Primate Update 1/14

Share your love with the monkeys at PPS this Valentine’s Day!

Malama Ola the Monkeys

Caring for the Health and Wellbeing of the Monkeys

Providing appropriate medical care is vital to the wellbeing of the monkeys at Pacific Primate Sanctuary.  As the primate population ages, individuals experience additional, chronic health problems. About 1/5^th of the animals at PPS, currently require regular veterinary care, medications, and supplements to ensure their specific health concerns are being addressed. We also must customize their living environments to accommodate mobility issues and to provide them with extra warmth and protection.

Echo, an 18-year-old cotton top tamarin, is the oldest tamarin living at Pacific Primate Sanctuary.  Echo was born in a research laboratory, but thankfully, she came to the Sanctuary where she could recover from the traumas she suffered.  Her advanced age has taken a toll on her health, and she is currently on many different medications and supplements.
Intern Shani recently created a description of animals with geriatric and/or chronic health problems, along with their current treatment plans for the staff.  Following is an explanation of Echo’s specialized care:  She has neurological problems that cause visible tremors throughout her body. She is on Acetyl-L -Carnitine and Methyl B 12 to counter act these- they coat the nerves and help with better nerve transmission. Echo also has arthritis, which makes it difficult and painful for her to walk. To help with this she is on fish oil and Metacam to help with the pain. She is on Pepcid to help protect her gastrointestinal tract from irritants. Additionally, Echo has a condition called colitis that causes her to have loose and bloody stool. She is on Tylan and Slippery Elm to help keep her stool firm. Echo is also given Sam-e and Milk Thistle, which serve to protect her liver. 

 Echo’s mobility is extremely poor due to the arthritis and tremors. She lives in a specially designed double portable, with ramps, walkways and protective walls to prevent her from falling. She loves to spend time on the upper shelf in her portable, and watches all the happenings in the corridor from this vantage point. She has a difficult time maintaining her body heat, so she is brought into the warm infirmary overnight and always has access to a heat lamp.

Your support helps to keep Echo and the other monkeys warm, comfortable, and pain free! 

The increased expenditures related to our geriatric monkeys have put an enormous strain on our limited budget.

Please help us provide veterinary care, medications, high calorie foods, warm bedding, and heat lamps for the aging monkeys who require specialized care.  

 

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP the MONKEYS at PPS

 

Donating to Pacific Primate Sanctuary can be as simple as doing an Internet search!  Visit GoodSearch.com and designate Pacific Primate Sanctuary as your charity of choice, and get started using this wonderful program.  Each time you do a search using GoodSearch, a small contribution will be made to PPS!  GoodSearch offers many other ways to generate donations for Pacific Primate Sanctuary, including GoodShopping, GoodDining, GoodTravel, GoodOffers and more.  Visit their website to find out the details: http://www.goodsearch.com/

GoodOffers currently has many wonderful offers for Valentine’s Day!  Find the perfect gift for your loved ones, and support PPS at the same time! http://www.goodsearch.com/goodoffers
 
Give the Gift of Your Service and Volunteer Your Time
We are currently in need of more local volunteers! We need Animal Caregivers, Handy people, and Gardeners/Landscapers. Retirees are welcome. If you live on Maui and are interested in becoming one of Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s Angels, by volunteering your time and skills, please e-mail pps@pacificprimate.org


Our Wish List
You can contribute to the monkeys by donating much needed items, including:
- commercial power washer                                    - sewing machine
- heavy-duty weed eater                                             - construction tools                                   
- gardening supplies & equipment                                    - pillowcases and baby blankets
- pet carriers                                                               - ride-on lawnmower

 Please contact us at pps@aloha.net if you have an item you’d like to donate!

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

 

Your support is instrumental in providing for the monkeys’ basic needs and contributing to their wellbeing. May you experience the inherent happiness in helping the Beings with whom we share the Earth.
 

