itself it has been a difficult regime because the plan called for her to be separate from MonaLisa at night. This program is ongoing but now we are able to let her stay with MonaLisa. Separating her for treatment has proven easier than we first supposed.
On the twentieth September Billy arrived and we soon found that she brought problems with her. Her mobility has given us some headaches. I am not certain about my diagnosis of childhood rickets, another possible cause could be that she has suffered from a tight belt around her waist during her formative years. Her backbone is certainly bent just above the waist. This could cause a disturbance of her gait. We are waiting for the opportunity to take her for x-ray to finally resolve the problem. She has further problems with her diet. She does not readily give her trust. Remember that she is about five and a half years old and any quirks in her diet will now have become fairly permanent. She likes fruit, biscuits (Krakker) and Spaghetti. We discovered her liking for the pasta by chance when she stole some from my plate. She completely ignores the vegetable dish we prepare for main meal in the afternoon. She is still suffering from loss of her former family, but the pain is easing and she comes to me more readily. She is house clean and waits for the bathroom for her toilet.

Yesterday the twenty-ninth of September 2007, Lala arrived with her family. She is an adult of some nine years, very stocky and in general good health. She has been well cared for and comes from a loving human family. Clearly they did not want to part with her but I believe circumstances made it imperative. I cannot imagine these good people parting with her unless there was some overriding reason.
We have known about Lala for some years and there has been correspondence and phone calls about her. The family first visited us from Caracas about two months ago. At that time they told us that they were looking for the opportunity to bring her to us.
Our task is now to find the right company for her. The possibilities are Totto,Schatov,and Eslabon. Totto is already engaged with Sophie, so that option would mean parting them and finding another location for Sophie as I cannot imagine Sophie accepting competition. Both Schatov and Eslabon are very young and may not be acceptable to Lala. We will introduce her to the others over the coming days and see what is best. At the moment, of course, she is missing her family. I am spending long periods with her but she will have to live through her grief and come out the other end for a new life, here among her own people.

When will they ever learn?

Miss Billy has a friend at last.

Little Miss Billy we call her, for the avoidance of doubt. She arrived here on Thursday the 20th of this month and has rapidly won all our hearts. At first sight she is clearly not a normal Howler. She is an adult with a properly developed female genitilia. But she is small and light weight. Not much bigger than you would expect from a six month old female. I call her my ‘little old lady cut down short’. Her gait is poor and her mobility is restricted, yes you have guessed! She has suffered from ‘rickets’. She has the classic bowed legs, arched back and the tendency to walk on the forearm rather than the hands. She has all the classic symptoms of life in a Caracas apartment. When will they ever learn that monkeys belong in the forest and not on the settee in the living room? In conference with a number of veterinary friends I understand that a large number of Howlers, seen in Veterinary practice have this condition. What is the cause? Poor diet lacking in Calcium (milk etc), and lack of sunshine which normally causes the body to produce vitamin D. The poor gait is the monkey’s reaction to the joint pain which results from this condition. But this is all dejavue to those who read the stories about Negro, who also had this condition. The prognosis in this case is good. She will have high grade, absorbable calcium twice a day for three months and I am sure that in that time we will see a marked improvement. She is a delightful person with loads of personality. She smelt a bit high on arrival but we had a shower and she smells a lot sweeter now.
She really needs a special enclosure with walkways and areas not too far off the ground. If she fell she might severely damage her bones and this could be lethal. We do not have this area yet, so in the meantime she is living with me and Rosita. As you know, Rosita stays with me at night although she goes out during the day. Last night I was delighted to see Rosita and Billy cuddled up for the night on top of the fridge. Tonight Billy found a cardboard box with a cavelike front to it. Rosita waited for Billy on top of the fridge and Billy waited for Rosita in the box. Strong minded lady, Miss Billy. Billy won and our photograph is of the pair of them in the box. Miss Billy has at last got a friend.
Photographs Billy is on the left

Who is Loba?

