Sarah Baeckler of CSNW is exploiting the Sanctuary Chimpanzees

Dear readers;
In a previous post I talked about how Sarah baeckler was using the sanctuary chimps in a magazine. Exploiting I say! Why is it ok for her to do that but when private owners exploit their chimpanzees it's the most awful thing in the world? IN my opinion her sanctuary and some of the zoos don't agree with Chimps in the entertainment business because if they are the only ones with chimps, they get to make money off of them.

Funny how Sarah was put at Sid Yost ranch to spy on him, when he was in fact one of the best trainers I ever meet. I spent 2 weeks with his chimps and him. One of which was Angel who was about 220 lbs. She laid in the hammock and let me tickle her, we did gardening together, she was just like an adult person. Now IF she had been abused at ALL, she would not have been out of her enclosure walking around the ranch. So Sarah and Bruce Wagman of the ALDF had a plan to set him up, she lied, and his chimps were taken away. For a reward........ she got the tiny little sanctuary, which by the way is in the coldest part of the country with her little troupe of 7 chimps. A thank you per say for lying. I know she lied about me! She along with others of her statue will lie to gain popularity. In my opinion she is a want to be, the worst kind of chimpanzee people. Those chimps should NOT be in such cold weather. How many times a year do you think they go outside? For years they never even had an outside enclosure. To me that's abuse!
After posting the previous article I received this comment about her, which in my opinion is right on the mark.

Comment from one of my readers
This is hideous. Is there no other way for the hypocrites to gain noteriety and donations other than to pat themselves on the back and bring down others?


Ms Baeckler, well known in the small chimp circles she runs with, has been used as a pawn and figurehead for their advocacy of non-exploitation for almost seven years now.

She has made a career out of whoring herself for her own noteriety and fame, at the expense of others.

Is she truly a primatologist?

Is she truly and advocate?

Or is she just a mouthpiece for the Goodall's and the Fouts' of the world - who used the bespectacled mousey little make believe scientist to lie about Yost, advance her own personal agenda, and reward her with her little seven chimp sanctuary in the hills of Washington.

Hey Beackler, if you really want to do something valuable with your life, why don't you drag your sorry little lying ass in front of the cameras and tell the world all of the horrific things that the US Government is still doing to chimps - I don't see you advocate for them.

Glamour Schlamour.

Sarah Baeckler of CSNW is exploiting the Sanctuary Chimpanzees

Hi Readers;
This is one of the Sanctuaries that I truley believed in, until now! Sarah once wrote a horrible article on me when I had my chimps in the entertainment business. She had said that I was one of the worse "back yard" trainers. Even though Sarah never knew me or my chimps, she voiced a very harsh opinion of me with nothing to back up her opinion. No facts at all.  Now the very same Sarah Baeckler is exploiting the chimps at the sanctuary where she works in Glamour Magazine? Shame on you Sarah. Sanctioned is not exploiting. Carole noon would NEVER do such a thing if she were still alive.

Basically Sarah is doing the same thing that the entertainers do, exploit their chimps for money. Being in this magazine will bring in money, the same as trainers when they do jobs using the chimps. The only difference is the word "sanctuary"

This news article was sent to me.....

April 2011 News
Glamour Magazine!

CSNW Executive Director Sarah Baeckler is pictured, along with Burrito and Missy, in the May issue of Glamour Magazine. Don't worry - Sarah hasn't switched careers to become a model. The article is in the "Real Stories" section of the magazine featuring her work to uncover the abuse of chimpanzees in the entertainment industry. Pick up a copy today!

A chimpanzee that survives the physical and emotional trauma of capture can take years to recover

A new study, published in the International Journal of Primatology, examines 11 Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) member facilities, predicting their carrying capacity for chimpanzees and provides a roadmap for long term resource, infrastructure and financial planning.

Lead author Lisa Faust, PhD a research biologist with Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo said, "The most sobering part of this study is realizing that most of these institutions already report being at capacity or close to capacity, and yet on average the group of sanctuaries are collectively faced with accepting 56 new chimpanzee arrivals every year, most of them under the age of two to three years old. Because chimpanzees are long-lived, this means that most of the sanctuaries will need to sustain or increase their current size, because they will continue to accept new arrivals as part of their commitment to chimpanzee welfare and law enforcement."

Chimpanzees are an endangered species, and while poaching is illegal it remains a major problem threatening their continued survival.
"PASA sanctuaries play a vital role in helping rescue and rehabilitate chimpanzees and other endangered primates, and that is our main objective," said Doug Cress, executive director of PASA. "But it's easy to get caught up in the day to day fight for survival and lose perspective. This study is so important because it allows us to step back and see where we'll be in the coming years and decades and to plan accordingly. Population modeling on this level is a wonderful tool."

A chimpanzee that survives the physical and emotional trauma of capture can take years to recover. But PASA member sanctuaries accept that long-term commitment, even if the only possible alternative to lifetime care -- reintroduction, the physical return of the chimpanzees back to the forest -- is a difficult and relatively new endeavor.

Chimpanzee reintroduction projects currently underway at PASA sanctuaries in Congo and Guinea have put more than 50 chimpanzees back into the wild, and three Cameroon sanctuaries are preparing to double that number through reintroduction programs in the next few years. But the cost, which can easily double a sanctuary's budget, is just one of the many obstacles to more widespread reintroduction.
Story Credit Here

How does a person know if a sanctuary is a good one or a bad one?

Hi readers!
I received a question in regards to how does one know if a sanctuary is a good or bad one. This is such an important question that I thought it deserved a separate post. I have so much information on here that sometimes it's easy to overlook the comments.

Usually "good" sanctuaries are not located in a neighborhood around people, they are usually very remote with many acres of land to give the animals plenty of space, sanction and away from people for reasons such as, but not limited to, escapes, intruders.
They are a non-profit 501(c)3 and not an exhibitor. Their sanctuary is held by a board of directors with the non-profit owning the sanctuary. The sanctuary is not privately held. According to the USDA all exhibitors must "exhibit", "exploit" their animals by allowing people to come into the facility. Real sanctuaries do not allow people to be present around the primates. Educating people on Primates does not mean that they have to visit or see them in person. That's what zoos are for.

Before they open a new sanctuary they make sure that the primates are permitted not only on a state level but city and county. They obtain all permits before accepting any primates. They don't believe in private ownership of primates.

