The wilderness can be deceiving.
This is not far from the capital of Sierra Leone where man is encroaching ever further into the jungle - and it's the animals who are paying the price.
Habitat loss is just one threat to west African chimpanzees - one of the most endangered sub-species.
And this is where the displaced end up.
The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary was founded almost by accident when Bala Amarasekaran found a baby chimp for sale on the side of the road.
15 years on, the sanctuary has survived a bloody civil war to become home to a hundred chimps with its own veterinarian.
[Dr. Simona Papa, Resident Veterinarian]:
"When there is a new arrival there are specific protocols that, there is a quarantine that we follow, there is a minimum three months period. We usually collect blood, we run the basic tests for the main infectious diseases, we obviously, if there is any major injuries or any major disease, we try to sort out."
In the wild, chimpanzee numbers in Sierra Leone have declined dramatically.
They are now extinct in four African countries where they used to flourish.
[Bala Amarasekaran, Founder of The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary]:
"The western chimpanzee is the most endangered among the sub-species and between Guinea and Sierra Leone we are having almost 50% of that population."
story credit here and video
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
55 Macaque Monkeys go from experimental lab to Sanctuaries
Aug 2010
In Defense of Animals, an international animal protection and rescue organization came to the aid of 55 macaque monkeys that have been the victims of a bureaucratic struggle since April when AniClin Laboratories in Oxford, New Jersey went into bankruptcy. The monkeys were used by the toxicology lab in experiments, along with 118 beagles.
IDA coordinated a 1,700-mile rescue mission to deliver the monkeys to primate sanctuaries where they tasted freedom for the first time in their lives.
When IDA President, Scotlund Haisley received a desperate plea to help the macaque monkeys, he pledged the support of his organization. The lab the monkeys came from had been repeatedly cited by the USDA for Animal Welfare Act violations. They were used in experiments that ranged from brain lesions, invasive brain studies, Ebola virus, stroke, plague and drug-induced seizure.
“These young monkeys would have been subjected to decades behind bars in cramped stainless steel cages, forced to endure painful toxicology tests,” said Haisley. “Now they will have a life filled with fresh air, friends and freedom from harm.”
The rescue of the lab animals began after New York –based animal activist Camille Hankins from Win Animal Rights, received an anonymous tip from a former AniClin employee. Care2 blogger Megan Drake wrote about the ordeal in her story, “Dogs and Primates Freed from Lab this Independence Day Weekend!” She reported how the animals were trapped inside the lab after it closed and that former employees were scaling the fences to feed and take care of the beagles and monkeys.
IDA intervened to save the animals by sending their “pro bono” attorney Kathryn Flood, to negotiate their release. And with the hard work of Hankins, IDA and other activist groups all of the dogs and monkeys were released in early July. The beagles were placed in several animal rescue shelters and IDA stepped forward to transport the monkeys to primate sanctuaries.
In a project that cost more than $25,000 and covered more than 1,700 miles, IDA staff and volunteers delivered eight of the macaques to their new home at Mindy’s Memory Sanctuary in Newcastle, OK. Then the transport traveled to Texas where Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Primarily Primates, and Born Free USA welcomed the remaining monkeys.
By the end of last week all of the monkeys were safe in their new homes. They are free from the small stainless steel cages where they were confined for years, living in isolation from each other.
In his blog on the IDA website Haisley had this to say about the monkeys’ first taste of freedom. “I wish you had been there with me to witness the monkeys experiencing the outside world for the first time. Upon entering their new habitats they brushed their hands through the green grass, the wind blowing through their fur, and they stared up into the sun, taking in the immense blue sky for the first time. They had been held in cruel solitary confinement, deprived of crucial relationships with their own species. They are now beginning to bond with one another and form the intimate, complex relationships that come naturally to these social animals,” wrote Haisley.
Story Credit Here and Video
In Defense of Animals, an international animal protection and rescue organization came to the aid of 55 macaque monkeys that have been the victims of a bureaucratic struggle since April when AniClin Laboratories in Oxford, New Jersey went into bankruptcy. The monkeys were used by the toxicology lab in experiments, along with 118 beagles.
IDA coordinated a 1,700-mile rescue mission to deliver the monkeys to primate sanctuaries where they tasted freedom for the first time in their lives.
When IDA President, Scotlund Haisley received a desperate plea to help the macaque monkeys, he pledged the support of his organization. The lab the monkeys came from had been repeatedly cited by the USDA for Animal Welfare Act violations. They were used in experiments that ranged from brain lesions, invasive brain studies, Ebola virus, stroke, plague and drug-induced seizure.
“These young monkeys would have been subjected to decades behind bars in cramped stainless steel cages, forced to endure painful toxicology tests,” said Haisley. “Now they will have a life filled with fresh air, friends and freedom from harm.”
The rescue of the lab animals began after New York –based animal activist Camille Hankins from Win Animal Rights, received an anonymous tip from a former AniClin employee. Care2 blogger Megan Drake wrote about the ordeal in her story, “Dogs and Primates Freed from Lab this Independence Day Weekend!” She reported how the animals were trapped inside the lab after it closed and that former employees were scaling the fences to feed and take care of the beagles and monkeys.
IDA intervened to save the animals by sending their “pro bono” attorney Kathryn Flood, to negotiate their release. And with the hard work of Hankins, IDA and other activist groups all of the dogs and monkeys were released in early July. The beagles were placed in several animal rescue shelters and IDA stepped forward to transport the monkeys to primate sanctuaries.
In a project that cost more than $25,000 and covered more than 1,700 miles, IDA staff and volunteers delivered eight of the macaques to their new home at Mindy’s Memory Sanctuary in Newcastle, OK. Then the transport traveled to Texas where Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Primarily Primates, and Born Free USA welcomed the remaining monkeys.
By the end of last week all of the monkeys were safe in their new homes. They are free from the small stainless steel cages where they were confined for years, living in isolation from each other.
In his blog on the IDA website Haisley had this to say about the monkeys’ first taste of freedom. “I wish you had been there with me to witness the monkeys experiencing the outside world for the first time. Upon entering their new habitats they brushed their hands through the green grass, the wind blowing through their fur, and they stared up into the sun, taking in the immense blue sky for the first time. They had been held in cruel solitary confinement, deprived of crucial relationships with their own species. They are now beginning to bond with one another and form the intimate, complex relationships that come naturally to these social animals,” wrote Haisley.
Story Credit Here and Video
Great Videos of Gorillas and Monkeys
Here is a good website for visual information in regards to Gorillas and Monkeys, done by Ape Alliance.
Click Here
Click Here
Konoa, the baby De Brazza Monkey born at the Denver Zoo
Baby Kanoa has joined the family of De Brazza's monkeys at the Denver Zoo.
The male was born Nov. 27 to mother, Marinda, and father, Kisoro, the zoo said in a news release today. Kanoa joins sister Kanani, who just turned a year old this month.
The zoo says Kanoa is now climbing around his habitat at Primate Panorama.
"Kanoa" is Hawaiian for "free one." The zoo described the new baby as "very independent and precocious despite his mother's early attempts to be protective."
Marinda was born in captivity in Fort Wayne, Ind., and came to Denver from North Carolina in 2009 to be paired with Kisoro, who was rescued in 2006 from the bushmeat trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the zoo said.
No one knows how many De Brazza's monkeys live in the swamps and forests of central Africa. The animals "are excellent at hiding and can freeze in place for several hours," eluding detection.
A fully grown male weighs 15 pounds, and a female about half that.
They are named for Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, a French explorer.
Story Credit Here
The male was born Nov. 27 to mother, Marinda, and father, Kisoro, the zoo said in a news release today. Kanoa joins sister Kanani, who just turned a year old this month.
The zoo says Kanoa is now climbing around his habitat at Primate Panorama.
"Kanoa" is Hawaiian for "free one." The zoo described the new baby as "very independent and precocious despite his mother's early attempts to be protective."
Marinda was born in captivity in Fort Wayne, Ind., and came to Denver from North Carolina in 2009 to be paired with Kisoro, who was rescued in 2006 from the bushmeat trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the zoo said.
No one knows how many De Brazza's monkeys live in the swamps and forests of central Africa. The animals "are excellent at hiding and can freeze in place for several hours," eluding detection.
A fully grown male weighs 15 pounds, and a female about half that.
They are named for Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, a French explorer.
Story Credit Here
Monkey Problems in Shimla
If you cry out the word ‘monkey’ in front of any kid from Shimla, you would definitely get a scared and nervy retort. Such has been the annoyance and fright of the intimidating primates that people would rather tend to change the path from where they are walking, in case they see a herd nearby, than try to scare them away.
What makes them so different from the other stray animals that you find on the
Photo: Mohit Behl
Indian streets (dogs, cattle, rodents), is their aggressiveness and intelligence. Quite similar to us in many ways, their adaptability and ability to live off human refuse has made them a cause of concern for the human population living in the urban or rural areas alike.
Getting rid of these pesky simians has been a long drawn political agenda in the capital city. Solutions such as mass extradition to uninhabited areas or sterilization have been carried out. But how much these solutions have actually solved the problem, is a debatable topic. It is obvious that deporting them to secluded areas helps, but this species is known to travel long distances in search of food, a result of their intelligent and highly developed brain. Sterilization also helps, but finding the males and sterilizing them individually is a massive task in itself, plus also the infrastructure of our country makes it a burden on the economy. As per the Wildlife Institution of India, until 70 per cent of any species is sterilized, the population of the species cannot be controlled. Plus there is also the debate, which many wildlife conservationists put up, that this is ‘unethical’, and we are going against the law of nature.
Then is mass eradication of the species the solution? Again the answer is debatable. Isn’t that what we do to mosquitoes or other pests that trouble us. Even mosquitoes have a contribution to the overall life cycle of the planet. Why would killing the excess monkeys be a problem then?
Yes, in the wild the monkeys serve a amazing purpose, i.e. they eat the seeds of some plant, then, afterwards, through their faeces the seeds get a new and different germinating ground. But in the urban areas, where these “Rhesus Macaques” have found a safe breeding ground, even that purpose is not served.
Time and time again, due to pestilence of monkeys in the rural areas, the government has allowed controlled killing of the primates, but that has led to contradictory reactions from wildlife lovers and the wildlife protecting agencies namely Mrs Maneka Gandhi-founded PETA. And being a wildlife lover and also having an agricultural background, I myself, am caught in the dilemma, of killing the monkey, or protecting my crop.
Initially, my father, Mr Chander Chauhan, who has his agricultural land in Kotkhai, Shimla, used fireworks to scare the monkeys away, but as these primates are equally intelligent, over a period of time they got used to the drill, and would hardly react to the explosions. Then he tried his trained canines to scare the monkeys away. But the inability of the dogs to climb trees was a hindrance. And also the aggression of the monkeys is as such than rather than eating the fruit from the trees, they tend to climb on the trees and shake the branches, which leads to dropping of the fruit. So overall they cause much more harm than any other fruit-eating animals. Same would be the case for other farmers as well. So what does the farmer do, apart from killing the monkeys? Yes, some scientists do suggest the use of infrasonic sound waves to keep the monkeys away, but the practicality of the idea is yet to be proved, plus it requires a hefty investment.
The Himachal Pradesh government has spent nearly 20 crore rupees, in order to stop the ‘monkey menace’. But we all know the problem is far from being solved. I personally don’t see any improvement in the situation. So what steps can be taken in this context.
There are two very practical and efficient ways to reduce the simian population. One is to develop enclosed captivity areas for monkeys; that way they are not subjected to any cruelty, and for once the nuisance and menace of the simians can also be ended.
Second is to restart exporting of monkeys to places like Puerto Rico, which was in practice before 1978, for the purpose of lab testing. It was again stopped due to complain by Mrs Gandhi.
