An evening at home with Lucio, Moñito and Schatov.

Top left is of course Schatov and this is now my favorite picture of him. Top left is Lucio, hansom as ever and always embarrassingly full of kisses. Then bottom is Moñito, a very sweet and loving person.
Yes there have been some trist this week. Schatov was very much in love with Chippy, he really did care for her. But time heals everything, both for them and for us. He has now reconciled himself to the fact that she will not return and is now his old playfully self.

Our appeal for help with construction of the concrete floor has yielded some help and we are very grateful for that. Keep thinking about how you can assist the children of Canaote. Someone suggested that we should allow adoption and support that way. What do you think? Tell me.

Cement 2.

I have carefully measured the area of land that we need to cover and included a factor for the sensible depth of cement. I have miscalculated. This is going to be a big job. We will need 180 sacks of cement to complete the task. At the official rate for the dollar and at todays price per sack, this amounts to US$ 1500. I have not included any factor for the labor needed to do this job.If we call it US$2000 for the complete task.
That is more than I can contribute. If you can help, you will be doing something significant for the comfort and health of our children.

Cement.

This year the rains have been exceptionally heavy. All our enclosures have earth floors. When the rains are heavy, these floors become very muddy. This has become unpleasant both for the monkeys and the staff serving them, although of course the monkeys can use the bamboo walkways. Plastic sheeting has been erected at strategic areas, for example over feeding, and sleeping areas. But this is only a temporary solution. The real answer is to cement over these floors. From the photograph you can see that we have applied cement under 'Casa Lucio'. This has been experimental. First a bed of tar and then the cement on top. This has other benefits. Nematodes, parasites that live in the soil, are repressed. The possibility of the monkeys becoming infected with these natural forest parasite is considerably reduced if not eliminated. There remains only one obstacle, we will need 100 sacks of cement. You are all aware that our enclosures are large. If we are to carry out this task we will need some help. If you are able to make a contribution to the cementing either use the PayPal 'Donate' button, or tell me and I will give you a bank account for deposit,or just bring the cement. We don't often ask you for help but this one is beyond my meager pension from Her Majesty's Government.

What was to be…isn’t

At the middle of the week, the human family of Chippy came for a first visit after her arrival here. In the intervening month, she had settled down to the routine of life with other monkeys and she had gained weight. In fact she had gone a stage further and had formed a special relationship with Schatov. He was her constant and solicitous companion. On several occasions we saw them making love. Our photograph was taken at that time and was to represent the success of her integration with people of her own kind. (The photograph has been deliberately clipped).
Early in the morning of Friday July 25th, 2008 and without any warning her human family arrived and collected her. Taking her back to the human home in San Carlos, Cojedes. The reason given, among the tears was that her absence was causing the ill health of members of her human family. I am not going to dwell on the cruelty this represents. For the first time this adult female monkey had friends and a relationship with people of her own kind. She was able to feel the wind and rain on her face and breathe the forest air. We have known Chippy for many years because she has been brought here for visits on a couple of occasions. We regard it as a tragedy that she has now been denied her life with her own kind, for the worst of all selfish reasons. Schatov has spent two days searching for her.

Who is this?

We are deeply into our mango season and that means visitors from the forest. There are some 600 mature mango trees on this property. The wild monkeys come to our compound seeking mature mango fruit. But also get involved with our residents. Early in the season we had unwelcome Capuchin visitors that attacked and injured Pancho. I reported that in an earlier post.
Yesterday was a different story. We had a visit from a young adult Howler. He has been good mannered, centering his interest above the enclosure of MonaLisa, Emma and Nancy. He obviously has an eye for the girls. He is young and very hansom. Unfortunately our photograph does not really do him justice. The telephoto ability of small digital cameras is not good. He remained in a tree above their enclosure overnight, joining in the evening and early morning chorus. This is a recurring phenomenon. Often we get a male and alongside him a small female visitor. I have the impression that it has been the same monkey for a few years now although I do not recognize our recent visitor. He is a new comer.
I would like to welcome him but my fears about transmitted disease from the forest prevent me from feeding him or encouraging him.

Now the meal is finished lets get the washing up out of the way.

Yes it is Chilin and Eric. You saw pictures of them just after they had arrived, a few months ago. In this time they have both grown considerably. Both have great appetites and both of them play vigorously all day. They have their own enclosure adjoining the girls, MonaLisa, Emma and Nancy. There is a lot of interaction. That is Chilin on the left and Erik in the solo picture.

.......and then the rains came down.

During the last 24 hours we have had exceptionally high rainfall. This has caused minor flooding in various areas occupied by our monkeys. Our pictures tell the story. Capuchin monkeys love water and the whole situation, for them has been great fun. Our pictures show in the foreground, Chicatin with a lot of water behind him. Our second picture shows Pancho in the background, having a great time playing with the water.


D

Surprised by Joy.

This blog is about monkeys, not about me. Nevertheless, it is relevant to describe the effect that caring for the children has on me. On the downside the work severely limits my movements. I cannot travel more than a day away from Canaote. It demands a disciplined organization of my day. This discipline is shaped by the timetable of the monkey's day.
At 7.30. Clean and disinfect the eating areas and collect the dishes of yesterday's food, milk and water. Scrub the plates, Prepare breakfast and milk and distribute it. Then provide fresh water. Examine each of the sleeping areas to ensure that the bedding is clean and also insect free. Setup each of the enclosures so that all toys are available. (At the moment that means replace all the small colored balls in the hammocks). Walk around all the bamboo walkways with a disinfectant spray and cloth. Clean up and disinfect the ground areas where the monkeys have defecated. Prepare the evening meal. At 3.30PM distribute the meal.

