Jan 10 2009

You know you are close to the Wildlife Rescue Center when you hear through the trees the "ooo, ooo" mournful cries of the gibbons as they communicate with each other. We are wakened every morning by their calls in anticipation of their morning meal. They know exactly when to anticipate their food and don't appreciate having to wait.

Some of the primates relate better to men than women and vice versa. Mommy, a large gibbon whose home is in the forest, doesn't like women. She gets very loud and very active when aher food is delivered by a woman. I walked with Ray recently in the forest to try to get a photo of Mommy. She didn't like my intrusion and in addition to her regular calls, she inflated her neck pouch to produce the loudest noises I have every heard. We left her alone.

Stumptail macaque	Long Tailed Macaque
Macaque reaching for food	Food is pullied up to a Gibbon enclosure

How did the Wildlife Center end up with so many Gibbons, Macaques and other primates, you ask? Many of the monkeys were former pets. There is still a lively business obtaining cute baby monkeys to be sold as pets. Poachers search the jungles for mothers with new babies. They shoot the mother and both baby and Mom fall to the ground. If the cute, cuddly baby survives, it is taken and sold as a pet. Just as with any animal, the baby stage doesn't last. Primates grow up, get larger and more aggressive and their owners can no longer cope with them. Many are just abandoned in a forest, left at a temple or given to the Forestry Department. The same fate awaits gibbons used as props by beach photo to entice tourists to have their photo taken. They too get too large and aggressive to behave nicely with potential customers. The now adult primates have never developed survival skills. That is when the Wildlife Center gets a call to please take care of yet another frightened animal.

Black faced gibbon

Gibbons ready for breakfast

In the center, once a new resident is comfortable with their situation, they are placed in large shaded enclosures that have tire swings, trees to climb and companions to play with. They are fed a diet of 8 different fruits and two vegetables, twice a day. We who prepare their food have remarked that their meals look mighty appetizing. It is all food we love ourselves. Several times a week the primates are given treats, such as boiled eggs or monkey chow for variety.

We volunteers are warned not to touch or pet the primates. I thought the main reason was to teach the monkeys to be less dependent on humans and therefore become candidates for release to the wild. Monkeys can also be very jealous animals. Fights have been reported when one and not all the monkeys get extra attention. Monkeys can become angry that they do not get extra attention every time a human approaches, so it is better not to start to pet them in the first place. It is also dangerous to try to touch a monkey. Volunteers soon learn to keep an appropriate distance from the enclosures. Gibbons, especially, have very long arms and are likely to grab a hat or hair that just happens to be within reach. Feeding some of the more aggressive residents can be a challenge. The timing to place a bowl of food within easy reach of the primate and get away without incident has to be just right. It is a bit unnerving at first but we soon become comfortable with the monkeys and they get to recognize us as well.

On the other hand, there are some primates who need individual attention in order to get their meal. Winston, a macaque, will only eat if his bowl is held for him by the volunteer. Otherwise, the two other macaques in his enclosure eat his share.

Jeanne feed Winston

Ray scatters the food

Most of the macaques live in large open enclosures, or "fields. We leave several bowls of food for them twice a day, plus scatter food treats for them as a before meal treat.

Fussy eater

Langurs are another primate found at the wildlife center. They are even pickier about their food than gibbons or macaques. They get special diets as they cannot tolerate they same foods as the other primates. They cannot even eat bananas!

We all find the primates fascinating and soon develop favourites. I can't believe how athletic these animals are and how fast they can swing from one part of their enclosure to another. It has to be seen to be believed.