We have started an online fundraiser, with Loveanimals.org, to help pay for the installation of solar panels at Pacific Primate Sanctuary. This will reduce the exorbitant cost of electricity the Sanctuary has been paying (averaging over $1,000 a month!), which is a sizable portion of our limited budget. Switching to solar energy will allow us to use abundant sunlight for energy rather than fossil fuel.
The solar system will initially cost about $7,200 and will lower the Sanctuary’s electric bills for years to come. Our refuge protects endangered and threatened species on the Earth, help us to further support our planet by "going green". Please join our sustainability campaign and become part of the PPS Solar System! Spread the word, and share the link below with your friends and family. Please donate now at:
The Hawaiian ancestors adhered to a set of values that guided their daily lives. These beliefs and principles have been passed on, through the generations, and are still an important part of traditional Hawaiian society today. In the upcoming issues of Primate Update we will explore how the Sanctuary embodies traditional Hawaiian perspectives and practices.
Laulima: Cooperation or working together. Laulima literally translates into “many hands”, as in many hands working together. The following story illustrates the importance of Lauilima to ancient Hawaiians
“The Hawaiians would take a long cord or rope and tie ti leaves to it. Then the entire group (many hands) would hold it and form a line in the ocean, holding this rope with the leaves in the water would ‘herd’ the fish towards the shore. The groupwould slowly form a circle, to trap the fish. If one person was out of sync, the fish could escape through that gap in the line. Success or failure caused by one person would mean success or failure for the entire group. It was important for people to help each other be successful.”
At PPS, we know that the whole team must work together for the wellbeing of the animals. We are all contributing to a unified goal— to provide the best care possible to the monkeys! Each individual selflessly offers energy, knowledge, and skill, and together we are able to accomplish this goal. Teamwork is vital to the success of the Sanctuary
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 GoodShop, GoodDining, GoodTravel, GoodOffers and more. Visit their website to find out the details: http://www.goodsearch.com/
The holiday season will soon be here. Use GoodShop for all your holiday shopping needs. Skip the crowded stores and shop online, and for every purchase at a participating store, GoodShop will donate to a portion to PPS.
Gift Contributions
Many people do not enjoy the commercialism of the holiday buying binge and are searching for truly meaningful gifts. We would like to offer a unique gift giving opportunity:Gift Contributions can be made to Pacific Primate Sanctuary in the name of anyone on your holiday list. Your Gift Recipients will receive a beautiful Contribution Certificate showing you have made a donation in their name, along with information about PPS. This thoughtful and significant present helps to feed and care for threatened, endangered and distressed primates. Please go to our website for details: http://www.pacificprimate.org/help.htm
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
Donate an Item From the PPS 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@pacificprimate.org if you have an item you’d like to donate!
How to Contribute 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:
500-A Haloa Road
Haiku, HI 96708
Please help us provide food, medicine and supplies for the 50 monkeys at Pacific Primate Sanctuary and help us care for the Beings with whom we share the Earth.
Great Nonprofits Top- Rated Awards Program
GreatNonprofits is a website designed to help people find trustworthy nonprofits through user reviews. Their mission is to:
- Help inspire and inform prospective donors and volunteers, help them differentiate between nonprofits, find ones that they trust, and be more confident in giving or signing up to volunteer.
- Enable great nonprofits, regardless of the size of their marketing budget, to harness their most authentic and most effective advertising- the stories of the people they’ve served
GreatNonprofits in currently in the final month of their Top-Rated awards program. Please help Pacific Primate Sanctuary get listed on the Top-Rated nonprofits list by submitting a five-star review!
If you appreciate Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s life-saving work, please share how the Sanctuary has touched your heart and made a positive impact. By doing so, you will help raise our visibility, and reach potential donors and volunteers. Click the link below to get started:
http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/write/pacific-primate-sanctuary-inc
Farewell Kaitlin
Past Volunteer, Kaitlin returned to PPS for the summer and it was such a benefit to have her with us. Kaitlin has several years experience as a Veterinary Technician, and she taught the PPS staff how to perform primate physical examinations and analyze samples microscopically. She implemented the appropriate protocol for accurately recording information, so that we can communicate more effectively with veterinarians and advisors. She created many new documents, ensuring that these procedures and information will be available to future caregivers. Kaitlin also edited and completely reorganized the PPS Medical Manual, making it easier to find critically important information, quickly and efficiently.
