Primate Update E-Newsletter, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Part 1

PPS PRIMATES in the SPOTLIGHT

We mourn the passing of our beloved Juas

Juas passed away on the evening of January 26, 2011. At 16 years old, Juas was the oldest Cotton Top Tamarin (a critically endangered species) in residence at Pacific Primate Sanctuary. He was born in a laboratory, and spent the first 3 years of his life in a small, barren cage. When he arrived here in 1997, we discovered that Juas was missing all the toes on his right foot. He was severely traumatized. To begin the rehabilitation process, he was paired with Trista, another Cotton Top Tamarin from a laboratory.

They were introduced into an outdoor enclosure. At first, it was difficult for Juas to leap from branch to branch. He also did not bond with Trista immediately. Over time, as Juas healed and grew strong, he became a masterful “outdoor” monkey and a wonderful mate to Trista. They slept cuddled together, groomed each other, foraged, raised a family, and grew old and content together. When Trista passed away, Juas grieved for many months. Eventually, he moved in with his grandson Elias, and the two became close friends. After coming to PPS, Juas was able to spend the rest of his life in the natural world, climbing in the trees and warming himself in the sun. He lived a rich, long life here, and touched all of our hearts. Juas was buried next to Trista, and we trust that he knows we will always love him.
Please visit our website to read Juas’ story (http://www.pacificprimate.org/stories.htm)

Please help us continue to provide monkeys such as Juas a refuge from research laboratories and the inhumane exotic pet trade.
Donate now at http://www.pacificprimate.org/help-donate.htm


According to recently released USDA reports, 1,131,076 animals were used for scientific research in 2009: of those 124,417 were nonhuman primates. Animals in research laboratories are often subjected to tests involving addictive drugs, isolation, water deprivation, and exposure to chemical and biological toxins.

In addition to over a million animals used in biomedical testing in 2009, an untold number of animals experience suffering at human hands. INTERPOL (the international police agency) states that the illegal wildlife trade is a $5-billion-a-year business, second only to drugs as a worldwide black market. Primates are taken from their parents and sold into the pet trade and used in the tourist and entertainment industries. Monkeys living in their native forests are also not safe from pain and suffering. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than 32 million acres of forest, the animals’ native habitats, are lost each year!

“Where the Suffering Stops and the Healing begins”

Pacific Primate Sanctuary's immediate goal is to end the suffering of some of our fellow beings and return them to a natural state of equilibrium. We strive to provide the optimal environment and devoted care giving so this can occur. At Pacific Primate Sanctuary "surplus" laboratory primates, ex-pets and those confiscated from smugglers will never have to endure pain and exploitation. They will not be exhibited, subjected to biomedical tests or be sold to the pet trade.

SANCTUARY NEWS

Fresh Tangelos in the PPS Orchard

Winter has officially arrived in Maui, bringing with it chilly nights, rainy days and an abundance of delightful citrus fruits! Our orchard is overflowing with fresh oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, lemons, limes, and tangelos. The monkeys have really been enjoying all the citrus, particularly the sweet, juicy tangerines. They eat them with their heads tilted back so that all the juice runs straight into their mouths and none is lost.

Prospero smells his fur after 

grooming with fresh citrus

The Capuchin Monkeys use the fresh citrus to groom themselves and each other, biting the skins to release the aromatic oils, and then rubbing it all over, cleaning their fur and keeping the bugs away at the same time.

Gaia and Galatea keeping warm

On the chilly mornings and evenings, the monkeys stay close to each other to keep warm and also take full advantage of their heat lamps. Gaia and Galatea, twin Saddleback Tamarins, were seen cuddled together on a warm blanket, contentedly observing the goings-on in the corridor.

With so many rainy days, every moment of sunshine is appreciated. This month an elderly Cotton Top Tamarin, Apollo, was seen with his arm tenderly wrapped around his mate, Echo, while the two basked in the morning sun. Nadine, another Cotton Top Tamarin, had a particularly blissful sunny morning, as her mate Adam, and two sons, Jason and Ira, all worked together grooming her fur- what a wonderful bonding experience! Zoey and Enzo, two White-tufted Eared Marmosets, spend any sunny afternoons in the upper canopy of their outdoor enclosure, soaking in the warming rays.

Frieda grooms her elderly companion, Bruno, in the sun

Twins Simon and Frieda will be celebrating their 5th birthday this year! Simon and Frieda are White-tufted Eared Marmosets. Simon is currently housed with his older sister Martine, while Frieda is a companion to Bruno.

Emilio, a White-tufted Eared Marmoset enjoys a 

juicy peach slice for his afternoon snack.

