Many of the animals at Pacific Primate Sanctuary are geriatric, and require special care to ensure their needs are met and their health concerns are addressed. As the monkeys age, we see a variety of physical problems including decreased mobility, weight loss, and a reduced ability to maintain body heat. PPS Caregivers face the unique challenge of keeping the monkeys healthy and safe, while providing them with the means to maintain their independence. We have created specialized walkways that allow monkeys with limited mobility to continue living in their outdoor enclosures, using heat lamps and extra blankets to keep them warm. We provide them with specialized diets to help prevent weight loss. While these things allow the animals to continue to live out their lives in the green world, we also want to ensure that the monkeys are feeling their best as well.We are very fortunate to work with a remarkable Veterinarian who has helped us find medications and supplements to deal with the problems of aging. One of the supplements that we have been using for all of the geriatric monkeys is Apocaps, which supports the critical biological process of apoptosis, and was actually created by our Veterinarian, Dr. Dressler. “Apoptosis safely and naturally dismantles and clears old and damaged cells from the body”. As animals (including humans) age, cell death slows down, leaving old and damaged cells in the body. Apocaps facilitates the clearing out of these unhealthy cells. The average lifespan of Marmosets in captivity is approximately 12 years. The Marmosets at PPS are living to be 17-19 years old. It appears that Apocaps is allowing the animals to live longer, healthier lives!
Recently, we have explored the use of Reiki, an ancient Japanese spiritual healing art, for the monkeys. We are very thankful to Eve-Lynne, who works with Hospice Maui, and volunteered her time to do a Reiki session with Bruno. Bruno is 19 years old, the oldest marmoset at Pacific Primate Sanctuary, and is currently healing from a broken leg.
Please help us provide special care for the elderly monkeys at Pacific Primate Sanctuary, donate now at: http://pacificprimate.org/help-donate.htm
MALAMA ‘AINA, MALAMA KANAKA
Take care of the land and the land will take care of you!Many cleaning, beauty care, and medicinal products that are on the market contain harsh chemicals that are harmful to the environment and our health. In this new section of the PPS E-Newsletter, we want to share information to help take care of our beautiful world while caring for ourselves!
The following chart contains valuable uses for natural, nontoxic, everyday products. Please check the companies that produce the products, to make sure that they are cruelty free and not tested on animals: http://www.leapingbunny.org/shopping.php
Reference: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8403/72-uses-for-simple-household-products-to-save-money-avoid-toxins.html
WAYS YOU CAN HELP the MONKEYS at PPS
Pacific Primate Sanctuary is a small community of volunteers, doing a big job. We spend very little on fundraising and nothing on administration. Your donations go directly to caring for the animals!
With your support, you make everything we do possible!
How to Donate Directly
We deeply appreciate your continued partnership. You, and your family and friends, can make tax-deductible donations to the Sanctuary on our Website:
www.pacificprimate.org and on FaceBook, using PayPal,
or by sending a check to:
Pacific Primate Sanctuary
500-A Haloa Road
Haiku, HI 96708
Pacific Primate Sanctuary
500-A Haloa Road
Haiku, HI 96708
Give the Gift of Your Service and Volunteer Your Time
We are looking for mature team players who are willing to make a long-term commitment to the Sanctuary. Retirees are most welcome. Please e-mail us at pps@pacificprimate.org if you are interested in joining the PPS Team and offering your selfless service to the monkeys.
There are many other ways to help Pacific Primate Sanctuary, to find out more please visit our website: http://www.pacificprimate.org/help.htm
CONTINUING EDUCATION
The Complete Capuchin; A Brief Overview of Capuchin Teeth, Tail and Hand Characteristics
The capuchin diet includes a variety of foods that are obtained from hard woody substrates, foods that have hard husks and other encased foods. Their jaws and teeth have particular characteristics that aid them in obtaining and consuming these food items. Mandible (lower jaw) adaptations allow the capuchins to withstand vigorous pulling and mastication (chewing).
Capuchins have a semi-prehensile tail. Prehensile tails are able to both support weight and grasp and hold. It can be used as another appendage to aid in locomotion and food manipulation. Spider monkeys have a fully prehensile tail. They are able to completely support their body weight from their tail in suspensory postures and can use their tail to hold and manipulate their food. Spider monkeys have a hairless skin patch at the tip of their tail that has sensory bodies similar to those found in fingertips. The capuchins however are considered to have only a semi prehensile tail. Adult capuchins rarely suspend their body weight solely from their tail. The tail is fully furred and lacks the specialized sensory skin found in the atelines (spider monkeys) and is not as dexterous or flexible. They are however are able pick up small objects with their tail and use it for other precise maneuvers.
The capuchins use their tail to assist in locomotion by grasping supports as they move quadrapedally. The tail is also used to assist in foraging by stabilize their posturing. In the “inverse bipedal” posture the tail anchors the body while the body hangs downward with the back feet holding onto supports or are pushing against a surface. This posture frees the hands for food searching, gathering and manipulation. Tail assistance is prominent in the seated posture. When the monkey is seated the tail wraps around a support essentially allowing the capuchin to remain stable while exerting force necessary to break into encased food sources.Capuchin hands have great dexterity and strength. The capuchin has a pseudo opposable thumb that allows the monkey precision grip on objects. The pseudo opposable thumb flexes parallel to the other digits when picking something up. They lack the specialized “saddle joint” that humans have that allow us to rotate our thumbs so the tip of the thumb and the tip of the other digits can face each other. They lack the structure and muscles that give humans the ability for joint rotation. The “saddle joint” gives humans the range of motion to cross our thumb into the tips of the other digits. While capuchins do not have this saddle joint they are capable of increased range of motion and strength compared to that of other new world monkeys. The capuchins utilize strength and precision grip in their manual functions and have specific anatomical features that allow them this necessary strength and enhanced dexterity. Capuchins are able to perform a variety of precision grips similar to those used by old world monkeys and apes. They are capable of this due to their adapted skeletal structure that allows some opposability between the thumb and other digits. Capuchins are the only platyrrhine (new world monkey) taxon capable of this.