They speak to the public about how primates should not be held in a personal way. In no way do they help pet owners of primates with care and feeding because this is NOT something that they believe in. An example of this is if someone were to contact a real sanctuary about the care of their pet primate, the sanctuary would do everything in their power to educate that person and help them find a sanctuary to place them in instead of being some one's pet.

This question is so strong that that is why PETA and other organizations send people in under cover to find out what the sanctuary is really doing and what they are all about. Most of the time when these Animal Welfare people conclude their investigation the results are that it is not a true sanctuary.

Good sanctuaries usually have at least one person that has been trained in the drugs, dosage and weight combination to be able to dart an escaped Primate. This prevents any escapes from leaving the property. It sedates the Primate so that the caretakers can contain the animal back into it's enclosure or habitat.
Volunteers at good sanctauries are usually people with allot of experience or are working on a degree, not teenagers or friends.

With the question of good for the animals...

All Primates need ample space to thrive. They need to live with troupes of monkeys not singly housed or with one other monkey. In the wild which truly is where they belong they live in troupes up to 30 monkeys. When monkeys are not housed in proper space and in troupes some of their natural behaviour does not exist.

In my opinion and with my many years of experieince I would say that there are only a handful of good true sanctauries here in the US.

3 acres of land is NOT enough to be safe for monkeys at Frisky's wildlife & Primate Sanctuary

I have underlined the parts I agree with! Once again, I knew this woman personally and know that she had baby pet monkeys to start off with. You can read the rest of the articles and my knowledge by going under the category of Monkey owners. Colleen Layton should take some of the money that she has collected with donations and sell her home and move someplace where the monkeys are allowed. OR.... find a place for them all in a real sanctaury. I am even willing to help find placement for all of them.

Colleen Layton use to allow the children to pet the monkeys. That really has to make me wonder what else she is doing that is dangerous. That is soooo dangerous and not a sanctury at all! These are suppose to be sanctioned monkeys, which means no one is to bother them in any way except for the care of them.

Story;
Three acres of land in a residential area is the wrong place for monkeys, opponents of Frisky’s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary in Woodstock said Thursday at the latest Board of Appeals hearing.

I think it’s the wrong place for the wrong activity,” said Bob Lucido, whose home at 1884 Woodstock Road borders Frisky’s property. “It’s problematic just being there in a residential neighborhood.”

The hearing was the sixth held since August in what has been a long-running battle over whether Frisky’s should be able to keep its monkeys. The next Board of Appeals hearing is scheduled for May 26.

Elkridge resident Dale Schumacher, who has followed the case for years, said he sees Frisky’s as “burdensome” to its neighbors, especially as new homes are built in the area.

“At the same time, I recognize that the wildlife and primate sanctuary serves a local good and some accommodation should be provided,” he said.

Schumacher suggested that the numerous Frisky’s supporters get together and help find the sanctuary a larger, more suitable site.

Lucido agreed that Frisky’s, which moved to Woodstock after he bought his property, belongs in a different location.

“I just wish that somebody would stand up and say, ‘We’re going to do the right thing,’ ” he said. “And I think the right thing is to relocate this sanctuary where it belongs, which is on 20 or 30 acres.”


A real estate agent, Lucido even offered to help Frisky’s find a new site, commission-free.

Like other opponents, Lucido is concerned that the monkeys at Frisky’s are dangerous. Unlike the other opponents, he said he feels that Frisky’s owner Colleen Layton “does an extraordinary job” and that he is only “mildly concerned” about his safety with her running the facility.

“There’s always the chance of an animal getting out,” he said. “I’m deathly concerned about when Colleen’s not there.”

Board of Appeals member Henry Eigles said he, too, was concerned about Frisky’s future if Layton were no longer there.

Eigles asked if he would be satisfied if the board approved Frisky’s operation only as long as Layton was in charge.

Lucido said he would be comfortable with that but questioned whether the board could do that, but Eigles said the board has authority to add limitations when it grants zoning exceptions.

Schumacher also talked about the chance of a monkey escaping, calling it a “black swan” event, which is “high impact, very rare (and) hard to predict.”

Board member James Howard said people can be subject to other rare and dangerous events, such as being struck by lightning, to Schumacher responded that unlike in the Frisky’s situation, those risks are uncontrollable.
“Why would an individual move there if they were going to subject themselves to that risk?” board member Maurice Simpkins then asked.

“I’m not sure why they would,” Schumacher said.

The only other opponent to testify at the nearly four-hour hearing was Julianne Tuttle, whose testimony will continue at the next hearing. Tuttle and her husband Richard Wyckoff, who live next door to Frisky’s and share a driveway with the sanctuary, are the primary opponents in the case.

“I’m bothered because the oversight is weak and also because of all the unknowns with exotic animals,” Tuttle said during her testimony.

It was easy for Frisky’s to get its U. S. Department of Agriculture license, she said, as the department’s regulations on exotic animals are “pretty narrow.”

“There’s nothing on public safety” in the regulations, Tuttle noted. “The USDA license is a rather low bar.”

She said she thinks Frisky’s needs to be accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, an organization that has specific standards for how animal sanctuaries should operate.

“Accredited sanctuaries usually have group housing,” Tuttle gave as an example. “ Frisky’s has mostly single cages.”

Tuttle also talked about Frisky’s rule that visitors must stay at least two feet away from the monkeys at all times. She said the rule was not initiated until she and her husband disclosed evidence during proceedings on the case nine years ago that Frisky’s allowed kids to pet the monkeys.

“The two-foot rule is an excellent idea,” Tuttle said. “But it makes me wonder if there are other unsafe practices that we haven’t discovered and brought out into the public.”
Story Credit Here

Out of 2 Sanctuaries and a few zoos in MD, Judie Harrison was called to help a baby monkey be found

Hello Readers. For the past week I have been doing research on a place called Frisky's wildlife and Primate Sanctuary. I am trying to put all of the facts out there that I have found that seem to be different that what frisky's would like you to think. I posted this article, although very old. This article makes me wonder why the TV station called me and asked me to drive an hour to speak on behave of this missing monkey instead of Colleen Layton at Frisky's. This may have something to do with experience, knowledge and the willingness to help a monkey instead of trying to get the monkey to my place.

Story;
Owner, Monkey Expert Worry Animal Will Become Dangerous


POSTED: 10:01 pm EST February 2, 2005

sanctuaries
UPDATED: 1:37 pm EST February 3, 2005


GLEN BURNIE, Md. -- Police are searching for the person who broke into a Glen Burnie home and stole a baby monkey.