And last but definitely not the least, we the citizens of the state need to stop feeding the simians and also need to make sure that they do not get access to any dump or refuse. Once the monkeys will get less food, hence their chances of survival in the urban areas will be less and that will lead to a direct reduction in the population.
Story Credit Here
What makes them so different from the other stray animals that you find on the
Photo: Mohit Behl
Indian streets (dogs, cattle, rodents), is their aggressiveness and intelligence. Quite similar to us in many ways, their adaptability and ability to live off human refuse has made them a cause of concern for the human population living in the urban or rural areas alike.
Getting rid of these pesky simians has been a long drawn political agenda in the capital city. Solutions such as mass extradition to uninhabited areas or sterilization have been carried out. But how much these solutions have actually solved the problem, is a debatable topic. It is obvious that deporting them to secluded areas helps, but this species is known to travel long distances in search of food, a result of their intelligent and highly developed brain. Sterilization also helps, but finding the males and sterilizing them individually is a massive task in itself, plus also the infrastructure of our country makes it a burden on the economy. As per the Wildlife Institution of India, until 70 per cent of any species is sterilized, the population of the species cannot be controlled. Plus there is also the debate, which many wildlife conservationists put up, that this is ‘unethical’, and we are going against the law of nature.
Then is mass eradication of the species the solution? Again the answer is debatable. Isn’t that what we do to mosquitoes or other pests that trouble us. Even mosquitoes have a contribution to the overall life cycle of the planet. Why would killing the excess monkeys be a problem then?
Yes, in the wild the monkeys serve a amazing purpose, i.e. they eat the seeds of some plant, then, afterwards, through their faeces the seeds get a new and different germinating ground. But in the urban areas, where these “Rhesus Macaques” have found a safe breeding ground, even that purpose is not served.
Time and time again, due to pestilence of monkeys in the rural areas, the government has allowed controlled killing of the primates, but that has led to contradictory reactions from wildlife lovers and the wildlife protecting agencies namely Mrs Maneka Gandhi-founded PETA. And being a wildlife lover and also having an agricultural background, I myself, am caught in the dilemma, of killing the monkey, or protecting my crop.
Initially, my father, Mr Chander Chauhan, who has his agricultural land in Kotkhai, Shimla, used fireworks to scare the monkeys away, but as these primates are equally intelligent, over a period of time they got used to the drill, and would hardly react to the explosions. Then he tried his trained canines to scare the monkeys away. But the inability of the dogs to climb trees was a hindrance. And also the aggression of the monkeys is as such than rather than eating the fruit from the trees, they tend to climb on the trees and shake the branches, which leads to dropping of the fruit. So overall they cause much more harm than any other fruit-eating animals. Same would be the case for other farmers as well. So what does the farmer do, apart from killing the monkeys? Yes, some scientists do suggest the use of infrasonic sound waves to keep the monkeys away, but the practicality of the idea is yet to be proved, plus it requires a hefty investment.
The Himachal Pradesh government has spent nearly 20 crore rupees, in order to stop the ‘monkey menace’. But we all know the problem is far from being solved. I personally don’t see any improvement in the situation. So what steps can be taken in this context.
There are two very practical and efficient ways to reduce the simian population. One is to develop enclosed captivity areas for monkeys; that way they are not subjected to any cruelty, and for once the nuisance and menace of the simians can also be ended.
Second is to restart exporting of monkeys to places like Puerto Rico, which was in practice before 1978, for the purpose of lab testing. It was again stopped due to complain by Mrs Gandhi.
And last but definitely not the least, we the citizens of the state need to stop feeding the simians and also need to make sure that they do not get access to any dump or refuse. Once the monkeys will get less food, hence their chances of survival in the urban areas will be less and that will lead to a direct reduction in the population.
Story Credit Here
Baby Bonobo, Teco, has a baby sitter, his dad
I love the Great Ape Trust. This is one of few organizations that I believe in.
Story-
If Christmas is about anything, it’s about the beauty of kids, from the poignancy of Bethlehem to the wonder of the tree.
In this blog, my last in a series of four (here, here, and here), I’ll offer some thoughts on a beautiful kid called Teco.
Teco is a 6-month-old bonobo chimpanzee, already crawling and walking way more adeptly than a human 6-month-old, exploring a culture created by both humans and bonobos at the Great Ape Trust.
Teco was born lacking a cling reflex, preventing him from being transported on the fur of his mother Elikya. She tried carrying him in her arms but it was burdensome, and after two months of effort, she made it clear to Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, whom she’s known from birth, that Sue needed to take over.
Hanging out with Sue and Teco at the Great Ape Trust.
Ursula Goodenough/NPR Hanging out with Sue and Teco at the Great Ape Trust.
I’ll tell two brief Teco stories this morning, one about how Sue is raising him, and the other about how his father, Kanzi, is interfacing with him.
Sitting on the floor with Teco and Sue last week was just like the hundreds of times I’ve sat on the floor with a mom and her kid, except that this kid had splendid fur. His room is festooned with the kind of colorful “enrichment” stuff you’d buy at Toys 'R' Us. The futon they sleep on is in one corner. A pacifier and fresh diapers lie in readiness.
Teco has an iPad loaded with lots of kid apps — alphabets, nursery songs, names of animals — and he spends hours swatting at it and getting new things to happen. New objects first go straight into his mouth, then get pulled and twisted around in his deft fingers, his eyes intently focused on yet another novelty. And then lots of the time he’s just curled up in Sue’s lap, being hugged, kissed and tickled.
A new keyboard version of a lexigram has been installed on the wall in Teco’s room that allows for the immediate addition of new words and has a drag-and- select interface like the iPad. He’s still too little to use it, but Sue is already using it in his presence – touching symbols and saying words — to familiarize him with the modus operandi. The Trust scientists have come to understand that bonobo language-learning happens like human language-learning: Adults use language-based words in speaking to youngsters, and youngsters come to understand their meaning.
The difference between this modus and training your dog to roll over when you say “roll over” is that the bonobo youngsters are also familiarized with symbols that denote particular words, and they come to understand that they can touch particular symbols on a lexigram when they want to use those words. That is, they are able to translate their own mental experience into symbols/words that denote their mental experience. Once that key insight is grasped, then it’s a short step to combine words and to understand combined words, a.k.a sentences.
And the language game is on.
Teco’s cognitive progression will obviously be of keen interest to his Trust caregivers, just as a child’s cognition is of keen interest to family members. But his caregivers are also keenly interested that he be fully immersed in his bonobo context, which brings me to my second story.
When Teco was an infant, he was happy to be passed around and inspected and groomed by all the adult bonobos in the group, much like a human infant being handed around at a family gathering. An example of this is shown in an extraordinary video of Teco with his uncle Nyota.
But of late, something has “kicked in” that Sue calls Teco’s sense of free will. He’s now circumspect with unfamiliar humans and bonobos alike, taking time to warm up to them. He’s “his own little person,” a transformation that typically occurs in human babies at about 9-10 months and occurs in baby bonobos in the context of both their genetic endowment and the Pan/Homo cultural ambience at the Trust.
Kanzi’s understanding of this transformation has been recorded by Sue in a video — soon to be posted on the Trust website — that I’ll try to describe.
Teco comes into a room where Kanzi and Sue are sitting. Sue first asks Kanzi to take off Teco’s diaper and he does so deftly, pulling on one plastic strip and then the other. Then, instead of picking Teco up as he would have done pre-free-will, Kanzi moves into a corner, sits down, and watches while the baby scampers about. Whenever Teco comes near, Kanzi reaches out and gently strokes him. He then tries to engage the baby in little-kid-style games: he strums his fingers on the floor, looking up hopefully to see if that draws attention; when it doesn’t, he scoots along the floor pushing a large sheet of paper and Teco runs after it; he then does the same thing with a box. Throughout the clip, Kanzi evinces the heart-warming interest of a new Dad — eager to be accepted, eager for relationship, yet respectful of his son’s space and personhood.
Does Kanzi know that Teco is his son? Does Teco think that Sue is his mother? We may never know the answers to these interesting questions that we know how to ask. But meanwhile, what’s important right now is that out on the great plains of Iowa this Christmas, a very small bonobo is being enfolded in a most extraordinary convergence of love and curiosity from members of his own species and of his adopted species. A bit of a miracle I would say.
Story Credit here and a must see video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCKX5GaOfLo&feature=player_embedded
Story-
If Christmas is about anything, it’s about the beauty of kids, from the poignancy of Bethlehem to the wonder of the tree.
In this blog, my last in a series of four (here, here, and here), I’ll offer some thoughts on a beautiful kid called Teco.
Teco is a 6-month-old bonobo chimpanzee, already crawling and walking way more adeptly than a human 6-month-old, exploring a culture created by both humans and bonobos at the Great Ape Trust.
Teco was born lacking a cling reflex, preventing him from being transported on the fur of his mother Elikya. She tried carrying him in her arms but it was burdensome, and after two months of effort, she made it clear to Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, whom she’s known from birth, that Sue needed to take over.
Hanging out with Sue and Teco at the Great Ape Trust.
Ursula Goodenough/NPR Hanging out with Sue and Teco at the Great Ape Trust.
I’ll tell two brief Teco stories this morning, one about how Sue is raising him, and the other about how his father, Kanzi, is interfacing with him.
Sitting on the floor with Teco and Sue last week was just like the hundreds of times I’ve sat on the floor with a mom and her kid, except that this kid had splendid fur. His room is festooned with the kind of colorful “enrichment” stuff you’d buy at Toys 'R' Us. The futon they sleep on is in one corner. A pacifier and fresh diapers lie in readiness.
Teco has an iPad loaded with lots of kid apps — alphabets, nursery songs, names of animals — and he spends hours swatting at it and getting new things to happen. New objects first go straight into his mouth, then get pulled and twisted around in his deft fingers, his eyes intently focused on yet another novelty. And then lots of the time he’s just curled up in Sue’s lap, being hugged, kissed and tickled.
A new keyboard version of a lexigram has been installed on the wall in Teco’s room that allows for the immediate addition of new words and has a drag-and- select interface like the iPad. He’s still too little to use it, but Sue is already using it in his presence – touching symbols and saying words — to familiarize him with the modus operandi. The Trust scientists have come to understand that bonobo language-learning happens like human language-learning: Adults use language-based words in speaking to youngsters, and youngsters come to understand their meaning.
The difference between this modus and training your dog to roll over when you say “roll over” is that the bonobo youngsters are also familiarized with symbols that denote particular words, and they come to understand that they can touch particular symbols on a lexigram when they want to use those words. That is, they are able to translate their own mental experience into symbols/words that denote their mental experience. Once that key insight is grasped, then it’s a short step to combine words and to understand combined words, a.k.a sentences.
And the language game is on.
Teco’s cognitive progression will obviously be of keen interest to his Trust caregivers, just as a child’s cognition is of keen interest to family members. But his caregivers are also keenly interested that he be fully immersed in his bonobo context, which brings me to my second story.
When Teco was an infant, he was happy to be passed around and inspected and groomed by all the adult bonobos in the group, much like a human infant being handed around at a family gathering. An example of this is shown in an extraordinary video of Teco with his uncle Nyota.
But of late, something has “kicked in” that Sue calls Teco’s sense of free will. He’s now circumspect with unfamiliar humans and bonobos alike, taking time to warm up to them. He’s “his own little person,” a transformation that typically occurs in human babies at about 9-10 months and occurs in baby bonobos in the context of both their genetic endowment and the Pan/Homo cultural ambience at the Trust.
Kanzi’s understanding of this transformation has been recorded by Sue in a video — soon to be posted on the Trust website — that I’ll try to describe.
