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.