Maintaining Declining Monkey and Ape Populations in Good Health

Monkeys and apes are vulnerable to many of the same diseases that affect humans - such as hepatitis B and C, turberculosis, infections caused by bacteria such as salmonella, parasites, cataract, arthritis, cancer to name but a few.

Given the fact that populations in the wild are ever diminishing and human habitats are ever encroaching on the natural habitat of monkeys and apes, it is very important for non-profit groups operating in the field to receive all the veterinary medical help they can get.

Access to veterinary supplies is crucial to help these organizations prevent epidemics not only among monkeys and apes but also to stop diseases from potentially spreading to neighboring human populations.

However funds are always scarce, this is why the existence of VETS is great news to many non-profit organizations working with non-human primates.
The non-profit Project VETS (Veterinary supplies) was started in 2009 by Dr Candy Sayles to help non-profit organizations worldwide.  This organization gathers donations of veterinary equipment and medications.  For more information, you can read a report on the American Veterinary Medical Association website.

For information on zoonotic diseases contracted from primates, refer to "Zoonoses acquired from Pet Primates" on the Primate Info Net website.


Below an a BBC video showing veterinary and psychological care for an orphaned gorilla.

It's All About Friends Helping Friends

There are many theories that attempt to explain the origins of cooperation in humans.  I am no expert, so I will leave that subject alone.  On the other hand, I am always encouraged when I see examples of altruism, cooperation and fairness in the "animal" world (as if humans were not animals themselves).

So, for this posting, I gathered such examples of cooperation between various species of monkeys and great apes.  The end of year celebrations are soon upon us and I thought this subject would be appropriate for the season.  I wish they give you hope and a renewed commitment to protecting our planet and its many inhabitants.


Capuchin Monkeys - Cooperation and Fairness



Chimpanzees Cooperating for Food


Chimpanzees Working Together


Bonobos Cooperation Over Food


Monkey Intelligence: Japanese Macaque Trick Others To Get More Grooming

Kansas City Neighborhood Goes Ape

On October 19, a 21 year old, 300 pound female chimpanzee named Sueko escaped from the truck she was left in by her owner, and terrorized a Kansas City neighborhood.
This lady chimp who apparently lacks in manners, broke a police car windshield, laughed at people and even gave the bird to a policeman.  This was not her first brush with the law, but this may be her last.
After being tranquilized she was brought to Monkey Island, where the director, Randy Wisthoff, said he  hopes to turn her back into an ape again.

Should we blame the chimp for causing havoc and wanting to paint the town red while she's enjoying a moment of freedom?  Absolutely not. Her owner is to blame.  Not only is he endangering the life of humans, but also that of the very creature he adopted and loves.  However hard this may be, the best thing for Sueko would be to live in a sanctuary, where her owner can visit regularly.

As most people should know, the law prohibits individuals in the United States from owning apes and monkeys as pets.  There are very good reasons for this.  Chimpanzees do not make good pets.  Oh, but they're so cute and funny!  True, they are, but once they reach the age of 6 or 7 years old, chimpanzees are already much stronger than a grown man.  As highly evolved beings, chimpanzees also have a mind of their own; they are highly emotional and do not take orders very well.  It is unfair to expect a chimpanzee to behave like a human being.  The rules in place in chimpanzee society are very different from those that apply in ours.


For more details on this story, you can view a video at newsy.com and read Zoo's Goal: Return Sue to being a Chimp from kmbc.com

Primate Drawing Contest - The Best Drawings

Thank you to all who submitted their drawings to celebrate primates.
All the drawings submitted are absolutely fabulous!
All these drawings are winners and I had to go back and modify a little the list of prizes in order to accommodate all them.
I really love the fact that all these monkeys look really happy and smile...

Most detailed and true to life drawing prizes go to:  
Hailey, Elana, Cynthia, Loris and Celio.

Hailey's drawing depicts three of the four great apes:  chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan.  The fourth great ape missing from this drawing is the bonobo.  I love the expression on the face of each of these great apes.  Great work Hailey!

Cynthia's drawing is just exploding with colors and the monkey in the center looks like a very happy individual.  He lives in a very green and sunny environment and his eyes are just beaming.  Beautiful work, Cynthia!

Elana's drawing is also very colorful.  Her monkey is happy and seems to enjoy the large sun over his head. Very nice drawing indeed, Elana!

Loris's monkey lives in an exotic place with very nice palm trees and a very hot sun!  He seems to be enjoying hanging from a branch - a very athletic monkey.  Very nice work, Loris!