Teco comes into a room where Kanzi and Sue are sitting. Sue first asks Kanzi to take off Teco’s diaper and he does so deftly, pulling on one plastic strip and then the other. Then, instead of picking Teco up as he would have done pre-free-will, Kanzi moves into a corner, sits down, and watches while the baby scampers about. Whenever Teco comes near, Kanzi reaches out and gently strokes him. He then tries to engage the baby in little-kid-style games: he strums his fingers on the floor, looking up hopefully to see if that draws attention; when it doesn’t, he scoots along the floor pushing a large sheet of paper and Teco runs after it; he then does the same thing with a box. Throughout the clip, Kanzi evinces the heart-warming interest of a new Dad — eager to be accepted, eager for relationship, yet respectful of his son’s space and personhood.
Does Kanzi know that Teco is his son? Does Teco think that Sue is his mother? We may never know the answers to these interesting questions that we know how to ask. But meanwhile, what’s important right now is that out on the great plains of Iowa this Christmas, a very small bonobo is being enfolded in a most extraordinary convergence of love and curiosity from members of his own species and of his adopted species. A bit of a miracle I would say.
Story Credit here and a must see video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCKX5GaOfLo&feature=player_embedded
Frisky's is a Sanctuary? Monkeys
Well Readers, I know this woman personally. I use to live about 45 minutes away from, her name is Colleen. I made several huge donations to her with food. I would go to the produce market and buy cases upon cases of fruit and deliver them to her so called "sanctuary". I bought tons of monkey chow and delivered them and bought and had shipped 20 heating pads for the smaller animals. On one of my visits she gave me a box. In this box were little clothes that she had used for one of her monkeys that use to perform. There was also this little red and white striped tent. When I asked Colleen about this she said it was a part of her act with this monkey. I asked her why she stopped doing the act. Her reply back to me, and honestly these were her words. "I decided to stop when my monkey took his hand and nails and ripped open his stomach." I thought I was going to fall and pass out right there and then. I can not remember the monkeys name, though I did meet him.
I stopped donating when I saw the overabundance of babies that just "appeared" there. Sanctauries should not have baby monkeys without their mothers. If Frisky's is a sanctuary and has had babies where did they come from? Sanctauries are not suppose to breed and people don't just give up a baby monkey. They cost anywhere between 4,000.00-8,000.00 depending on the breed. In other words, I found out she WAS NOT a "true" sanctuary! Do some research on her and her sanctuary and you will find some things that just aren't right.
Here's her website
Story;
Frisky's Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary is an invaluable resource for the animals and residents in our community. In addition to the thousands of injured wild animals and exotic pets they have rescued and housed for more than 20 years, they provide education about compassion for those who have no voice, like the unfortunate monkeys that people think they can keep as pets, then abandon.
I came to know Frisky's when my daughter's Girl Scout troop took a tour. The girls raised money for them, as they provide services purely by donations and volunteers. No tax dollars are spent to keep them going. So many people love and appreciate what Frisky's does for our animal friends that it was easier to get donations then to sell Girl Scout cookies!
It is an abomination that so much time and money is being wasted arguing about zoning because someone who bought a house next to Frisky's doesn't want to live near monkeys. Frisky's was already there when they moved in, and in more than 20 years of operation there has never been a single incident of a monkey escaping or hurting anyone.
At the last meeting I attended on this issue, there must've been over 100 people there in support of Frisky's, so many they couldn't all testify. Not a single person was there in support of the disgruntled neighbors.
Please help stop the madness and make our zoning officials accountable.
Story here
I stopped donating when I saw the overabundance of babies that just "appeared" there. Sanctauries should not have baby monkeys without their mothers. If Frisky's is a sanctuary and has had babies where did they come from? Sanctauries are not suppose to breed and people don't just give up a baby monkey. They cost anywhere between 4,000.00-8,000.00 depending on the breed. In other words, I found out she WAS NOT a "true" sanctuary! Do some research on her and her sanctuary and you will find some things that just aren't right.
Here's her website
Story;
Frisky's Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary is an invaluable resource for the animals and residents in our community. In addition to the thousands of injured wild animals and exotic pets they have rescued and housed for more than 20 years, they provide education about compassion for those who have no voice, like the unfortunate monkeys that people think they can keep as pets, then abandon.
I came to know Frisky's when my daughter's Girl Scout troop took a tour. The girls raised money for them, as they provide services purely by donations and volunteers. No tax dollars are spent to keep them going. So many people love and appreciate what Frisky's does for our animal friends that it was easier to get donations then to sell Girl Scout cookies!
It is an abomination that so much time and money is being wasted arguing about zoning because someone who bought a house next to Frisky's doesn't want to live near monkeys. Frisky's was already there when they moved in, and in more than 20 years of operation there has never been a single incident of a monkey escaping or hurting anyone.
At the last meeting I attended on this issue, there must've been over 100 people there in support of Frisky's, so many they couldn't all testify. Not a single person was there in support of the disgruntled neighbors.
Please help stop the madness and make our zoning officials accountable.
Story here
Sex Differences between Bonobo Apes and Chimpanzee Apes
Contrary to popular notions, our preoccupation with sex is not part of our base instincts, nor is it especially like any of the other animals. Most animals use sex exclusively for reproduction. Even bonded pairs seldom use sex for anything other than making babies.
In fact, there are only two notable species in which sex is primarily a social activity, and they’re both apes. Specifically, Homo sapiens and Pan paniscus. You know them better as humans and bonobos.
You aren’t going to see anything this intimate anywhere in the animal kingdom besides us and our close ape relatives. Besides being unique in the social use of sex, we’re also pretty close to unique in the level of intimacy we achieve. Like us, bonobos often stare deeply into each others eyes both before and during sex. We both enjoy cuddling afterward.
Go anywhere outside of this little evolutionary enclave of sexual liberation, and you’re not going to find much “self-actualization” from sex. It simply isn’t there to be found. And that’s a very important concept for us to think about. Because in evolutionary terms, our split with the bonobo was astonishingly recent, and it’s likely that we co-evolved our love of oxytocin as a social drug.
What’s that I hear you saying? I’m going too far overboard comparing us to bonobos? Chimps are closer relatives?
Well, that’s technically true… slightly. But we’re not really that much like chimps. Here’s an interesting breakdown of the sexual behaviors of chimps, humans, and bonobos:
•Human and bonobo females have sex through their whole cycle, as well as during pregnancy and lactation. Chimps do not.
•Human and bonobo females remain with their group after giving birth and show little or no fear of infanticide. Chimps are notorious baby killers, and females protect their young from the group.
•Humans and bonobos enjoy different positions as well as variety during individual acts of coitus. Both human and bonobo females tend to prefer missionary or other face-to-face sex positions. Chimps are exclusively about the doggy style.
•Bonobos and humans enjoy eye-gazing and deep kissing. Chimps do not.
•The vulva is oriented forward in bonobos and humans. It’s oriented rearward in chimps.
•Food and sex go hand in hand with bonobos and humans. Chimps are more reticent to share.
•Homosexuality is common in humans and bonobos. It’s rare in chimps.
•Humans and bonobos use sex for purely social reasons quite frequently. It’s primarily reproductive in chimps.
But I think I hear another objection. Humans don’t “naturally” go for the kind of orgiastic free-for all that bonobos enjoy? We naturally gravitate to exclusive pair bonds?
If that is so, how then do we explain the dozens of “primitive” cultures that do not subscribe to this viewpoint?
•The Aché,
•the Bari,
•the Canela,
•the Cashinahua,
•the Curripaco,
•the Ese Eja,
•the Kayapó,
•the Kulina,
•the Matis,
•the Mehinaku,
•the Piaroa,
•the Pirahã,
•the Secoya,
•the Siona,
•the Warao,
•the Yanomami,
•the Ye’kwana
This is but a small sampling of the cultures in which the “one man, one woman” concept of both sex and parenting is completely foreign. In fact, the Aché have four distinct words for “father,” and each of them is believed to be necessary for a child to be born:
•Miare: The father who put it in
•Peroare: The father who mixed it
•Momboare: The father who spilled it out
•Bykuare: The father who provided the child’s essence.
Make no mistake. These are tribal cultures, many steps closer to our “animal origins” in terms of cultural complexity. And they believe that a woman needs to have sex with at least four men for a baby to be born. There are even cultures in which not having extramarital sex is considered a sin. In many cultures, it is considered a moral failing for a man to reject sex with a woman who has already had sex with several members of the tribe. They believe that babies are built from multiple inseminations, and that without continued sex with multiple males during pregnancy, the baby will not fully form.
There is actually precious little empirical evidence that “one man, one woman, and their children” is the most “natural” way for humans to mate and reproduce. In fact, there is considerable evidence that in tribal cultures, children with multiple “fathers” are much more likely to survive childhood than those with only one. Rather than being thought of as bastards, children with many fathers are the prized possession of the tribe. If one, or two, or even five of their fathers die, there are still many men with warm parental feelings towards them.
So whence comes our preoccupation with exclusivity and monogamy? That’s a tougher question to answer, and it involves a certain amount of guesswork. But make no mistake — the facts are the facts, and our interpretation must not make light of them, nor may it brush them casually aside. The thing that makes human sexuality different from animal sexuality is precisely that we are obsessed with it, that we desire it with many different people, and that we use it for social purposes as much or more than the animals. If you want to have sex like an animal, lose your sex drive and only do it when you want a baby.
Sources:
de Waal, F. (2005) Our Inner Ape: The Best and Worst of Human Nature. London: Granta Books.
Ryan, C and Cacilda, J. (2010) Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality. U.S: HarperCollins.
Information Here
In fact, there are only two notable species in which sex is primarily a social activity, and they’re both apes. Specifically, Homo sapiens and Pan paniscus. You know them better as humans and bonobos.
You aren’t going to see anything this intimate anywhere in the animal kingdom besides us and our close ape relatives. Besides being unique in the social use of sex, we’re also pretty close to unique in the level of intimacy we achieve. Like us, bonobos often stare deeply into each others eyes both before and during sex. We both enjoy cuddling afterward.
Go anywhere outside of this little evolutionary enclave of sexual liberation, and you’re not going to find much “self-actualization” from sex. It simply isn’t there to be found. And that’s a very important concept for us to think about. Because in evolutionary terms, our split with the bonobo was astonishingly recent, and it’s likely that we co-evolved our love of oxytocin as a social drug.
What’s that I hear you saying? I’m going too far overboard comparing us to bonobos? Chimps are closer relatives?
Well, that’s technically true… slightly. But we’re not really that much like chimps. Here’s an interesting breakdown of the sexual behaviors of chimps, humans, and bonobos:
•Human and bonobo females have sex through their whole cycle, as well as during pregnancy and lactation. Chimps do not.
•Human and bonobo females remain with their group after giving birth and show little or no fear of infanticide. Chimps are notorious baby killers, and females protect their young from the group.
•Humans and bonobos enjoy different positions as well as variety during individual acts of coitus. Both human and bonobo females tend to prefer missionary or other face-to-face sex positions. Chimps are exclusively about the doggy style.
•Bonobos and humans enjoy eye-gazing and deep kissing. Chimps do not.
•The vulva is oriented forward in bonobos and humans. It’s oriented rearward in chimps.
•Food and sex go hand in hand with bonobos and humans. Chimps are more reticent to share.
•Homosexuality is common in humans and bonobos. It’s rare in chimps.
•Humans and bonobos use sex for purely social reasons quite frequently. It’s primarily reproductive in chimps.
But I think I hear another objection. Humans don’t “naturally” go for the kind of orgiastic free-for all that bonobos enjoy? We naturally gravitate to exclusive pair bonds?
If that is so, how then do we explain the dozens of “primitive” cultures that do not subscribe to this viewpoint?