MISSING: Janey, 8 months old

Authorities are worried, not only for the animal's owners, but for the monkey's delicate health, WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Lowell Melser reported.

Anne Arundel County police are investigating a unique kidnapping in which someone got away with an 8-month-old monkey.

Michelle Howard is the owner of Nicky, 8, and 8-month-old Janey, both capuchin monkeys.

Lowell Melser Reports: Family Offers Reward For Missing Monkey

"They're pets, but they're kind of more like my children than pets, honestly," Howard said.

Police said somebody threw a cinderblock through a door of Howard's house and stole Janey and her cage sometime Wednesday afternoon.

"I really think it's somebody who's always wanted a monkey and couldn't afford one because they are very expensive," Howard said.

Besides their price -- a hefty $6,000 to $7,000 each -- the monkeys have very particular eating habits.

"She eats three to four times a day, [sometimes] nonstop. First thing in the morning, she's eating. She forages all day, and I'm just afraid whoever's taken her is not going to give her the proper care she needs," Howard


Michelle Howard owns the monkeys, and worries about the care for the missing 8-month-old.

Judie Harrison is the founder of one of Maryland's few monkey rescue programs.

"I feel bad for the monkey most of all because the monkey is who is gonna suffer," Harrison said.

She said capuchin monkeys can be very unpredictable, and when placed in the wrong hands, they can be a danger to themselves and their handlers.

"I fear for the people that have the little monkey because they don't know what they're getting themselves into," Harrison said.

"I'm just hoping that we'll find her, that's why I keep saying, 'We'll find her, we'll find her,'" Howard said.
The family is offering a $1,000 reward, Melser reported.
Story Credit Here and photos

Video of the news report and heading
"An expert on monkeys said capuchin monkeys can be very unpredictable, and when placed in the wrong hands, they can be a danger to themselves and their handlers."
That would be me

Things just aren't right at the Frisky's wildlife and Primate Sanctuary-Colleen Layton

Hi Readers;
I was directed to this link through an anon comment. Before you watch this video I would like to point out some things that I don't think that sound right.
These are all comments that Colleen Layton of Frisky's wildlife and Primate Sanctuary (?) has said.

• Colleen says that zoos will not take ex pet monkeys. Oh how untrue that is. PPI located in Texas has over 100 primates which 90% of them were ex pets. I know because I did volunteer work for them and meet and heard their stories. You can read about PPI here. I actually placed one of my monkeys there that had been a pet and he is paired up with a wonderful little female and they are so happy together. I support this little monkey by donatingg 150.00 per month for his care and food. I also donated 2 fairly new golf carts to help the caretakers out with the many acres they have to cover in a day. PPI is filled with trees, wildlife, big cages, lots of enrichment and wonderful weather all year long. Also, I placed my 2 chimpanzees a few years ago at the Little Rock Zoo, see here. So saying that the monkeys there would be euthanized is a big fat lie, unless Colleen does it on her own. There are a lot of Monkey sanctuaries out there that are allowed to be there, have the proper permits and licenses and are willing and able to take in the monkeys there at her place. Sounds like she is playing on the hearts of animal lovers, but it doesn't fool me. I would be willing to find placement of every single monkey she has. I know of a few good sanctuaries that still have open cages.
• I saw Colleen throwing grapes into the cage and calling it enrichment. That isn't enrichment, that's feeding and being lazy about it and calling it enrichment. Enrichment is things such as, but not limited to; take an empty roll of toilet paper, put nuts or whatever is healthy for the monkey, take paper towels and stuff it in the tube and hide them in the cage. This way the monkey "REALLY" has to look for them and then once they get them they have to open it up and get their goodies. Gosh I never ever considered throwing food into a cage as enrichment. Please.
• They are saying on this video that colleen has all of these monkeys in her home. Well the last time I was there, her home in which she lives in was to the right of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a separate building, not her home. They are trying to make it look like a fluff story and that Colleen has given up her home for these monkeys which isn't true.
• Colleen also says that she helped her neighbors move in. The only thing that I have heard is that she brought over a welcome basket for them.
• Colleen stats that she has triple locks on the cages and hinges. You can see by some of the recent photos of her place that some of the rows of caging don't have any type of fencing to protect someone from approaching one of the cages. Some of the rows have a small fence, low enough for even a child to climb. So let's say a child gets onto her property and starts wandering around, see's the monkeys, knows no better and reaches out for them. Monkeys are capable and will defend their territory (cage), so the child is going to get bit, scratched, pulled closer to the cage or all 3. Then how good are those locks? It wouldn't matter if you had 15 locks on each cage.
• Colleen also stats that she does wildlife rehabilitation. Well my dear Colleen monkeys are NOT wildlife. They have their own classification which is "EXOTIC" which does not fall under wildlife. Gee if it did, we would have monkeys living in our trees here in the US. I noticed one of the neighbors said she would buy someone elses house. Well, are you going to buy every single house where the people are unhappy about the monkeys? That's the most ridiculous thing I have heard. I think that woman needs to read about how Colleen had at least one pet monkey. She would dress him, take him out into public, and so forth. (you can read that article under sanctuaries here on this blog) then perhaps she would see what is really going on there.

Too many things are so wrong with this! I can't even imagine that 23 primates were taken from pet owners and given to frisky's just in MD! If this sanctaury was all that good, then why wasn't armini the baby monkey placed there with her? I got a call to take him and I said NO. Baby monkeys are way to much work, they require alot of interaction because if they were with their mother they would be on the go all of the time. Gosh I hate it when people try to keep exotic animals under false pretenses. It's not fair to the primates and they could certainly have a better life in a good, real sanctuary in large cages, fresh air, nice weather and not have to worry about being friendly towards their caretaker.

When I had primates I said who I rescued and who I bought, never lied about what I did with working the ones I could and leaving the rescued ones alone. My first monkey was Reggie. I got a call  from a friend saying that a man was caught beating the monkey in his back yard and the man said that if someone didn't buy him he was going to set him free. My husband and I drove about 3 hours with our friends and met the guy and the monkey. My husband looked into the tiny little carrier and the monkey reached his hand out and punched him right in the eye. After getting him back we noticed he didn't have a single tooth in his mouth, he was etremely skinny and mean. The end of this story is, we finally got him  in with a female and the 2 of them had 3 large cages that linked together with  cage tunnels. So my first monkey was not a baby, no a pet but a rescue.

