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Wild Futures winter newsletter 2014
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NewsletterNo. 37
Protecting primates and habitats worldwide Registered charity No: 1102532
Featuring Sir David Attenborough
IN THIS ISSUE: announcing our new arrival, Monkey Sanctuary update, overseas support, supporters updates and lots more
Editor’s SummaryOur 50th Anniversary year is drawing to a close and it was golden in more ways than one: the sun shone, making a lovely summer for all the primates, human and non-human. What a difference it makes, enabling the monkeys to enjoy their spacious outside enclosures and, this year, for the first time, we were able to offer the open-topped ‘Trees’ enclosure to the capuchins, to time share with the woollies. It was wonderful to see monkeys like little Mickey, who spent so many years in a converted garage, spending hours exploring and climbing high into the beech trees. It’s very rewarding for our hardworking team to see that they are making a real difference to the monkeys’ lives. Of course it is our supporters who make it possible!
A very special visitor came to see (and film) the capuchins in the Trees enclosure – do read about Sir David Attenborough’s day at the Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary on page 9.
Tjark, our site manager, is not as seasoned a traveller as Sir David, but he certainly gets about! We are proud to say that he and experienced keeper, Macer Parton, were invited to share their skills at a sanctuary in Nigeria. More on our overseas support on page 11.
We love hearing from our younger supporters who are often great fundraisers. Our new Kids’ Page will be a regular feature from now on – do let us know what you think!
Wild Futures is determined that we should not just mop up after the primate pet trade; we want to turn off the tap as well. This summer saw both the EFRA Select Committee and the Government issue their views on the primate pet trade. We responded with our own report, launched at a very successful Parliamentary Reception in November. Details on this are on page 5 and 6.
A big surprise this year was the birth of a woolly monkey baby – do read about why the news of Maya’s pregnancy was bittersweet.
There is so much to do, I am sure that next year will be as packed as this one. Meanwhile, thank you for all you do for us. We wish you all the best season’s greetings. (Monkey prezzie ideas on page 10!)
Here’s to a Wild Future for all primates!
P.S. Don’t forget to enter our Winter Draw, see the back page for details!
1 www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org
A Golden Year
Rachel
1 www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Wild Futures, Murrayton House, St Martins, Looe, Cornwall PL13 1NZ
Tel: 0844 272 1271 • Email:[email protected]
Web: wildfutures.org • monkeysanctuary.org • adoptamonkey.org
Please pass this newsletter on to a friend or neighbour to raise awareness of our work.
Sheryll Murray MP @sheryllmurray Good to see so many people at the @wildfutures last night including @BillOddie. Let’s end the primate pet trade.
Sarah Champion MP @SarahChampionMP Our children will never believe we did something as barbaric as keeping primates as pets, needs banning now! @wildfutures @RSPCA_official
Vegan Reviewer @VeganReviewer @wildfutures So hoping you have a damage free winter. Wishing you all the luck in the world
Sevim Head @lenixulopiji Great day @wildfutures today. Was wet but super fun very interesting, kids loved it! #cornwall #looe #openforbusiness
Contributors: Zoe Porrington Luke Berman Jamie Pickup Vikki Birch
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Claire Turnbull has worked with many animal organisations over the years and has been at our Monkey Sanctuary since 2007. She started as a short-term volunteer and is now a Senior Keeper, involved in many aspects of Wild Futures work. How did you first get involved with Wild Futures?I’ve worked with animals since I was 11, initially helping at my local animal rescue centre and veterinary surgery. After completing my biology degree in 2007, I travelled to Cornwall to volunteer at The Monkey Sanctuary and have been there pretty much ever since! I fell in love with the Sanctuary and the beautiful monkeys, as many volunteers before and after me have also done. I found that the work and ethos of the charity sat close to my own values, so I stayed at the Sanctuary during the summer season of 2008 and worked in the gift shop and on the entrance desk. After spending several months in Cameroon working with chimpanzees at the beginning of 2009, I was employed as a full-time member of the Primate Welfare Team and have since spent time as the Education Officer.
What challenges have you faced over the years?As a charity, we are constantly challenged by our budget, which doesn’t always allow us to achieve all the things that we would like to achieve! We are often short staffed;
when an experienced keeper leaves the Sanctuary, it can take years for a new keeper gain the skills and reach the same level of responsibility. It can also be very frustrating to know that there are monkeys out there, in the UK, that are being kept as pets in terrible conditions and it is still legal to do this.
What is your role now?
At the moment, I’m one of the Senior Keepers at the Sanctuary, working closely with the monkeys alongside the
rest of the keeper team and responsible for training up new keepers, as well as spending lots of time talking about our work to visitors during our open season. But I do tend to get involved in all sorts of different aspects of our work including education, campaigns and PR- there’s always something that needs doing!
What inspires you?
The monkeys. Many of our rescued monkeys have suffered such trauma and deprivation, yet they always manage to recover enough to enjoy their lives, despite their less than ideal situation in captivity. I also take inspiration from educating people about our work and from the committed people I work with who dedicate their lives to fighting for animals.
What do you hope to achieve in the future?
I hope to see Wild Futures grow as a charity, enabling us to continue with our rescue and rehabilitation work, as there are many monkeys that need our help. If we had more resources, it would be great to expand on our current education and campaigns projects, which are an important part of our work. A ban on the UK primate pet trade is obviously something we are also working very hard towards!