Celio's monkey is also hanging from a branch (or is it from the laundry line in the garden?)  He has a big smile on his face and lives in a very interesting place where trees are multicolor.  This is a really cool drawing, Celio!


Most original interpretation monkey drawing prizes go to: 
Sydneeanne, Evan Maori, Olivia

I love this large monkey face that takes the whole page.  This monkey looks a little surprised and the sun has a beautiful smile.  Very nice drawing Sydneeanne!

That's a very interesting monkey!  I love the hair on his head and his goofy way of walking.  Very creative monkey and interesting green background.  Very cool drawing, Evan Maori!

This free form monkey drawing is so cute!  The monkey has a big smile and big ears!  Very nice work Olivia!

My Visit with the Spider Monkeys

My husband and I just returned from Mexico where we spent a week in the Yucatan jungle playing with orphan spider monkeys at a sanctuary in Riviera Maya called "The Jungle Place".
The sanctuary is home to seventeen spider monkeys, all rescued and raised with love by founders Heidi and Joel.  This couple's enthusiasm and passion for spider monkeys is contagious and one cannot spend time with them without soon becoming their friends.
Spider monkeys are slender with long limbs, small faces, beautiful brown or grey/blue eyes and a long and strong prehensile tail that helps them keep their balance as they move from branch to branch in the canopy of the rain forest where they live.  Their coarse fur varies in color from gold brown to red to dark brown or black.  Some have a white patch on their belly.  They have four fingers on their hands (the thumb is just a tiny stump) but they do have a thumb on their feet.  Males and females do not differ much in size (average weight is 13-20 pounds and height is 12-24 inches).  Males, however, are more aggressive and have bigger canines than females.
The diet of a spider monkey includes mostly fruit, some seeds and a variety of foliage and flowers.

The spider monkeys at "The Jungle Place" are fed peanut butter on bread in the morning for a healthy dose of protein, a large variety of fresh fruit and vegetables during the day, oatmeal in the afternoon and again fruit and vegetables.  The two babies, Bali and Nicki get a bottle with baby formula and oatmeal before bed and there is no fooling them - they have a built-in clock and cry if the bottle is a few minutes late.

(Picture: Maya, a 4 1/2 year old female sort of "adopted" me and climbed over me any chance she got).

Upon reaching maturity, females leave their native group and build a new life.  They do choose their mating partners and can only give birth to one offspring every 4 years, as babies remain dependent on their mothers for about 3 years. 
At "The Jungle Place", Lady, a respectable spider monkey, gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby named "Luna", who is now 4 years old.  Luna's father is the dominant male of the group so, by association, Lady became first in rank and their daughter has been receiving all the respect due to the offspring of a high ranking couple.
Each spider monkey in the group has a story and a very distinct personality.  My friend Maya is very cuddly.  She loves interacting with humans.  Ischelle likes to lie down on men with a big belly - she must find it comforting.  Nena came to my rescue by sitting on my feet when Luna tried to pull my shoes off.  It was very interesting to see how with just one look and one gesture (sitting on my feet), Nena told Luna (whom she helped raise) to cut it out.   Teva seemed a little more shy, but she sure liked to hold hands.
Spider monkeys (like other primates) have many ways to communicate.  Vocalization is an easily identifiable way for humans to notice communication between group members.  When I was holding Maya in my arms, she was looking straight into my eyes and started making "ah...ah...ah" throat noises, which apparently means: "I feel comfortable with you".  Then there is a delightful chirpy sound meaning that a spider monkey is satisfied.  In the wild, spider monkeys use various calls, each with a specific function, such as to warn the group about predators, to lead the group to a feeding place, to avoid confrontation or to greet each other.
Then there is also silent communication that humans may or may not notice.  For instance, I witnessed an altercation between Luna and Maya.  Both started biting each other and tumbling on the ground.  Soon, Nena, Teva and Ischelle got in the mix.  Luna swiftly stepped away while Maya and Ischelle were still in a ball.  They were about to roll on the ground and continue the fight, but one look at each other and the fight stopped.  Their faces seemed to indicate "Wait a minute, you're not Luna.  I have no reason to fight with you.  We're friends!"  Peace was restored in a few seconds.  How amazing!
According to Dr Alexandro Estrada, senior research scientist at Los Tuxtlas: "Howler and spider monkeys of southern Mexico have not escaped the impact of human activity upon their habitats. It is estimated that the original distribution of tropical rainforests in southern Mexico has been reduced to about 30%. This has resulted in the local extinction of populations of howler and spider monkeys in many parts of southern Mexico."  (An Interview with Dr Alexandro Estrada, Mongabay News).
Deforestation is one cause for the disappearance of spider monkeys, illegal poaching is another one.  Mothers are killed and babies captured for the illegal pet trade.  Most of the monkeys at "The Jungle Place" are orphans, victims of the illegal pet trade. 

