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.

Eli the howler monkey was nearly blind

Surgery restores monkey's vision

April 28th, 2008 @ 4:47pm

A blind monkey at Hogle Zoo that was led around his cage and to and from his food by his mother can see again!

Eli, a Howler monkey, has not been on exhibit today. He's resting comfortably in private quarters while his eyes recover from surgery.

Holly Braithwaite, spokeswoman for Hogle Zoo, said, "Eli, for the most part, was completely blind. He did have cataracts in both eyes, and he's about a 10-year-old monkey - almost 11, and it's been that way for some time since he was quite small.


Eli was brought to a specialty clinic in Cottonwood Heights. Eye Care for Animals deals only in eye disorders involving dogs and cats and now, monkeys.

He went under general anesthesia. Dr. Nicole MacLaren, who is trained in animal ophthalmology, performed the surgery, which is not unlike that which is done in humans. The only difference? Eli suffers from a vitamin D deficiency and had developed cataracts when he was about six to 12 months old. "This made the lens capsule very, very tough and hard to open up to get access to the cataract," MacLaren said.


Unlike a traditional replacement lens that is used when cataracts are removed from dogs and cats, Eli's required some special measurements; that's why human ophthalmologist Darcy Wolsey, from Salt Lake Eye Associates, was brought in. "This animal is more like a human eye, so I did some measurements to see what power of lens to put inside the eye."

Two hours later, Eli's cataracts were gone, replaced with two new acrylic lenses, and he was on his way back to the zoo.

MacLaren said, "Even though he's in a zoo, he's a wild animal, and so in a human who would be getting four or five different drops per day, we're only able to get them to medicate Eli once or twice a day."

Hogle Zoo is getting ready to introduce a new mate into Eli's enclosure. That's why they thought it was a good idea to give him his sight back again.

We call it 'Canaote Magic'.

Two weeks ago you saw Erik arrive (top center picture)and one week ago Chilin came to live with us. You saw them on their first day here. Chilin looked particularly sad. But here today, you see him having a great time on the ropes. No unhappy thoughts now, he is just too busy. Erik too has settled down and is enjoying Chilin's companionship. For a large part of the day they are together in the special enclosure we have made for them.
Early morning is the time I move Schatov,Lucio and Monito into Lucio's Garden. They all climb aboard my shoulders for the short journey to the garden. Erik makes the journey with them because he is already installed on my shoulder. He takes the opportunity to get to know the others. He snuggles against Schatov, who has taken a liking to him. I have a feeling that he will become Erik's big brother.
Chilin has a liking for the girls. His enclosure adjoins the garden of MonaLisa, Emma and Nancy. He spends a lot of time displaying his athletic abilities to them.
These two little boys have settled in quickly. It is magical to see the trasformation that takes place in our newcomers as they learn to live with creatures of their own kind.

Chilin is a great name for a monkey.

Chilin came to live with us yesterday, Saturday the 19th of April 2008. Yes you are right, he does look sad in this picture. It was taken within hours of arriving here and like any small child he was confused and maybe a little alarmed. He is probably six months old. During the evening and the following day, he settled down quickly. One thing we noticed immediately, he has a voracious appetite. He is the second young monkey to come to us in the last fortnight.
Very young monkeys take a great deal of extra care. They need 24 hour attention. You can't put them in an enclosure with other monkeys. There is no guarantee that they would not be attacked. Finding a group in which they will be compatible is a sensitive job and has to be undertaken with care. There is no question yet of allowing them to share with others as they are both still being fed with a bottle. The logistics of separating them at feeding time are just too complicated. We have prepared an enclosure for Chilin and Eric, where they can interact and play for short but monitored periods. For two days now they have used this facility with success. They are always pleased to be brought back into our house for more human company. The call on our services seems to be growing. We have news of another adult male who may be brought here next weekend. We have also been asked about accommodating two adult Capuchins. Lord have mercy, your servant is hard pressed.

About Schatov.

I want to try and describe to you some of the changes that I have seen in some of our children over a period of time. It was only when I embarked upon this task that I realized how difficult it was going to be.
Schatov, when he first arrived was very small. So small that we had to construct an enclosure with especially small wire, because he could easily wriggle through the standard fence wire. He shared with Emma who was also young and small but a little bigger than Schatov. At that time we thought that this was a marriage made in heaven. They seem genuinely fond of each other. Schatov developed a lump on his nose. In our picture you can still see where it was, if you look carefully. At first we thought it was a mosquito bite. We quickly realized that it was a swelling caused by a bad tooth. Schatov was whisked away to a dentist in Valencia who specialized in dentistry for small animals. There he had a successful operation to remove the bad tooth. We were fortunate to find a man of his skills.