I’ve recently set up a special appeal for the monkeys I work with, which I really hope some of you might be able to help with- check out our ‘Parcels for Primates’ article!
www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Staff profile:
Claire Turnbull Senior Keeper
A ban on the UK primate pet trade is obviously something we are also working very hard towards!
Claire and Rachel at this years Daily Mirror Animal Hero Awards
3 www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Media attentionWild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary has had lots of media attention since our last news-letter. We were proud to welcome Humble Bee Films and Sir David Attenborough as they filmed for a new series of Natural Cu-riosities.
Renowned cameraman, Adrian Cale, also came to film the monkeys in 3D for Back to Back Productions and we have hosted 2:4 Productions as well!
We received a huge amount of local and national radio coverage and our profile has certainly been raised, both nationally and internationally.
Wildlife GardensThe glorious weather this summer created a perfect haven for wildlife in our gardens. We are very pleased to report that the en-dangered small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly is thriving in the gardens and on surrounding cliff-sides.
We work hard to manage our site so that it provides suitable habitats for a variety of our native wildlife.
THE MONKEY SANCTUARY UPDATE
We enjoyed a great summer at The Monkey Sanctuary, with the opportunity to introduce lots of visitors to our work. Our keepers spent every afternoon introducing the monkeys, speaking about them and answering questions. We also hosted lots of educational group visits and it was great to see many of our adopters and supporters also able to call in to see us. The monkeys made the most of the long, fine days and enjoyed spending lots of time outdoors, foraging, sunbathing and grooming with friends.
The interconnecting territory design at the Sanctuary means that we are able to rotate all of the different monkey social
groups around the territory, to give them more areas to explore and to keep them stimulated. Lots of the capuchin groups appreciated the chance to spend time in our large, open-topped ‘Trees’ enclosure on many days when the weather allowed.
www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Supporters’ Day 2014 At 11am on 30th May, we opened our gates once again, to our wonderful adopters and supporters! The weather stayed fine for our busy programme of talks, keeper tours, workshop activities and a delicious lunch at the Treetop Café. There was also a raffle and, of course, time for everyone to check up on their adopted monkeys!
Our raffle was the most suc-cessful to date and was made possible by generous donations from various local companies including; Lush, The Eden Proj-ect, Cornish Orchards, Burts Crisps, Carnglaze Caverns, The Lost Gardens of Heligan and Adrenalin Quarry. We raised over £350 on the raffle and over the day we made nearly £2500, highlighting how important Supporters’ Day is in helping us to continue our vital work. Just as importantly, the day is a great way for us to say a big ‘thank you’ to you, our fantastic sup-porters.
The day also gives the staff here at Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanc-tuary time to get to know you all and we love to hear your com-ments and feedback. This par-ticular remark from an adopter made us smile. “What a special adoption scheme; you can visit and learn all about the monkey you adopt and know just where your donation is being spent!” We couldn’t agree more! If you didn’t manage to make it to this year’s event, look out for your invitation next spring and we hope to see you then!
An adoption makes a great Christmas or birthday gift, so if you would like to give someone else the pleasure of adopting one of our monkeys just visit our website: www.adoptamonkey.org or call the office on 0844 272 1271.
Once again, thank you for your support - your contributions to our charity make Supporters’ Day, and many other aspects of our work, possible!
Viewing Platform This summer, our maintenance team con-structed a viewing platform overlooking our large open topped Trees enclosure. It enabled Sir David Attenborough’s film crew to get some amazing footage of the capuchins and has had a lot of use since from various production companies get-ting some great shots of our monkeys.
Although not open to members of the pub-lic, it is now accessible to those who are a part of the keeper for a day experience, giving them a unique view of the monkeys enjoying the spacious enclosure.
It is also available to hire for photogra-phers and film crews by special arrange-ment. Please contact us for further infor-mation.
It was a sizzling Summer…
Ivor laughing
The Monkey Sanctuary Welcomes a Special New Arrival!The wonder of new life never fails to inspire, sometimes even when it isn’t planned! Staff at The Monkey Sanctuary welcomed a new arrival on 18th October, when Maya the woolly monkey delivered a healthy baby in the early hours of the morning.
Our Monkey Sanctuary is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctu-aries and has a non-breeding policy, for ethical and practical reasons. Most of our resident monkeys have been rescued from the UK pet trade and, due to the trauma they have suffered, would struggle to care for their own babies.
We also get many requests to take unwant-ed monkeys, so invest much of our re-sources into caring for rescued monkeys, campaigning for primates and preserving their remaining habitats, rather than cap-tive breeding. Methods of contraception are chosen to minimise health risks to the monkeys and to limit any social disrup-tion. However, as in humans, contracep-tive methods are not 100% reliable!
Experienced keepers realised that Maya was pregnant several months before she gave birth, but were unsure of what the outcome might be, partly due to the fact that Maya is not a young monkey at 22 years old and has never had a baby be-fore. Happily though, she remained fit and healthy throughout her pregnancy and delivered her baby perfectly- show-ing much skill by cradling the baby as she emerged and cleaning her up beautifully.
She was so relaxed about it all, that she al-lowed keepers to get close enough to film the new born infant and we have plans to make a short video to share this rare mo-ment.