I also wanted to note that my last visit there when you walk into the door of the sanctuary(?) (NOT HER HOME) there is a black and white capuchin monkey that is an adult and is being held in a BIRD CAGE!!!!!! What kind of sanctuary would restrict the movement and space a monkey needs and put them in a bird cage for god sakes. That alone to me should NOT be allowed! In the wild which is their natural behaviour they would travel miles just in one day, so how is that monkey and the others mental health being locked up in a tiny little cage?


 There was no lock down on the cage and I was told by Colleen not to approach the cage because she was mean and would bite me. Then how does the inside of the cage get cleaned? She can't handle the monkey, it has no lock down so how? If she would to open the cage door, I know from experience that monkey will be out!!!!!! Does she roll the cage outside and hose it down with the monkey in it? There were also other smaller monkeys to the right also held in the same fashion and in the same room as birds. Does she have a quarantine cage for the new monkeys she takes in? A quarantine cage means that the new monkey has to be in there for 30 days and can't be breathing the same air as everyone else. So that would mean they would have to be in a completely different building. 

Video Link here

Colleen Layton of Frisky's wildlife started out having a pet monkey

Well readers, like I said before, everyone has skeletons in their closets. This woman Colleen Layton shows herself as a sanctuary, however you can see in this article that that is not how she started out. She bought a baby monkey and says it was rejected by it's mother. Don't they all say that? Gosh if that were really true then the monkeys in the wild would be extinct. Gosh who would be there to raise all of their neglected monkeys.

Notice how she mentions changing his diapers, he's loose in the house and turns the TV off, and she even brought him out into the public to take Karate Lessons with his own outfit?  OH COME ON!!!!.  Colleen Layton also says that when buying a monkey "Lack of knowledge by the buyer". What kind of knowledge did Colleen have? What type of experience did she have to qualify herself as being able to have a baby pet monkey? She also states that "Very few people should own a monkey". This I agree with her on except she shouldn't have had them either!!!!! Another comment she made was "monkeys don't belong in cages" um.... aren't all of her monkeys in cages? She also took her pet monkey to work, to the food store and the feed store. Sounds like a pet to me, doesn't sound like a sanctuary monkey to me. No REAL sanctuary would ever ever take a monkey out of a cage unless they were sedated and going in for medical treatment or a transfer. Soooooo many lies. And to bring a monkey to a regular DR? They don't know anything about monkeys for god sake!!!! And what Dr. in his right mind would allow a monkey into his examine room, where humans go?

The Simian Society which Colleen belonged to is for monkey pet owners. They promote responsible monkey care. There is no responsible monkey care when people own them!!! You can check them out here So this is NOTHIING to be proud of when you are suppose to be a "SANCTUARY"

So Colleen and Volunteers, perhaps this so called sanctuary is a cover up for her loving baby monkeys. This is why I say check out the sanctuaries, don't always believe what they say.

I received a comment, which I didn't feel as though it needed posting that she has awards up on her walls. You know people, you can make them in about 2 minutes on your computer and no one would know the difference. It's a nice show piece.

This is the monkey I was talking about how he ripped his stomach open after Colleen made him do a little circus act. This was told to me by Colleen Layton.

Also notice she says the raccoons are licensed but in another article on this blog (under monkey owners or sanctuaries), the DNR came and took them away.

Too many differences for me......
Isn't it funny how monkey pet owners can't resist showing them off to the public. NOT!
BTW for the person that asked where they could find the information about the alleged bite of colleens monkey in a dept store, I am still trying to verify that. Keep checking back.

When I use to work with the monkeys and Chimps I never lied about them, never said they were rejected and took in ones that I had room for. Now I speak for the Primates since I have placed my Primates years ago after knowing what I did was wrong. Why can't people just be honest with themselves and others? Why try to be someone or something you are not? I made things right for my Primates and now I try to help others.

Story;
November 06, 1991

By Ellen Hawks
Ellen Hawks,Evening Sun StaffNO MATTER what his surrogate mother wants, Gizmo, a 2-year-old Rhesus monkey, has established his own routine.

''I could run a clock by him,'' says Colleen Layton, who adopted the monkey when he was 3 weeks old.

''At 10 every evening, he notifies me that 'we' are going to bed by turning off the TV, even though he loves it, and the lights. If I'm writing he takes my pen.

''I comply. I clean him up, change his diaper -- he won't wear one that is soiled -- and I get his bottle of Similac.

''After a good burp he grabs his teddy bear and we go to bed and he snuggles up. In the morning we have a cereal breakfast and he gets a children's Flintstone vitamin. He also has fruits and vegetables -- no red meats,'' says mother Layton, who operates a small wildlife farm in Howard County where she rehabilitates wildlife orphans. Most of her charges are animals indigenous to the area, including a black bear cub.

Gizmo came to Layton from friends in Cincinnati who owned his mother. The mother had rejected Gizmo. ''She wouldn't feed him and just banged him on the head all the time. So, I drove up and got him. We bonded on the way home and now he's my constant companion,'' says Layton, who went through the proper legal procedure to own him.
''I am licensed to have wildlife by the federal Fish and Wildlife Department, but with Gizmo I had to have a special inspection of home and cage. He has a very large cage, 24-by-12 feet and 8 feet high with a tunnel above ground from the cage to my cabin -- but he seldom uses it,'' she says.

Every Wednesday, Layton, her son Ricky and Gizmo all take karate lessons at the Wozin DoJo Karate School in Laurel.

''Gizmo loves it," she says. "He has a suit to wear, but it took him eight hours to learn how to do a karate bow on command. You know the bow where you put your hands on the top of your thighs and bend forward keeping your eyes on your opponent?''

At her farm, which she calls Frisky's, Layton has 15 raccoons who are also licensed. Most of them are babies of raccoons she brought from Washington State many years ago. ''That was long before we had a rabies crisis here and now I wouldn't let these go because of the rabies scare. My oldest is 13 years old,'' she says.

pTC Layton, whose father is an American Indian and mother is Irish, says she abhors trapping of animals. ''About 30 years ago, when we lived in Washington State, my father trapped raccoons and if there were signs of babies I'd find and save them.

Gizmo, according to Layton, could live as long as 30 to 50 years and will grow to the size of a 5- or 6-year-old child. Layton dresses him according to the weather, just as she would any child -- Gizmo's temperature is only about one degree above a human's temperature, she says.

Gizmo is taken to a regular physician rather than a veterinarian. ''I take him after hours to a health clinic for his booster shots and health exams," Layton says. "Every disease a man can get so can a monkey. He has all of his inoculations and a perfect health certificate.''
She adds that Gizmo is her constant companion. She takes him ''to the grocery and feed stores, we work outside and I've learned to clean cages, dip the dogs and much more with him under my jacket or on my arm.''