Kaitlin has gone on to graduate school, to earn a Masters Degree in Primatology. We are so grateful for all that she shared with us, for her openness, enthusiasm, and compassion for the animals, Kaitlin always has a place at the Sanctuary, she is part of our vision and mission, and we know she will be with us again in the future!When she left, Kaitlin wrote:
It is difficult to put into words how thankful I am for the Pacific Primate Sanctuary... I have always been absolutely fascinated with primates from a young age. When I was fifteen years old, I saw a PPS flyer at Del’s Feed Store, in Kahului, asking for volunteers. I could not believe that the animals I dreamed about meeting were so close to me. Within the next week I was sitting with my Mother on Lucy’s couch discussing my role as the second youngest volunteer PPS had at the time. I spent every weekend at the Sanctuary, growing and learning until leaving for college. During my time apart from the Sanctuary, I thought of the monkeys often. When Lucy and I reconnected and she asked if I would be interested in coming back to Maui for a summer with the monkeys, it was an easy decision.
Coming back to the Sanctuary is like coming home— I feel safe here, I feel loved, I feel as if I can give my whole being to a work that is greater than any other and receive more joy than I have ever felt in accomplishing any other task.
This time around, as an adult, I have learned many new things from the Pacific Primate Sanctuary. I have learned strength from Leonardo (White-tufted eared marmoset descended from research monkeys). I have learned that good things never change from Abraham (Black-tufted eared marmoset also descended from research monkeys). I have learned assurance in my skills as a Veterinary Technician from my work updating the medical manual. And I have learned that teamwork is the most important aspect of any job.
Thank you to the volunteers for showing me that passion for conservation is everywhere. Each and every one of you is making a difference to the lives of these very special animals.
Thank you to Kia, Kenzie and Caley for teaching me the value of every task we do. You all put so much love and care into your work and it is truly inspiring. I know the Sanctuary is in very good hands. Thank you to Amanda for joining the PPS ‘Ohana and bringing your love for animal husbandry and learning!
Thank you to Erin for being the most amazing mentor I could have ever asked for. You have given me confidence in my ability as a caregiver and leader. I have learned from you that only through a deep understanding of our actions, and openness to all outcomes, can we change what we wish to in the world.
Thank you to Lucy. You have inspired me to pursue my dreams and believe in the work that I do. You have shown me the value of trusting yourself, taking a step back and observing a wider perspective, and listening for the subtle hints. And lastly, mahalo (Thank you) to every monkey at PPS; your lives matter and have changed mine.
The Sanctuary to me is more than a place of refuge for the threatened and vulnerable; it is a part of my heart. My personal and academic life has been greatly influenced by the experiences I have had here. I will start graduate school at Central Washington University’s Primate Behavior program in just a few short weeks. You better believe I will be wearing my PPS shirt proudly on the first day of class.
PPS INTERNSHIP
Kia, Kenzie, Caley and Amanda make up the current Resident Intern Team.Kia was recently certified as a Primary Animal Caregiver. She has mastered the skills necessary to perform all aspects of animal care at the Sanctuary, including shift protocol and emergency care. She is also competent in volunteer and facility management, and has learned much about colony management. Kia will now begin to deepen her knowledge in these areas, and continue to learn and grow throughout her year of residency at PPS!
Kenzie has completed the first two Modules of her Internship Training, which include animal care, emergency care and documentation. She is now working on mastering the 3rd Training Module, which focuses on Management, so that she can become a Primary Animal Caregiver.
Caley graduated from the AM and PM shift training, and is doing very well learning about emergency care. In addition to the standard training modules, Caley has experience with Behavioral Conditioning using Positive Reinforcement Training. Caley has been using Behavioral Conditioning techniques to encourage the monkeys to drink from a syringe, which is greatly beneficial for medication administration.
Our Newest Resident Intern, Amanda arrived on August 20th. She has recently graduated from the AM and PM shift training, and is in the early stages of mastering Emergency Care. Amanda has proven to be a very engaged, competent Intern and we look forward to sharing all aspects of animal and facility care with her.Pacific Primate Sanctuary is currently accepting applications for the New World Primate Caregiver/Office Assistant Resident Internship Position. Please visit our website for details: http://www.pacificprimate.org/future.htm
To find out how you can contribute to Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s Internship Program, please email us at: pps@pacificprimate.org or
donate now at: http://pacificprimate.org/help.htm
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Special Topic: Intern Kenzie
The Complete Capuchin, The Biology of the Genus Cebus. Chapter 8: Memory and Perception
Research has found there are many gaps in our knowledge of perception and memory in capuchins. Multiple studies have been conducted on the memory and use of that memory to form relations among stimuli
The capuchin monkey's natural interest in manipulating or inspecting an object is beneficial to caregivers. The general interest in new objects aids in the process of behavioral conditioning, which is used here at PPS to lessen the stress of both monkey and caregiver by allowing us to perform basic tasks such as checking a hand, tail, or foot for injury or other abnormality. This is achieved by the association between a reward, such as a treat, and the presentation of that body part upon an auditory or visual cue. The short-term memory of capuchins allows training to proceed quickly.