•The Aché,
•the Bari,
•the Canela,
•the Cashinahua,
•the Curripaco,
•the Ese Eja,
•the Kayapó,
•the Kulina,
•the Matis,
•the Mehinaku,
•the Piaroa,
•the Pirahã,
•the Secoya,
•the Siona,
•the Warao,
•the Yanomami,
•the Ye’kwana
This is but a small sampling of the cultures in which the “one man, one woman” concept of both sex and parenting is completely foreign. In fact, the Aché have four distinct words for “father,” and each of them is believed to be necessary for a child to be born:
•Miare: The father who put it in
•Peroare: The father who mixed it
•Momboare: The father who spilled it out
•Bykuare: The father who provided the child’s essence.
Make no mistake. These are tribal cultures, many steps closer to our “animal origins” in terms of cultural complexity. And they believe that a woman needs to have sex with at least four men for a baby to be born. There are even cultures in which not having extramarital sex is considered a sin. In many cultures, it is considered a moral failing for a man to reject sex with a woman who has already had sex with several members of the tribe. They believe that babies are built from multiple inseminations, and that without continued sex with multiple males during pregnancy, the baby will not fully form.
There is actually precious little empirical evidence that “one man, one woman, and their children” is the most “natural” way for humans to mate and reproduce. In fact, there is considerable evidence that in tribal cultures, children with multiple “fathers” are much more likely to survive childhood than those with only one. Rather than being thought of as bastards, children with many fathers are the prized possession of the tribe. If one, or two, or even five of their fathers die, there are still many men with warm parental feelings towards them.
So whence comes our preoccupation with exclusivity and monogamy? That’s a tougher question to answer, and it involves a certain amount of guesswork. But make no mistake — the facts are the facts, and our interpretation must not make light of them, nor may it brush them casually aside. The thing that makes human sexuality different from animal sexuality is precisely that we are obsessed with it, that we desire it with many different people, and that we use it for social purposes as much or more than the animals. If you want to have sex like an animal, lose your sex drive and only do it when you want a baby.
Sources:
de Waal, F. (2005) Our Inner Ape: The Best and Worst of Human Nature. London: Granta Books.
Ryan, C and Cacilda, J. (2010) Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality. U.S: HarperCollins.
Information Here
Evolution of the Orangutan
The similarities between orangutans and humans, and the closeness of our evolutionary history, is often cited as a primary reason for the importance of orangutan conservation initiatives, but what this actually means, and just how closely related we are to Asia’s only great ape, is often confusing.
Genetic studies in to the DNA structure of orangutans and humans has shown that our genome, our hereditary information, differs by a remarkably small amount. As such, orangutans and humans both belong to the scientific order known as the primates, the group of mammals that contains all the monkeys, prosimians (the pre-monkeys) and apes living today. One of the oldest surviving mammal groups, the primate lineage is thought to go back at least 65 million years ago, when small, arboreal, insect eating mammals, referred to as the Euarochonta, were beginning the process of speciation that eventually led to the primates we see today, one of the most diverse and varied groups of animals. Primates inhabit almost every part of the world, with the non-human species’ found predominantly in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Central and South America.
While there isn’t one unique characteristic that defines a primate, there are a number of characteristics that are found throughout species of this order, including an opposable thumb, which aids strong, grasping hands; forward facing eyes, which allow three-dimensional viewing; eye sockets, which protect the eyeball; fingerprints unique to each individual, and much larger brains, in comparison to body size.
Primates are divided in to two scientific sub-orders. The primates considered the most primitive, or those that have retained the most number of features of the ancestral primates, are classified as being Strepsirrhines, and include the lemurs of Madagascar, the galago’s potto’s and angwantibo’s of Africa, and the lorises of Asia. The tarsiers, monkeys and apes are classified as Haplorhines, on account of their larger brains, specially adapted hands and feet, and wider range of facial features, a result of the lack of a rhinarium, or a wet snout.
Around 30 million years ago, the primates of the Haplorhini divided in to two further groups, the Platyrrhini, which now consists of the modern day New World monkeys of South and Central America, and the Catharinni, made up of the Old World monkeys of Africa and Asia, and the apes. This latter group split in to two superfamilies at approximately 20-25 million years ago, as evolutionary pressures gave rise to drastic differences in the primate species. Modern day Old World monkeys make up the superfamily Cercopithecoidea, The apes- the gibbons, chimpanzees, bonobo’s, gorillas, orangutans and humans- are the only surviving members of the superfamily Hominoidea.
Around 20-19 million years ago, a primate had evolved in central Africa that had characteristics of both Old World monkeys and apes. This primate, named Proconsul, included four known species and had a posture that was similar to that of a monkey. However, its lack of a tail, facial structure and strong grasping capabilities marks it out as an ape, and studies in to the growth and form of fossilized Proconsul teeth have shown that this primates life history was similar to that of a modern day gibbon, with additional features of other apes and monkeys. It is likely that the first apes evolved from a monkey-like creature that had descended to the ground, and, through the process of evolution, lost many of its ancestral features, acquiring new ones as it adapted to its new environment. For example, a tail would be useful for a life in the canopy, aiding as it does movement and balance. On the ground, a long tail would be a hindrance to terrestrial movement, and would be one of the first adaptations to disappear. Whether or not Proconsul is an intermediate between monkeys and apes, and a common ancestor of present day apes in the evolutionary tree, is still debated, but, regardless, Proconsul is one of earth’s first known apes.
Between 9 and 17 million years ago, apes from the genus Dryopithecus were living not just in Africa, but were the first known species’ of ape to have migrated in to Europe and Asia, giving clues to the migratory patterns of our ancestors. Although there are variations in the five species of this genus, like Proconsul, it resembled a monkey in many ways, but the bones in the forearm and elbow suggested it moved about in the tree tops like an orangutan or a gibbon. However, its skull formation is similar to the chimpanzee. Like all fossils, its evolutionary position is debated, but some scientists have claimed that Dryopithecus and its close relatives were the ancestors of all the extant great apes.
During this period, between 8.5-12.5 million years ago, three species of the genus Sivapithecus were living in the rainforests of Asia. Sivapithecus was around 1.5 meters in height, and many of its physical attributes resembled those of a chimpanzee. However, like an orangutan, it had a concave face with projecting incisors and large canines. Fossils of Sivapithecus species have been found in Turkey, China and Pakistan, and analysis of bone structure indicates they were adept at movement on both the ground and in the trees, and fed on a diet of savannah grasses and seeds. The genus Sivapithecus is now acknowledged as being the direct ancestor of modern day orangutans, and scientists believe that this line, the lineage that descended to modern day orangutans, branched off from the line that descended to modern day gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobo’s and humans at around 12 million years ago.
The orangutan is the only non-human great ape found in Asia, but this development is relatively recent, as another group of primates may have evolved from Sivapithecus, and lived at the same time as orangutans, in what are now China, India and Vietnam. Gigantopithecus lived between 300,000 to a million years ago, and was, as its name suggests, a giant, the largest apes ever known, with males of the largest known species weighing as much as 540kg, twice as much as a male gorilla. Gigantopithecus was thought to feed chiefly on plants, and live terrestrially, walking on all four limbs, like a gorilla. Why Gigantophithecus died out is unknown, but it is possible it was hunted to extinction by early man.
While the orangutan lineage was evolving in Asia, the primates that led to the modern day African great apes and humans were still in Africa. Fossil evidence of ancestral gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobo’s is sparse, due to the acidity of rainforest soil, which tends to dissolve, rather than fossilize, bones, but fossils of early humans found in open savannahs, and genetic mapping of the human and non-human ape genome, have given a clearer picture of how the other great apes evolved. The line that descended to modern day gorillas is believed to have diverted from the line that chimpanzees and humans followed at around 8 million years ago, with the chimpanzee lineage diverting from the human lineage at around 4 million years ago. The line that led to modern day bonobo’s is thought to have split from the chimpanzee line at around 2.5 million years ago. It should be noted, however, that some scientists date the split between the human and chimpanzee lineages at around 7 million years, on account of fossils found in Kenya, named Orrorin, which have distinctly human characteristics and have been dated at 6 to 5.8 million years old.
The human, or hominin, fossil collection is reasonably large, and although there is confusion and debate about the exact route the lineage from ancestral apes to human has taken, the evolution from a quadruped covered in fur to the hairless bipedal ape we are today is well documented, and current estimates put the emergence of Homo Sapiens in Africa at around 200,000 years ago, with migration to the rest of the world dated at between 80,000-60,000 years ago.
Information Credit Here
Genetic studies in to the DNA structure of orangutans and humans has shown that our genome, our hereditary information, differs by a remarkably small amount. As such, orangutans and humans both belong to the scientific order known as the primates, the group of mammals that contains all the monkeys, prosimians (the pre-monkeys) and apes living today. One of the oldest surviving mammal groups, the primate lineage is thought to go back at least 65 million years ago, when small, arboreal, insect eating mammals, referred to as the Euarochonta, were beginning the process of speciation that eventually led to the primates we see today, one of the most diverse and varied groups of animals. Primates inhabit almost every part of the world, with the non-human species’ found predominantly in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Central and South America.
While there isn’t one unique characteristic that defines a primate, there are a number of characteristics that are found throughout species of this order, including an opposable thumb, which aids strong, grasping hands; forward facing eyes, which allow three-dimensional viewing; eye sockets, which protect the eyeball; fingerprints unique to each individual, and much larger brains, in comparison to body size.
Primates are divided in to two scientific sub-orders. The primates considered the most primitive, or those that have retained the most number of features of the ancestral primates, are classified as being Strepsirrhines, and include the lemurs of Madagascar, the galago’s potto’s and angwantibo’s of Africa, and the lorises of Asia. The tarsiers, monkeys and apes are classified as Haplorhines, on account of their larger brains, specially adapted hands and feet, and wider range of facial features, a result of the lack of a rhinarium, or a wet snout.
Around 30 million years ago, the primates of the Haplorhini divided in to two further groups, the Platyrrhini, which now consists of the modern day New World monkeys of South and Central America, and the Catharinni, made up of the Old World monkeys of Africa and Asia, and the apes. This latter group split in to two superfamilies at approximately 20-25 million years ago, as evolutionary pressures gave rise to drastic differences in the primate species. Modern day Old World monkeys make up the superfamily Cercopithecoidea, The apes- the gibbons, chimpanzees, bonobo’s, gorillas, orangutans and humans- are the only surviving members of the superfamily Hominoidea.
During this period, between 8.5-12.5 million years ago, three species of the genus Sivapithecus were living in the rainforests of Asia. Sivapithecus was around 1.5 meters in height, and many of its physical attributes resembled those of a chimpanzee. However, like an orangutan, it had a concave face with projecting incisors and large canines. Fossils of Sivapithecus species have been found in Turkey, China and Pakistan, and analysis of bone structure indicates they were adept at movement on both the ground and in the trees, and fed on a diet of savannah grasses and seeds. The genus Sivapithecus is now acknowledged as being the direct ancestor of modern day orangutans, and scientists believe that this line, the lineage that descended to modern day orangutans, branched off from the line that descended to modern day gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobo’s and humans at around 12 million years ago.
The orangutan is the only non-human great ape found in Asia, but this development is relatively recent, as another group of primates may have evolved from Sivapithecus, and lived at the same time as orangutans, in what are now China, India and Vietnam. Gigantopithecus lived between 300,000 to a million years ago, and was, as its name suggests, a giant, the largest apes ever known, with males of the largest known species weighing as much as 540kg, twice as much as a male gorilla. Gigantopithecus was thought to feed chiefly on plants, and live terrestrially, walking on all four limbs, like a gorilla. Why Gigantophithecus died out is unknown, but it is possible it was hunted to extinction by early man.