He also goes with her on her job. Layton makes videos for people of household inventories, family histories or with their pets, anything a person may want to keep as a video record.

In their travels, Gizmo is literally tied to her. ''I lock him to me,'' she explains, ''by securing a leash around my waist and his waist. It secures him to me should some unexplained disturbance frighten him.

''Taking him with me is not for attention, he's just bonded to me. I get disturbed over questions such as, 'is that a live monkey and where could I get one?' "

''Very few people should own a monkey," she adds, "and I hate the fact that in many pet shops, the sale of a monkey is pushed without first telling a buyer the other side of raising one. Monkeys are not novelty pets and because of a lack of concern by the seller and lack of knowledge by the buyer, most die within a year of purchase.

''When Gizmo came to me I immediately contacted and registered Gizmo with the Simian Society of America, located in St. Louis, which offers me excellent information and advice I can rely on about raising him.
''Monkeys are a full-time job. They don't belong in cages and they don't like children. Most people do not know their private time is over if they own a monkey. Also that a monkey will bite and may, with time, become very temperamental. I'm hoping the time I'm giving Gizmo will keep him happy and content," says Layton.
“Re-used with permission of the Baltimore Sun Media Group.  All Rights Reserved.”
There is no link to this article.
I contacted the Baltimore sun and bought the rights to post this.

Anjelica Houston speaks out about 200 Chimps housed at Alamogordo

I recently read, with great happiness and relief, that nearly 200 chimps housed at the Alamogordo Primate Facility on Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico have won a temporary reprieve. Their planned transfer from Alamogordo, where they've been held since 2001, to another site in San Antonio, where they would likely be used for invasive research on a hepatitis C vaccine, has been postponed -- for the time being.

The Alamogordo colony traces its lineage to the Air Force's space chimp experiments in the late 1950s. Animal rights advocates and elected officials, including Jane Goodall, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Animal Protection of New Mexico, fought against the transfer of the chimps, and pushed for a National Academy of Sciences review of policies related to the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research. It is this review that is expected to delay the transfer for approximately two years.

However, simply delaying the transfer is not enough. These chimps have already endured decades of captivity, solitude, and invasive testing, and deserve to live out the rest of their days in peace.

Many of the Alamogordo chimps -- who should not be confused with the 266 chimpanzees the organization Save The Chimps (STC) rescued in 2002 from the Coulston Foundation, who are safe and will never be returned to biomedical research -- bear the scars of years of invasive biomedical research. They have been cut, prodded, caged, and isolated from their peers for decades.

There are many of us who question whether primate research has even yielded any substantive breakthroughs. I believe it is a source of shame for the United States that we are currently the only developed country that continues large-scale confinement of chimps in laboratories, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

Taxpayer dollars being used to relocate the chimps, construct new housing in San Antonio and provide for their daily care in the laboratory should instead be used to fund their lifetime care in a sanctuary, such as the remarkable sanctuary in Florida that Save the Chimps has created. Save the Chimps can now accommodate 300 chimpanzees on 12 three-acre islands of grass, palm trees, hills, and climbing structures, allowing the chimps to run and roam, visit with friends or find a quiet corner to relax, bask in the sun or curl up in the shade. The islands give the chimps choices and control over their own lives, choices that were lacking during their years of confinement in small cages. I had the privilege of narrating a video about Save The Chimps and its history and the work they are doing is truly phenomenal.

Save the Chimps and other wonderful organizations fighting for the welfare of chimpanzees cannot continue their efforts without public support. I encourage everyone who cares about animal welfare to contact their representatives on behalf of the Alamogordo chimps, requesting that they be retired permanently to a sanctuary, with funding provided for their lifetime care. They should also read about the Great Ape Protection Act, pending federal legislation that would retire about 500 federally owned chimpanzees currently in laboratories to permanent sanctuary.

There is no one else to speak for these chimpanzees -- it is up to us to fight for them. While we can't undo the horrific acts that were inflicted on them, we can all help write a much happier ending to their story.
Story Credit Here and video

Why does Frisky's Wildlife and Primate Sanctaury still have their monkeys?

Operators of an animal rehabilitation center in Howard County cannot legally keep primates on their property, the Court of Special Appeals held yesterday.

Colleen Layton and her husband Scott Robbins currently do business as Frisky's Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary Inc. on 3.7 acres in Woodstock. According to their Web site, they care for small, indigenous wildlife that has become orphaned or injured, for domestic animals such as rabbits and farm animals that can no longer be cared for properly.

They also care for primates from sanctuaries or private owners around the country, the Web site says - not orangutans or gorillas, but monkeys of the macaque, squirrel, capuchin and vervet guenon varieties.
Frisky's was notified in December 1999 that it was operating a charitable and philanthropic institution without a special exception approved by the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning.

The operators submitted a petition, which wound its way to the county Board of Appeals, which in 2004 granted Layton and Robbins an exception allowing them to operate an animal rehabilitation center on the property.

The exception, however, did not incorporate the right to operate a primate sanctuary. The board found insufficient evidence to support the approval of Frisky's as a wildlife or exotic animal "exhibitor," which would have allowed the keeping, holding or selling of wild or exotic animals under a Howard County Code provision then in effect.
Story Credit Here

What the public thinks of Colleen Layton of Frisky's wildife and Primate (Sanctaury?)

From: on 01/02/00


Unfortunately, Collen cannot give tours of her sanctuary to visitors. According to Colleens permit, it is illegal for her to have visitors at the sanctuary.

This is word for word from a post listed above. I have one Question,If it is illegal as she states,than why is she seen on tv with a group of school children at her sanctuary. In her newsletters she puts out, talks about a woman in charge of public relations whos job is to set up tours. I can only say that this woman will say whatever it takes to get your money.Whatever will touch your heart to get your money. Tell you sad storys about baby monkeys rejected at birth.Baby monkeys aren't rejected at birth,thay are pulled and sold for thousands of dollars.Your donations are spent to buy her more baby monkeys and support her hobby.Wake up and find a real sanctuary to donate your hard earned dollars to.