All was not well in the relationship with Emma. Emma was growing very fast and no longer wanted Schatov. This actually turned into antagonism and finally we had to separate them. I will talk about Emma’s changing personality in another post.

Schatov is now over two years old. He has a loud voice and is big for his age. He leads the morning chorus and his deep booming voice acts like the drum major for the others, letting them know when to start and finish. As he has grown, his personality has developed. He is always cheerful and playful but never aggressive. He is especially communicative with his facial expressions. You know when he is not pleased by the way the corners of his mouth curve downward. When he is happy he makes the howler universal happy sound.

I have an interaction with him at least twice a day. Once in the morning when I take him to share the day with Moñeto and Lucio and then again in the evening when I bring him back to the house. For this transfer he sits comfortably in my arms. His early morning task is to lead the chorus. When that is complete he waits for me, gently swinging backwards and forwards in his hammock.
He is much loved by everyone, both monkey and human. His human family are from Caracas and they visit him often. You can understand why when you meet him, he is a real charmer.

A big happy birthday Maniña.

‘Well it is pause for thought isn’t it? I mean four years old. I am positively over the top. Like I am an old man. Yeah! Over the hill. Can you imagine that?’

He is hansom. He is the largest monkey we have at Canaote. He came to us 2 years ago from his family in Aragua. He was two years old when he came to us. He is still in their thoughts and we have frequent correspondence with them. The important thing is that they still care. He is charming and loved by us all, monkeys and humans alike. He is gentle. This afternoon he was introduced to little Erik who is only 3 months old. Erik responded to him and realized that he had found a friend. Some of the smaller monkeys were a little jealous at this first meeting but Maniña pushed them to one side and put his arm around Erik. They will meet again soon. In the meantime. A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANIÑA.
Our picture taken this evening is of course our birthday boy.

Maniña at home.

I suppose no morning’s photo shoot would be complete without pictures of Maniña. He really does pose for the camera. Having sat on my shoulder, (he is very heavy). Pulled my hair and given me a big smacker straight on the lips, he settled down to posing for these pictures. Maniña is the biggest of our male monkeys and he is the leader of the group with Eslabon, Tutti and Miss Billy.

Who blinks first?

I often compare the behavior of my gang to their brothers and sisters in the wild. When I see Moñito take a flying leap into the middle of a brightly colored hammock filled with plastic balls, throwing the balls everywhere in the enclosure. When he is closely followed by Lucio and then Schatov and the last of the balls scatters across the ground. I wonder what if any is the wild monkey equivalent. Well of course there is no direct similarity because monkeys in semi captivity learn a whole new group of skills. But just the same, play is practice for life situations. The competition of the game with hammock and balls is the important feature. Who jumps the furthest, who causes the most disruption or even the most noise. The facing off and the threatening calls are also part of this practice for life situations. Our picture shows Schatov on the right and Lucio on the left. They are playing ‘who blinks first’. This is a game that Howlers never tire of. They will yell at each other and even make a tentative poke but never actually get into conflict.

Erik or little by little.

Sunday was a busy day here at Cañaote. First Virginia came with her family. They started out from Caracas at four in the morning. They brought Erik with them. Erik is very young, and we don't have very much information about him. I am guessing that he is about 3 months old. You see him here in a photograph, clinging to the back of David's head. This is a very typical stance. Then later in the morning Graciela arrived with her family. They were visiting Lucio and the other children of course. The two groups got to know each other and shared their joy with the children. Lucio was in fine form, giving vivid displays of his gymnastics and Schatov kept pace with equal vigor. Colored balls were being fired in every direction. Moñito was at first overcome with all this action but soon got into the swing of things.

Graciela brought us a large metal cage. It has been beautifully and professionally made by a craftsman. This was transported all the way from Caracas in their second vehicle. We will use this as quarantine for children when they first arrive. The visitors toured around all the enclosures and the children were excited to meet them.

A local family joined the group, and it was a pleasure to introduce them to our monkeys. But, all too soon, it was time for everyone to return to Caracas.

Erik is quietly settling down. Naturally, he cries quite a lot but that is to be expected. He is difficult to feed and very choosy. He need a lot of special attention and that means 24 hours a day. Just like any baby he needs feeding every four hours. David has volunteered to be his mother during this period.

Our Kids.

Ok, our Kids but not quite. Left is Moñito and right is Tutti, seen polishing off some spaghetti, Tutti Italiano. But who is that below? I can’t rightly tell you yet. These are our three youngest children.
We received a call earlier in the week. Some good people in Caracas want to bring this little fellow to us for care. As far as we know, he has no name. He is scheduled to arrive about mid day tomorrow. We have been asking around for a name. Gabriela suggested a few but said whatever it should be a short one. We are thinking of calling him Erik, if he really doesn’t have a name. Look at the difference in the color of the coats. Young ones tend to be much lighter in color and get darker as they grow older. ‘Erik’ has a very light, fine coat, rather like Sussy. I think he will retain a lighter coat. But more news as it comes. We look forward to him arriving and meeting his donors.