The human, or hominin, fossil collection is reasonably large, and although there is confusion and debate about the exact route the lineage from ancestral apes to human has taken, the evolution from a quadruped covered in fur to the hairless bipedal ape we are today is well documented, and current estimates put the emergence of Homo Sapiens in Africa at around 200,000 years ago, with migration to the rest of the world dated at between 80,000-60,000 years ago.
Information Credit Here
Mely the Orangutan gets a new life
This is a fine example that every person can help........
Three months ago, she was in shackles, with a chain clamped around her neck and desperation in her eyes.
After being neglected and held captive for 15 years, Mely the orangutan struggled to walk, climb or feed herself. But what a difference 12 weeks – and the generosity of Daily Mail readers – makes.
Now, playing happily in her nest and eating fruit and leaves, the look on Mely’s face clearly shows she is enjoying every moment of her new life after being rescued from a riverside shack in Borneo.
‘When Mely first arrived her steps were very calculated and slow since she had to learn how to walk and climb,’ said Carolynn Fitterer, a volunteer with the charity International Animal Rescue.
‘But now she has become quite playful, and I always see her weaving in and out of tyre swings and ropes suspended in mid air.’
As a baby, Mely was taken as a pet by a fisherman who shot her mother as a trophy.
But as she grew into an adult, he lost interest, leaving her chained to the balcony as a tourist attraction and surviving on scraps of unsuitable food that were thrown to her.
After Mely’s plight featured in the Mail, readers raised more than £8,000 to help International Animal Rescue seize her.
She travelled by river, road and air to get to the forest sanctuary in Ketapang, Indonesia.
Miss Fitterer said: ‘Mely’s personality is so sweet I never would have guessed she came from such a horrific background. She always comes over to say hello, and she is incredibly gentle.
'Mely got to do so many things for the first time here, like touch the hand of another orangutan, climb higher than one metre off the ground, and sleep in a bed of leaves.’
Story Credit Here
Three months ago, she was in shackles, with a chain clamped around her neck and desperation in her eyes.
After being neglected and held captive for 15 years, Mely the orangutan struggled to walk, climb or feed herself. But what a difference 12 weeks – and the generosity of Daily Mail readers – makes.
Now, playing happily in her nest and eating fruit and leaves, the look on Mely’s face clearly shows she is enjoying every moment of her new life after being rescued from a riverside shack in Borneo.
‘When Mely first arrived her steps were very calculated and slow since she had to learn how to walk and climb,’ said Carolynn Fitterer, a volunteer with the charity International Animal Rescue.
‘But now she has become quite playful, and I always see her weaving in and out of tyre swings and ropes suspended in mid air.’
As a baby, Mely was taken as a pet by a fisherman who shot her mother as a trophy.
But as she grew into an adult, he lost interest, leaving her chained to the balcony as a tourist attraction and surviving on scraps of unsuitable food that were thrown to her.
After Mely’s plight featured in the Mail, readers raised more than £8,000 to help International Animal Rescue seize her.
She travelled by river, road and air to get to the forest sanctuary in Ketapang, Indonesia.
Miss Fitterer said: ‘Mely’s personality is so sweet I never would have guessed she came from such a horrific background. She always comes over to say hello, and she is incredibly gentle.
'Mely got to do so many things for the first time here, like touch the hand of another orangutan, climb higher than one metre off the ground, and sleep in a bed of leaves.’
Story Credit Here
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Seized Reptiles were "on loan" from Zoos
Um I wonder what other types of animals they dump? Boy am I glad that I have a contract with the zoo where I placed my Chimpanzees that says they can't go anywhere.
Story;
Seized Reptiles Were "On Loan" from Zoos
(Milwaukee County, WI) Discovered by police investigating an assault case, scores of allegedly neglected reptiles – many reportedly ill or with injuries, some already dead – were rescued from Terry Cullen’s residence in May 2010. In yet another example of the link between animal abuse and violence against humans, Cullen is facing charges related to alleged animal abuse, sexual assault and false imprisonment.
Cullen had presented himself as a reptile collector for years, and many of the animals in his possession, including endangered species, were reportedly loaned to him by zoos. That only a handful of these zoos are reported to have come forward to take responsibility for the animals they had given to Cullen “on loan” is no surprise to seasoned wildlife rescuers. Quoted in the Journal-Sentinal is the Colorado Reptile Humane Society’s director Ann-Elizabeth Nash:
"Decades-long transfers of the animals don't make any sense. There is either an institutional commitment to the animal or there isn't," she said. "This is a Pandora's box. Not many people know about this, but numbers-wise this kind of thing is going to make puppy mill seizures a joke. There is this behind-the-scenes interaction between AZA institutions and institutions not AZA. What is the level of self-policing the AZA does? What are the vetting protocols to loan to non-AZA? There is a feeling that if the animal doesn't have fur, it's not something we need to worry about."
Take Action!
Locals are encouraged to support the prosecution by attending court proceedings. A hearing date in the criminal case against Terry Cullen is currently scheduled for March 28, 2011. (Always contact the Court to confirm court dates and locations as they are subject to change.) Please notify us at info@aldf.org if you plan on attending.
Contact the zoos in your state and ask them to document their policies on “animal loans” for you. Many zoos benefit from taxpayer dollars, and the public should expect there to be a goal of lifetime responsibility with respect to each animal a zoo accepts into its charge, with a clear and transparent record-keeping system in place to discourage untraceable animal dealing. It is unfortunately a rare zoo that meets this responsibility with any meaningful accuracy – breeding programs resulting in animal “surpluses,” “group populations” such as flocks and colonies often being considered in sum, and a zoo’s dependence on entrance gate profits (and indeed the public’s demand for “newer and cuter”) all contribute to a zoo’s participation in the revolving doors of the exotic animal trade industry. Please contact the zoos in your area and email any feedback you receive to ALDF at info@aldf.org.
Information source and great organization
Story;
Seized Reptiles Were "On Loan" from Zoos
(Milwaukee County, WI) Discovered by police investigating an assault case, scores of allegedly neglected reptiles – many reportedly ill or with injuries, some already dead – were rescued from Terry Cullen’s residence in May 2010. In yet another example of the link between animal abuse and violence against humans, Cullen is facing charges related to alleged animal abuse, sexual assault and false imprisonment.
Cullen had presented himself as a reptile collector for years, and many of the animals in his possession, including endangered species, were reportedly loaned to him by zoos. That only a handful of these zoos are reported to have come forward to take responsibility for the animals they had given to Cullen “on loan” is no surprise to seasoned wildlife rescuers. Quoted in the Journal-Sentinal is the Colorado Reptile Humane Society’s director Ann-Elizabeth Nash:
"Decades-long transfers of the animals don't make any sense. There is either an institutional commitment to the animal or there isn't," she said. "This is a Pandora's box. Not many people know about this, but numbers-wise this kind of thing is going to make puppy mill seizures a joke. There is this behind-the-scenes interaction between AZA institutions and institutions not AZA. What is the level of self-policing the AZA does? What are the vetting protocols to loan to non-AZA? There is a feeling that if the animal doesn't have fur, it's not something we need to worry about."
Take Action!
Locals are encouraged to support the prosecution by attending court proceedings. A hearing date in the criminal case against Terry Cullen is currently scheduled for March 28, 2011. (Always contact the Court to confirm court dates and locations as they are subject to change.) Please notify us at info@aldf.org if you plan on attending.
Contact the zoos in your state and ask them to document their policies on “animal loans” for you. Many zoos benefit from taxpayer dollars, and the public should expect there to be a goal of lifetime responsibility with respect to each animal a zoo accepts into its charge, with a clear and transparent record-keeping system in place to discourage untraceable animal dealing. It is unfortunately a rare zoo that meets this responsibility with any meaningful accuracy – breeding programs resulting in animal “surpluses,” “group populations” such as flocks and colonies often being considered in sum, and a zoo’s dependence on entrance gate profits (and indeed the public’s demand for “newer and cuter”) all contribute to a zoo’s participation in the revolving doors of the exotic animal trade industry. Please contact the zoos in your area and email any feedback you receive to ALDF at info@aldf.org.
Information source and great organization
Does your favorite Zoo have revolving doors for their animals?
Please contact the zoos in your state and ask them to document their policies on "animal loans" for you. Many zoos benefit from taxpayer dollars, and the public should expect there to be a goal of lifetime responsibility with respect to each animal a zoo accepts into its charge, with a clear and transparent record-keeping system in place to discourage untraceable animal dealing.
It is unfortunately a rare zoo that meets this responsibility with any meaningful accuracy -- breeding programs resulting in animal "surpluses," a zoo's dependence on entrance gate profits and the public's demand for "newer and cuter" all contribute to a zoo's participation in the revolving doors of the exotic animal trade industry.
Please contact the zoos in your area and email any feedback you receive to ALDF at info@aldf.org.
Information here
Read more about the underworld of exotic animals and zoo under the section called Animal Underworld by Alan Green
or click here to read the ongoing posts
It is unfortunately a rare zoo that meets this responsibility with any meaningful accuracy -- breeding programs resulting in animal "surpluses," a zoo's dependence on entrance gate profits and the public's demand for "newer and cuter" all contribute to a zoo's participation in the revolving doors of the exotic animal trade industry.
Please contact the zoos in your area and email any feedback you receive to ALDF at info@aldf.org.
Information here
Read more about the underworld of exotic animals and zoo under the section called Animal Underworld by Alan Green
or click here to read the ongoing posts
EU Bans experiments on Great Apes
There's great news from across the Atlantic, where the European Union has voted to ban the use of great apes in experiments. The new legislation also places significant restrictions on testing on other primates and requires that non-animal methods be used whenever possible.
This is an exciting development-but it also raises a question: In light of this humane advance, how can the U.S. government justify its plans to transfer more than 200 "retired" chimpanzees from a facility in New Mexico to a research laboratory in Texas, where they'll probably be forced to endure cruel experiments?
There is no excuse for it, of course, so please help us persuade officials to permanently retire the chimpanzees to a sanctuary.
Story Credit Here
Additional story on the 200 retired chimpanzees;
07-14-2010
Update: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has written to National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins urging him to scrap plans to transfer more than 200 "retired" chimpanzees from the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research laboratory in Texas. He has also requested the return of 15 chimpanzees who have already been transferred.
"New Mexico wants to save these chimpanzees, who have already given so much of their lives to the American public as part of medical research studies," says the governor. "There is a compassionate and prudent alternative to the National Center for Research Resources' plan, and I feel strongly that we must save the chimpanzees."
Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico is also working hard to ensure that the chimpanzees are spared from further experiments. Stay tuned for more updates.
The folks at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must have had their fingers crossed behind their backs when they "retired" 288 chimpanzees—who had previously been used in Air Force gravity experiments—to the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) in New Mexico. I say this because NIH has now decided to "unretire" the surviving chimpanzees (more than 21 have died in the decade they've spent warehoused in cages at APF, including three who died by electrocution because of unsafe conditions). The animals will be sent to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) laboratory in Texas, where they will likely be subjected to cruel experiments.
SFBR might sound familiar to readers of this blog because it is the same laboratory where two baboons escaped from cages in May and attacked two employees. PETA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which then cited SFBR for failure to handle animals in a manner that does not cause trauma or physical harm as well as failure to provide animals with adequate and safe housing. SFBR had previously been cited twice—in 2009 and in February of this year—for failure to house animals in structurally sound enclosures in order to prevent them from escaping and injuring themselves and others. In one incident, a monkey escaped from a cage, got outside into the freezing cold, suffered from hypothermia, and later was euthanized as a result.
SFBR's "punishment" for these offenses? It gets more than 200 chimpanzees to confine, scare, poke, and prod.