User Host = spider-wn071.proxy.aol.com
Found here
___________________________________________________________________
By RHONDA on Sunday, February 20, 2000 - 07:56 pm:

NEWS FLASH

The Life saver Colleen Layton Owner of a So CALLED Sanctuary (FRISKYS) Seems to have made the news. But I am sure you good people only heard her about what a life saver she is and needs your money. Well it seems that Miss Layton made the Baltimore Sun news back in 1995.When Animal Control and Department of Natural Resources Police went to her place and took raccoons that she was breading from her and put them down. She has claimed to all her supporters that she is a Wildlife Sanctuary. Well not according to DNA Police. All the wildlife were her pets and her HOBBY but she still put out newsletters asking the public to support her hobby.If anyone is interested in the truth about this ,I will send a copy of the Baltimore Sun to Monkey Matters for all to view.

I have been reading about the Ritterspach's and their monkey that was taken by Animal Control and how Colleen Layton said they were irresponsible primate owners and packs her newsletters full of newspaper articles about how they took Jamie into the public and endangered the public. She feels they should never get Jamie back. Well,have your heard the saying :PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES, SHOULD'NT THROW STONES?

It seems that Miss Layton has had her own problems with taking monkeys out into the public. Such as the case in Howard County where she took her Pet monkey into a Department Store and the woman sued her for a million dollars. It is public record. It is case #90ca15092, the Department store was sued and Layton. Now if you are the SSA you would want to believe the story Friskys told and wouldn't want to believe that they help support her Hobby.You see if all her supporters took the time to check her out they would find that she is not USDA licensed is not Licensed with the State to be fundraising. If she were then she would have to explain where all those baby monkeys came from. If her supporters found out that their donations went to buy baby monkeys and support her hobby,they would look bad. Let me just say that Miss Layton has been stealing from the public and getting away with it that the money became soooooooooooo good she couldn't stop herself.
Found here
____________________________________________________________________
Collen Layton has NO Formal education and should not be looked to as a source of information for your well primate care needs. The best primate care information source is without a doubt Monkey Matter's {PRIMATE CARE AND BEHAVIOR BOOKS I AND II.

Found here
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Friskysvolunteer, yes, Layton has lived there longer than the Wykoff's, but there are other neighbors who have lived there longer than Layton and are not happy with Frisky's being so close to their homes. Yes, it is sad that people purchase monkeys and give them up, leaving them homeless...but that doesn't mean that they deserve to be exempt from zoning codes and restrictions. And I'm sorry, but taking over a gift basket does not make up for the fact that there are twenty-three screeching, wild animals living in a place where they should not be living. Frisky's goes against zoning codes and should not be in a residential area, regardless of however clean, hygienic, or safe Frisky's claims it is. Having twenty-three monkeys in a residential area is not safe. Monkeys are not supposed to be pets; there is a reason they either live in the wild or are kept in captivity in cages. They are, by nature, wild animals. Wild animals do not belong in residences. Too many people seem to have forgotten that. I would recommend watching this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugrgs5mX-48 There is absolutely nothing wrong with wildlife rehabilitation or exotic sanctuaries...but there is absolutely something seriously wrong with having them in a residential area so extremely close to neighborhoods and children. No one is trying to shut down Frisky's; no one is trying to belittle Layton's good deeds for her animals; they are simply trying to have Frisky's be relocated to another area, an area secluded and removed from neighborhoods and children, so that Frisky's will be able to coexist within the county in a legal, and much safer manner
Found Here
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Wow, the bit about buying baby monkeys really hit a nerve, Friskysvolunteer. I don't think baby monkeys are analogous to kittens. People pay thousands for the baby monkeys. Sanctuaries get them after they've gotten older and turned violent. Except for Frisky's which somehow has gotten 8 babies.
Found here
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People only see what they want to see and believe. Because most people love animals we all sometimes fall into the lies that people tell about them to get our hearts where they want them to be. Colleen Layton is a hoarder of monkeys, she is NOT a real sanctuary. You can go here and read all about her first PET monkey. Not a rescue a pet for her. This woman tells it like it is! http://chimpanzeeinformation.blogspot.com/2011/02/colleen-layton-of-friskys-wildlife.html


Found Here

Why does Frisky's Wildlife and Primate Sanctaury still have their animals?

I don't understand why Colleen Layton didn't get rid of the animals when she was told to? Why didn't the authorties go back out and make sure all animals were gone like they were suppose to be? The county should be responsible, in my opinion for making her close down now then.

Story;
An 11-year fight over monkeys continues in Howard County.
On Thursday, the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals heard a complaint about a property on Old Frederick Road that houses 23 monkeys. The owner of the home, Colleen Layton, said her house is an animal sanctuary – not a pet shop or a zoo – and that local and federal officials inspect it at least once a year, the Howard County Times reported.

But complaining neighbors said the monkeys violate Howard County’s ban on exotic animals, draw large crowds to the home and that the monkeys make unusual noises.

They’re also concerned they could one day break free from the property and attack neighbors.

Layton said she has 27 security cameras, two locks on all the doors and three hinges on each gate, and if a monkey does get out, she’s got insurance that would cover up to $500,000 worth of damages, she told the Times.

Thursday’s hearing came, however, after Layton was told by the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals in 2004 to get rid of the animals, after they indeed found them to be in violation of the exotic animals ban.

After that ruling, county officials voted to amend the ban and required Layton to get state and federal licenses, effectively allowing her to keep the animals.

But neighbors continued their protests, saying the law wasn’t passed until after the Board’s decision. The Howard County Circuit Court and Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals later agreed, overturned the ruling, and said the monkeys had to go.

But in 2007, the state’s Court of Appeals ruled the zoning laws should be applied retroactively and sent the case right back to where it started – Howard County’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

After hearing more than three hours of testimony Thursday, the Board decided they would pick-up the case where they left off on Jan. 13.

Layton has lived on the property for 20 years and shares a driveway with her neighbor, who also happens to be her most outspoken protester.
Story Credit Here

Colleen Layton of Frisky's wildlife and Primate sanctuary accused of bringing monkey into Dept store and getting sued

To clarify the one sentence that says she does not have a USDA license, at the time she didn't, but since then has obtained one.

In the next few days I will try to find that article and doc #

07/04/00
Friskys,Colleen Layton knows nothing about primate care.read below and see if this is who you want information from. Her information comes from Monke--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


By RHONDA on Sunday, February 20, 2000 - 07:56 pm:

NEWS FLASH

The Life saver Colleen Layton Owner of a So CALLED Sanctuary (FRISKYS) Seems to have made the news. But I am sure you good people only heard her about what a life saver she is and needs your money. Well it seems that Miss Layton made the Baltimore Sun news back in 1995.When Animal Control and Department of Natural Resources Police went to her place and took raccoons that she was breading from her and put them down. She has claimed to all her supporters that she is a Wildlife Sanctuary. Well not according to DNA Police. All the wildlife were her pets and her HOBBY but she still put out newsletters asking the public to support her hobby.If anyone is interested in the truth about this ,I will send a copy of the Baltimore Sun to Monkey Matters for all to view.