Fraught!

I will not hide from you that we have had a couple of fraught days. (Full of or accompanied by problems, dangers, or difficulties).
Yesterday, we had a visit from a large group of Capuchin monkeys, wild ones from the forest. Their interest was of course, Pancho. They surrounded his enclosure for most of the day. Finally two of the most adult of the raiding party had enough courage to descend onto Pancho’s enclosure. Pancho, unaware of their evil intention, rose to the top of his domain to greet the visitors. He was immediately attacked by them and sustained a wounded tail. It was my unpleasant job to chase them off after this assault. We quickly treated Pancho’s wounds and an examination today revealed that all is well; the bites have healed up well with no sign of infection.
Today, I became aware of two wild Howler monkeys, in a tree above the enclosures of Schatov, Lucio and Moñito. This is a tall mango tree that also straddles the home of the Maniña family, Eslabon, Miss Billy and Tutti. Needless to say there has been considerable agitation, and much calling and pacing up and down as they glance upwards at the intruders. My presence did not at first calm the disquieted children. But later the visitors realized there was no profit in remaining, decided to move on.

With both groups of invaders, I am sure that we have not heard the last. This is the mango season, a fruit that all monkeys love and we have about 500 trees. This is a good reason for them to visit. But again this is a good time to look for a mate when food in the forest is plentiful.
I have just a couple of comments. Through all this, Maniña, swung backward and forwards in his hammock, totally unperturbed by the activity around him. What a cool guy.
I have photographs of the action but of insufficient quality to publish. Please excuse.

Butter would not melt in his mouth.

Last Sunday Moñito had a family visit. Carlo and Patricia who rescued him from a building site again came to see him. They were here just a few weeks ago also. In the meantime we discovered that they had been married. Naturally everyone at Cañaote was thrilled and wished them happiness. But talking of happiness, one had to include Moñito, Lucio and Schatov, who all share Garden Lucio, in that wish. The kids were clearly pleased to see their friends and played hard all morning.

What a wonderful day we had. The children were so active and obviously pleased to have the visit. I think we all had a lot of fun. David and I were pleased to have the opportunity to congratulate them both on their marriage that was really great news. Moñito was definitely thrilled to have company, and I am certain that he remembered both of them. Lucio and Schatov were in good form; they are such good friend and good for each other because they exercise well and learn during their play.

Carlos and Patricia left us some wine. We enjoyed a bottle of the wine that night and sent a toast of good wishes to them for their future together. It means a lot to us to have their friendship and the care that they show to Moñito and the other children.
We have two pictures of Moñito. One showing him in the thick of the fray and the other a portrait where he is looking as though butter would not melt in his mouth.

Happiness is bun shaped.

I know I have said it before but it is always the first time for me. Every time I see Marco I am amazed because he is always so much larger. I can scarcely believe that this is the little boy who lived at Canaote with us. Marco, who used to sit on my shoulder and sleep on my pillow. Marco, who grew to young adulthood in the care of that wonderful mother Sussy. Marco, who was only a mere handful weighing in at 500g when he arrived here. Gabriela has just taken these wonderful photographs of him. But that is not all. Marco went to live with Vicky in Manrique, the home of Gabriela. I have told you already that it was love at first sight. Vicky and Marco adore each other. Now look at that photograph of Vicky again. She has an expression of sheer bliss and her eyes are closed. You notice the extended stomach and the breasts? I do believe that this young lady is expecting an event. More news on that as it comes.

'Pyow-pyow': how the putty-nosed monkey tells its friends there's a leopard coming

Putty-nosed monkeys combine signals in a limited repertoire to convey complex messages. But see below, Howlers are also great talkers.