 

PPS INTERNSHIP

Interns at the Sanctuary

The resident Internship program at Pacific Primate Sanctuary began in 2004. We have had 30 Interns over the past 9 years and the training curriculum has deepened and expanded over time.  This mutually beneficial program has provided a unique and valuable learning experience for the Interns and advanced their career goals, and has allowed us to staff the facility and provide a high level of care to the fragile animals here
 
Over the past year, we have been privileged to work with some truly remarkable Interns! Edie, Rachel, Shani and Katie each came to PPS from varied and unique backgrounds, including research, veterinary clinics, rescue organizations, and zoos.

They have contributed their insights, expertise, have done independent research, and created new procedures and protocol for the PPS Manuals. For example, Intern Rachel provided a document describing the specific vocalizations of species at the Sanctuary, allowing us to have a better understanding of the monkeys’ communication and providing the Staff with a vocabulary to describe our observations.

PPS Interns also contributed Operant Conditioning techniques, which have become a part of our care protocol. We have been syringe training the monkeys, making it easier to medicate them without distress. We also used operant conditioning to weigh individuals who used to be afraid of the scale! The cleaning and disinfecting protocols at the Sanctuary have also been improved over the last year, thanks to the research done by our Resident Interns.  We are so grateful to the Interns who have volunteered their time, energy and skills to Pacific Primate Sanctuary; their dedication allows us to keep our good work going!

The Internship program would not be possible without the support of compassionate donors.  Funding for this essential program is needed in order to provide housing, utilities, and supplies for our Resident Interns for 2014.  To support Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s Internship Program, please donate now: http://pacificprimate.org/help.htm
 

Welcome to our New Intern, Madeline

Madeline arrived on January 12, 2014 to begin her one-year Resident Internship!   Madeline has spent over two years working with primates as a caregiver and enrichment technician at a research laboratory, where she learned to provide food, enrichment, medications and emergency care.  She also spent time working at wildlife rehabilitation center in Minnesota with a variety of small mammals.  We are very happy to have her here at PPS!

Farewell Intern Rachel
Rachel completed her one-year Resident Internship at PPS on January 5^th, and is now at the Shedd Aquarium as a marine animal intern.  Rachel’s positive, warm and caring approach made it a joy to work with her over the past year. We are so grateful for the valuable contributions and selfless service that Rachel has donated to Pacific Primate Sanctuary. She will be greatly missed.

Rachel’s Farewell:

Looking back on the year here on Maui, it seems to have gone by so quickly. But it has been remarkable how that short time has profoundly shaped my life and consciousness. I am incredibly grateful to the 56 monkeys who have touched my life through this experience, and though it is now over, I will never stop smiling because it happened. 
These special monkeys have each reached out and grabbed my heart with their individuality, personality, and story. Each and every one will often be in my thoughts. There is nothing equal to seeing tamarin faces peering at you from sleeping cubes during last checks, or marmosets twittering their happiness at having a favorite treat.  I feel privileged to have been in all of their lives. The amount of memorable, unforgettable moments is astounding…

For those future interns, you will have to opportunity here to care for some of the most amazing animals on the planet who will make you smile and be grateful to be here… 
And you will leave being a better citizen of the world!
 

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Special Topic: Intern Rachel
A Discussion of Colitis
     
Callitrichids are especially prone to developing colitis and other bowel diseases. Colitis refers to an inflammation of the colon and rectum. There are many types of colitis that are usually classified by the cause, or etiology, of the inflammation though this often is hard to determine. The broadest characterization is Inflammatory Bowel Disease, or IBD. Ulcerative colitis is a kind of IBD that affects only the innermost lining of the large intestine and rectum. It is a chronic disease in which the lining of the colon becomes inflamed and develops ulcers that can produce pus and mucous. The combination of inflammation and ulceration can cause abdominal discomfort and frequent emptying of the colon along with weight loss and loose stool.
        
Ulcerative colitis is the result of an autoimmune disease in which the body has an abnormal immune response and attacks elements of the digestive system. Normally, the cells and proteins that make up the immune system protect the body from infection. With IBD however the immune system mistakes food, bacteria, and other materials in the intestine for foreign substances. When this happens, the body sends white blood cells into the lining of the intestines, where they produce chronic inflammation and ulcerations.
       