Keepers at the Sanctuary have confirmed their initial suspicions that Maya’s baby is a girl and from the baby naming com-petition we are pleased to announce the baby’s name is Lily.
Maya is doing a great job and the rest of the woolly monkey colony is responding well to the newcomer, with careful intro-ductions taking place with the adult males. Woolly monkeys are promiscuous, so the paternity of the baby remains uncertain! Baby Lily is really starting to become more active now. Although she won’t climb off mum for at least three months, her distance vision and strength have begun to improve and she can be seen looking at the world around her and taking everything in.
As we watch baby Lily’s progress, there is something bitter-sweet in that we are made all the more aware of how infant monkeys who are victims of the pet trade are denied the essential care of their own kind. We will keep you updated on this special baby!
www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org 4www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Want to be a ‘Keeper for a Day’?
The Keeper for a Day experience continues to be extremely popular; both the adult and children’s day has proved very busy again this year, with a record number of people enjoying a fantastic day at The Monkey Sanctuary.One young keeper, Myah, had such a great day that she wrote to us saying: “Thank you for the best day of my life! The best part of the day was… everything!”The day is designed to be educational and informative, as well as fun and practical. It includes:• Cleaning out the monkey
enclosures (adults only)• Making enrichment for the
monkeys• A behind-the-scenes tour at
the rescue centre• Making food bowls for the
monkeys• Free lunch at our Treetop
Café• Free pass for a guest or
parent/guardian• A thank you pack and gift,
plus free membership to be a “Friend of Wild Futures”
It really is a special day and when one of our adult Keeper for a Day guests commented: “The worst part of the day was leaving!” we know we are offering a day to remember.If you would like to find out more, book a place for yourself or as a gift for someone, please go to: www.wildfutures.org, email [email protected] or call 0844 272 1271 and ask to speak to Tracey Lindop.
Baby Lily
As well as responding to and keeping a re-cord of the various enquiries that we get regarding keeping monkeys as pets, we al-ways keep an eye on what is going on in the media and were saddened to discover that One Direction used a chimpanzee ‘ac-tor’ in their latest music video. The use of wild animals, such as primates, in the en-tertainment industry raises serious welfare implications for the individual animals and is known to be highly damaging to conser-vation efforts. The practice is condemned by zoologists, animal welfare scientists and conservationists worldwide, so we wrote a letter to the band to voice our concerns. We are yet to receive a response, but we are pleased to report that it picked up a lot of media coverage, which allowed us to edu-cate many people on this topic.
As you may remember, earlier this year, a Parliamentary Com-mittee looked into the keeping of primates as pets in the UK. They supported a ban in principle, but did not commit to act-ing upon it; instead they recommended minor changes to the current system.
The Government gave their response to the Committee’s re-port in September, clearly stating that primates should not be kept as pets, but, disappointingly, this is still being allowed to happen and the Government does not yet seem committed to take appropriate measures to prevent the ongoing suffering. We believe a ban is the only way forward!
Our plan is to continue to work hard on our campaign to end the UK primate pet trade, as it is vital to keep the issue in the spotlight. In the meantime, we are continuing with our annual primate licence survey. This allows us to gather as much information as possible about what is happening on the ground, including how many primates are licensed in the UK and what conditions they are being kept in. All the information we collect helps us to demonstrate how the current legal system is not working to protect primates.
www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org5 www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Thank you Viridian!Viridian Nutrition is a leading brand of ethical vitamins and we are lucky to have their support in the form of donated vita-mins and supplements for the Sanctuary’s resident monkeys.
In October, a small team from Viridian came to visit the Sanctuary and were given a tour of the site by Rachel, our Director.
They thoroughly enjoyed their visit and meeting some of the monkeys who are kept in great condition thanks to their fan-tastic products! In addition to this, they gave us a very generous donation towards our Parliamentary Reception.
A very big thank you, as always, to Viridian for their ongoing support.
Intelligent eyes and serious facesTrapped in inappropriate placesCaged by humans, treated like toysTaking their freedom, killing their joyBreaking their spirit, day by dayKeeping them captive is not the wayThese creatures need to run free and wildNot trapped and treated like a substitute childNo space to run, to climb, to playLoneliness growing by the dayDon’t take them prisoner, let them beHappy, healthy, wild and free©Brenda Stephens
During the summer season this year Brenda Stephens visited the Sanctuary. She was moved so much by what she learnt about the primate pet trade and the suffering that many monkeys have gone through before they arrive at the Sanctuary that she wrote this very special poem for us.
Wild & Free by Brenda Stephens
One Direction criticised for use of chimpanzee
Ongoing workCAMPAIGNS UPDATE
Joanna Lumley & George McGavin pledging their support
Mr Monkey
It’s time to end the UK Primate Pet Trade
It’s time to end the UK Primate Pet Trade
www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org 6www.wildfutures.org | [email protected] | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Wild Futures goes to Parliament
On November 17th Wild Futures and the Primate Society of Great Britain hosted a Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons, supported by MPs Sheryll Mur-ray and Andrew Rosindell. The evening was a great success and we were proud to have organised such a successful event. The room was packed, standing room only, with supporters of a ban on the trading and keeping of primates as pets. Amongst the crowd, all the major animal welfare organ-isations were repre-sented and we were delighted to see quite a number of MPs as well.