Half of the chimpanzees at APF have been living in cages for at least a quarter of a century. As PETA Vice President Kathy Guillermo wrote today in a letter to NIH, it's time to truly retire these primates to a sanctuary, rather than sending them back to a laboratory where they are sure to endure tremendous physical and psychological trauma, possibly for the rest of their lives—which could last another quarter century or more.
Please take a minute to send your own letter to APF and let it know that "retirement" means living the rest of your life free from stress (and not confined to a cage).
Written by Alisa Mullins
Story Credit Here and information on a letter
This is an exciting development-but it also raises a question: In light of this humane advance, how can the U.S. government justify its plans to transfer more than 200 "retired" chimpanzees from a facility in New Mexico to a research laboratory in Texas, where they'll probably be forced to endure cruel experiments?
There is no excuse for it, of course, so please help us persuade officials to permanently retire the chimpanzees to a sanctuary.
Story Credit Here
Additional story on the 200 retired chimpanzees;
07-14-2010
Update: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has written to National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins urging him to scrap plans to transfer more than 200 "retired" chimpanzees from the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research laboratory in Texas. He has also requested the return of 15 chimpanzees who have already been transferred.
"New Mexico wants to save these chimpanzees, who have already given so much of their lives to the American public as part of medical research studies," says the governor. "There is a compassionate and prudent alternative to the National Center for Research Resources' plan, and I feel strongly that we must save the chimpanzees."
Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico is also working hard to ensure that the chimpanzees are spared from further experiments. Stay tuned for more updates.
The folks at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must have had their fingers crossed behind their backs when they "retired" 288 chimpanzees—who had previously been used in Air Force gravity experiments—to the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) in New Mexico. I say this because NIH has now decided to "unretire" the surviving chimpanzees (more than 21 have died in the decade they've spent warehoused in cages at APF, including three who died by electrocution because of unsafe conditions). The animals will be sent to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) laboratory in Texas, where they will likely be subjected to cruel experiments.
SFBR might sound familiar to readers of this blog because it is the same laboratory where two baboons escaped from cages in May and attacked two employees. PETA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which then cited SFBR for failure to handle animals in a manner that does not cause trauma or physical harm as well as failure to provide animals with adequate and safe housing. SFBR had previously been cited twice—in 2009 and in February of this year—for failure to house animals in structurally sound enclosures in order to prevent them from escaping and injuring themselves and others. In one incident, a monkey escaped from a cage, got outside into the freezing cold, suffered from hypothermia, and later was euthanized as a result.
SFBR's "punishment" for these offenses? It gets more than 200 chimpanzees to confine, scare, poke, and prod.
Half of the chimpanzees at APF have been living in cages for at least a quarter of a century. As PETA Vice President Kathy Guillermo wrote today in a letter to NIH, it's time to truly retire these primates to a sanctuary, rather than sending them back to a laboratory where they are sure to endure tremendous physical and psychological trauma, possibly for the rest of their lives—which could last another quarter century or more.
Please take a minute to send your own letter to APF and let it know that "retirement" means living the rest of your life free from stress (and not confined to a cage).
Written by Alisa Mullins
Story Credit Here and information on a letter
The laws for exotic animals need to change-Chimpanzees, Monkeys
An Indiana boy and his dog were injured recently by the family's pet monkey-who had been locked in a cage for years because of "aggression"-after he escaped and ran amok. You'd think that after a Connecticut woman's face was ripped off by her friend's pet chimpanzee last year-or after a toddler was strangled to death by her family's python or a Texas teenager was mauled to death by her stepfather's tiger-that lawmakers would step in to put an end to the carnage.
But there's still no federal law prohibiting people from breeding, selling, or acquiring exotic and dangerous animals to keep as pets. Why?
The journey for many of these animals begins in places such as Asia and Africa and in the jungles of Central and South America. Many are imported legally in the billion-dollar-a-year exotic-animal industry. Others are jammed into trunks or suitcases or not infrequently, strapped or taped to the smuggler's body. Such was the case with a Mexican man who was recently caught with 18 dead and dying monkeys stuffed into a girdle.
What few laws and penalties exist hardly dissuade dealers when compared to the kind of money to be made from smuggling: Prices on animals' heads can range from a few thousand dollars for a jungle snake to tens of thousands of dollars for a hyacinth macaw.
Closer to home, countless tigers, primates, and other exotic species are bred specifically to be sold as pets. Babies are removed from their frantic mothers (who sometimes have to be sedated) so that the infants can be acclimated to human contact. Traumatized and terrified, these young animals don't stand a chance of ever living as nature intended. Primates are diapered and often have their canine teeth yanked out. Within weeks, tiger cubs outgrow their ramshackle backyard pens and spend the rest of their lives pacing and yearning for something that they want and need but will never get: their freedom.
Buying an animal on a whim or because one wants to be "different" almost inevitably leads to buyer's remorse. Since dealers market these animals as little more trouble than stuffed toys, most people are inevitably shocked by the responsibility and expense of specialized food, space, and veterinary requirements of exotics. When the novelty wears off and reality sets in, some try to unload their high-maintenance pets at zoos, which are unlikely to accept such animals.
Jack Cover, a curator at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, says, "We'd have to have two or three warehouses to handle the [animals] we get calls on."
Others simply abandon animals in woods, swamps, or along rural roads-but since the animals' wild instincts have been irrevocably corrupted, many starve to death or fall victim to the elements or predators. Some species, such as pythons dumped in the Florida Everglades, thrive and wreck havoc on entire ecosystems.
Too many animals-and in far too many tragic cases, people-pay with their lives in this cruel cycle. The time is long overdue for federal lawmakers to put a stop to it once and for all.
This guest post was written by Lisa Wathne. Lisa is the senior captive exotic animal specialist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Story Credit Here
But there's still no federal law prohibiting people from breeding, selling, or acquiring exotic and dangerous animals to keep as pets. Why?
The journey for many of these animals begins in places such as Asia and Africa and in the jungles of Central and South America. Many are imported legally in the billion-dollar-a-year exotic-animal industry. Others are jammed into trunks or suitcases or not infrequently, strapped or taped to the smuggler's body. Such was the case with a Mexican man who was recently caught with 18 dead and dying monkeys stuffed into a girdle.
What few laws and penalties exist hardly dissuade dealers when compared to the kind of money to be made from smuggling: Prices on animals' heads can range from a few thousand dollars for a jungle snake to tens of thousands of dollars for a hyacinth macaw.
Closer to home, countless tigers, primates, and other exotic species are bred specifically to be sold as pets. Babies are removed from their frantic mothers (who sometimes have to be sedated) so that the infants can be acclimated to human contact. Traumatized and terrified, these young animals don't stand a chance of ever living as nature intended. Primates are diapered and often have their canine teeth yanked out. Within weeks, tiger cubs outgrow their ramshackle backyard pens and spend the rest of their lives pacing and yearning for something that they want and need but will never get: their freedom.
Buying an animal on a whim or because one wants to be "different" almost inevitably leads to buyer's remorse. Since dealers market these animals as little more trouble than stuffed toys, most people are inevitably shocked by the responsibility and expense of specialized food, space, and veterinary requirements of exotics. When the novelty wears off and reality sets in, some try to unload their high-maintenance pets at zoos, which are unlikely to accept such animals.
Jack Cover, a curator at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, says, "We'd have to have two or three warehouses to handle the [animals] we get calls on."
Others simply abandon animals in woods, swamps, or along rural roads-but since the animals' wild instincts have been irrevocably corrupted, many starve to death or fall victim to the elements or predators. Some species, such as pythons dumped in the Florida Everglades, thrive and wreck havoc on entire ecosystems.
Too many animals-and in far too many tragic cases, people-pay with their lives in this cruel cycle. The time is long overdue for federal lawmakers to put a stop to it once and for all.
This guest post was written by Lisa Wathne. Lisa is the senior captive exotic animal specialist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Story Credit Here
Helping Great Apes
What responsibilities come with being a human? We have great power as humans, and therefore we have a responsibility to protect those beings who cannot speak for themselves. PETA is the embodiment of this philosophy.
I became aware of captive chimpanzees decades ago when I learned that they were being used in the U.S. space program. Chimpanzee mothers were killed in Africa in order to capture babies for the program. Eventually, these government-sponsored hunting trips became less common as a captive-breeding program was established. But the use of chimpanzees in laboratories continued to grow throughout the 1980s.
In response to pressure from activists-and because chimpanzees aren't good models for human disease research-the breeding program ended in the 1990s. The retired chimpanzees were "rewarded" for their service to our country by being shipped to one of the worst biomedical laboratories in the nation-the now-defunct Coulston Labs in Alamogordo, New Mexico. For years, this laboratory was cited for violations of the minimal legal protections that were designed to protect its test subjects-the apes. Your tax dollars (and mine) funded the cruel experiments that were going on behind closed doors at this laboratory. Unfortunately, today our tax dollars continue to fund other laboratories where animals are subjected to some of the most painful and invasive experiments ever invented.
Laboratories are not the only places where apes are abused. PETA has effectively fought the use of great apes (mainly chimpanzees and orangutans) in the entertainment industry. Baby apes are torn away from their mothers and abused until their will is broken and they behave as their trainers wish. Chimpanzees are subjected to electric shocks and constant beatings with hammers, pipes, clubs, or broom handles in order to make the animals submissive and keep them in line. Many people who see a chimpanzee doing tricks at the circus would never suspect that the animal is abused because the abuse is hidden from the public.
My quest to make a difference for abused great apes led me to write a children's book called A Chimpanzee Tale. The book, which is narrated by Hoot the Chimpanzee, can be found in the PETA Catalog here. Written in rhyme, the story features factual information about chimpanzees. Part of the story takes place in Africa and shows children how chimpanzees in the wild live. The story then addresses captivity and advocacy and teaches children how to do what is right. Readers are introduced to sanctuary life, and Hoot thanks the children of the world for their help. The book includes an afterward, vocabulary words, and Web sites where children can learn about real chimpanzees.
As I write this, the Great Ape Protection Act is sitting before Congress. If this important bill is passed and signed into law, it will allow for approximately 500 chimpanzees who are being held in federal laboratories to be relocated to sanctuaries. But turning this act into a law depends on caring individuals like you. Please contact your representatives and senators and make sure that they sponsor this act. You can also add your name to PETA's online petition here. If enough of us take this step, real pressure may build to make this bill a reality.
I am forever grateful to PETA for all that it does for our animal friends. It is the most amazing organization on the planet, and it is an honor to be a member.
Karen grew up with many kinds of animals, and as a result, she is a passionate advocate for all animals. She began her writing career in retirement with A Chimpanzee Tale. She plans to write more children's books about chimpanzees.
Story Credit Here
I became aware of captive chimpanzees decades ago when I learned that they were being used in the U.S. space program. Chimpanzee mothers were killed in Africa in order to capture babies for the program. Eventually, these government-sponsored hunting trips became less common as a captive-breeding program was established. But the use of chimpanzees in laboratories continued to grow throughout the 1980s.
In response to pressure from activists-and because chimpanzees aren't good models for human disease research-the breeding program ended in the 1990s. The retired chimpanzees were "rewarded" for their service to our country by being shipped to one of the worst biomedical laboratories in the nation-the now-defunct Coulston Labs in Alamogordo, New Mexico. For years, this laboratory was cited for violations of the minimal legal protections that were designed to protect its test subjects-the apes. Your tax dollars (and mine) funded the cruel experiments that were going on behind closed doors at this laboratory. Unfortunately, today our tax dollars continue to fund other laboratories where animals are subjected to some of the most painful and invasive experiments ever invented.