Treatments for ulcerative colitis have two main goals: achieving and then maintaining remission. Treatment is therefore aimed at controlling ongoing inflammation. Antibiotics are frequently used, even though no specific infections have been indentified as the cause of the symptoms. Antibiotics can help to control the symptoms by reducing intestinal bacteria and by suppressing the intestine’s immune system. Antibiotics can be used as long-term therapies as long as the medications remain effective. Clinical trials have not shown that antibiotics are particularly effective in treating severe ulcerative colitis, according to CCFA.

At PPS, Tylan is the most common antibiotic used to treat colitis for the long-term. Metronidazole and Ciprofloxacin are also used and both are broad-spectrum antibiotics that, by definition, fight a wide range of bacteria. Metronidazole is the most extensively studied antibiotic in IBD. As a primary therapy for active Crohn's disease (which affects the entire GI tract), Metronidazole has been shown to be equal to Sulfasalazine especially when the illness affects the colon, as in colitis. Corticosteroids, such as Prednisone, can also be used to suppress the immune system and can be used to treat moderate to severe colitis. These drugs do not target specific parts of the immune system but suppress the entire immune response and shouldn’t be used as maintenance due to possibly significant short and long-term side effects. Immunomodulators can also be used in cases where corticosteroids are the only medications that have been effective.
In Cotton top tamarins, the development of colitis is most often a precursor to colon cancer, which 35% of captive Cotton top Tamarins develop (Clapp & Henke, 1993). The only way to make an irrevocable diagnosis of colitis, is through biopsy and colonoscopy of the intestinal tissue. Colitis is often associated with Marmoset Wasting Syndrome. Marmoset Wasting is clinically characterized by rapid and persistent weight loss with muscle atrophy (decrease of muscle mass). Anemia (low red blood cell count) and hypoproteinemia (low protein levels in the blood) with associated edema commonly occur (Richter, 1984). Alopecia (hair loss) is often observed, especially on the tail. Weakness or paralysis of the hind legs, intermittent diarrhea and a wet or greasy appearance to the fur may be seen (Potkay, 1992). Sporadic cases of Marmoset Wasting in colonies are likely the result of colitis or chronic metabolic illness. There is still much to learn about colitis and, as it affects many of the monkeys here at PPS, frequent investigation of new publications and research is important.

-Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA): http://www.ccfa.org/assets/pdfs/antibiotics.pdf
-Clapp, N.K., Ed., A PRIMATE MODEL FOR THE STUDY OF COLITIS AND COLONIC CANCER-THE COTTON-TOP TAMARIN (SAGUINUS OEDIPUS). U.S.A., CRC Press, 1993.
-Richter, C.B. Biology and diseases of Callitrichidae. In: LABORATORY ANIMAL MEDICINE. J.G. Fox; B.J. Cohen; F.M. Loew, ed. Florida, Academic Press, 1984.
-Potkay, S. Diseases of the Callitrichidae: A review. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL PRIMATOLOGY 21:189-236,1992.
 

 

Special Topic: Intern Katie
Ch.9: Social interaction, social relationships and the social system of spider monkeys. From Spider Monkeys: Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution of the Genus Ateles. Ed. By Christina J. Campbell

Wild spider monkeys (Ateles) live in highly fluid and varied groups consisting of multiple members of either sex (though daily activity is often sex-segregated).  They exhibit a fission-fusion social dynamic, meaning group size and structure may change freely depending on social and environmental pressures (e.g. food availability). Within each community, individuals form smaller subgroups with which to forage, travel, and defend their territory against neighboring groups. This behavior is adaptive for the highly frugivorous Ateles, who specialize in large ripe fruit, to cope with spatially and temporally patchy food sources. Many species with similar diets experience a high degree of intergroup competition and unidirectional aggression and dominance hierarchies, as access to ripe fruit is highly limited and may be monopolized by the most assertive individuals. However, practicing fission-fusion allows Ateles to avoid such sources of stress. By traveling in large groups in times of abundance and breaking into smaller groups when fruit is scarce, spider monkeys economize time and energy costs and minimize competition, thereby reducing tension and maintaining social cohesion.  This strategy is risky for species vulnerable to predation, as fission-fusion minimizes the protection provided by large groups. However, as relatively large, arboreal primates, spider monkeys face minimal predation risk and are able to adjust their behavior primarily in terms of food availability.