I have been reading about the Ritterspach's and their monkey that was taken by Animal Control and how Colleen Layton said they were irresponsible primate owners and packs her newsletters full of newspaper articles about how they took Jamie into the public and endangered the public. She feels they should never get Jamie back. Well,have your heard the saying :PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES, SHOULD'NT THROW STONES?

It seems that Miss Layton has had her own problems with taking monkeys out into the public. Such as the case in Howard County where she took her Pet monkey into a Department Store and the woman sued her for a million dollars. It is public record. It is case #90ca15092, the Department store was sued and Layton. Now if you are the SSA you would want to believe the story Friskys told and wouldn't want to believe that they help support her Hobby.You see if all her supporters took the time to check her out they would find that she is not USDA licensed is not Licensed with the State to be fundraising. If she were then she would have to explain where all those baby monkeys came from. If her supporters found out that their donations went to buy baby monkeys and support her hobby,they would look bad. Let me just say that Miss Layton has been stealing from the public and getting away with it that the money became soooooooooooo good she couldn't stop herself.
Comment found here
Please be sure to read the instructions of care for primates that Colleen Layton has written. She feeds her monkey gizmo PIZZA? And then people wonder why some monkeys are diabetic. Just the sugar in the sauce alone is not good for Primates. Why aren't they on a strict diet of monkey chow that all Primates are on when living in good sanctuaries and Zoos? Interesting.

DNR seized wild animals held illegally and for breeding from colleen layton at Frisky's wildlife & Primate sanctuary

Readers,
I received a few ranting e-mail comments trying to defend this woman Colleen, who I KNEW personally. It is so hard for them to believe that Colleen is anything except what she says she is. I do know better because as I stated before in an earlier post about Frisky's I donated a lot of things, was down there often, spoke to her on the phone and e-mailed regularly. She told me about the monkey she bought as a baby, raised to do some sort of circus act and retired him when he ripped open his stomach.
This monkey according to Colleen was "HER" monkey not a placed monkey. Then she became this so called sanctaury. However, I will say this again, never in the 15 years I have been educating myself on Primates, have I ever heard of someone getting rid of a baby monkey, let alone place it in a sanctaury. If anyone knows the things you have to go through to get a baby monkey, it isn't that easy and they are expensive! Someone wouldn't spend all of that money and then just give the baby to Frisky's. They would sell the baby to someone else to try to get their investment back.

So it looks as though Colleen Layton has been a breeder of wild animals before, so this is not unusual behaviour for her. see article below

So I did just a little bit of research on Colleen Layton of Frisky's and here's what I found in just a few minutes.

Story;
August 11, 1995

By Dana Hedgpeth
Dana Hedgpeth,Sun Staff Writer
It's a situation that pits a wild-animal lover against the state agency designed to protect such animals, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Howard County animal activist Colleen Layton says she has saved more than 100 hurt or sick animals over the past 18 years. But the DNR says her efforts are illegal, and it has moved to stop her from taking in more wild animals.

DNR officials seized four skunks and two raccoons from Ms. Layton's 5-acre farm on Route 99 in Woodstock in the past month, saying she violated state law by breeding the raccoons and caring for the skunks.
Story Credit Here

Frisky's Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary, Owned by Colleen Layton is a sanctaury?

This case, in a land use or zoning context, addresses the question of the retrospective


applicability of a related statutory law which is amended during the course of litigation. It

presents the issue of whether the rule in Yorkdale Corporation v. Powell, 237 Md. 121, 205

A.2d 269 (1964), may be applied to enlarge uses as well as to limit uses.

Colleen Layton and Scott Robbins, d/b/a Frisky’s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary,

Inc., (collectively referred to as “Frisky’s”), the petitioners, attempted to obtain a special

exception to operate as a charitable and philanthropic institution in Howard County. The

primary reason for the application was that Frisky’s had apparently been out of compliance

with Howard County’s zoning ordinances in its operation as an animal rehabilitation center

and primate sanctuary. The Howard County Board of Appeals (the “Board”) granted

Frisky’s special exception in part, but denied it permission to operate as a primate sanctuary.

Thereafter, on June 17, 2004, petitioners filed a petition for judicial review in the Circuit

Court for Howard County. On June 25, 2004, Richard Wyckoff and Julianne Tuttle,

neighbors of Frisky’s, filed a separate petition for judicial review, which the Board joined

(collectively the respondents). Both petitions, by order of the court, were later consolidated.

On September 27, 2004, a pertinent portion of the Howard County Code was amended,

changing the definition upon which the Board had relied in making its initial zoning

decision to deny Frisky’s permission to operate a primate sanctuary. On April 8, 2005, the

Circuit Court held a hearing on the matter and, on July 13, 2005, issued a memorandum

opinion affirming the decision of the Board.
 
The conclusion here

Lola ya Bonobo reached their goal and a new facility can be built!!!! YEAH

All of us at Lola, both humans and bonobos want to thank you all for your donations and adoptions over the past two months. We reached our goal…by the 1st of February we reached our target amount of 50 000$ for the new nursery & quarantine facility for Lola!!!

A big thank you to Jim Holtz who gave a special donation, but just as big a thank you to the many of you who have, through big and small donations helped us to achieve this!!!

It is just wonderful to know that we have so much support out there!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Our little orphaned babies and new arrivals will soon have a new facility just for them!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Story Credit, photos and to donate here

Allen Hirsch, in my opinion did the right thing. I would have also done what he did. He must have really loved his little monkey. He knew as all monkey owners should know that the only way they can test a monkey for Rabies is to remove their head. There hasn't been a case of Rabies in monkeys for years, though the protocol for this testing is still done. I never did understand why they don't reevaluate the need for that test. I wish Mr. Hirsch all the luck in the world with this case. For those of you that don't know, his little monkey passed away a few days ago of cancer at the Jungle Friends Sanctuary.
Story;
The state has smacked painter Allen Hirsch with a $40,000 fine Wednesday for hiding his cheek-chomping capuchin in Florida after the beastie tore into a Queens woman's face.

