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.