Yes I know, this is a blog about Howler Monkeys. But this story I could not resist. I am sure that when you look at her photograph, your heart will melt the way mine did.
A few days ago we needed some maintenance to our walk in fridge. The engineer arrived and parked his vehicle in front of the house and got on with the job. In passing I noticed his dog in the back of his pick up. I remember thinking that she was one of the most pretty dogs I have seen in a long time.
The engineer finished his work, was paid and departed. Much to my astonishment I discovered that the dog was still with us. He had subtly abandoned the animal. This callous behavior is quite common and is reflected by the number of dead dogs one sees on the roads here in Venezuela. Enough said.
Two days later she gave birth to a liter on the mountain. She had been chased away from the house by my young dogs. We traced her and brought her back to the house and set up a kennel for her. She spends her day caring for her two babies. She has a delightful nature and we have decided to adopt her. She has a smart new collar to celebrate her adoption.

Goodbye Billy and Hello Wilhelmina.

We receive a call a couple of days ago from some folk in Caracas. They had a Howler monkey and they were looking for a home for him. His name was Billy. I forwarded a map and instruction on how to arrive at Canaote. Today they arrived with the child. They were amazed when I told them that Billy was a girl. Well no reason to change her name, after all the famous singer Billy Holiday was a Billy. Not much is known about her. She was in the care of the people who brought her here for only four weeks. Before that she lived in that vicinity in an apartment. She has been given various ages between three and a half and five and a half. She is small for either age and has the typical gait of a monkey that has been incarcerated in an apartment, although this can be deceptive. She walks on her front arms and her back is highly curved which is reminiscent of Rickets. Her small size is a puzzle. She behaves like an adult but her appearance is deceptive.
Fortunately, she immediately recognized me as a friend and jumped on my shoulder. When we first heard about her we had a plan that she would make a husband for MonaLisa. We made plans for a suitable honeymoon enclosure. The discovery that he is a she will mean a rethink about her accommodation. First on the agenda has got to be a shower. She has the very strong odor of an adult female howler. I will prepare some photographs and more information shortly, as she settles in. Tonight she will stay with me and Rosita. I do hope they get along. Other wise it will be a long night.

Eslabon and his pal Tutti

Eslabon and Tutti are great pals. They share an enclosure which ajoins my quarters. But like most kids, not everything runs completely smoothly. Tutti is very demanding and vocal when he does not get his own way. He is first at the food tray and selects the largest piece. Naturally, Eslabon being very macho does not take this behavior lightly and often an argument ensues. This consists of a shouting match between the two of them. Both positioned near something to wrap their tails around then a roar and a move forward followed by a rapid retreat aided by the tail. After a while they forget what the row was about and get back to the important business of eating. There is no violence involved but the noise is deafening. For the most part they get on well. They share the best spots in the garden to get a good suntan and they sleep togther at night with Eslabon's arm around little Tutti. Just like a big brother.

Tutti manipulates me

Tutti is a clever little monkey. He knows how to manipulate me. He spends his day in the enclosure with Eslabon. This also means that he has access to the garden and its walkways. He loves the sun and can frequently be found sun bathing in the garden. I have encouraged him to stay overnight with Eslabon but with only limited success. He knows that if a hear him crying, that I will be soon be in the enclosure to discover the cause. In the evening he starts crying just after dark, and of course I then allow him to stay in our house with Rosita through supper time and then overnight. I know he is manipulating me but I don’t have the heart to ignore him. Otherwise he is a happy healthy monkey and has a great appetite. When he arrived here he was suffering from a severe insect infestation which resulted in the loss of all the hair on his head and tale. He looked like a medieval monk. He has completely recovered from that condition and now has a strong head of very healthy hair.

Totto loves fish.

Whenever I prepare something special for myself and if it is suitable, I make a few extra portions for the children.
In my picture you see Totto tucking into a piece of fish. Now there are not many fish shops in the forest and certainly none in the canopy.So how is it that it is his favourite dish?

*Fish and chips is the national dish of England

Sorry about the break.

Sorry about the break. My computer has been away for upgrade for a few days. But the work goes on. Lots of new pictures and stories ready for you starting tomorrow.
Pictures of Totto and Sophie
Tutti
Eslabon
Rosita
Loba (who is Loba? watch this space)

See you tomorrow.

Schatov is getting bigger too.

Whilst I was preparing that last post, I got a jab in the ribs from Schatov. Not to be outdone, he reminded me that he is also getting bigger.