The Government will be reviewing the Code of Practice for the Wel-fare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates at the beginning of next year, so this is a great time to remind them of our work. We presented a new report which includes our latest research on primates kept under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, as well as being a riposte to the Government’s own response to the EFRA enquiry into the keeping of primates as pets earlier this year. The report, ‘It’s time to end the UK Primate Pet Trade’ (which complements a new publication from the RSPCA, ‘Do you give a monkey’s?’) is available on our web-site. Our speakers and experts for the eve-ning were from PSGB, Wild Futures and RSPCA. Bill Oddie concluded the talks for
us, urging us on to victory in our campaign to end this cruel trade. We were also hon-oured to have a dedicated video message from world famous Dr Jane Goodall, DBE. You can watch Dr Goodall’s message for yourself, on our website.
In the last few months we had asked sup-porters like you to send in your speech
bubbles, saying why primates should not be pets. We were overwhelmed by your response and the bub-bles were printed and hung around the room, as well as being played on a monitor, along with contributions from Joanna Lumley, George McGavin, Wendy Turner Webster
and others. Another screen showed some of the stories of monkeys rescued by Wild Futures and sculptures by renowned artist Rudy Weller brought a beautiful focus to the issue.
We will be calling for people to write to their MPs - we would love them to receive more of our bubbles! Please keep an eye on our facebook page and website to see how you can help.
The reception was made possible by the generous support of Mr Howard Rosen and Viridian Nutrition.
Joey Update Daily Mirror Animal Hero Awards 2014You may remember from our last newsletter that we launched our Justice for Joey campaign.
Since then Joey’s ex-owner has been convicted on 23 counts of fraud and deception. She now faces 10 years in prison. Ironically, this is about the same time that Joey was im-prisoned in a flat in London.
Amazingly, Joey continues to thrive and is an inspiration to everyone he meets, so we were delighted when he was named as a finalist in ‘The Daily Mir-ror and RSPCA Animal Hero Awards’.
He was nominated for his bravery through adversity and helping other traumatised, res-cued monkeys recover and we are thrilled to tell you that he won! He certainly deserves that recognition. For more de-tails: www.wildfutures.org/news
L-R: Rachel Hevesi, Bill Oddie & MP Sheryll Murray. Parliamentary Reception.
Angela HumpheryIn September, we were thrilled to have Angela Humphery visit our Sanctuary. Angela is a life-long campaigner for animals and adopted Joey after reading his story.
She has since raised a fantastic amount of funds for our charity and enjoyed having the chance to meet Joey for the first time in a few years.
She said that she was delighted to see his progress!
We will be calling for people to write to their MPs - we would love them to receive more of our bubbles! Angela & Joey
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Who’s who @ Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary!
Frosty was the first capuchin to arrive at the Sanctuary. He is very much in charge, but is a real softy and loves his friends. When bossy Jackie arrived, she and Frosty became close and this helped her to acquire alpha female position. Tanya and Mickey arrived with Jackie- Tanya’s quiet, unassuming character and Mickey’s social skills mean they get along well. Charlie was the next to arrive- he has made many friends over the years due to his gentle, playful temperament. Boo fought with Jackie at first- her social skills were poor, but she has blossomed into a well-respected group member. Billy is the youngest and the last to arrive! He has grown a lot, learnt his place and adores Frosty.
FROSTY’S FANS!Peppy has been at the Sanctuary since 2002
and he has always been in charge! Gary and
Coco, two of the males he used to live with,
have sadly passed away, but he is now the
dominant male of a small social group. When
Chanel arrived, she and Peppy immediately
became friends and they remain very close.
Mr Monkey was the next to arrive and
although he and Chanel have the occasional
disagreement, his cheeky, playful personality
brings some fun into the mix. Morwella was
the last to join Peppy’s group and she is
especially fond of the boys!
PEPPY’S PALS Josh is a wise, calm character and socially
very clever, meaning that the rest of his
tight-knit group look up to him as their
dominant male and rely on him to solve
social disputes. Kiwi, Gizzie and Grips arrived
at the Sanctuary together, after spending
many years as pets in a breeze block
outbuilding.
Gizzie and Josh are the same age and have
been inseparable since the moment they first
met- Josh is very protective of her. Kiwi and
Grips are half brother and sister and their
bond is strong- although they do
occasionally bicker, they always make up
quickly afterwards.
JOSH’S GROUP
Gucci and Kwango had already been
socialised together when Lodi arrived at the
Sanctuary and, although he was desperate to
make friends, his time as a pet meant that his
social skills left a lot to be desired! The trio
get along well now though- Lodi has
acquired lots of skills, likes to think he is in
charge and is very protective of his girls.
Kwango is a feisty, bossy old lady, but loves
to groom with Lodi and has even helped
introvert Gucci learn how to play. Keepers
are confident that Lodi’s little group can
continue to grow into the future as more
capuchin monkeys are rescued.
LODI AND HIS LADIES!
The Elvis Family are the Sanctuary’s only natural family group of capuchins. Elvis is the dominant male and father of the youngsters. Sue is the mother of Banjo and Roccita and holds a high ranking position. Until recently, old Sheila was well respected within the group, but her age, combined with recent health issues, gave Sue the advantage to gain position of alpha female. Amy has inherited a low ranking position from her mother, Betty, but despite working to a strict dominance hierarchy, the group are very close and never want to be far from one another. They are all fiercely loyal and Sue and Betty are always there to protect their children.