Laboratories are not the only places where apes are abused. PETA has effectively fought the use of great apes (mainly chimpanzees and orangutans) in the entertainment industry. Baby apes are torn away from their mothers and abused until their will is broken and they behave as their trainers wish. Chimpanzees are subjected to electric shocks and constant beatings with hammers, pipes, clubs, or broom handles in order to make the animals submissive and keep them in line. Many people who see a chimpanzee doing tricks at the circus would never suspect that the animal is abused because the abuse is hidden from the public.
My quest to make a difference for abused great apes led me to write a children's book called A Chimpanzee Tale. The book, which is narrated by Hoot the Chimpanzee, can be found in the PETA Catalog here. Written in rhyme, the story features factual information about chimpanzees. Part of the story takes place in Africa and shows children how chimpanzees in the wild live. The story then addresses captivity and advocacy and teaches children how to do what is right. Readers are introduced to sanctuary life, and Hoot thanks the children of the world for their help. The book includes an afterward, vocabulary words, and Web sites where children can learn about real chimpanzees.
As I write this, the Great Ape Protection Act is sitting before Congress. If this important bill is passed and signed into law, it will allow for approximately 500 chimpanzees who are being held in federal laboratories to be relocated to sanctuaries. But turning this act into a law depends on caring individuals like you. Please contact your representatives and senators and make sure that they sponsor this act. You can also add your name to PETA's online petition here. If enough of us take this step, real pressure may build to make this bill a reality.
I am forever grateful to PETA for all that it does for our animal friends. It is the most amazing organization on the planet, and it is an honor to be a member.
Karen grew up with many kinds of animals, and as a result, she is a passionate advocate for all animals. She began her writing career in retirement with A Chimpanzee Tale. She plans to write more children's books about chimpanzees.
Story Credit Here
The Chipperfield's Circus has gone animal free
Kudos to you!!!!!!
It would be real nice for all of the animals that are involved in abuse at these circus's to stop having to perform. One Circus comes to mind here in the US, which is the Rosaires Family Circus. They use Chimpanzees and have for many years. Remember readers that these animals are crated around in tiny cages in tractor trailers and drove all over the country. I have actually seen one of these trailers, walked in it and saw the cages that the chimps were in from a retired circus called Berger Circus owned many years ago by Janet and Frank Berger. They were horrible!!!!! To say the least.... All circus's need to go to human acts. After all, humans can make the choice if they want to be laughed out and starred at, where animals can not.
Story-
The U.K.'s Chipperfield's Circus—which has been exploiting animals since 1684(!) and was in the news following the beating of a baby chimpanzee some years back—has gone animal-free!
Between 1996 and 1998, a long-term investigation of the circus led to successful cruelty-to-animals convictions of the circus's owners, Mary and Roger Chipperfield; jail for the elephant handler; and the closure of three of the circuses owned by the Chipperfield family.
With your help, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus could join the list of circuses in the U.S. that have decided to do away with animal acts, but unfortunately, it has dug in its heels. Please watch our Ringling investigation, share it with your friends, and then contact our Action Team to start campaigning today to make it happen!
Story Credit and Video Here
It would be real nice for all of the animals that are involved in abuse at these circus's to stop having to perform. One Circus comes to mind here in the US, which is the Rosaires Family Circus. They use Chimpanzees and have for many years. Remember readers that these animals are crated around in tiny cages in tractor trailers and drove all over the country. I have actually seen one of these trailers, walked in it and saw the cages that the chimps were in from a retired circus called Berger Circus owned many years ago by Janet and Frank Berger. They were horrible!!!!! To say the least.... All circus's need to go to human acts. After all, humans can make the choice if they want to be laughed out and starred at, where animals can not.
Story-
The U.K.'s Chipperfield's Circus—which has been exploiting animals since 1684(!) and was in the news following the beating of a baby chimpanzee some years back—has gone animal-free!
Between 1996 and 1998, a long-term investigation of the circus led to successful cruelty-to-animals convictions of the circus's owners, Mary and Roger Chipperfield; jail for the elephant handler; and the closure of three of the circuses owned by the Chipperfield family.
With your help, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus could join the list of circuses in the U.S. that have decided to do away with animal acts, but unfortunately, it has dug in its heels. Please watch our Ringling investigation, share it with your friends, and then contact our Action Team to start campaigning today to make it happen!
Story Credit and Video Here
The story of Jimmy the Chimpanzee
From being taken from his mom, to being a human/ape child, to the circus to loneliness. Just like with most Humans..... it's all about the money, the money that they can make off of these magnificent individuals. If you love him let him be happy, be where he should be, with other Chimpanzees.
Story;
How is the life of the chimpanzee who became a painter and is subject of a judicial battle to leave a zoo in Niterói city and go to a sanctuary in São Paulo
By Silvia Rogar
Just like Picasso, Jimmy had his blue phase. But the obsession for the color has gone. His most recent painting, which was exposed until yesterday in an art gallery, combines tones that remind the colors of sun set. Jimmy is a 27 year old chimpanzee, who lives at Niterói zoo, never dated and demands cold water when is thirsty. This year he had even the international media attention for two reasons: he learned how to paint (always with his right hand) and became the subject of a judicial battle.
Animal defense organizations are against his current life style, far away from his equals, and argue that he must be transferred to a sanctuary that hosts 51 great primates in the countryside of São Paulo state. The group entered with a Habeas Corpus request, affirming that Jimmy, as a primate, has the same rights of humans in terms of Justice.
Firstly the request was denied and Jimmy’s destiny must be decided only on February. Meanwhile, he continues is his 120 square meters cage, with a 21 inches TV behind the fence and a noisy construction in the back of his enclosure. He loves jelly beans, guava juice in the can and drinks, daily, a Sustain vitamin. Polite, he gives his hand when someone gets near and does a little noise with his mouth, half a kiss half a tic. He loves to kiss Roched Seba, 25 years, a volunteer of the zoo who taught him how to paint.
- Jimmy is like Hebe (Camargo, a famous Brazilian TV host) – says Roched, who always returns his affection and does not think twice before repeating – Isn’t he beautiful?
Since his childhood, at Romano Garcia Cirus, Jimmy is treated like a person.
- My husband brought from overseas three newborn chimpanzees, but we just kept Jimmy. He used to drink baby bottle, used diapers and slept in a bed – reminds Ana Garcia, Romano’s widow, 80 years old.
Jimmy travelled all over Brazil and had his own showcase: he balanced in a wire and rode a monocycle. In 1987, Romano and Ana got tired of the circus life and sold Jimmy to D’Itália Circus. Jimmy stayed at this circus until 2000, when he had been donated to Niterói zoo. Since then alerts and denounces through e-mails have been arriving to animal defense organizations.
- Alone, Jimmy is not able to he his typical behavior, not to mention the stress caused by the visitation – defends Selma Mandruca, president of Great Ape Project Brazil.
In the sanctuary, there are chimpanzees who read magazines, watch soccer games on TV and paint, like Jimmy. With firm and delicate gestures, the way he uses the brush is impressive. The exhibition of his paints was not only a marketing strategy.
- The idea is to question what is art, what it is to be na artist -, says, in a French way, Nicolas Duvialard, director of French Alliance school, where Jimmy’s paintings got the exhibition.
Jimmy is not the first artist-chimpanzee to become famous. On the 50’s, Congo, of London Zoo, turned to be a compulsive painter. Salvador Dalí was so impressed with his paintings that compared the animal most similar to humans to the master of abstracted expressionism: “The hand of the chimpanzee is almost human; Jackon Pollock’s is completely animal.”
Story Credit Here
Story;
How is the life of the chimpanzee who became a painter and is subject of a judicial battle to leave a zoo in Niterói city and go to a sanctuary in São Paulo
By Silvia Rogar
Just like Picasso, Jimmy had his blue phase. But the obsession for the color has gone. His most recent painting, which was exposed until yesterday in an art gallery, combines tones that remind the colors of sun set. Jimmy is a 27 year old chimpanzee, who lives at Niterói zoo, never dated and demands cold water when is thirsty. This year he had even the international media attention for two reasons: he learned how to paint (always with his right hand) and became the subject of a judicial battle.
Animal defense organizations are against his current life style, far away from his equals, and argue that he must be transferred to a sanctuary that hosts 51 great primates in the countryside of São Paulo state. The group entered with a Habeas Corpus request, affirming that Jimmy, as a primate, has the same rights of humans in terms of Justice.
Firstly the request was denied and Jimmy’s destiny must be decided only on February. Meanwhile, he continues is his 120 square meters cage, with a 21 inches TV behind the fence and a noisy construction in the back of his enclosure. He loves jelly beans, guava juice in the can and drinks, daily, a Sustain vitamin. Polite, he gives his hand when someone gets near and does a little noise with his mouth, half a kiss half a tic. He loves to kiss Roched Seba, 25 years, a volunteer of the zoo who taught him how to paint.
- Jimmy is like Hebe (Camargo, a famous Brazilian TV host) – says Roched, who always returns his affection and does not think twice before repeating – Isn’t he beautiful?
Since his childhood, at Romano Garcia Cirus, Jimmy is treated like a person.
- My husband brought from overseas three newborn chimpanzees, but we just kept Jimmy. He used to drink baby bottle, used diapers and slept in a bed – reminds Ana Garcia, Romano’s widow, 80 years old.
Jimmy travelled all over Brazil and had his own showcase: he balanced in a wire and rode a monocycle. In 1987, Romano and Ana got tired of the circus life and sold Jimmy to D’Itália Circus. Jimmy stayed at this circus until 2000, when he had been donated to Niterói zoo. Since then alerts and denounces through e-mails have been arriving to animal defense organizations.
- Alone, Jimmy is not able to he his typical behavior, not to mention the stress caused by the visitation – defends Selma Mandruca, president of Great Ape Project Brazil.
In the sanctuary, there are chimpanzees who read magazines, watch soccer games on TV and paint, like Jimmy. With firm and delicate gestures, the way he uses the brush is impressive. The exhibition of his paints was not only a marketing strategy.
- The idea is to question what is art, what it is to be na artist -, says, in a French way, Nicolas Duvialard, director of French Alliance school, where Jimmy’s paintings got the exhibition.
Jimmy is not the first artist-chimpanzee to become famous. On the 50’s, Congo, of London Zoo, turned to be a compulsive painter. Salvador Dalí was so impressed with his paintings that compared the animal most similar to humans to the master of abstracted expressionism: “The hand of the chimpanzee is almost human; Jackon Pollock’s is completely animal.”
Story Credit Here
Jimmy the Chimpanzees Habeas Corpus coming up in Jan 2011
12/17/2010
Habeas Corpus of chimpanzee Jimmy: decision is postponed
The decision about the Habeas Corpus of chimpanzee Jimmy, who lives isolated for years in a Cage at Niterói city zoo (Rio de Janeiro), was previewed to happen last December 16, but was postponed to January because of the members of the Tribunal asked to analyze the process more carefully.
Due to the Law courts recess, the trial will be retrieved after the second week of January, when the activities start again.
There is a great expectation in the Law area about the result of this process, which can represent the beginning of elementary basic rights recognition for great primates, so they are not slavered or submitted to prison and isolation in order to give profit to humans, as it used to happen centuries ago with some human races.
Story Credit Here
Habeas Corpus of chimpanzee Jimmy: decision is postponed
The decision about the Habeas Corpus of chimpanzee Jimmy, who lives isolated for years in a Cage at Niterói city zoo (Rio de Janeiro), was previewed to happen last December 16, but was postponed to January because of the members of the Tribunal asked to analyze the process more carefully.
Due to the Law courts recess, the trial will be retrieved after the second week of January, when the activities start again.
There is a great expectation in the Law area about the result of this process, which can represent the beginning of elementary basic rights recognition for great primates, so they are not slavered or submitted to prison and isolation in order to give profit to humans, as it used to happen centuries ago with some human races.