Maniña is a growin'

Monkeys are like human children, you just don’t notice how much they have grown, when you are with them every day. These two photographs of Maniña were taken today. I compared them with photographs that I took a year ago and I was amazed at the difference. I had a good idea that he was getting bigger because as you know he spends the night in our house with Schatov and I return him to his house in the morning on my shoulder. He is definitely bigger and heavier.

Eslabon and Rosita

In an earlier post I told you about Rosita's probems. Apart from the abnormality in her eating habits, we also found that one of her front teeth is bad. We are waiting until she gains a little more weight before we address that problem. During the weeks that she has been with me,she has gone from strength to strength. She is gaining weight rapidly and some tone is returning to her limbs. Our picture shows her using a spoon on a small helping of ice cream. She has improved to the point where I felt that she should be allowed to mix a little with the other children. Over a period of a few days I have been introducing her to Eslabon. On the first few days he appeared to be agressive at mealtimes, perhaps resenting having to share his meals. But for the last two days she has been welcome and Eslabon has spent quite a lot of time in her company. Our second picture shows them sitting togther in his enclosure.

Rosita the bag lady.

It takes 1000 years for a plastic bag to be finally decomposed.

I have several times posted about Rosita’s small size and how she is able to wriggle through the enclosure wire. Her birthday brought it home to me that she really should be bigger. Then when Tutti arrived the comparison in size was quite alarming. This 4 month old male was bigger than Rosita. We began with a batch of tests to determine whether there was an underlying cause for her apparent stunted growth. Parasites were ruled out and so was infectious disease. We separated her from her foster mother, MonaLisa, so we could observe her carefully. You will understand that in the group environment it is impossible to handle or observe a member of the group without interference from other members. This can be dangerous. If the group feels that you mean harm to a member then the whole family will attack fearlessly . In this family, MonaLisa, Emma, Nancy, Rosita, it is a case of ‘no fury like a woman scorned’.*

As a result of this separation, several things came to light.
We had already noted that Rosita was very interested in food. When ever food was served in other enclosures, Rosita, using her ability to wriggle through fences, would join each group and share their food. She would also come into the house when our own food was on the table. Why was it then, with this fascination with food, was she so small?
What became clear as a result of our closer study, was that she would only eat a small amount before moving on to the next dish. Even then she would select mouth size pieces and she has a small mouth. Our attention was further concentrated when we realized that recently she has been loosing tone in her arms and legs.

The present situation is that she is now with me all the time. She lives and sleeps in the house, away from other monkeys and is carefully observed during meal times. Her meals are carefully selected to be things that we know she likes and this food is available to her all day so that she can have a little, as and when she likes. She returns to her food table often during the day. This would be impossible in the group because at the end of meal time either all the food would have been consumed or it would have been distributed around the enclosure. Monkeys are not clean eaters. She has a regime of vitamins and calcium and fresh leaves from the forest every day. The result in a very short time has been quite dramatic. She is putting on weight and muscle tone.

* While many attribute the quote to William Shakespeare, it actually comes from a play called the "The Mourning Bride" (1697) by William Congreve. The complete quote is "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."

One thing has puzzled us; she loves to chew plastic bags. The chewing is quite vigorous. Naturally I view this as a bad habit, one has no idea what chemical deposit may be left over from the manufacturing process that might be harmful to a monkey. Plastic bags are everywhere in our society and it is difficult to prevent her from finding one. Needless to say as soon as this behavior is observed the bag is confiscated. She is not alone in the habit; MonaLisa also has a passion for chewing bags. I refuse unnecessary plastic bags when they are supplied in shops. It takes 1000 years for a plastic bag to be finally decomposed.
Our pictures are both of Rosita. One with a plastic bag and better one with a bunch of fresh leaves from the forest.

Eslabon and the washing machine

Eslabon has settled in very well. He is a happy and playful monkey. He entertains Tutti and Rosita in his enclosure and they play happily together. He makes use of all the locations in his enclosure. Monkeys love old washing machines and he spends the early morning in his. Most of the rest of the day he plays in the garden with Tutti and in the late evening, he gets comfortable in his house. Our picture shows him checking out the facilities on the washing machine.