Reference:
-Fragaszy, D., Visalberghi, E., Fedigan, L. (2004). The Complete Capuchin-The Biology of the Genus Cebus. Cambridge University Press.
Special Topic: Intern Rachel
Vocal Chart: Cotton Top Tamarins
The vocalizations of cotton top tamarins are extensive, but are derived from the variation of two basic sounds and the various combinations of those elements. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have identified 38 distinct sounds and combinations. Below is a chart containing most of these different calls, many of which are heard daily from the PPS cotton-tops!
All above information taken from the website: http://proyectotiti.com/english/vocalizations.htm
“Human beings are a part of the animal kingdom, not apart from it. The separation of "us" and "them" creates a false picture and is responsible for much suffering. It is part of the in-group/out-group mentality that leads to human oppression of the weak by the strong as in ethic, religious, political, and social conflicts.” ― Marc Bekoff, Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect
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 60 primates saved from research laboratories, animal dealers, and tourist attractions. Here they can heal, form social groups, and live free from exploitation.
www.apocaps.com
I came to Pacific Primate Sanctuary because I wanted to help animals, and do something positive in a world that is suffering.
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” 
Pacific Primate Sanctuary is located in a lush tropical rainforest, very similar to the native forests of the monkeys in our care. The diet of wild monkeys varies greatly throughout the year as the seasonal fruiting patterns change. Ripe fruits are a favored food item because of their high water, sugar and nutrient content, and monkeys feast upon fresh fruits when they can. This means that sometimes they have a wide variety of fruits to eat, other times they are limited to just one of two varieties.
Ripe fruits constitute the majority of the wild spider monkey diet.
Capuchins exhibit a wide range of body postures and facial expressions to communicate with conspecifics.
First, the shoulder blade, or scapula, is very long and thin. The glenoid fossa, which is the socket of the shoulder blade, points towards the skull as opposed to the human socket which points outward. This allows a greater range of motion and more comfortable rotation and arm raising for the suspensory motions of brachiating. Secondly, the forelimbs of spider monkeys are extremely long for their body size, between 36-38% longer then would be expected in an animal their size.
Costa Rica is internationally recognized for its efforts on behalf of conservation and animal protection. Over 10 years ago, circuses with animal acts were banned and the country has also outlawed sport hunting. Other countries have also banned circuses that use wild animals, including Austria, Hungary, Finland, India, Israel, Singapore and China. 
e move was a response to “a change of environmental conscience among Costa Ricans.” In May 2014, Costa Rica will begin rehabilitating and releasing approximately 400 animals to rescue centers or to the wild. The government hopes to return as many of the animals to the wild as possible. “We are getting rid of the cages and reinforcing the idea of interacting with biodiversity in botanical parks in a natural way,” said Environment Minister René Castro. “We don’t want animals in captivity or enclosed in any way unless it is to rescue or save them.” 
Scientists studying dolphins believe that they could be the most intelligent creatures on Earth after humans, with a larger brain to body size ratio than our closest relatives, the chimpanzees. Studies have shown that dolphins have distinct personalities, self-awareness and highly complex social structures- even utilizing teamwork to solve difficult problems. Dolphin’s playfulness, intelligence and ability to learn “tricks” have made them extremely popular for entertainment. Sadly, this amusement comes at a cruel price, with cetaceans suffering greatly in the process. Most dolphins and whales in captivity come from violent capture, in which groups are driven into shallow areas, and the majority are slaughtered while young, females are taken to be sold into the entertainment market.
India's Ministry of Environment and Forests has advised state governments to ban dolphinariums and other commercial entertainment that involves the capture and confinement of cetacean species such as orcas and bottlenose dolphins. In a statement, the government said research had clearly established that cetaceans are highly intelligent and sensitive, and that dolphins "should be seen as 'non-human persons' and as such should have their own specific rights." India is the fourth country in the world to ban the capture and import of cetaeans for the purpose of commercial entertainment. Costa Rica, Hungary and Chile have also done so.
THANK YOU to PPS SUPPORTERS
Gift Contributions
Our newest Resident Intern, Shanika, has arrived after a long and difficult flight from England! Shanika spent several years working in veterinary clinics and has had experience caring for primates at Howlett’s Wild Animal Park. We have already begun her training, and are currently focusing on the first module, which includes learning how to provide daily care, enrichment, and nurturing to 60 monkeys, preparing food, cleaning enclosures, and maintaining the Sanctuary facility. Shanika is a dedicated trainee, and is eager to learn all aspects of animal care at Pacific Primate Sanctuary. Her past experience is very beneficial as she moves forward with her training.
These studies utilized spectrograms that recorded the frequencies of the “whinny” call. It was found that whinnies have a series of change in pitch and frequency that create “arches” on the spectrogram. The arches are the higher frequency points and the portions in between the arches are called “interarch elements.” The alternation between arches and interarch elements is what gives the whinnies their sound, similar to that of a horse’s whinny and gives variation in calls from individuals. Signal variability allows information about the sender’s identity to be communicated. Recorded play back studies in wild habituated spider monkeys show that group members could distinguish trills and that these “trills” or “whinnies” are labels for one another. Another study showed that the calls have a consistent variation among individual group member and that the whinnies of a mother and their offspring have a closer resemblance than any other combination of pairs of individuals.
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