A troop of monkeys in west Africa has been found to use different combinations of calls to convey different meanings in what is believed to be one of the first experimental demonstrations of rudimentary language ability in wild animals.
The putty-nosed monkeys living in Nigeria were already known to use different alarm calls to warn each other about the presence of predators, but now scientists have found that their linguistic ability goes a step further.
Male putty-nosed monkeys are able to combine different types of alarm calls to indicate their identity, what they have seen and whether they intend to flee – and all of this information is recognised by other members of the troop, a study has found.
Klaus Zuberbühler, of St Andrew's University, said his research into wild putty-nosed monkeys demonstrated that their linguistic ability shows intriguing similarities with human speech, in that they can combine sounds to convey various meanings. "In linguistics, 'morphemes' are usually defined as the smallest meaningful units in the grammar of a language. Our research revealed some interesting parallels in the vocal behaviour of forest monkeys and this feature of human language," he said.
The monkeys have two basic alarm calls – "hacks" and "pyows", and they use them to warn each other about different predators – for example, a "pyow-pyow" signals a leopard. Dominant male monkeys are also able to combine "hacks" and "pyows" into a unique sequence that conveys important information, such as "I am about to travel, follow me", according to Dr Zuberbühler, who, with his colleague Kate Arnold, carried out the study published in the journal Current Biology.
The scientists proved their theory by playing audio tapes of "pyow-hack" sequences made by a dominant male and observing the reactions of other troop members. The behaviour of the monkeys followed the scientists' predictions – for instance, that they would all move in response to the signal to travel.
"What we showed is that it was this call sequence alone that was sufficient to trigger group travel," Dr Zuberbühler said. "Most primates are limited in the number of signals they can physically produce due to their lack of tongue control. The only way to escape this constraint may be to combine the few calls they have into more complex sequences.
"In other words, it may be harder for non-human primates to evolve large repertoires than to evolve the ability to combine signals. Hence, the evolution of combinatorial signaling may not be driven by too many signals, but rather by too few."
The ability to combine different sounds or vocalization was believed to be an important step in the evolution of human language. According to this theory, at some point it became more economical to combine existing elements of communication, rather than adding new ones, because the repertoire was already too large.
But, Dr Zuberbühler said: "Our research shows these assumptions may not be correct. Putty-nosed monkeys have very small vocal repertoires, but nevertheless we observe meaningful combinatorial signalling."

* The study of the putty-nosed monkey was carried out in the Gashaka Gumti National Park in Nigeria.
* Naturalists observed the animals using two distinct alarm calls – "pyow" and "hack" – in non-random sequences.
* Further studies revealed that the monkeys were using different combinations of calls to express various specific meanings.
* These include: hack-hack-hack-hack: "There's an eagle over there!"
* Pyow-hack-hack-pyow-pyow-pyow: "I've seen a leopard, let's move away!"
* Hack-hack-hack-pyow-hack-hack-hack-hack-hack "There's an eagle over there, let's move away!"

Yes Howlers do talk and do communicate vocally.


I first noticed the ability to vocalize needs in Howler monkeys, many years ago. We notice that when a monkey had been separated from its parents it suffered great grief for several weeks. This was demonstrated by pacing up and down in its enclosure and repeating the same sounds over and over again. The sound approximated to (what oh) with the ‘oh’ drawn out for at least two seconds. Following that we notice a sound indicating pleasure, especially when a desired food was presented, although it can accompany any pleasurable experience like being with a friend (human or monkey) or place that makes them feel happy. A repeated whoop whoop whoop sound indicates danger and displeasure, this is not necessarily a message to the troop it can be just an indication of displeasure. Remember that Howlers have a special extension to their hypoid bone. In their case it is very large and allows a great noise that can carry for up to 3 km. This also means that the sounds that they make are fairly deep throated. The thing which I have found most extraordinary is that this language is universal. We have monkeys here in our facility that come from all over but the language is just the same. They have many expressions and they do have the ability to produce quite a range of different sounds. I would really like to find a research student with the interested to analyze their language. I do not have formal linguistic analytic ability but I would love someone to do this work. Yes Howlers do talk and do communicate vocally.

Sophie is mending well.

Sophie suffered a bad patch in her health after having freed herself into the wild forest. I have reported on this previously. Just when she started to recover from the parasites and the dehydration that she incurred, she contracted a new health problem. A week ago I noticed an area on her right foot where the skin was broken. I thought little about this, thinking that maybe she had torn her foot on the bamboo walkway. The next day a observed blood on that foot and damage to one of her toes. Clearly this was something more serious. We took samples to examine under the microscope but we were unable to detect any pathogenic activity. This was not a fungal or bacterial infection. We decided that it was a self infected wound in response to the irritation of a broken skin. We treated her with oral antibiotics and topical iodine spray. This has been effective and the condition has been limited and we are simply waiting for nature to complete the healing. She was avoiding placing that foot on the walkway but now she is walking normally again.
She is almost back to her old self. Gabriela contributed a brilliantly colored hammock and Gilda; Lucio’s family brought a large bag of colored plastic balls and rings. Sophie is happily playing with this fun setup and is much more active. Naturally she has been sad and lonely since Totto freed himself into the wild but we are hoping that someday soon we can find a new companion for her.
Our photograph is Sophie. Her appetite is good. She is feeding well and putting on weight again.

We don't all look alike. Do we?

Well of course that's Maniña top center and Schatov bottom right. But I bet I didn't have to tell you that because you recognized them. Their faces are very individual but nevertheless there are people who don't seem to tell them apart. Maybe they are the same people who think that all Chinese look alike. Maniña is slightly older and slightly heavier. But they are the two largest Howlers that we have here. Make the facial comparison yourself and comment what difference you find. There are things true of both. They are both in great condition. They both have great beards. They are both very hansom. They are both personality plus. What more can I say.