Totto and Sophie Fishcake

I am very fond of fishcakes and I make them quite often. Totto and Sophie also like them, so I always make a couple of extra servings. In our pictures today you see Sophie enjoying hers and Totto with fishcake in both hands. It’s a hard life when you can’t make up your mind which one to start with first.

Question and Answer board at the Simian Society

Recently there has been some correspondence on the American Simian Society Question and Answer board concerning the diet of Capuchin monkeys. One contributor advised using commercially available foods. As you know, my experience is principally with Howler monkeys in our shelter in Cojedes Venezuela. Although from time to time we have sheltered Capuchin monkeys for fairly long periods whilst they were being prepared for release into the wild.

I replied directly to Jake, who was the original questioner but there were some points in my letter which may be of interest to readers here.

‘I am also in Venezuela and share Jake’s difficulty in obtaining ‘Monkey Chow’ or any of the specially prepared monkey foods. Quite apart from the inconvenience of importing directly, there is now an added disadvantage to personal importation. Goods arriving by post are subject to new regulations as well as a prohibitive tax of 150%. The actual process requires you to visit the post office in Valencia or Caracas (Local post offices are not enabled for this job), and complete a document with seven copies. Then visit a bank across town to deposit approximately five dollars. This is only to commence the transaction. You must then return to the post office, with proof of deposit, to be informed of the customs charge. Right, yes off to a different bank to deposit the 150%. Then return with proof of payment to pick up the goods. This backwards and forward will take you the best part of a day and woe betide you if your to and fro ing crosses the magic 11.30 till 3 lunch period. Certainly for me, importation is not an option.

From what Jake has said I think he is doing all the right things. We also had concern about providing a balance amount of protein in the Howler diet and in the absence of ‘Monkey Chow’ in Venezuela; we did an internet search and from that compounded our own ‘chow’

Here is the formula:

Ground beef fat removed, or ground chicken for protein. 100 g
Milk powder Two large spoonfuls
All Bran flakes. (is fortified with Vitamins A y C calcium and zinc) 200 g
Quaker oats , has vit A and C 200 g
Soy protein soaked in hot water for 20 minutes before use and drained 100 g
Eggs two large Eggs as Protein and binder.

The quantities can be varied dependant on the taste of the monkeys and the ingredient can be varied dependant on what is available.

We mix the all the dry ingredient together and allow to stand for an hour. We whisk the eggs and add them this should give you a slightly moist mixture which can be formed into shapes. We use a smallest size standard kitchen biscuit former. We place the biscuits on a metal plate and put into a hot oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Allow to go cold and then chop into mouth size pieces.
The children love their biscuits. They keep fairly well in the fridge for a couple of weeks although I like to make mine weekly so that they are always fresh. I call them protein bombs. I regard them being as a supplement to the fresh fruit, leaves and vegetables that we give them daily.

We feed our children twice a day.

Once at about 7 am. Milk banana shake with added Merengada flavor Mantecado, ‘Kiddi’ vitamin syrup and a small shot of Mirrapel (omega 3 y 6 from veterinary shops). A plate of fresh fruit, varied each day between cooked and raw bananas and papaya, a daily a plate of quartered oranges.

Midday a bunch of fresh leaves from the forest.

Second meal at 4 pm

As much as they like of mixed vegetables Apio, Pumpkin, carrots but daily a different flavor. One day Soy with Tuna, another day boiled eggs in mayonnaise, once a week steamed chicken pieces.
This vegetable mixture is steamed and chopped into mouth size pieces or sometimes grated and served raw. (not the chicken of course)

I am not trying to better the 'Monkey Chow' offering but in the absence of commercial importation we have to improvise'.

Eslabon and Tutti spend the day playing together

Eslabon has settled down well. He has overcome the trauma of relocation and has made new friends. He has explored his enclosure and now has his favorite places. Surprisingly he has chosen to sleep in the small hammock rather than the house we have built for him. But he may come around to using it when he discovers its comforts. He uses the large hammock as a springboard onto the many ropes and bamboo walkways in his enclosure. During the day, Tutti shares his home and the pair of them get on well. You can see Tutti in our picture, practicing his gymnastics. Eslabon is pictured here early morning, still in his small hammock. Soon he will be outside in his garden, making the best of the morning sunshine.