Story Credit Here
A Cruel Concrete Zoo
There are soooo many things wrong with this. Too many for me to even get into. I just get so mad at the way people think.
Story-
BANGKOK, Thailand – A few staff members cast suspicious looks at me as my video camera rolled. One asked why I was filming.
I wasn't in army-ruled Myanmar or communist North Korea. I was visiting a zoo – in Bangkok – and the employees were monitoring me closely.
"One of our zookeepers even has a picture of the gorilla in his wallet, instead of his wife," the staff member said. "You see, we really love our animals."
But it's a tough love out here at Pata Zoo, a concrete jungle
on the top two floors of a department store on a busy road in Bangkok.
Solitary penguin
About 200 species – a gorilla, a penguin, bears, tigers, leopards, sheep, flamingos, pythons, and nocturnal animals – are crammed into cages and pens that are too small or otherwise inadequate for them. The two floors of the zoo are each about the size of a soccer field.
The zoo's superstar, a 20-year-old female gorilla, lives in a 10x15-yard concrete pen. "Bua Noi," as she is called, sat gripping the iron bars of her dim cage, with only a tire, ropes, and TV playing slapstick comedy to keep her company on the day I visited.
Warangkana Chomchuen / NBC News
The Pata Zoo's star attraction, "Bua Noi" a 20-year-old gorilla, sits in her dimly lit cage.
Nearby, two tigers restlessly walked in their cages, their spines and ribs visibly protruding, their hollow-looking faces seemingly all bone. A black jaguar jumped wildly up and down on the fence at the sight of approaching visitors two feet away. And one dazed Humboldt penguin, the lone survivor out of an original group of a dozen, stared blankly at a glass wall in its air-conditioned room.
"No animals can stay healthy psychologically and physically in a building or in an air-conditioned room," said Edwin Wiek, director of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. "A zoo in a building like Pata is hazardous to animals and humans. It should be a thing of the past."
Animal-rights activists have been fighting to shut down the zoo for years, but it's a losing battle. The zoo is not illegal in Thailand. The animals were obtained legally and the zoo has a license.
'Long life expectancy'
There just is no real legislation in place to protect animal welfare.
The zoo’s managers stand by their facility’s safety and size. "Our enclosures aren’t so small that the animals can't move," said Kanit Sermsrimongkol, Pata Zoo’s managing director. "Besides, our animals have long life expectancy and they reproduce. That’s an indicator of their good health."
Public anger and controversy over the Pata Zoo erupts from time to time. But the zoo tends to play it down by inviting media and zoo authorities in for inspection. Eventually the publicity dies down, people forget about it, and the zoo's permit is renewed.
Sophon Damnui, director of Thailand’s Zoological Park Organization, admits the vague laws governing zoos are problematic. The only existing laws relating to wildlife protection state a zoo must be "appropriate" when it comes to caring for captive animals.
"The bill hasn't been amended to address the issue," Sophon said. "But Pata Zoo has a permit. It has zookeepers to tend to animals' basic needs and their animals don’t have a problem, so that's OK."
Animal-rights activists are stymied by the lack of laws. "The law is never on our side," said Roger Lohanan, secretary of the Thai Animal Guardian Association. "We’ve tried every legal loophole, but there's nothing we can do."
Warangkana Chomchuen / NBC News
Some tourists take pictures outside the bear cage at Bangkok's Pata Zoo.
His major concern is animal safety, especially in case of fire. Before Pata there was another zoo inside a building in Bangkok, but most of the animals were trapped and killed when a fire broke out a few years ago.
"The animals can only wait to be rescued and certainly they will be the last thing on people's mind if something bad happens," Lohanan said.
Cultural cruelty?
The problems at Pata Zoo reflect a broader issue of rampant animal cruelty and abuse in Thailand. It isn't a rare sight in big cities to see men walking elephants on hot concrete streets or pet dogs performing tricks for hours in busy, bustling shopping areas – all in the effort to earn some petty cash.
Weak law enforcement and punishment – a 1,000 Baht ($33) fine or one month in jail for animal abuse – exacerbates the problem.
Appalling records of animal treatment in Thailand make people wonder what happened to this Buddhist country, where compassion for all living beings reigns first in Buddha's teaching.
Animal-welfare campaigners call it cultural cruelty. Many Thais still view animals as one of their possessions, to treat as they see fit, and kindness and compassion usually don't go beyond food and shelter.
"Some people say, 'I love my fighting cock, because it's a good fighter'. This is exactly the same mentality the zoo owner has," said Lohanan, referring to cockfighting's enduring popularity across Thailand. "They said they love their animals, but it's an ancient kind of love."
The Thai Animal Guardian Association and other animal-rights groups are pushing for a more effective animal protection law. They drafted the bill and proposed it five years ago, but it's been buried deep under Thailand’s ongoing political mess.
And zoos are still popular. The birth of a baby panda last year drove the country into a frenzy and spurred the idea of importing even more exotic animals to breed on Thai soil. While it wasn’t exactly crowded, about 70 adults and kids were visiting the Pata Zoo the day I was there.
Animal-rights activists said they don't want to give up hope, but acknowledge that it will take a while for the draft bill to get attention and for the animal welfare mentality to kick in.
"When the public is ready to come out and say, 'We don't want it,' then you can shut down Pata Zoo," Lohanan said. "Until then, there's nothing we can do."
Story Credit Here
Story-
BANGKOK, Thailand – A few staff members cast suspicious looks at me as my video camera rolled. One asked why I was filming.
I wasn't in army-ruled Myanmar or communist North Korea. I was visiting a zoo – in Bangkok – and the employees were monitoring me closely.
"One of our zookeepers even has a picture of the gorilla in his wallet, instead of his wife," the staff member said. "You see, we really love our animals."
But it's a tough love out here at Pata Zoo, a concrete jungle
on the top two floors of a department store on a busy road in Bangkok.
Solitary penguin
About 200 species – a gorilla, a penguin, bears, tigers, leopards, sheep, flamingos, pythons, and nocturnal animals – are crammed into cages and pens that are too small or otherwise inadequate for them. The two floors of the zoo are each about the size of a soccer field.
The zoo's superstar, a 20-year-old female gorilla, lives in a 10x15-yard concrete pen. "Bua Noi," as she is called, sat gripping the iron bars of her dim cage, with only a tire, ropes, and TV playing slapstick comedy to keep her company on the day I visited.
Warangkana Chomchuen / NBC News
The Pata Zoo's star attraction, "Bua Noi" a 20-year-old gorilla, sits in her dimly lit cage.
Nearby, two tigers restlessly walked in their cages, their spines and ribs visibly protruding, their hollow-looking faces seemingly all bone. A black jaguar jumped wildly up and down on the fence at the sight of approaching visitors two feet away. And one dazed Humboldt penguin, the lone survivor out of an original group of a dozen, stared blankly at a glass wall in its air-conditioned room.
"No animals can stay healthy psychologically and physically in a building or in an air-conditioned room," said Edwin Wiek, director of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. "A zoo in a building like Pata is hazardous to animals and humans. It should be a thing of the past."
Animal-rights activists have been fighting to shut down the zoo for years, but it's a losing battle. The zoo is not illegal in Thailand. The animals were obtained legally and the zoo has a license.
'Long life expectancy'
There just is no real legislation in place to protect animal welfare.
The zoo’s managers stand by their facility’s safety and size. "Our enclosures aren’t so small that the animals can't move," said Kanit Sermsrimongkol, Pata Zoo’s managing director. "Besides, our animals have long life expectancy and they reproduce. That’s an indicator of their good health."
Public anger and controversy over the Pata Zoo erupts from time to time. But the zoo tends to play it down by inviting media and zoo authorities in for inspection. Eventually the publicity dies down, people forget about it, and the zoo's permit is renewed.
Sophon Damnui, director of Thailand’s Zoological Park Organization, admits the vague laws governing zoos are problematic. The only existing laws relating to wildlife protection state a zoo must be "appropriate" when it comes to caring for captive animals.
"The bill hasn't been amended to address the issue," Sophon said. "But Pata Zoo has a permit. It has zookeepers to tend to animals' basic needs and their animals don’t have a problem, so that's OK."
Animal-rights activists are stymied by the lack of laws. "The law is never on our side," said Roger Lohanan, secretary of the Thai Animal Guardian Association. "We’ve tried every legal loophole, but there's nothing we can do."
Warangkana Chomchuen / NBC News
Some tourists take pictures outside the bear cage at Bangkok's Pata Zoo.
His major concern is animal safety, especially in case of fire. Before Pata there was another zoo inside a building in Bangkok, but most of the animals were trapped and killed when a fire broke out a few years ago.
"The animals can only wait to be rescued and certainly they will be the last thing on people's mind if something bad happens," Lohanan said.
Cultural cruelty?
The problems at Pata Zoo reflect a broader issue of rampant animal cruelty and abuse in Thailand. It isn't a rare sight in big cities to see men walking elephants on hot concrete streets or pet dogs performing tricks for hours in busy, bustling shopping areas – all in the effort to earn some petty cash.
Weak law enforcement and punishment – a 1,000 Baht ($33) fine or one month in jail for animal abuse – exacerbates the problem.
Appalling records of animal treatment in Thailand make people wonder what happened to this Buddhist country, where compassion for all living beings reigns first in Buddha's teaching.
Animal-welfare campaigners call it cultural cruelty. Many Thais still view animals as one of their possessions, to treat as they see fit, and kindness and compassion usually don't go beyond food and shelter.
"Some people say, 'I love my fighting cock, because it's a good fighter'. This is exactly the same mentality the zoo owner has," said Lohanan, referring to cockfighting's enduring popularity across Thailand. "They said they love their animals, but it's an ancient kind of love."
The Thai Animal Guardian Association and other animal-rights groups are pushing for a more effective animal protection law. They drafted the bill and proposed it five years ago, but it's been buried deep under Thailand’s ongoing political mess.
And zoos are still popular. The birth of a baby panda last year drove the country into a frenzy and spurred the idea of importing even more exotic animals to breed on Thai soil. While it wasn’t exactly crowded, about 70 adults and kids were visiting the Pata Zoo the day I was there.
Animal-rights activists said they don't want to give up hope, but acknowledge that it will take a while for the draft bill to get attention and for the animal welfare mentality to kick in.
"When the public is ready to come out and say, 'We don't want it,' then you can shut down Pata Zoo," Lohanan said. "Until then, there's nothing we can do."
Story Credit Here
How do you feel about animals?- domestic and exotic- Take the survey (chimp)
Hi Readers;
I received a comment this morning asking if I would participate in a survey. I did of course. If you would like your opinion to count please follow the link to the survey at the bottom. I think it's a great idea to have the students do this survey. It is educational in regards to the subject as well as being apart of something important. They ask your opinions on zoos, experimental labs, circus's, exotics as pets, etc. Surveys are really the only way to see how the public thinks about our animals. Please join in, it only took me a few minutes.
"We are students at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, conducting a survey on attitudes towards animals. Please answer these questions according to your own opinion - there are no "wrong" or "correct" answers."
Your answers will be completely confidential and will only be used for the purposes of the survey.
To take the survey here
I received a comment this morning asking if I would participate in a survey. I did of course. If you would like your opinion to count please follow the link to the survey at the bottom. I think it's a great idea to have the students do this survey. It is educational in regards to the subject as well as being apart of something important. They ask your opinions on zoos, experimental labs, circus's, exotics as pets, etc. Surveys are really the only way to see how the public thinks about our animals. Please join in, it only took me a few minutes.
"We are students at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, conducting a survey on attitudes towards animals. Please answer these questions according to your own opinion - there are no "wrong" or "correct" answers."
Your answers will be completely confidential and will only be used for the purposes of the survey.
To take the survey here
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