Zet & Flash arrive at the sanctuary

We got off to an early start to go and collect Flash and Zet.  Naturally, the bakkie that we were to borrow was not there on time, so we arrived late anyway.  We arrived back with Zet and Flash at lunch time (it was a two hour trip each way) and started putting their toys up in their new enclosure adjoining that of Lilly, Dude and Suki.  Flash started back chatting them right away, but the poor little guy was very stressed and we hope that he wil be friendlier when he settles down a bit.  Lilly was terribly excited at the prospect of some play mates her age and was darting back and forth along the wire trying to get them to play with her.  She was still there long after her foster parents Dude and Suki had gone off to bed.  Unfortunately, the newcomers were not in the mood to play.

This morning, the vet came back to see Stav but said that he was going to leave his wound rather than stress him out again to stitch it up.  Stav has to be separated from the others while his wound heals though as Solomon keeps picking at it.

Belba, who had two teeth removed yesterday is doing well and taking her antiboitic like a good little girl.

After another busy day, l was not amused when the monkeys heating was not working again.  One of the labourers tried to fix it, but we may need to call in a professional.  Poor Honey will be very dispointed tomorrow when her heater is not on first thing in the morning.

An apple tree for Zettie

Today l went out and bought Zettie a beautiful apple tree.  We are making a memorial forest for the monkeys who have passed on by planting a fruit tree over their bodies.  That way, they wil live on through their trees.

We took Belba (Common Marmoset) to the vet.  She had to have two teeth out, poor little thing.  Belba arrived at the sanctuary on the 11th September 2010.  She is tiny because she in inbred - very cute.  She is on antiboitics and a pain killer and will feel a lot more comfortable without the painful absess which keeps popping up.

Solomon has taken most of Stav's (Macaques) stitches out.  We are waiting for the vet to come and have a look and decide whether he needs to be stitched up again.  We are all hoping that he does not have to go through all that again, poor Stav is a nervous wreck and will not even take treats from us.

A tough day

In the morning, Zettie (Common Marmoset) did not look well and was not interested in taking her supplement.  She was offered electrolites in apple juice, but took very little.  We were all worried about 14 year old Zettie as she was very lethargic. 

Early in the afternoon,  we noticed that Stav (Barbary Macaque) had a gash in his leg.  It was obvious that it would need to be stitched up so we called the vet.  While we were waiting, Zettie fell from her bed box area onto the floor, so we put her in a small cage with a blanket and left her in her enclosure so that she could be close to her family.  It was a warm day, so she was comfortable.  Her breathing was very shallow and we prepared ourselves for the worst.

The vet arrived and examined her.  He thought that she had kidney failure, and no chance of recovery.  Everyone said goodbye to her and she was euthanised.  It was really sad, but the right decision for her.  She was died very peacefully.  She is survived by mate, Vosi and sons Howard and Vince.

Then it was time to deal with Stav.  The vet darted him and stiched him up.  Sarah and Jackie sat with him in his enclosure until he came round.  He was falling all over the place and we feared that he would hurt himself.  It was getting late, so we placed him in his sleeping box to recover.  We checked on him later that night and he was sitting up and looking altert.

After a tough day, we noticed that he monkeys heating system was not working.  The days are warm, but Honey (Squirrel monkey) still likes her heating on at night.  We tried hard to find the problem but with our limited knowledge of electrics, did not suceed.  Bobby (Squirrel monkey) was throwing a tamtrum while we were trying to adjust his heating (those of you who know him, will know what l mean). He was not amused, but fortunately it was not a cold night and we will fix up the heating as soon as possible. 

Where was Nigel hiding

This morning, at supplements, Nigel (Common Marmoset) was nowhere to be found.  We were all very worried and just about to go in and check the sleeping box when he suddenly appeared.

Volunteers spent all morning making enrichment (strings of yummy food) for our bored Macaques, which kept them busy this afternoon.  The outdoor area of their enclosure is not complete yet and the bored boys have found ways to get out into the security area twice.  Mike and Sarah have actually been in with them to coax them back to their enclosure.  Fortunately, the are all gentle giants, but a little stubbon sometimes.  We are trying to find new ways to keep them all occupied until their enclosure is complete (in about three weeks).

We were hoping that single Maverick (common marmoset) would get on with the other new comers from Israel, Shacked and Pecan (common marmosets) but no luck.  They are in adjoining enclosures and were not impressed with each others company today.  We will be building Pecan and Shacked a new enclosure and moving them out.  We are hoping that Maverick will get on with Abbu.

Belba (common marmoset) will be going to the vet on Thursday, probably to have a tooth pulled.  She has absess on her face which pops up from time and time.

A happy day at the sanctuary

It was a wonderful, relaxing day at the sanctuary - except for one minor incident.  Solomon (Barbary Macaque) got out, just into the security area.  We grabbed some bannanas and brave Sarah went in with him - Solomon calmly followed her back into his enclosure.  The Macaques are very placid and gentle.  This afternoon, we opened the trap door between their enclosures so that they could all have direct contact with each other again.  They were all very friendly towards each other.  We put a large tub of water in for them and they all had fun splashing around - it was lovely to see.  We were feeding them a lot of treats and everyone was enjoying them - except for Shapken (Mona monkey) who had a hissy fit when he saw us feeding them treats.

This afternoon, volunteers went in with their favourite monkeys - so we all had a relaxed and happy monkey day. 

We bring our boys home

We were at the quarantine station as soon as it opened at 7:30am, to meet the vet who would help us bring our boys home.  After a long month in quarantine, Barbary Macaques, Jonathan, Solomon, David and Stav and Marmosets Pecan and Shacked were ready for release.  The Macaques were lightly sedated by the vet, Dr David Pretorius who checked them all before transporting them to the sanctuary.  He stayed with all the primates for an hour after their arrival at the sanctuary to make sure they were all well before leaving.

First, we released the Marmosets, Pecan and Shacked into their new enclosure.  A volunteer sat outside to encourage them as they investigated their new home.  We thought that they may be afraid, but they enjoyed the freedom of more space and were soon playing with each other.

The Macaques were released in pairs into adjoining enclosures.  They were housed in pairs in quarantine and we wanted to be sure that they were still friends before putting them all back together.  We are keeping them separate to monitor their behaviour towards one another until Sunday, and if all goes well we can open the trap door between their enclosures and hopefully they can all be together again.  They were all a little afraid at first, but soon made friends with the volunteers when they were handed some treats.  This afternoon, they enjoyed watching the labourers working on the very large outdoor area of their enclosure.  We are going to build platforms in the large trees in their enclosure – so that they can climb up and sit in them.  By this evening, all our newcomers looked very relaxed.

Volunteers were on a rota to sit with all the newcomers all day and feed them treats as a way of bonding with them.

We are all delighted with the new additions to our family and look forward to caring for them. 

A sad day

Yesterday, we went to collect this beautiful little boy.  We left in a hurry, very concerned about his health.  His mom had been shot and we knew that he had a shoulder wound.  We took him directly to the vet and arrived home with an antiboitic and pain killer which we gave him right away.  The poor little boy was very weak, dehydrated and in pain, so we were anxious to get him to Bambelela as soon as possible.  We managed to pursuade him to drink a little before meeting a volunteer from Bambelela half way to hand him over. 

This morning, we were all very saddened to hear that he had died during the night, from his wounds.  Later Bambelela informed us that he still had a bullet in his shoulder, no wonder he was in so much pain.  At least he is with his mommy now and no longer in pain.