Introducing Eslabon

Eslabon came to Cañaote last Thursday the 2nd of August and we understand that he is one year old. He is physically fit and his coat is in good condition. He is taking his separation from his human family badly. He cried frequently on the first day. Now he is establishing a new bond to me and he is very demanding. He wishes to be with me all the time. This is frequently the case with children who have had strong relationship with humans before coming here. Of course I like to think that this is our specialty, caring for highly domesticated Howlers.

I see our task as twofold. Firstly the most painless transition to a new home that is possible. This, we try to achieve by keeping the monkey in close proximity to us. When a new monkey arrives they always have a home adjoining our house and where frequent contact with them is possible. If they are unhappy, we can hear them crying and go to them with love and support just as you would a human child. Usually on the first and subsequent nights we take them into our own rooms. This is necessary because as yet they will not have a companion. Howlers depend for warmth in the night by close proximity to another monkey. Sleeping alone is open to the danger of hypothermia.

Second part of our task is to settle the child with a suitable companion in a location designed for long term living.

Often our monkeys have never lived as monkeys. Rather they have been treated as small human children. We attempt to teach them the monkey life by giving them natural surroundings and suitable companions. All our enclosures are large and have real trees. Their food is as natural as we can possibly make it with fresh fruit and leaves brought in from the forest everyday in addition to a specially prepared balanced diet. At the same time these children have become accustomed to some human comforts and it would be mean to deprive them of these things on a matter of principal. For example, Howlers love hammocks and the more the better. They love boxes of all kinds and old top loading washing machines. In preparing a suitable home for Eslabon we had a special task of converting an old washing machine for him. This particular machine had been of high quality and the central spindle appeared at first impossible to remove. At first we thought we it too difficult but fortunately an engineer, who lives near us, saw our problem and came with suitable equipment and succeeded in removing the spindle. It now resides in Eslabon’s enclosure.
His enclosure is really quite crowded with furniture.
He has a large house with pillows and blankets. This has been specially constructed for him in Saman wood. It is a tall house with two soft doors so that he has easy access but at the same time stays warm. The walls are plastic coated to give him added comfort. Yesterday the farm was filled with the sound of the wood cutting machine and drills applying screws to his new house. He has a human size hammock as well as a small one. Numerous ropes and of course his washing machine.
His enclosure has been built in the corridor of our house in a location adjoining my bedroom. It also has a gated window to his outside garden, which has live trees as well as many bamboo walkways.
In the coming days we will be introducing him to a number of other monkeys. We will be looking for a suitable companion for him.

He is a charming and gentle monkey and I am certain he will be happy here.
Our top picture shows Eslabon testing out the bed in his house and the second picture shows him getting comfortable on my lap.

Schatov and Maniña tonight at late night supper

Top Maniña with Schatov center.
Who ever said that howlers are expressionless? Just look at that expression on Schatov's face. If that isn't a smile then I don't know what is. They have reason to be happy. A plate of fresh salad and a bowl of orange juice makes a light supper and not too heavy a meal before retiring for the night. Schatov as usual will sleep with Tutti in David's room. Tutti waits for him to arrive and makes happy noises when Schatov jumps on the bed. Schatov has become his big brother and he really does stand up for Tutti. Maniña always shares with me.
Talking about big brother, have you noticed how big these two boys are getting?
Lots happening here this week. We are completing a new enclosure and building a house for it. We have renovated an old washing machine for afternoon naps. Howlers love to sleep in old washing machines. Pictures of course when we have finished.
We received a call from a family in Maracuy, wishing to bring a young male howler to us but more about that if it happens.

Time flies when you are having fun.

We went to Manrique this week to visit Marco, Sussy and Vicky. This was a much overdue visit. I managed a few good pictures of Sussy and spent some quality time with her.
I had to admire Marco, who has become very adult and handsome. He was pleased to see me but I think more by reason of the gifts that I brought him than recognition. Unfortunately, time ran out and I was unable to get any good photographs of him and Vicky.