An exciting afternoon.

Lots of pictures this evening. What beautiful hands Schatov has! Howlers are not known for great dexterity with their hands but Schatov makes up for this with very long and elegant fingers. But that is not all because he uses them with unhowlerlike ability. Given a piece of chicken, he will hold it in both hands, turn it and select the best parts to eat first. He has learned skills that wild monkeys do not have. You see him here in the photograph, resting only momentarily in the hammock before throwing himself back into the fray.
Lucio has been very mischievous today. And you can read the mischief in his face in our picture. First grabbing my hat and making off to the other side of the enclosure with it and then returning, without it, to pull my hair. Finally I had to chase him around the hammock to get my hat back. He deposited it under a pile of balls in the hammock, hoping I suppose that I would not see it.

Moñito has been equally active. When the melee started he joined in and regardless of his small size, was in there with the big boys.
All together it was an exciting afternoon with hats and balls flying. I finally retired exhausted. They looked triumphant.

A hammock full of balls

I really was not going to write about Maniña today but seeing this recent photograph of him posing in the hammock alongside the plastic colored balls, reminded me that I hadn't mentioned this new addition to the games we have provided in the enclosures. Howler monkeys are slow moving people when in their natural environment in the forest. They are known to sleep the greater part of the day and the rest of it spent slowly munching leaves. But when in semi captivity they exhibit different behavior. Their food here is much more concentrated and available so less time is needed for obtaining food. They are much more active and seek opportunity for play. The ropes and walkways we provide are very much in use and the children display athleticism which is virtually unknown in the wild. Most games appear to be preparation for fight or flight. The pseudo war and aggressive noises we see and hear are all with that purpose. Recently the family of Lucio provided colored plastic balls and had the idea of placing them inside a hammock. Howler's have extremely sensitive color vision so the balls have been very attractive to them. This has proved to be a very successful game. The children love to launch themselves into a hammock full of balls then jump up and down until all the balls have fallen to the ground. Great fun for the monkeys but dismay for the poor helper that has to enter the enclosure many times a day to replace the balls. This has been such a successful play that we have installed hammocks and balls in all the enclosures and they love it.

To err is human, to forgive divine.

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

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

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

In the forest, danger lurks.

From the last posting, it is clear that danger lurks in the forest and that wild life can be a reservoir of diseases. Here in Venezuela, Yellow Fever is endemic among wild monkeys. Outbreaks of the disease sometimes explodes in the forest. Sometimes it is not clear what has caused the mortalities. This rainy season there were many deaths, strangely among large healthy looking Howler monkeys but clinical investigations failed to identify the cause. This could be just the old Yellow Fever with a modified strain or Dengue Fever. Perhaps a completely new assault is brewing in the forest. However, it is not only virus which is a danger. Many types of pathogenic parasite grow in water and in the soil. These are a danger to humans and monkeys. The whole range of zoonotic diseases exists in the forest.
Our facility borders on fairly deep forest. We are ever conscious of our closeness to nature and the possible dangers that lurk there.
Recently, we installed a sophisticated digital microscope system and equipped it with all the stains and samples to enable us to identify protozoa/ parasite infestation. We obtained the equipment from the 2K microscope manufacturing company in Germany. They also supplied us with a collection of sample parasite slides, to enable us to identify parasites.

We reported that Sophie returned to us from the forest as a sick child. Even though when she escaped into the forest, she had been in good health. Using the microscope, we were readily able to identify cysts of giardia lamblia, a parasite which is pathogenic and the probable cause of her sickness. Under veterinary guidance we were able, at once to commence treatment. The first results are in and Sophie is indicating very strong signs of recovery.
The danger of zoonotic disease cannot be overstated. Capturing wild monkeys and birds from the forest is not only immoral and wrong but also dangerous. Bringing an animal who may be a carrier of disease into a human environment is cavalier in the extreme, with the health of the individual concerned and their family. From there the disease can spread into the general population. The message is plain; leave these children where they belong, in the forest.

What we all knew now science confirms it

A detailed map highlighting the world's hotspots for emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) has been released.
It uses data spanning 65 years and shows the majority of these new diseases come from wildlife.
Scientists say conservation efforts that reduce conflicts between humans and animals could play a key role in limiting future outbreaks.
Writing in Nature, they said their map revealed that global anti-EID resources had been poorly allocated in the past.
Researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), and the US-based University of Georgia and Columbia University's Earth Institute analysed 335 emerging diseases from 1940 to 2004.
They then used computer models to see if the outbreaks correlated with human population density or changes, latitude, rainfall or wildlife biodiversity.
Finally, the data was plotted on to maps to reveal the "hotspots" around the globe.
Healthy environment
"Our analysis highlights the critical importance of conservation work," said co-author Dr Kate Jones, a research fellow for ZSL.
"Conserving areas rich in biodiversity from development may be an important means of preventing the emergence of new diseases."
The researchers found that 60% of EID events were caused by "non-human animal" sources.
They add that 71% of these outbreaks were "caused by pathogens with a wildlife source".