(Picture: The babies - Nicki sitting next to Bali's whose leg we can see).

(Picture: Rebecca was a mistreated pet, starving to death when she was rescued and brought to The Jungle Place).

DRAWING CONTEST FOR PRIMATE DAY 2010

School teachers!  Help us raise awareness on the plight of the great apes & monkey species endangered due to poaching, deforestation & illegal pet trade.

Contest open to: children 5 to 10 years of age

Dates: September 1 through September 30

1^st Prize: Framed Bee picture

2^nd Prize: Plush monkey

3^rd Prize: Book

Rules:  Drawings must be 8.5 x 11 in size and represent a monkey or great ape.

Indicate child’s first name, age at bottom of drawing.

Indicate name and address of school also at bottom of drawing.

The best 10 submitted drawings will be featured on the SCOOPONPRIMATES blog.

Prizes will be awarded on October 15 and sent to the school teacher.

Email your drawing to: sylnande@ymail.com

September 1 is International Primate Day

As I did last year, I want to celebrate International Primate Day, this September 1 and invite you to do the same.

Primates come in a lot of shapes and forms.  They live in many diverse countries and form societies with very specific rules.

When I mention to people that I spend my weekends caring for primates, I usually get two reactions: a smile or a grimace; yet everyone does ask questions and seems genuinely intrigued.  
I find it fascinating that most humans seem to be divided into those who respect primates and those who dislike them.  Seeing ourselves in primates can be a source of awe and wonder or a nasty reminder that we may not be as special as we would like to be.

International Primate Day is about awareness on the sad plight of a lot of primates in the world.
According to the IUCN report (2008-2010), there are 25 primate species currently on the brink of extinction - these include lemurs, gibbons, gorillas, bonobos, guenons and of course orangutans.

The major causes of primates disappearance are of human origin: deforestation, poaching and illegal lab animals and pet trade.

It is our duty to at least attempt to put a stop to it.
As advocates, we can educate children about these beautiful, intelligent, highly social animals.
In our daily life, we can strive to live greener and as Citizens of the World, we can influence companies to trade fairly, respect the environment and people in which they operate and we can influence legislators and governments around the world to take positive actions toward primate protection.

For my part, I would like to spread the word about primates and have children learn about them.
This is why, I am calling all school teachers to encourage their pupils to participate in a drawing contest.

Primate Enrichment

Enrichment can be defined as any activity that helps an individual to live a better life.  Introducing your children to fine books, bringing them to the theatre, encouraging their artistic endeavours or to think on their own to solve practical problems are great ways to enrich their lives and develop their brains.

In the wild, animals find themselves in many situations that require them to adapt and find solutions to daily life problems.  In order to eat more termites, a chimpanzee somewhere once came up with the idea of delicately introducing a twig in a termite mound to collect more with less effort.  This required an ability to observe the object of desire, state a problem clearly, come to a conclusion on how best to solve the problem at hand and thereby use what was readily available in the environment to reach the ultimate goal.
All this thinking makes a chimp's life much richer than if all he had to do was wait for his daily platter of termites to be served.

Coming up with enrichment ideas to keep animals in enclosures busy and give them a thrill is not an easy task.
One has to understand how the animals perceive the world around them and what appeals to them.
For most, food is a great motivator and making access to food challenging is not only enrichment for the primates but also for the humans who try to come up with different ideas on a regular basis.

PVC pipes (in which holes have been drilled) tied up to branches are an easy contraption to make.  Food rewards can be placed in the pipes and monkeys will usually have a good time climbing up and reaching inside with their slender fingers.

Boxes filled with shredded paper with a few treats inside are OK but not very challenging.  As a matter of fact the monkeys I deal with are so used to them that they eat the treats in less than a minute.
To make it more fun, one can hide a paper bag filled with shredded papers, inside a box which is itself inside another box.  Following the same principle, you can lay a large wooden tray with wood shavings and some treats inside that primates will have to find by combing through the wood shavings.

Hiding food around the enclosure provides for exercise - mostly physical because monkeys are very good at observing people and if they see you hide the items, they remember very well where each of them is.

Hanging socks with stuff in them, such as aromatic herbs and a couple of gummy worms.  Some of my spider monkey friends like to rub their entire body with lavender, or cherry scented socks.  Garlic can be a great hit too!