Benjamin, a 14-year-old Weeper Capuchin

State Department of Environmental Conservation officials have also revoked Hirsch's license to keep wild animals as pets in New York has been revoked.
Hirsch, whose painting of Bill Clinton hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, admitted he failed to notify health officials after his capuchin monkey, Benjamin, bit the face of a woman staying at his Catskill, N.Y. bed-and-breakfast in July.

Instead of turning the teenaged capuchin over for a rabies test, Hirsch whisked him off to a Florida retreat for monkeys banished as pets after misbehaving.

The Daily News found Benjamin living at Jungle Friends in September. He died Monday after a six-month bout with cancer.
Still pending is a suit filed by Parvin Hajihossini, 53, against Hirsch in Queens Supreme Court to recover damages for the injuries to her face.

The Queens hairdresser says she could not return to work after the attack because she didn't want customers to be scared by her appearance.

Benjamin leaped out of his backyard cage at the Kaaterskill lodge and attacked Hajihossini from behind, the suit says.
Story Credit Here

A video of Oliver the Chimpanzee AKA Humanzee

Although allot of people think that Oliver's life was interesting, Oliver had a horrible, exploited, life. He once was owned by a woman in NJ by the name of Janet Berger. I meet Janet through having Chimpanzees myself. I would visit her a few times a month. In her living room were framed photos of Oliver and she shared videos of him, along with many stories. One of the stories she told me was that every evening her, her husband and Oliver would all sit in their tiny living room, watch TV, drink beer and smoke cigars. Oliver was removed from their home when he was accused of trying to sexually assault Janet.

My experience with meeting Oliver was when I was doing volunteer work at the sanctuary he resides in. He lives with an older female because she is the only one that will tolerate him. He is totally blind, rocks back and forth quit a bit, and is very vocal. The sanctuary provides his needs, though he still lives in a dark world with many bad memories. I had the opportunity to hand him some greens, hold his hand and touch him gently. It was amazing how gentle he was to a human after what humans had done to him. He, unfortunately was made out to be some sort of freak, this led to him never having a permanent home or ones' of his own kind until he was of no use to anyone. He does now live in sanctuary with one of his own kind, but did not get the true value of life that he so deserved.
Video Here

Kiki, the Chimpanzee has joined Monkey World

Kiki, the 9-year-old female chimpanzee, started her life in the forests of Africa before hunters killed her family and smuggled the infant out of Africa and into The Lebanon.
Sadly Kiki’s story is not uncommon as this brutal illegal trade in man’s closest living relative is documented throughout the world.

Kiki is one of the lucky ones that has been rescued by Monkey World – Ape Rescue Centre in Dorset, England. The adolescent chimpanzee made the 15-hour journey from her small cage in Beirut, on a Middle Eastern Airlines (MEA) flight to London, and onto the Dorset sanctuary where the Monkey World team have been rescuing individuals like Kiki since 1987. To date Monkey World has assisted 19 different governments around the world to stop the illegal smuggling of monkeys and apes from the wild.

Having only been at Monkey World for a week, Kiki has settled in well and is already meeting her new adopted family of 18 other chimpanzees. She has made friends with several other adolescent females and has also met the dominant male in the community, Hananya.

Dr Alison Cronin, Monkey World’s Director and one of the team that rescued Kiki, said “It is amazing to see that after being stolen from the wild and kept in a small cage in solitary confinement for 9 years, her instinct to live with others of her own kind is so strong. Family and friends are the most important part of a chimpanzee’s life and here at Monkey World we give them families and their lives back again. It is great to see Kiki making so much progress so quickly.”

Chimpanzees are an endangered species that are threatened with habitat destruction and bush-meat hunting. The day the Monkey World team arrived in Beirut to organize Kiki’s rescue, the Lebanese government collapsed, yet in spite of political turmoil, the British and Lebanese authorities were committed to the conservation of this endangered species. Monkey World was assisted by NGO, Animal’s Lebanon, to organise Kiki’s transportation.
Story Credit Here

Orangutan DNA more diverse than human

Researchers have mapped the genome of the red-haired great ape with some surprising results
January 25, 2011 - Among great apes, orangutans are humans’ most distant cousins. These tree dwellers sport a coat of fine reddish hair and have long been endangered in their native habitats in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo in Southeast Asia.

Now, a team of scientists, led by Washington University, has decoded, or sequenced, the DNA of a Sumatran orangutan. With this genome as a reference, the scientists then sequenced the genomes of five more Sumatran and five Bornean orangutans.

Diversity puzzle

Their research, published in Nature, reveals intriguing clues about the evolution of great apes, including humans, and showcases the immense genetic diversity across and within Sumatran and Bornean orangutans.

Diversity is important because it enhances the ability of populations to stay healthy and adapt to changes.“The average orangutan is more diverse – genetically speaking – than the average human,” says lead author Devin Locke, a geneticist at university’s Genome Centre.

“We found deep diversity in both Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, but it’s unclear whether this level of diversity can be maintained in light of continued widespread deforestation.”
The scientists catalogued some 13 million DNA variations in the orangutans. This valuable resource can help conservationists assess the diversity of orangutans both in the wild and in captivity.

The orangutan genome adds detail to the evolutionary tree and gives scientists insights into the unique aspects of human DNA that set man apart from the great apes, their closest relatives. Overall, the researchers found that the human and orangutan genomes are 97 per cent identical.

Slow to evolve but stable

However, in a surprising discovery, the researchers found that at least in some ways, the orangutan genome evolved more slowly than that of humans and chimpanzees, which are 99 per cent similar.

“In terms of evolution, the orangutan genome is special among apes in that it has been extraordinarily stable over the past 15 million years,” says senior author Richard Wilson, director of the Genome Centre.

“This compares with chimpanzees and humans, both of which have experienced large-scale structural changes of their genome that may have accelerated their evolution.”

The genome book
A genome reads much like an instruction book for creating and sustaining a particular species. The chromosomes are the chapters and within every chapter are paragraphs, sentences, words and single letters, which are like the individual bases of the DNA sequence.

“If you are editing a book on your computer, you can highlight a paragraph and copy and paste it, delete it or invert it,” Wilson explains. “Duplications, deletions and inversions of DNA are types of structural variations.

When we look at the genomes of humans and chimps, we see an acceleration of structural changes over the course of evolutionary history. But for whatever reason, orangutans did not participate in that acceleration, and that was a surprise.”

Story Credit Here and please visit their website to find out all of what they do for our wonderful Orangutans