February 2nd to 10th

February 2, 2013

It is 7.30am and those of you who know me will be surprised to find that I have been up and awake since 5.30. It won’t last – combination of jetlag and new surroundings.

The flight was long, too long – a sixteen hour cycle of try to watch a movie, try to sleep, stretch legs, and repeat. Add some turbulence and you have all the makings of a fun flight to Africa.

I got in later that expected last night but my first impression of South Africa was how much it looks like England. Green fields and the scenery on the drive from Johannesburg to the sanctuary is oddly reminiscent of the English countryside, much more than I ever expected. In addition, the radio played a lot of British 80s and 90s pop that I rarely hear in the US, and even some of the ads have impeccable English accents. But then, they switch seamlessly between English and Afrikaans.

Since I got in so late, I didn’t have a chance to look around the sanctuary, but I jump straight into things today. There are lots of other volunteers here, mostly from the UK, a few Americans and Australians. The couple who lives next door to the sanctuary, Astrid and Manie, operates a shuttle and tour service, as well as preparing meals for those of us who want to order them. They also operate a bar for the volunteers.

For the next three weeks I am sharing a dorm room with some of the other volunteers (and incidentally, at 40, I am by far the oldest). A bunk, a small locker, one shower between about 18 of us, and plenty of cats and dogs running around everywhere. But don’t worry – I’ll get to the monkeys….

So end of day one, and it’s been a hot one. 40 degrees! A morning of getting to know the marmosets and giving them their nutritional supplements. A two hour break for lunch so down to laze by the pool, and then another few hours of work, today cleaning the feeding trays and then feeding the marmosets again. I then decided to walk to the nearest supermarket. As it happens, this was not the best idea given the heat and the fact that once I got there, it was closed. Luckily they opened up for me but with no power, I grabbed a few basics in darkness and left it at that. I bought a few more bits and pieces at the shop on site so I won’t starve today or tomorrow. But I’m thinking I may make use of Astrid’s cooking skills and take out menu a lot more than I had planned. Since the fridges are so overcrowded, that wouldn’t be a bad idea anyway.

February 3, 2013

Is it possible to have too much liquid? I know it is, but I don’t think it’s even remotely possible in this weather.

Today, I helped dig a ditch for a bathtub; the four Barbary macaques will enjoy a nice cool soak to escape the sun. After that, it was my turn to have cuddle time with Oma. Oma is a rather elderly (about 25 years old) macaque who has spent most of her life around humans and, as a result, has very little idea of how to be a monkey. She loves human contact, so much so that cuddle time is a part of the regular schedule. I was warned not to make eye contact and to let her come to me. I needn’t have been concerned. She came straight over, pulled off my baseball cap, climbed onto my shoulder and spent most of the next hour grooming me. She was fascinated by my hair and also spent time licking my ears, grooming my arms, and then laying back to let me groom her. I didn’t have my camera with me so I promise to take my phonecam with me next time (my new Nikon is way too nice to risk in the enclosure).



Feeding Thimone... what awesome hair!



February 4, 2013

So let me introduce a few of the characters here at the sanctuary, with promises of many more to come over the next few weeks.

Goliath is one of the many marmosets here, mostly rescued from the pet trade. I’ve spent the past few days feeding them, topping up their feed later in the day, and then hand feeding them tiny pellets later in the afternoon. One enclosure contains three meanies, whom we’ve nicknamed the ASBOs (for non-Brits, that refers to Anti-Social Behavior Orders). The three line up like little gangsters when anyone comes near, spiky hair sticking up. They have attitude. Then there’s Bushman, another little meanie. He scratched me on my very first day and then tried to bite me; apparently he’s the same with everyone.

But Goliath is a sweetie. He likes hand hugs. When I hold my hand up to the wire, he reaches around and clutches hold with both hands, and then rubs himself up and down. His mate Barney tends to look unimpressed by the whole shebang.

This is Barney... and my finger

Incidentally, I have a namesake here. There is a marmoset named Fiona, but sadly I have no fun stories to tell about her yet. She shares an enclosure with Goofy, an elderly marmoset who is now quite senile. He sits around looking generally confused, and often has to be reminded to eat.

That’s just a few of the marmosets. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about the real crazy cuties – the capuchins.

In other news, the weather for the last few days has been hot, hot, hot – close to 40 degrees. Today was much cooler, only 34 degrees. Last night the winds really whipped up and for a couple of hours, it seemed as though the roof might blow off, while leaves and debris from outside came blowing in. It sounds like it’s whipping up again this evening.

February 5, 2013

Another storm last night meant that this morning was quite overcast and cool, perfect since I was working on a construction project with Kirsty. It’s started to warm up but is still quite comfortable.

I promised to mention the capuchins so here we go. Jethro (one of my personal favorites) lives with his mother, Anushka. He is adorable and loves to hold my hand. His mom is quite protective though and will quickly intervene if she senses any problems. But he will happily reach through the wire to hold hands whenever I pass. He also grabs for my camera and, when I refuse to give it to him, runs away before engaging in another display of “look I can hang by my tail and I’m coming back so you can love me.”

Meet Jethro, he's one of my favorite new friends!