Wooden blocks with holes filled with peanut butter, mashed potatoes or any other mushy food seem to be a favorite of a few baboon acquaintances of mine.  One of them likes it so much that he usually tries to embrace the wood block when someone tries to untie it to clean it up.
Big sturdy colored plastic balls can be hung inside or outside the enclosure as well.

I recently bought a piece of faux-fur and hooked it up to the enclosure of my best baboon friend.  I sprinkled crushed nuts and a little bit of sugared water with jelly to make them stick.  This provided my friend with a good few hours of "grooming".  Since she is alone in her cage, I thought it might be good for her.

Sturdy plastic toys for toddlers are great - the capuchin monkeys seem to have endless hours of entertainment with the toys they have.  They can throw them around, climb on them, bite them, shake them and anything else they want.  These toys never break.

Balls with several holes and filled with food can be thrown around the enclosures.  The food they contain will fall out, leaving a big smile on your monkey friends' faces.

If you have any ideas you would like to share about enrichment, please feel free to comment on my page or email me sylnande@ymail.com.

Chimps Hooked on Videos

A new study published by St Andrews University reveals that chimpanzees (who are apes, not monkeys) can learn from watching videos.
Chimps who were shown a video of a trained chimp making a rake-like tool to grab food outside of its enclosure, were able to create a similar tool to grab their own food reward.
The video tutorial proved that chimps are able to learn in a social context, from one another.
However, those who watched the tutorial continued to build a long rake-like tool even when the grape outside their enclosure did not require a long twig.  Those who did not watch the video were more successful at grabbing the closer piece of fruit.  This demonstrates that social learning can, to some extent, repress creativity.
Here is a link to the full article "Chimps learn from watching videos".

"The Last Stand of the Gorilla" - Share this post. Raise awareness.

According to this report from UNEP, gorillas are more than ever endangered and could become extinct within the next 15 years.

It is everyone's responsibility to raise awareness about this issue and lobby for ethical business practices that will lead to economic growth in the DRC as well as in Rwanda thereby reducing poverty and providing the human population there alternatives to poaching and warfare.

For those interested, the complete UNEP report is available on-line.

How Giant African Snails Will Rescue Cross River Gorillas

Giant African snail farms are being considered as a solution to curb down the bushmeat trade that continuously decimate the gorilla population at the border of Nigeria and Cameroon.
What people need is an easy source of protein that will discourage them from pursuing the illegal trade of primate meat.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been working closely with the Nigerian government to do just that - give local population access to a sustainable source of protein.

The International Development Research Centre has led research projects in Nigeria since the late 1990s in order to combat malnutrition in a population deprived of the bare necessities and for whom dairy products are not commonly available.  Their findings concluded that the giant African snail was a natural local resource that would address population needs through systematic farming.
Nutrition experts say that giant African snails are made of 15% protein, 2.4% fat and 80% water.  They are also very rich in iron as well as calcium, magnesium and vitamin A, which makes them a very healthy choice, if not the tastiest.
Farming is achieved through the rearing of snails in used tires and cement block enclosures with about 100 snails per square meter.  Snails are usually fed fresh papaya and cassava leaves.

Snail farming could also prove to be more lucrative than bushmeat and thereby help save the endangered gorillas living in Nigeria.  "Cross-River gorillas depend on law enforcement and conservation efforts to survive" says Andrew Dunn, WCS's Nigeria country Director.

Now, if you feel so inclined, you could try the recipe published in The Guardian newspaper culinary blog and let me know how that was.

For more information, read the following:
Bushmeat poachers learn snail farming - United Press International article published on April 29, 2010.

Snails Save the Day - Wildlife Conservation Society

USDA article on snail farming and techniques.

Not So Special After All

I just finished reading Frans De Waal's "The Age of Empathy" and just recently listened to a lecture by Dr Robin Murphy entitled "Does Rule Making Make Us Human?"

De Waal is a primatologist of world fame, Robin is a Darwinian psychologist.
One studies primates, the other studies rats.  Both relate stories of animals showing real signs of empathy - such as sharing food, returning grooming, trying to rescue a fellow.

Rats refusing to press a lever that would release food if the consequence is a fellow rat being shocked - Robin relates the story of a rat depriving himself of food for several days in order to avoid inflicting pain to his friend.