If we continue to ignore this important preventative measure, then human populations will continue to be at risk from pandemic diseases

Dr Peter Daszak,
Wildlife Trust
Among the examples listed by the team was the emergence of Nipah virus in Malaysia and the Sars outbreak in China.
Others included the H5N1 strain of bird flu, Ebola and West Nile virus.
The number of events that originated from wild animals had increased significantly over time, they warned.
"This supports the suggestion that zoonotic EIDs represents an increasing and very significant threat to global health," the paper's authors wrote.
They added that it also highlighted the need to understand the factors that lead to increased contact between wildlife and humans.
"We are crowding wildlife into ever smaller areas, and human population is increasing," explained Dr Marc Levy, a global change expert at Columbia University's Earth Institute.
"Where those two things meet, that is the recipe for something crossing over."
He added that the main sources were mammals that were most closely related to humans.
'Missing the point'
While some pathogens may be picked up while hunting or by accident, others - such as Nipah virus - are transmitted to humans from wild animals via livestock.
Because humans had not evolved resistance to these EIDS, the scientists said that the results could be "extraordinarily lethal".
The main hotspots were located in low latitude regions, like South Asia and South-East Asia, which were not the financial focus of global funds to prevent the spread of EIDs.

Bats 'likely source of Sars'

"The world's public health resources are misallocated," opined co-author Peter Daszak, executive director of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine at the US-based Wildlife Trust.
"Most are focused on richer countries that can afford surveillance, but most of the hotspots are in developing countries.
"If you look at the high-impact diseases of the future, we're missing the point."
However, Dr Dazak said that the maps were the first to offer a prediction of where the next new disease could emerge.
His colleague, Dr John Gittleman from the University of Georgia's Odum School of Ecology, described the data-set as a "seminal moment in how we study emerging diseases".
"Our study has shown that bringing ecological sciences and public health together can advance the field in a dramatic ways," he observed.
The researchers said that the priority should be to set up "smart surveillance" measures in the hotspots identified on the map.

The prodigal daughter returns.

Stop press photograph. Taken this morning in Sophie's garden.(Monday 18th February 2008).
I have already posted that on the first of February, Sophie was able to free herself into the wild forest, as a result of a large tree falling on her wire enclosure. We believed that this was a mixed blessing. We were sad that she had left us but glad that she should join her family in the wild.
Sophie was handed in to us four years ago as a tiny little girl. She lived here with Sussy until adulthood and then as a wife to Totto who finally released himself into the wild last November.
On the twelfth of this month, Sophie was spotted in a tall mango tree by the gatehouse to the farm. She was slow moving and showed little intention of coming down. Dennis, one of our occasional helpers, decided to climb the tree and investigate. He found that she was considerably debilitated and dehydrated. He carefully brought her down, when we were able to take a closer look.
Sophie had been in the peak of good health when she left after the storm. Now she was very sick. We presumed dehydration and at once started a program of treatment with physiological fluids. During this time she refused food. Over the next few days she has gradually started to respond and now is taking food and drink fairly normally. We are still waiting for the result of tests to determine whether there is any other underlying problem.
She is active and appears quite strong but lacks the teasing and mischievous manner that is usual with her. Clearly she still has some way to go before we can say she is healed. Her birthday was on the fourteenth, strange that she should return two days before her birthday.
One aspect of this situation worries me. Even though we have always fed her with substantial amounts of food from the forest, leaves, flowers nuts and berries etc, she has been unable to feed herself satisfactorily when free in the forest. This underlines yet again the tragedy of separating monkeys from their proper environment. They become unable to support themselves in what should be their natural habitat.

A book at bedtime

Lucio,Schatov and Moñito spend their day in Garden Lucio, There they have bamboo walkways, ropes and ladders and a hammock full of colored plastic balls. After a full and energetic day they are tired. At about five in the evening they return to our house for the night. They have not yet asked to stay in Casa Lucio overnight. Schatov sleeps in his own enclosure adjoining my quarters (he often pops in for a cuddle at bedtime). I know you will like this photograph, taken this evening. Moñito has just yawned after a full day playing in the sun. Lucio has just thrown out the cushion. Moñito will cuddle up against Lucio for the night. A few moments after this picture was taken, they were fast asleep. They are above the bookshelf in David's room. I call this picture, ‘a book at bedtime'. No wonder that they are so intelligent with so many books to read.