THE ELVIS FAMILYBarbary macaques Mario, Chico and Donkey
were victims of the illegal exotic pet trade in
Europe. All three have grown into big,
handsome males and they live together in a
network of spacious enclosures, which helps
them to work around their complicated
social politics! Donkey was troubled when he
arrived and struggled to understand how to
interact with the others, but he has
developed lots of social skills and can very
mischievous!
Chico is stubborn and often tries to push his
luck with dominant male Mario, but Mario is
strong and sensible and tends to keep them
both in check!
THE BACHELOR BOYS
To adopt online, please go to www.adoptamonkey.org
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Joey or another monkey
From £3 a month (£36 a year) or other amount
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Alternatively, to adopt online, please go to www.adoptamonkey.orgIncome to the adoption scheme is considered a donation to Wild Futures, registered charity number 1102532 All our monkeys are listed on www.adoptamonkey.org
Who’s who @ Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary!
Josh is a wise, calm character and socially
very clever, meaning that the rest of his
tight-knit group look up to him as their
dominant male and rely on him to solve
social disputes. Kiwi, Gizzie and Grips arrived
at the Sanctuary together, after spending
many years as pets in a breeze block
outbuilding.
Gizzie and Josh are the same age and have
been inseparable since the moment they first
met- Josh is very protective of her. Kiwi and
Grips are half brother and sister and their
bond is strong- although they do
occasionally bicker, they always make up
quickly afterwards.
JOSH’S GROUPKodak didn’t ever really want to take on the role of alpha male. Although he is a physically striking, mature male, his social skills are undeveloped, due to life as a pet. He had little choice in taking the lead though, as his small group formed when he befriended a disabled male named Joey, who relies on Kodak to protect him due to his limited physical abilities.
Kirsty soon joined the duo and she fell for Kodak straight away-keen to treat him as her alpha male and protector. Then came Tam- he is a confident chap, but adores Kodak, follows him around everywhere and treats him like a father-figure.
KODAK’S CLUB
The woolly monkeys were born at the
Sanctuary and have known each other all
their lives. Ivor, 22, is a dominant character,
the eldest in the colony. Maya, also 22 and
until very recently, the only female in the
group, enjoys getting all the attention. The
most recent arrival to the colony is Maya’s
daughter, Lily, who was born due to a
contraceptive failure and has created much
interest amongst the group!
Pablo, 20, is a fairly easy going character and
uncle to brothers Caju, 16, and Oliver, 10.
Caju is also keen to have an easy life and
often allows Oliver, who can be quite pushy,
to boss him around.
THE WOOLLY MONKEYS
✁
Please feel free to photocopy this page and pass on to your friends and family, or if you want to leave your newsletter intact.
On 15th August 2014 we were privileged to receive Sir David Attenborough at the Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary to film a piece for his latest series ‘Natural Curi-osities’, with Humble Bee Films. Not only were we celebrating 50 years of rescue and rehabilitation at The Monkey Sanctu-ary, but to welcome such a respected wild-life presenter was a highlight of the year for many of the staff, vol-unteers and our sup-porters.
We were proud to be able to show Sir Da-vid the high welfare standards and innova-tive territory design of the Sanctuary; which allows for maximum social interactions and the possibility for the monkeys to live in close-to-natural colonies. As the ex-pet monkeys recover from their often traumat-ic histories, they display behaviours similar to those of wild monkeys.
Sir David was particularly interested in how capuchin monkeys in the wild anoint themselves with insects and plants. The chemicals that they rub on their fur are
thought to have insect repelling qualities – very useful in the tropics where there are many beasties ready to bite! Sir David of-fered the monkeys at the Sanctuary chilli peppers and spring onions, a favourite for the capuchins. Soon they were captured on camera, not eating but rubbing the chillis and onions on their fur with great
excitement.
What is fascinating about this behaviour is not just that they do it in the wild, but that captive born monkeys know just what to do as well.
Rachel Hevesi, Di-rector of Wild Fu-tures, said: “It was an honour to have Sir
David and his team on site, we were proud to show him our work, especially when he congratulated the team on what we do. We can’t wait to see the programme when it goes out.”
‘Natural Curiosities’ will go out on televi-sion in early 2015, so we hope you all get to watch it and hopefully see some of our monkeys in action!
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Sir David Attenborough visits the Sanctuary!
If I could sum up what being an ambassador meant to me in one word it would be ‘Pride’! After my first day at The Monkey Sanctuary in 2005 I was hooked on the amazing work Wild Futures does and the staff and volunteers that dedicate themselves to the monkeys they look after.
To represent Wild Futures is a real honour for me and I take every opportunity I can to promote their work. The Ambassador scheme is of immense importance to the charity as it empowers volunteers over the UK to raise crucial funds. The title brings trust that the general public can relate to and it enhances the events/stalls we run, which ultimately leads to more money raised. Also, it is a two way process, we (the ambassadors) pledge to run local events, Wild Futures then support us where we need it.
Personally I feel with the name comes an added element of responsibility that drives me to increase the impact of Wild Futures in London. Since becoming an ambassador in 2012 I have given talks, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, set up the London Wild Futures Group and we now run the London Vegfest stall every year.