After the morning chores, we spend quality time with all the monkeys. We play with them but at the same time we watch them closely, never forgetting that we are on the edge of deep forest and are possibly subject to all the dangers of the forest. We look for any change in behavior, for instance if a monkey is usually boisterous and playful but today is quiet. We look at their gums for any sign of anaemia. We take note of the quality of their coats, and whether it has its normal health sheen. Monkeys are subject to parasitic infections. We routinely examine the faeces with our own microscope as a preliminary safeguard against the infections of the forest. This awareness and the incumbent care are the price we pay for providing the children with as near natural environment as we possibly can.

At the time of writing we have fourteen monkeys in our care. I would love to invite qualified helpers to aid our work, but at the moment we do not have the funds for building two appropriate dwellings for them. Even so, in time the Lord will provide.

This is my day, every day. I willingly accept the burden and the challenge that this gives me. This is my mission and my joy, to care for these wonderful creatures created by our Maker.

An evening with Maniña.

Photographic opportunities in the wet season are difficult to find. But this evening we had a dry spell just before the heavy rain started. I particularly liked these pictures of Maniña because they show his beautiful coat and his typical expression. By the way he is eating dog biscuits, he loves the crunchy ones. I have no need to tell you how much we love him. He is a great character, a little bit mischievous but all in fun. He returns all the love that is given to him with loads of kisses. The other person you can see in the background is Maniña's little friend Tutti. We also have a solo picture of Tutti. Maniña and Tutti are rarely apart.

MonaLisa Moves in.

Since Schatov, Lucio and Moñito have moved house, they are now permanently resident with Chippy in Garden Lucio, Schatov's former night dwelling has become free. You may know that this enclosure directly abuts the enclosure of MonaLisa. There is a small doorway that connects the two. The original idea was that this whole area would be a contiguous house and garden. Now we are able to go back to that scheme and MonaLisa, Emma and Nancy have moved into this space. You can see in our photograph, MonaLisa (left)and Nancy sitting in front of their small house. In this rainy weather it is more comfortable to be inside. The three girls love this change of venue and are using all the play things, ropes, hammock etc that are available.

Chippy settles in.

Just as a human child, starting a new school, a monkey must learn to accept and be accepted by new friends. Chippy has spent all her life among humans so it is not surprising that she experiences a little difficulty in adapting. She is used to sleeping in a bed with humans, now she sleeps in a warm monkey house with three other monkeys. She is used to being hand fed, now we want her to share the communal table of food with the others. These are seemingly trivial things but to a little lady they are big. Naturally we give her special support during this time. We continue to hand feed her and we spend a lot of quality time with her. She is intelligent and adaptable. She has already made a special monkey friend. Schatov, makes no secret of his admiration for her. Whilst Lucio and Moñito were at first anti, now they just keep out out of her way. She is winning them over.

All three of our pictures are of Chippy this morning. They are expressive and we were undecided which was best so we show all three.

No room at the Inn.

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

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

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

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

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

If you have ideas about this please write to me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our Photograph is Chiquitin taken this morning.

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

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

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

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

Chippy looks for new friends.

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

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

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

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

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

Back to school

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

A new resident and a RED FACE

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

The family who rescued him wrote to me

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

An exciting Sunday .

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

Schatov's birthday party

The party began at four in the afternoon with carriages at six prompt. Schatov stood at the doorway to greet his guests as they arrived. Only a small fleck of cream at the corner of his mouth betrayed the fact that he had already snitched a bit of the birthday cream cake with strawberries. As the guests arrived he shook them warmly by the hand. First to arrive was Tutti; always first in the queue when there is grub about. He roughly pushed Miss Billy aside in his rush to the table with the cake and cucumber sandwiches. Lucio pressed something into Schatov’s hand as he entered and muttered,’ that is for you dear boy’, it seemed to be something wet and sticky. It could have been a sandwich left over from the last party. Eslabon and MonaLisa arrived together with Nancy and Emma not far behind. Maniña arrived very grandly in his own transport. Being the largest monkey at the party he caused quite a lot of titter, (mainly the young ones, Moñito and Chilin and Erik, who were not supposed to be at the party, adults only), as he strode down to the food and drink table. Sophie sang 'Monkeys gather lilacs in the spring again', whilst Lucio rudely pulled faces and put his hands over his ears. (Monkeys can be cruel.)
Naturally, as is the custom at these events, Schatov amazed everyone with his conjuring tricks. The rabbits he produced from his hat escaped and attacked the cake and this caused a lot of confusion as everyone tried to catch them and save the cake.
With the help of the rabbits, soon all the food was gone and after one more song from Sophie it was time to go home.
‘Wonderful party old chap’, said Maniña as he left the party. The MonaLisa said, ‘you don’t look a day older, how do you do it?’
So another year has gone by and Schatov gracefully said goodnight to his guests and thanked them for coming. ‘Please come again next year’ he said to each one as they headed for home.

In our photo, Schatov shares his cake with Lucio and Moñito.

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.