Crash, bang, wallop.

Last Friday we suffered a storm here at Cañaote with winds gusting at 25 miles per hour. Our metal roofs were bent back and then slammed forward with a noise like a rifle shot. The trees surrounding our compound swayed dangerously and many heavy boughs came crashing down. The following morning we discovered that one particular tree had thrown its bough across Sophie’s enclosure. There it left a gaping hole. Sophie was not in the enclosure. Instead she was in the trees above it. Firstly, she made her way to our house and then quickly to the enclosures of MonaLisa. She stayed near the house for the rest of the day. Towards evening she traveled across the farm to a tall Mammon tree where she stayed through the night. Next morning we went to encourage her to return to her house but she decided to go further into the forest. Sophie has been free before but always returned, by herself to her enclosure. This time she has not returned.
Sophie is in fine condition. She is muscular, with a beautiful shiny coat. She is in excellent health.
For those of you who have never visited our facility, you should know that it is situated in a heavily forested valley, alongside a small mountain. This is a natural habitat for Howler and Capuchin monkeys. There are hundreds of monkeys in the trees near this location.
Sophie will now seek a group to join. She will have no difficulty in finding a suitable family. We have long accustomed her to feeding on forest leaves and flowers. She will have no difficulty in finding food.
This is good news and bad. I am happy that she will go to find her own people. She was a local rescue and came from this area. I am sad that she is no longer with us. I have known her since she was a small 500 gram baby.

Maniña's friends are mainly monkeys.

Maniña is by far the largest monkey we have at Cañaote. People often discuss whether or not howler monkeys adopt habits or characteristics of their human friends. Maniña came to us from a very loving family and he is highly domesticated. I am told that he went out to meals in quality restaurants. He lived in a house not a cage with his human family and was treated as a member of the family. He is house trained with never a mistake. He will quite suddenly and without warning deliver a kiss smack on the lips. He loves to roll over and invites you to rub his tummy. This is unusual, howler generally do not like their underside to be touched. He likes to hold hands. Whilst some monkeys avoid human contact, Miss Billy for example, he actively seeks you out. He is never happier than when he is sitting on your shoulder. These are all learned activities. This of course makes him very pleasant to be with. He is a charming young monkey.

Maniña is very athletic and runs wild over the walkways in the enclosure. He is also great rope climber. He is in the peek of good health; His coat has a fine sheen. He has made the transition from little boy to young adult monkey very well. He plays hard every day with his friends who are mostly monkeys

That was the week that was.

Lucio, Schatov and Moñito continue to play in the 'Garden Lucio' during the day. The colored balls in the in the hammock have become a focus of the days play, Daniel, one of our occasional helpers, needs to put the balls back in the hammock several times a day. They get scattered everywhere during the vigorous play. Our picture shows Lucio on the edge of the hammock just waiting to pounce. This enclosure is well equipped with toys. In addition to the many bamboo walkways there are ladders, hoops and ropes to climb. Howlers love to play and hate boredom. You will remember that Lucio’s garden also has a very fine house. All these boys gather there around mid day for the afternoon rest. Breakfast is served at seven and the afternoon meal at twelve. Dinner is at four o’clock. Just before time for these children to come into our house for the night. Some one asked the other day, ‘why don’t they sleep in their beautiful house at night?’ They will when they want to. At present the garden and the house are very new to them. At some point they will regard this as home and will not want to be moved to our house in the evening. They will let me know when that time has arrived. In the meantime I have the pleasure of their company.

Dealing with grief

The first few days of a monkeys residence here at Canaote is always a sensitive time. The monkey is always confused and frightened. Often this is the first time that they will have seen another monkey apart from their mother. They associate the experience with loss. In addition they have lost humans who in most cases have been loving and supportive.
Inevitability the monkey experiences grief. This is often demonstrated by passing up and down on one path in any enclosure. The vocal sounds at this time are typical and do not very between howler monkeys. This approximates to (wa-oh) the oh sound being drawn out. This is a fair indication that some form of universal language exist between howler monkeys. This period of grief can vary in duration from a day to a week but rarely beyond that. This of course depends on the monkey’s previous experience. Those that grieve longest are those who come from a loving and supportive human family. Time is the great healer. We never leave a monkey to his misery. During this period he will have constant love and attention. It must be said that the human donor most often suffers more grief than the child. This grieving can be for an extended period, sometimes amounting to many months. This sense of loss is very real. We are very aware of the trauma of parting and we try to minimize the experience. Firstly we consider the monkey. If the monkey comes from a home where he has been in constant contact with a human, we try to duplicate that relationship. Often the monkey will be in the company of someone here twenty four hours a day and in particular at night. It is not unusual to find someone with a monkey on their shoulders as they go about the day’s chores. Clearly this is not a permanent arrangement and a suitable solution has to be found. Where possible we introduce the monkey to compatible companions. This selection has to be carefully done. Howlers have their likes and dislikes when it comes to choosing friends. A short period of trial and error is sometimes needed.
For the human state we offer this blog, which is updated several times a week. We encourage unlimited visiting and we are always available on the telephone and online with facilities like Windows Messenger, e-mail and Google talk. For those who are very sad we sometimes introduce other former owners to each other. This has been a great aid to getting through the grief. We somewhat lightly call this ‘Simian Samaritans’.
For this evenings photograph we have Moñito, who has only been with us since the weekend. Already he is spending part of his day with two other boys, although he is with me overnight. You see him here doing justice to a piece of Lechosa (Papaya). He never stops eating if given the chance. I have the impression that he wants to be a big monkey by tomorrow afternoon.