This Blog and its content is copyright of Pacific Primate Sanctuary, Inc.—

© Pacific Primate Sanctuary, Inc., 2009. All rights reserved.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:

you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only

you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material

You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.

Primate Update E-Newsletter, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Part 2

WHAT’S HAPPENING at PPS?

Spider Monkey Enclosures:

A Fichus branch reaches

skyward in the new

Spider Monkey Enclosures!

Construction of the new Spider Monkey Enclosures has been progressing quickly. The cement foundation has been poured, one of the round enclosures is up, the middle room has been completed and beautiful Fichus climbing branches are in. We have also finished the safety room, which creates a double-door entrance system.

The new enclosures will be 40 feet long, and will soon be planted with fruit and nut trees, vines and flowers. Carlos and Montana will finally be able to brachiate through the trees!

Long time donors and friends of Pacific Primate Sanctuary have made significant contributions towards the construction of the Spider Monkey facility. However, we still need another $3,500 to complete this project. Generosity and compassion are the stuff miracles are made of— please become one of the Sanctuary’s Miracle Workers.

Spider Monkey Enclosures, partially completed!

MORE WAYS TO HELP THE MONKEYS

GoodShop and GoodSearch
GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Select Pacific Primate Sanctuary as your charity of choice. Then use GoodSearch just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

Use GoodShop.com for all your online shopping needs. After designating Pacific Primate Sanctuary as your nonprofit of choice, you can shop at more than 900 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will automatically be donated to the Sanctuary! For example: if you shop on eBay using Goodshop.com, 25-35% of eBay revenue will be donated to PPS! GoodShop also provides many valuable coupons to use towards your purchases. When you select a store, you will automatically be redirected to a coupon page for that store.

Rescue Fund
A Rescue Fund will allow us to provide refuge for at risk animals needing to be brought to the Sanctuary immediately. Laboratories and pet owners often have deadlines for placement and may not contribute to the costs involved in getting the animal to Pacific Primate Sanctuary or provide for their housing and care. Your contributions will allow us to reach out to these monkeys and bring them to this safe haven. If you would like to donate to the Rescue Fund please make a tax-deductible donation at the sites above.

Sponsor an Intern!
We have had several people interested in the PPS internship position who are unable to afford the cost of travelling to Maui and volunteering for a year.  The Sanctuary provides housing and an orchard and organic vegetable garden for our Resident Interns, however we do not have the funds to fly qualified students to Maui or to provide a stipend. If you are interested in sponsoring an Intern by purchasing airline tickets, donating Airline Miles, or providing a monthly stipend for our Resident Interns please contact us at pps@aloha.net.

How to Donate Directly
We rely upon your continued contributions. Please encourage your friends and relatives to make tax-deductible donations to the Sanctuary.

You can donate online on our Website: www.pacificprimate.org or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PacificPrimateSanctuary using PayPal
or by sending your check to:


Pacific Primate Sanctuary
500-A Haloa Road
Haiku, HI 96708

With your support, you make everything we do possible!

This Blog and its content is copyright of Pacific Primate Sanctuary, Inc.—

© Pacific Primate Sanctuary, Inc., 2009. All rights reserved.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:

you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only

you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material

You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.

Primate Update E-Newsletter, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Part 3

PPS INTERNSHIP

Pacific Primate Sanctuary is seeking New World Primate Caregiver/Office Assistant Resident Interns. We would welcome someone with a background in animal husbandry and an interest in animal welfare and conservation, who is a mature team player with respect for others. Qualified Applicants are invited to apply. Please click on the link below for more details, and e-mail us at pps@aloha.net

http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/jobs/listings/334

PPS PEOPLE in the SPOTLIGHT

Meet Jonathan:

Jonathan began volunteering in July 2007. He is trained to do both the morning and afternoon shifts and is currently one of our animal caregivers every Wednesday afternoon. He contributes to the smooth operation of the Sanctuary in a wide variety of ways. He is a talented handyman, and has used his skills to help build the new enclosures. He often helps with Sanctuary maintenance, like mending hoses and replacing the filters in the water filtration system. Jonathan also shares his exceptional talent with fruiting plants by processing donated fruits, cutting down banana trees and sugar cane, and gathering a wealth of ripe fruits and vegetables for the monkeys. He is also good at landscaping, and helps keep the monkeys’ enclosures looking wonderful! Jonathon always has a positive attitude and a smile on his face. He has a giving heart and truly cares about the monkeys. We are so thankful that he is a part of our Sanctuary family!