De Waal argues that empathy is an innate ability that many animals have.  Empathy, he argues, implies having a sense of who we are and he relates experiments involving dolphins and primates able to recognize themselves in a mirror.  If a primate mother dies, other females take care of her orphan.  He even mentions cross-species adoptions that have been witnessed in several zoos across the globe - like a tigress nursing piglets.  He explains these unusual behaviors as "motivational autonomy".  He adds that some psychologists deem unusual behaviors, such as cross-species adoption, as "mistakes" because the behavior exhibited does not fulfill its natural function (much like sex for fun instead of reproduction, or a bengal tigress nursing piglets instead of eating them).  De Waal argues that "mammals have been endowed with powerful impulses to take care of vulnerable young, so that the tigress is only doing what comes naturally to her.  Psychologically speaking, she is not mistaken at all."

Empathy, therefore, is an innate ability shared by many species and manifested in many different ways, like a female bonobo picking up a bird, spreading its wings to let it fly; or a female elephant leading her blind elephant friend to where she can be safe and find food.

In his lecture, Robin relates experiments on rats that clearly demonstrate rats are indeed able to learn rules and apply them, much like human children learn rules when they acquire language skills.
The rules the rats learned were patterns that yielded different results, for instance sounds ABA would release food, but BBA would not.  The rats were then submitted to different sounds C and D, and were able to use the pattern they had learned to release food (i.e. CCD).  The rules were then made more complicated and again the rats managed to learn and use them in novel circumstances.

What was demonstrated was that rule learning does not make us human and that there seems to be some type of continuity between species.

What did I learn?  That science is evolving and that it is slowly but surely lifting the veil of delusion that humans comfort themselves with.  We are special, but maybe not as special as we would like to think!

Sharing - Natural Instinct or Learned Behavior? Bonobos Like to Share Their Grub

Bonobos at the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary for orphaned bonobos in the DRC were part of a recent study led by Dr. Hare of Duke University (NC) and Suzy Kwetuenda from the sanctuary.
In this study, a bonobo was given access to food, while another was in an adjacent room. The bonobo with access to the food had two choices: eat the food alone or open the door and let the other bonobo join in to share the food.  Test subjects preferred to voluntarily open the door and share their food.

Chimpanzees (and some humans I know) would rather stuff their faces than share with a friend.

In his book entitled "Our Inner Ape", Franz De Waal relates an experiment he led.  He introduced two juvenile rhesus macaques (not a species known for peace making skills) among stumptail monkeys for five months. During their stay with the stumptail monkeys, the two rhesus monkeys learned to engage in reconciliation and grooming.  At the end of the experiment, these two juveniles continued to be more prone to reconciliation than regular rhesus monkeys who never spent any time with stumptail monkeys.
De Waal concludes: "This experiment showed that peacemaking is an acquired social skill rather than an instinct."

If peacemaking can be learned, can the act of sharing derive from the social context in which one is raised?
If so, could it be that the way bonobo society is structured influence how juveniles are raised and how they relate to one another?
The act of sharing certainly implies awareness of another individual's needs.
It also implies an awareness of time if, as indicated at the end of the article published in Science News (link below), bonobos share to obtain favors later on -  i.e. individuals know they might need their friend's help in the future.
Can we then talk about empathy?  Or is the act of sharing driven by shelfishness?


Buddy, can you spare a banana? - Science daily

Deciphering the language of monkeys and apes

You most likely have come across apes using some form of language that they learned from humans. Koko communicates with a set of symbols.  Washoe, Nim and other chimps were taught sign language.
Scientists are still finding evidence that monkeys and apes in the wild are using different calls to identify various things.  The howler monkeys (see video link below) announce themselves with a loud scream to dissuade anybody who might even think about going into their territory.  Most monkeys have alarm sounds they use to warn the rest of the troup when a predator is nearby, so everyone can run to safety.
Yet, humans have not been able to crack the code that would allow our species to communicate with other primates.  Is it because primates lack a language as such?
In an article published in the NY Times on January 12, St Andrews University (Scotland) Dr Klaus Zuberbühler confirms that monkeys have specific sounds for specific situations or predators.  Campbell's monkeys in Ivory Coast have even been observed to add suffixes or prefixes to change the meaning of calls.  Baboons are able to recognize the sequence in which sounds are heard and attach a different meaning to them based on such order.
However, it seems (as of now anyway) that primates may lack the ability to really communicate (by adding more information such as the distance of a predator to their location) because of wiring in their brains, according to Marc D. Hauser, animal communication expert at Harvard.

Deciphering the Chatter of Monkeys and Chimps - New York Times - January 12, 2010

Howler monkeys sounds - National Geographic

Vervet monkey alarm call

Study of capuchin monkey alarm calls