The news breaks. Moñito arrives.

It was breaking news because it all happened so quickly. A few days ago, I received mail from Schatov’s family in Caracas. A friend had found a young Howler on a building site. They were not exactly sure, at that time of his age or sex. What they did know was that he was very young, small and weak. He wore a harness, so he had either been abandoned or was a run away. The friend, who found him, of course fell in love with him and gave him a name. His name is Moñito. They decided that he would have a better future if he could live with other monkeys and on Saturday morning the 19th January 2008, they brought him to Cañaote. Something strange happens when people come in contact with young Howlers. They fall in love with them and can scarcely bare to part with them. We have seen so many people in tears when it came time to part with a monkey. I can identify with those who come under their spell. I did myself, many years ago. Graciela and Erika, the family of Schatov, accompanied Carlos and Patricia who found Moñito. They spent many hours here to be sure that Moñito settled down with the other monkeys. These were fun hours because Moñito at once began to interact with Schatov and Lucio. Although Moñito is small he is no ones push over. They had some great games that morning. My immediate plan is that he will spend the late evenings in the house with Me, Lucio and Schatov but will spend his days in the outside enclosure, ‘Lucio’s Garden’. He needs exercise and sunshine and he will certainly get it here.

Stop Press. Hold the front page.

News story about to break. Keep in touch.

Miss Billy loves the sun.

Miss Billy was five and a half years old when she came to us. She was called Billy until I told the former ‘owner’ that he was a girl. She had been kept in a very small cage. Ignored and completely and devoid of love and affection. Additionally she had very severe rickets, caused principally by inappropriate diet. Her spine and arms and legs were all curved and brittle. We have treated her rickets with calcium and sunshine. She now shares a large enclosure with five other monkeys. She is presently the only female in that group. Her rickets has improved and her general health. She is by no means completely cured but she has made great strides. She does not allow her infirmities to affect her enjoyment. She climbs ropes and uses the bamboo walkways to the full. She still very withdrawn and untrusting but we are getting there.

Eslabon Daddy's boy

Eslabon is a charming fellow and he is one and a half years old. When we needed a sympathetic big brother for little Tutti, we chose Eslabon. He has been the perfect friend for Tutti. Some months ago when we opened the big new enclosure, we needed someone to sleep with Tutti, he could not sleep there alone. Eslabon and Tutti cuddled up together at night for warmth and company. Somewhat later we introduced Miss Billy to the family. She is very introspective but nevertheless she joins in the bedtime cuddle. Recently Maniña joined the group.

Whenever I enter their garden, Eslabon immediately jumps on my lap and stays there for as long as I let him. He is a real softy. He wants affection. I know he would like to come over to the house with me but that way he will never grow into a monkey.

Eslabon arrived here in August last year. His family brought him, that all. It would be nice if they called occasionally, because he is a very special person.

Schatov and Lucio are good pals.

Schatov is two and a half years old and he is fun. During the last year he has grown and now sports a credible beard. In spite of a lot of macho behavior he succeeds in being a delightful monkey to be with. When he macho gnaws your hand it is with gentleness, never breaking the skin. He is very athletic and quick moving. He has developed powerful muscles in both his arms and legs. Even though he is now a big monkey he still loves being picked up and given a cuddle.
Lucio has a house and new enclosure but Lucio does not like being there alone. We wanted to find a friend to share this garden with during the day. It had to be a monkey with a friendly disposition and we at once thought of Schatov.
He has been sharing the Lucio enclosure during the day for a week now. The pair of them fight together for hours at a time. But no one gets hurt. It is just a great game. But come late afternoon Schatov is asking to return to his own enclosure. Lala is waiting for him. What Lala wants Lala gets or something like that.

Sorry no update

We are sorry that there has been no new Forget me not since the beginning of the year. We understand that Movestar have been upgrading their facilities and thus we have had no service. The service has now been restored and we have a post for you ready for later today.