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Special Topic: Intern Simon
Marmosets and Tamarins, Edited by Anthony B. Rylands
Chapter 8: Flexibility and Cooperation as Unifying Themes in Saguinus Social Organization and Behavior: the Role of Predation Pressures

New World monkeys were originally thought of as simple, one-dimensional versions of Old World primates, with tamarins and marmosets being considered the most inferior. It was not until behavioral research performed in the 1980s that they began to be more appreciated for their social complexity. But what spawned this complexity? One possible explanation, at least for tamarins, is that tamarin social structure and behavior is a response to predation pressures.

 Cotton Top Tamarins at PPS

Early on, it was thought that tamarins were exclusively monogamous (one mate). However, as more research was conducted it became clear that the mating systems can vary. In fact, monogamy, polygamy (one male, multiple females), and polyandry (one female, multiple males) have all been observed in tamarins in more recent studies—even within the same species. As more research is conducted, the more it becomes clear that tamarins do not conform to a single strict strategy. This is evidence of how adaptable tamarins are.
It is likely that the strategies that they follow are influenced by predation. Males can tolerate sharing a female with other males, or females can tolerate sharing their mate with other females, so that there can be harmony within the group. Why? Because there is strength in numbers and a group in disharmony is a group that is vulnerable to predators.

In addition to adaptability, another trait common to tamarins is cooperation. Tamarins have been known to share in infant care, to perform food calls when a new food source is discovered, to share vigilance responsibilities, and to lack aggression towards member of the group. This trait of cooperation, again, fosters harmony in the group. And while taking turns looking out for predators, everyone else in the group can focus on foraging for food.

There are other explanations for the social structure and behavior of tamarins, but predation pressure does seem plausible. Whatever the case, it can no longer be claimed that New World monkeys lack complexity.

-Rylands, A.B. Marmosets and Tamarins. Systematics, Behavior, and Ecology. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1993.


Special Topic: PPS Extern Mary Catherine
Positive Reinforcement Training— Planning the Big Move

As we work to finish the new Spider Monkey enclosure, it’s time to start working with Carlos and Montana on preparing for their move. In order to make the move as seamless as possible, it is going to be important that we have a solid game plan for habituating them to a carrier crate in which they will be transported to the Sanctuary property.

The first step will be to place a carrier crate inside the Spider Monkey’s current enclosure. This will require some sort of support system be built allowing us to place the carrier on their feeding platform. There will also need to be a rope of sorts attached to the carrier door that reaches through the bars and attaches to a place in the human area. The function of the rope will be to allow us to close and open the carrier crate’s door from the outside of the cage.

Once the carrier is safely affixed to the side of the enclosure and rests on the feeding platform, we can begin to habituate Carlos and Montana to enter the carrier. One way to do this is to encourage them to enter the carrier in order to obtain high value food items. By placing the carrier on the feeding platform, Carlos and Montana will be required to enter the carrier in order to get to the goodies we place in the feeding dishes. Perhaps we could start feeding only biscuits and veggies in their normal red buckets, but save the fruits and nuts (and any other yummy items) for the bowls of the feeding platform. By receiving the high value food items from inside the carrier, Carlos and Montana will associate entering the carrier with a positive experience.

When Carlos and Montana are comfortable entering and exiting the carrier crate, the next step will be to start closing and opening the door to the carrier (using the rope mentioned earlier). The very first thing we’ll do is close the door only part way then open it back up immediately and reward them with a treat. Again, the goal is for them to associate any movement of the rope, and thus the door, with something good. We want them to be calm and feel safe when we ultimately close the door to the carrier and lock them inside. This will require a lot of small steps to ensure they both enter the carrier, bring their tails all the way in, and sit calmly while the door is closed. The first time the door is closed all the way it will be important to reward them with something very special and immediately open the door. From there, we’ll slowly increase the amount of time the door is closed while rewarding them for being calm.

Once the new Spider Monkey enclosure is finished and the weather is nice, we’ll ask them to enter the carrier and close the door. The carrier crate, filled with two sweet Spider Monkeys, will be loaded into Steven’s van. They will travel by van up the road to the Sanctuary property and the carrier will be placed in their new enclosure where the door will be opened and they will enter their new home. This will truly be a day of celebration when Carlos and Montana can finally be free to live in a beautiful 40-foot enclosure filled with plants and sunshine!

The human spirit is not dead. It lives on in secret. I have come to believe that compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind.                                          ~ Dr. Albert Schweitzer

We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s E-Newsletter. Thank you for your support of our life saving work. Because of compassionate people, the Sanctuary can continue to provide a place of peace and happiness for 74 primates saved from research laboratories, animal dealers, and smugglers. Here they can heal, form families, and live free from exploitation.

This Blog and its content is copyright of Pacific Primate Sanctuary, Inc.—

© Pacific Primate Sanctuary, Inc., 2009. All rights reserved.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:

you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only

you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material

You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.