It is fantastic for your CV as it shows you are doing it because you want to; the only limit is your imagination. What are you waiting for? Apply now!
What being an Ambassador means to me: By Luke Berman
What is fascinating about this behaviour is not just that they do it in the wild, but that captive born monkeys know just what to do as well.
Top: Humble Bee Films, Below: Sir David Attenborough. Right: Tjark Plak, Sir David & Rachel
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With more monkeys to care for than ever before, we have more mouths to feed and higher bills to pay. Rocketing prices of their favourite treats means we need your help!
If you are visiting the Sanctuary, you could bring along a treat-filled shoebox or just send one or two items via post- anything would be a great help and much appreciated by the monkeys!
Most of the items on our wish list are readily available in supermarkets, pet stores or health food shops, so you could just add a little something to your weekly shop or order online and have it delivered straight to the monkeys!
If you’re an adopter, please tell us who you would like your care package to be for, so that one of their keepers can let you know their favourite snacks and treats.
Only with your support and generosity are we able to continue to give our rescued monkeys the best life possible.
On the right are some of the items on our wish list. For the full list, please visit:
www.wildfutures.org/fundraising/parcels-for-primates-monkey-wish-list-appeal/
On behalf of the monkeys, thank-you!
Daisy the capuchin monkey is old, lonely and needs your help. She has just lost her only monkey friend and the couple who cares for her know she needs company so have contacted us for help. We regularly receive requests to rehome monkeys and we can’t always say yes, but Daisy really needs us.
Daisy had a very sad start to life. She was originally confiscated from an exotic animal breeder, where her present owners found her being kept in terrible conditions. When she was rescued she had healed cigarette burns and badly mended, fractured fingers from her previous life. She was probably taken from her mother as a tiny infant and has a laparotomy scar- allegedly from the time she spent imprisoned in a laboratory breeding facility. Her current owners became her guardians when the breeder was prosecuted. They nursed Daisy back to health and, importantly, found her a companion, but he has recently died leaving her alone once again and desperate for company. Daisy’s owners are now worried that she will not cope alone.
We urgently need to raise £6000 to be able to transport Daisy safely to the Sanctuary, pay for her initial veterinary check and to cover the costs of her ongoing care.
Can you help by donating today?
Capuchins are intelligent, social animals that naturally live in large troops in the rainforests of South and Central America. Daisy is elderly and showing signs of distress due to being alone, so we are anxious to ensure that she spends her last years in a caring environment, surrounded by other capuchins. She deserves to live her last years with her own kind and we know we can find her friends at our Sanctuary.
Please help us give Daisy a last chance of happiness by contributing towards her appeal, we cannot save her without your generous support.
Your kindness can change lives.
Thank you.
To donate, visit www.wildfutures.org/daisyrescueappeal or call 0844 272 1271 for more information.
Our keepers are appealing for essential wish list items for the monkeys!
Parcels for Primates; Monkey Wish List Appeal!
MONKEY SHOPPING LIST:
Treats and snacks: Unsalted nuts- shelled/unshelled (peanuts, almonds, walnuts, hazels, brazils, pecans)• Dried fruit (raisins, apricots,
dates, figs etc.)• Pitted prunes• Unsalted rice cakes• Pumpkin/sunflower seeds• Dried seaweed (a tasty
snack full of vitamins and minerals)
Fresh foods:• Avocado• Corn-on-the-cob• Cherry tomatoes• Exotic/soft fruits (berries,
pineapple, melons etc. grapes are a favourite!)
• Coconuts Enrichment items: • ‘Kong’ dog toys (all sizes)• Rope tug dog toys (enjoyed
by the young capuchins)• Tennis balls• Footballs (the Barbary boys
love these!)• Paddling pools (hard plastic
type) Healthcare:• Rescue remedy (treatment
for anxiety and stress)• Floradix (a nutritious food
supplement)• Agave Syrup (a sweet, low
sugar syrup for our diabetic monkeys)
• Fruit spreads• Abidec (children’s vitamin)
Help us give Daisy a last chance of happiness
Daisy
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Website LaunchLook out for the launch of our new user-friendly website in early 2015!
Our new website will make it easier to shop at our ethical and fair-trade gift shop and simpler to renew your adoptions on-line, giving you the opportunity to pay by direct debit. Our new website will also be mobile op-timised; helping you to keep up to date with all of our news and campaigns on the go!
So keep an eye out at www.wildfutures.org for all of our exciting new changes coming your way.
Shopping Online Take a look at our range of ethi-cal and fair-trade gifts on our online shop from cuddly mon-key toys, Salt Water Beads neck-laces to hooded sweatshirts, in a choice of 6 colours, there is something for everyone.
Check out our full list of prod-ucts at: www.shop.wildfutures.org and keep an eye open for our new look shop coming to you early 2015.
Brightwave PartnershipWe have partnered up with Bright Wave Insurance, who are an insurance company with a difference. Unlike tradition-al insurers, they want to give something back! Every time one of our supporters takes out an insurance policy with them, they will donate 25% of their commission to Wild Futures.
Call them today on our dedi-cated phone line to get your quote: 0121 248 9487.