Social behavior varies significantly between female and male spider monkeys. Females typically leave their natal groups upon reaching sexual maturity to join new groups, partly in order to gain access to unrelated potential mates. It follows that females experience less substantial social bonds with group members as adults; they do not share the long histories and kinship ties that males develop after remaining in the communities in which they were born. Wild females are less likely to participate in common Ateles affiliative behaviors, such as grooming, embracing, and pectoral sniffing.  (Pectoral sniffing is a sign of affection that may serve to resolve conflict, alleviate tension after new members join a group, or as a gesture between individuals who reunite after being separated.
       
Although captive females exhibit more of these habits than their wild counterparts, it is most likely in either environment that females do so toward their young offspring. Unlike males, who associate quite closely with one another as adults, females’ strongest bonds are often with their young. They occasionally groom other adults, most often males. Wild females commonly travel alone or only with their offspring, especially in times of ripe fruit scarcity. When foraging in a subgroup, females generally do so in smaller groups than those of males, as carrying infants necessitates slower movement and higher energy costs. Larger groups must travel more rapidly in order to visit enough food sources to accommodate all individuals. (Ateles typically travel as quickly as possible between fruit trees rather than feeding continuously on found fruit during casual travel.) In this context, spider monkeys’ practice of fission-fusion also allows for more flexibility in meeting the differing needs of either sex and to their reproductive success.

Males, conversely, utilize the long-term relationships gained through philopatry (i.e. remaining in one’s natal group after reaching adulthood) for various cooperative and competitive ends. In fact, male-male bonds represent the strongest social relationship following that between mothers and their young. Males tend to occupy larger day-ranges and to travel in larger groups. The group as a whole benefits from larger male subgroups and cooperative bonds; rather than carrying for infants, males patrol and defend their population’s territory, and defend access to fertile females and food sources both within and between communities.  As the more socially expressive sex, males often exhibit friendly behaviors toward one another, and the tension alleviated via fluid group structure makes aggression uncommon. However, they engage in potentially lethal violence toward new male immigrants, making leaving one’s natal group extremely dangerous. Likewise, it is rare for adult males to be successfully integrated into new family groups in captive settings. Younger males may gain the tolerance of unfamiliar adults through a behavior called grappling, in which the submissive animal repeatedly approaches then retreats, each time rapidly embracing, tail-wrapping, face-touching, or manipulating the other’s genitals. However, fully mature males are rarely accepted into new communities in captivity or the wild.

Male and female interactions may involve aggressive chasing (as is common when females are menstruating, possibly as a form of sexual coercion or posturing), and are most likely to groom one another in times of fruit abundance. As a species exhibiting little sexual dimorphism, individual spider monkeys rarely monopolize access to mates; both sexes are granted multiple potential mates within their group. While males typically prefer the company of one another, little evidence suggests that females prefer the company of either sex in terms of friendly social interactions. In adulthood, the strongest male-female bonds are expressed by mothers and their adult sons.

Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s two spider monkeys, Carlos and Montana, indeed exhibit the close-knit, expressive male-male bond typical of their species. Though Montana is the more dominant individual and leads Carlos, the pair frequently feed together, embrace, and seldom engage in any aggressive gestures toward one another.
 

 

 

 

“As custodians of the planet it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love and compassion.  That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding.  Please help us stop this madness.”  — Richard Gere         





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 over 50 primates saved from research laboratories, animal dealers, and tourist attractions. Here they can heal, form social groups, and live free from exploitation.