Miracle, a female capuchin at PPS, has been behaviorally conditioned to present her hand and her foot, as well as touch a target, through the use of the auditory cue of a clicker and a visual cue of a hand sign. This could be extremely helpful to both her and our staff if at any time we need to examine either hand or foot for injury, as well as if we need her to move to a particular location in her enclosure by moving the target to that area. Not only is this beneficial for monitoring health, but it also provides her with stimulating enrichment and problem solving because she must discover the relation between her actions and the outcome of receiving a reward. We have found Miracle to be highly focused and eager during training sessions. She is quickly able to associate a specific behavior with a reward, and then duplicate the behavior when the visual and verbal cue is presented. Miracle is also able to remember behaviors long after they have been learned, even when training sessions have not occurred for extended periods of time.
Special Topic: Intern Kia
Understanding the Background of Colony Management
Colony management at PPS involves pairing single individuals to create social pairs or groups. It also involves the placement of pairs/groups within the colony. It is not only important that the individuals get along with one another, but they must also be comfortable with the other pairs or species that surround them in their enclosure. In the wild, marmosets and tamarins live in colonies that are made up of families and pairings. They co-operate and help one another with food calls, food sharing, protection, alarm calls, and infant care.
To be successful in colony management, there are many behaviors, interactions and attributes of individuals that have to be considered before moving an animal from one enclosure to another. The first thing to consider is the age of an individual. An older monkey should not be placed in to the extension, as it is more open to the elements than the corridor enclosures. Older monkeys are better suited to placement in the corridor, where they have the option of staying inside or going out to the green room. The indoor portion is better protected from the winds, and we have the option to close them indoors when the weather is stormy.
When attempting to pair individuals we give them the opportunity to be in close proximity in order to observe if they might be interested in each other. We consider who would be better placed in a portable enclosure outside another individual’s enclosure and who would be better suited to staying inside their enclosure. In this case, easily stressed and agitated individuals, like Indiana, may not be comfortable in a portable where many monkeys would surround her. Individuals that are calm and more relaxed, like Oona, are better-suited individuals to move into portables for possible introductions.
When making movements in the corridor or extension it is important to consider all of the monkeys who will be affected by the movement. For example two females (or males) cannot be placed opposite an enclosure containing a single male (or female) of the same species, because they will compete for dominance. This can possibly lead to fights in a otherwise stable pair. It is important to understand the history and behaviors of each individual because it will help determine and anticipate if a placement is likely to work well, without actually moving individuals and causing stress. For example, a single male like Sylvan should not be placed opposite a male of the same species. Sylvan gets agitated and chitters when males of the same species are given food or attention. One type of placement that works well is marmosets opposite tamarins. The differences between the two species mean they do not interact much across the corridor. Another good placement would be single females opposite one another, for example Camille and Indiana are placed opposite one another.There are currently several single individuals that we will be trying to pair in the near future. In order to have the best chance of success in pairings as well as placement, we use what we know of individuals’ behaviors, interactions and attributes to make educated assessments.
Sources: PPS Intern Manual
Special Topic: Intern Caley
Spider Monkeys by Christina Campbell. Chapter 4- Diets of Wild Spider Monkeys: Animal Prey
Spider monkey diets consist of a variety of fruits, plants, fungi, wood, and even some invertebrates and insects. All Ateles species’ diets are determined by the regions they live and the seasons that foods are available.
Animal prey is a small part of the spider monkey diet, and consists of a select group of caterpillars, Meliponid bees (a genus of stingless bees, widespread in warm areas of the Neotropics) and termites. Spider monkeys typically forage for insects in short term splurges feeding on one insect species at a time. These feeding bouts last for a couple of weeks each year. To obtain caterpillars, the monkeys will usually find them on a specific tree and then travel around searching for more caterpillars for up to 50 minutes or more.
To collect Meliponid bees, spider monkeys will position themselves at arms length, and then stick their arms in, to disturb the nest. They collect the bees in their hair, and will consume up to 100 bees in a single feeding. In a study by Van Roosmalin, it was noted that spider monkeys will eat only select types of termites. In another study, spider monkeys were seen eating the termite nest, and not the termites directly. This consumption of soil is known as Geophagy. Campbell pgs. 109-110).At Pacific Primate Sanctuary, the outdoor enclosure of spider monkey brothers, Carlos and Montana, provides them with access to various insects, allowing them to forage naturally, like they would in the wild.
“One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them.”
—Martin Luther King Jr.
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 50 primates saved from research laboratories, animal dealers, and tourist attractions. Here they can heal, form social groups, and live free from exploitation.
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