As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting primate sanctuaries and conservation projects overseas, we are pleased to report that 2 of our team have recently returned from a trip to Nigeria. Site Manager, Tjark Plat and Senior Keeper, Macer Parton, spent 2 weeks in the south of the country, sharing their skills at Cercopan rescue centre.
CERCOPAN, a primate conservation charity, was founded in 1995 and is situated in Cross River State, South-Eastern Nigeria, the location of the oldest and most biodiverse rainforests in Africa. Over 60% of the country’s endangered plant and animal species occur there. Cercopan are among those leading the efforts to ensure that the forests of Cross River are conserved into the future for people and primates. After initially overcoming some problematic visa issues, our intrepid duo set off mid-October. They packed light on personal items so that they were able to fill their bags with tools, vehicle parts and essential veterinary supplies.
Cercopan operates two sanctuary sites, which are home to various species of monkeys including mangabeys, guenons, mona monkeys and tantalus monkeys. Although different to the species we care for at The Monkey Sanctuary, Tjark and Macer were able to use their knowledge of primate healthcare to help catch and anaesthetise some of the female monkeys to allow them to be fitted with contraceptive implants, in order to implement Cercopan’s non-breeding policy. They were also able to teach staff how to catch, transfer and
anesthetise monkeys in a safe way, with minimal stress, and put protocols in place for aiding medical procedures in the future. Tjark designs and builds catching and transport equipment at The Monkey Sanctuary, so he was easily able to create a makeshift, but functional ‘crush cage’ to help this process, which the resident vet nurse was very pleased with!
Macer and Tjark’s skills and experience in mechanics also came in very useful, as they spent a large proportion of their time repairing two broken vehicles, which are vital for the running of the site. Prior to their visit, the staff had been relying on taxis for the day to day running of the site, including collecting monkey food and maintenance materials, travelling between sites and also for any emergencies, so they were grateful to have the trucks working again. Vehicles are also useful for moving monkeys between sites and even meeting with local tribespeople, who help to police the protection of the rainforest and its animals. Macer said, “The trip was very worthwhile. Although it was hard work, it was great to be able to share our skills with another organisation that needed it. Many of the monkeys at Cercopan arrive as orphans, due to human-wildlife conflict. Keeping primates as pets in Nigeria was made illegal in 1985, so it really is about time we also banned it in the UK!”
We would like to thank International Fund for Animal Welfare and Pan African Sanctuary Alliance for helping to make this trip possible.
Overseas: Wild Futures in Nigeria
OVERSEAS
Red-capped mangabey
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Leaving a gift in your WillAs a small charity that strives to achieve big things, we are helped each year by people who have left a legacy to us in their Will. Gifts in Wills can range from a small specific gift to a proportion of someone’s estate, to us every penny helps. These gifts help us to continue our campaign against the pri-mate pet trade and rescue and care for our monkeys.
We remember those that have left a legacy by having a plaque made with their name inscribed at our Sanctuary, so that family and friends can see how their loved one’s legacy lives on in our work. If you would like to find out more on how you can leave a gift in your Will, please contact us on [email protected] or for more informa-tion visit our website www.wildfutures.org/fundraising/legacies or call our office on 0844 272 1271.
Thank you • Crylla Valley Holiday Park for
hosting a weekly activity stall for the guests staying at their holiday park and continuing their corporate adoption of our capuchin monkey Billy.
• Cotton Roots and Impact Trading for donating branded t-shirts and aprons to the Tree Top Café.
• Tesco Lee Mill for having a nuts bin, where customers could leave purchased nuts for our monkeys.
• Tesco Launceston for donating 50p from each bunch of bananas sold over one weekend raising a massive £700.
• Miele for donating a very essential washing machine when our old one broke down.
• Aldi Stores in Liskeard for their weekly donation of food for the monkeys.
• Morrisons in Liskeard for Mince Pies.
• Sainsbury’s Marsh Mills for a £30 gift voucher
It’s been a busy 6 months for our educa-tion team here at Wild Futures! We have hosted lots of our regular school and high-er education visits, but here’s a snap shot of our most memorable events.
The Monkey Sanctuary celebrated Earth Day, World Oceans Day and Native Wild-life Day again this year, with all three events proving to be a great success. Na-tive Wildlife Day was the most popular event, with a variety of games and activi-ties available for our visitors to take part in. We were grateful to have Cornwall Wild-life Trust, Cornwall Seal Group, Corn-wall Mammal Group, Friends of Kilminorth Woods, Cornwall But-terfly Conservation and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust at-tend and share their work. Cornwall Mam-mal Group carried out a nest box survey to see what small mammals we have in our wildlife gardens and we are happy to report that they found common shrews, wood mice, bank vole and field vole.
During the summer holidays we were in-vited to put on workshops at Drake Circus shopping centre in Plymouth. We worked with hundreds of children each day and our monkey costume was incredibly pop-ular with children and adults alike! We were able to talk to people about our work and raise much needed funds through do-nations.
Our Education Team and volunteers were
fortunate enough to be invited to Camp Bestival, a family festival based in Dorset. With an attendance of 30,000 festival go-ers, half of them children, there was an exciting few days of environmental work-shops! It was nice to meet supporters and former volunteers there as well.