Tutti Italiano

Yes I know you saw the last posting and you know that Tutti and Rosita had an Italian meal but I thought you would like to see the elegance with which Tutti handles his spaghetti.

Tutti and Rosita are great pals

Last night Tutti (right) and Rosita shared an Italian meal. You see them busy eating cheese and spaghetti. Not a diet that I would recommend for a healthy Howler but as you can see they love the Italian flavor.
When Tutti arrived with us he was suffering from a vicious mite attack. This photograph is interesting because it shows the extent of the damage that the mite infection did to the hair on Tutti's head. This has been completely cured and there is now vigorous new hair growth.

Our Birthday honours list

It is difficult to give an exact date of birth for most of our children. They come from diverse locations. Some come from confiscation at the roadside and others come from good homes. But universally we cannot pinpoint the exact birthday or even year in some cases. It has been our policy at Cañaote to give everyone a birthday related to when they arrived here. Their arrival date is their birthday.

Emma 24/06/05
Eslabon 02/08/07 1 year old when arrived
Maniña 11/04/06 2 years old when arrived
MonaLisa 29/10/03 1 year and 9 months when arrived
Marco 17/12/03
Nancy 28/10/06
Rosita 14/07/06
Schatov 21/01/06
Sophie 12/02/04
Sussy 31/08/03 13 years old when arrived
Totto 17/06/06 ? when arrived
Tutti 09/06/07

If any one has more information about age or original date of birth, please mail me.

Totto and Sophie at home.

We don't often show pictures of Totto and Sophie together and perhaps it is not realized how Sophie has grown. From being a small monkey alongside Totto, she is now quite a large person. Truthfully we expected her to show signs of pregnancy by now but that hasn't happened yet. She is of course still very young. She has a complex mentality which we have found difficult to analyze at times. We will write more about her in another posting soon.
Our pictures tonight, show them both having just returned from Rosita's party.

Rosita's birthday party.

Well it all began quietly enough. Rosita stood at the door early looking at birthday cards. There was one from Sussy and another from Marco and Vicky. She was thrilled when William the delivery boy, brought in the birthday cake. She resisted the temptation to steal a bit from the side where the cream had overflowed slightly. She set the cake down on the big table next to the cucumber and salmon sandwiches. Taking their cue from her, all the guests started to arrive early. Totto was first in with Sophie on his arm. His coat was gleaming with good grooming. Obviously Sophie had helped him dress for the evening.
Schatov and Maniña were the next to arrive. Schatov was carrying a mysterious black bag. Whilst Maniña pressed a piece of half chewed biscuit into Rosita’s hand and said, ‘Happy birthday dear Rosita’.
MonaLisa arrived with Emma and Nancy; they were already wearing their party hats maybe the ones left over from Christmas.
Last of all came Tutti, he rushed up to Schatov because being very new he did not know any of the other guests. Since his arrival at Cañaote, Schatov has taken the little fellow under his wing.
Someone switched the player on and there was a gentle background of music against the chatter of conversation.
There were the usual assortment of party games and everyone was having a good time. After a time, Maniña stood up and announced that a famous magician called Shattering Schatov was here at the party and would do some tricks. At this point Schatov got up on the little stage and began to do some conjuring. His card prestidigitation has become quite famous. This all went fine until he said, ’for my next trick’, and proceeded to open the mysterious black bag he had been carrying all evening. Suddenly there was the incredible flapping of wings and Tweety Pie the Laurel bird emerged from the bag. Obviously confused and frightened, she began flying erratically around the room. First landing on the partly eaten cake, where she got a wingful of cream. As she continued her journey around the room she daubed this wing like a paintbrush on everything she touched. In an attempt to control the situation, Nancy threw a large piece of green jelly at the bird but missed. Unfortunately it hit Totto on the side of his face and he let out a roar. As he swiped the jelly of his face his hand hit the plate of jelly and it catapulted across the room, covering everybody in its path with jelly.
MonaLisa, with characteristic good sense said ‘calm down everyone, it was just an accident, Tissues and towels are available in the bathroom.’
Well everyone did calm down, which just goes to show what sensible folk howler monkeys are.
With lots of enthusiasm they all sang ‘Happy birthday dear Rosita’, and the assembled party began to drift towards the door.
‘It been a great party and thanks for having us’, said Sophie and the whole party echoed her sentiments.