Next to mother and son are Chino and Willow. Willow had to have her arm amputated after an infection while she lived in a zoo (there is some speculation as to whether her arm could have been saved with proper treatment). Anyway, once she lost her arm, the zoo no longer wanted her on display to the public and she came to the sanctuary. So there’s a lesson for you all: zoos tend to only want the nice looking animals on display. Willow keeps to herself and has very little to do with anyone, although if she senses that Chino is in trouble, she can throw an pretty mean punch with her one arm.

Chino is the drama queen of the sanctuary. He was rescued from the pet trade as a baby and so was hand reared by one of the volunteers, Jackie. As a result, he is incredibly attached to her and will shriek loudly if he sees or hears her. She was away for a three week vacation shortly before I arrived, and I’m told when she returned, Chino was beside himself with excitement. Once Jackie is around, he wants nothing to do with any other people. But when she’s not around, he will put on quite a show, swinging, dancing, and doing an odd little habit where he clutches his stomach with one arm while bending over, as if he is sick, all the while checking to make sure you are watching.

The capuchins,  with the exception of Willow, love plenty of attention and are quite little show offs.

February 6, 2013

Five new volunteers arrived last night and, as if to welcome them, the heavens opened and the roof leaked. Even buckets couldn’t stop the deluge from flooding the walkway to the kitchen and the communal dining area. Fortunately by this morning, it had dried up.

If you’re wondering why the roof is in such bad shape, such is the nature of living quarters here at IPR. International Primate Rescue founder and owner, Sue originally had a small sanctuary up in Polokwane, about three hours north of here. She rented a property which meant constantly needing to find new rentals every six months or so, and as much as you may think that moving is a pain in the neck, imaging moving with monkeys! Eventually she and her husband made the decision to buy some land closer to Pretoria, but to do that, they needed money. And so, they left the monkeys in the care of a friend and moved to England where they spent five years working and saving. Five years doing something you don’t really want to do in a place you don’t want to be, but knowing the goal at the end – that is dedication.





Willow sees something interesting



The mortgage on the land is nearly paid off, but since it is not open to the public and donations are very few and far between, IPR relies entirely on volunteers and their volunteer fees for funding. As Sue explained when she showed me around, it is a constant juggling act for paying bills. My program fees are helping to build an enclosure so that Brandi, a new monkey, can be helped. Brandi is in a pretty dire situation, currently being kept on a very short leash by an elderly lady. She is very dangerous and her owners are ready to euthanize her if IPR doesn’t take her by a certain date. 

So that sums up one of the difficulties of running a sanctuary. Just when you might start to pay off a few bills, you get a call about an animal that will be euthanized if you can’t find room for them. And that is something Sue aims to avoid if at all possible.

February  7, 2013

Today was a happy one for the four Barbary macaques here at IPR; they could finally return to their outdoor enclosure. A severe storm a few months ago had damaged much of their enclosure. While repairs and rebuilding have been going on, Solomon and company have been stuck indoors. Finally the big moment came and we all gathered for the door opening. They were out in a flash, climbing up the ladders to sit on the topmost platform. And when I went to get food bowls from the marmosets this evening, they were still happily philosophizing on the joy of the outdoors.



Barbary Macaques in the new enclosure



Since it was Thursday, I also had my first Monkey Time, the weekly period when short-termers get to go in one of the enclosures. I spent my Monkey Time with Thimone, the sanctuary’s only tamarind. A fun time was had by all.

 

And finally, in grand events that took place on February 7, I now have my first sunburn. After a few days of comfortable temperatures, today was an absolute scorcher and the SPF 50 didn’t stop the African sun from giving me a distinct red glow.

February 10, 2013

Was it The Kinks who sang about lazing on a sunny afternoon? For some reason, I’ve got that song stuck in my head. Whoever sang it, we are definitely not lazing about over here. Friday was my day off so I visited a local mall and then spent the afternoon by the pool. This mall was very different to the one I’d visited earlier in the week; this was all black. Race and segregation are still very complicated in South Africa. There may not be legal segregation, but there is most definitely social and economic segregation.

It was back to work yesterday with the day being spent adding shade netting to an enclosure. Oma has finally been removed from the Sussie/Spartacus situation. Sussie and Spartacus are two rhesus macaques who’ve spent their entire lives in zoos and have always been together. Sue was warned of Spartacus’ dominant behavior when they arrived from a zoo in Cape Town. He has apparently injured Sussie multiple times in the past. Things reached a head when Oma was introduced into the neighboring cage. Spartacus became very enamored of her, to the point of attacking Sussie twice, creating large gashes on her legs. From that point on, the trio was under constant observation and finally the decision was made to separate them all. Oma has been moved to an enclosure by the spider monkeys (where she promptly attempted to strangle one). Meanwhile, Sussie and Spartacus are now in separate enclosures, with an empty one between them. Spartacus spent yesterday staring at where Oma used to sit and completely ignoring Sussie, while Sussie spent the day gazing longingly at her former love. Macaque emotions are clearly complicated.

This is Chino

In the evening, we had a braai (barbecue) for all the volunteers. Good food and good conversation well into the night.

This morning, I’ve been making enrichment toys for Sussie, Spartacus, and Oma to encourage their foraging skills. Sussie was like a kid on Christmas morning with hers. The other two are still mourning their lost love.