Happy birthday Rosita

Rosita is one year old today. In spite of all our efforts she is still a small person. I have previously mentioned that she is a great eater. Because she is so slim, she is able to leave her enclosure at will. During mealtimes she visits all the other enclosures, (except Totto and Sophie) and joins in the meals. At first we suspected worms, but our tests show negative. Next we considered her diet, but this is a well balanced meal and she has a great appetite. Finally we have decided to stop worrying about it and accept that she is just a small person. Recently we noticed some hair loss on Emma, who lives in the same enclosure. After taking a careful look we discovered that she has fleas and her scratching has caused the loss of hair. We were able to shampoo MonaLisa and Rosita but Emma is aggressive and resistant to being washed and Nancy is very protective of her foster mother. With them we resorted to flea powder and we are waiting to see the result. In the meantime it made sense to separate MonaLisa and Rosita to another enclosure. Without any difficulty, Rosita changed her own abode to be with her foster mother, MonaLisa. They are inseparable, Rosita really loves MonaLisa.
Later today we think a party has been arranged for Rosita’s birthday but it is all being kept hush hush. More about that later. Our picture shows Rosita enjoying her birthday breakfast this morning.

Sussy on Vacatiion

Sussy is on vacation in Manrique, to see her foster son Marco and his wife Vicky. By the sound of things she is having a great time. You will remember that Manrique was Sussy's first home, before she came to live at Cañaote. Vicky by all accounts is pregnant, so I imagine that Sussy, having been a mother many times has good advice to give her.
Naturally we are receiving many post cards from Sussy saying 'wish you were here, the water is fine'.

Maniña has good table manners.

Howler monkeys are not known for their dexterity. Usually if a monkey interacts with human articles it is disastrous. Cups plates and pots go flying and usually end up broken on the floor. Monkeys live in trees and are not accustomed to handling human things. And that is the way it should be. However, from time to time one meets a Howler with exceptional skills. Maniña is one of those. Before he came to Cañaote, his owners allowed him the run of the house and took him out to restaurants. He is very sophisticated in human ways. He is emotional and has been known to sulk if he does not get his own way. He likes to embrace and to kiss if you will let him. He loves music and will encourage you to dance with him if he gets the rhythm. His idea of siesta is to curl up in a ball on your lap. He definitely has the human touch. He is skilled in table etiquette as you can see from our photograph. He is able to raise a cup or pot and lift it so he is able to drink out of it without spilling. He then places the cup back on the table without breaking it. Now that is clever.

Five thousand six hundred and thirty two dogs.

Last Sunday at about ten A.M. a procession of vehicles arrived at Cañaote and after a short period of organizing the car parking, the Asoguau Foundation ambulance arrived.
(A voice was heard from inside one of the enclosures, we think it might have been Maniña, ‘Oh no! Not again’).

Three Veterinary doctors and assistants as well as a support party came to carry out the neutering and spaying of dogs from the area. The ambulance has an electrical port on the rear for 220 volts, this we were able to provide.
Gabriela, our friend from Manrique also arrived and gave us great help on the organising side.
An invitation had been sent to all the local villages and farms, to bring their dogs for treatment. Eleven dogs were treated. In all cases the work went smoothly with no cause for concern. Looking back today in retrospect, we can say that all the dogs have been examined whilst giving them the follow up medication and all the patients were successful with no complications.

This is wonderful work that the Asoguau Foundation carry out and completely free of charge to the dog owners. A moment’s reflection shows that eleven dogs having eight puppies is eighty eight. Eighty eight having eight puppies is seven hundred and four and seven hundred and four having eight puppies is Five thousand six hundred and thirty two. And ………
We saved the world from being completely inundated with dogs.

At the end of the day the party relaxed for a while over a meal and then after our grateful thanks the party left for home near Valencia.

We are impressed with the professionalism and care and the shear hard work that the team showed. We made some new friends and are certain of future co operation with Asoguau Foundation. In particular we thank Nathalie, Roberto as well as Maria and Gabriela for making this visit possible.