Every year we enlist the help of expert speakers for our Exotic Pet Trade Day, where the welfare, conservation and ethi-cal implications of keeping exotic animals as pets are discussed. Our audience this
year included vets and local authority enforcement officers, alongside Animal Management stu-dents from Cornwall College. Everyone enjoyed informative talks from Nicola White, RSPCA Senior
Scientific Officer, regarding reptiles and Greg Glendell, one of the UK’s leading parrot behaviourists. We also held a talk on the UK primate pet trade and the event concluded with Peter Ferris discussing his work as an RSPCA exotic animal inspec-tor. There were over 120 attendees and we are already planning next year’s event to be even bigger and better!
Are you a teacher or group leader? Our education team can offer enlightening, informative and fun talks, tours and work-shops catered to your needs or age-group. If you are interested in arranging a visit to The Monkey Sanctuary, please email [email protected].
EDUCATION UPDATE
The Monkey Sanctuary celebrated Earth Day, World Oceans Day and Native Wildlife Day again this year.
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The largest species of monkey is the mandrill and
the smallest monkey in the world is called a pygmy
marmoset.
Woolly monkeys can hang on to branches by using their special tails, which are called prehensile tails.
If you see a monkey showing its teeth, it doesn’t mean it is smiling. Some types of monkey show their teeth if they are angry or scared.
Monkeys like to keep clean! That is why they spend a
lot of time cleaning, or grooming, each other’s coats.
One monkey gets their fur cleaned, whilst the other
monkey gets to eat all the bits of food and bugs
that they pick out of the other’s fur! It’s a good wa
y
to make friends too!
Monkeys can catch a cold just like us!
Here’s Billy! Are you a cheeky monkey like him?
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Events Calendar 2015
We are always extremely grateful for any fundraising support, which means so much to our work, so we hope that you would like to get involved too! We are looking for special, enthusiastic individuals to join our Ambassadors scheme. Contact us via [email protected] or call 0844 272 1271.
Whatever your interest – we have an event for you!
14th – 22nd February Sanctuary opens for February half term
March - Sanctuary Open every Saturday and Sunday throughout March
15th March Mothers’ Day
30th March Sanctuary opens everyday except Friday
5th April Easter Day
22nd April Earth Day
May Supporters’ Day
22nd May Flying Monkey Skydive
8th June World Oceans Day
20th June World Record attempt Skydive
21st June Fathers’ Day
July (TBC) Native Wildlife Day
October Haunted Sleepover
31st October Spooky Day
1st November Sanctuary closes its doors to visitors
For more information on any of our events go to: www.wildfutures.org/events or www.monkeysanctuary.org alternatively call us on 0844 272 1271.
Fundraising for Wild Futures!Jamie and Vikki are two of our generous adopters and brilliant fundraisers, so we asked them why they support our work.
VIKKI BIRCHI have always loved primates and when I first started looking for a UK primate charity to support I happened across Joey’s heart-breaking story. Then I saw a photo of Kiwi and fell in love with her... and that’s it really! The reason I love fundraising for, and donating to, Wild Futures is because you actually use the money to look after the monkeys in your care, try to put an end to the primate pet trade and educate about why it is cruel to keep primates as pets. The fact that, no matter the weather, the keepers at the sanctuary are out looking after the monkeys does not go unnoticed by me- I just wish I lived closer so I could help! You’ve dealt with so much with the flooding, storms etc. and your dedication doesn’t waver.
When I visited, I was impressed with the habitats you provide for the monkeys and loved the fact that most of the monkeys were more interested in each other than in us- as it should be! Having spoken to a few of you, you’re all lovely people too. Wild Futures will always have my support in one way or another because you’re awesome- simple as that!
JAMIE PICKUPI fundraise for Wild Futures as I believe in the great work the charity is doing. Too often you see monkeys as pets or used for entertainment and no-one stops to say ‘hang on- this isn’t right, these are wild animals that deserve and have a right to live with others of their species in their own habitat’.
People seem to think that they can be happy if you put them in a cage on their own and to be honest that makes me really sad- both for the monkey and for the person who thinks that. Some monkeys have been locked up for their entire lives, never having met another monkey- it’s such a terrible shame that could ever happen, so I’m glad someone is doing something about it.
Charities like Wild Futures don’t get the attention they deserve! At least the monkeys in your sanctuary get to experience a little bit of what its actually like to be a real monkey for some of their lives- or as close to that as realistically possible.
Keep up the good work - I’ll carry on donating and fundraising as much as I can!
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Newsletter No. 37
How you can help us to make a difference and win a prize!
This year instead of a Christmas raffle we are offering a ‘Winter Draw’. It’s easy to enter, just fill in your details on the form below and return, with your donation, by post to us. Or go to: www.wildfutures.org/winter-draw.
With a minimum donation of £5, your name will be entered into the draw, giving you the chance to win one of these fabulous prizes:
1st Prize: A three night stay for upto 4 people in a luxury 2 bed chalet overlooking Whitsand Bay, Cornwall. www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/whitsand-bay/5267786
2nd Prize: An adult Keeper for a Day experience for 2 people worth £250*
3rd Prize: A Kids Keeper for a Day experience for 2 children worth £140*
4th Prize: A special Maya and ‘Baby Lily’ adoption pack, including woolly monkey and baby toy*
5th Prize: An adoption of a monkey of your choice* *Can be gifted to someone of your choosing
I wish to receive Wild Futures e-news
We may contact you by post to inform you about our work. Please tick the box if you do not wish to be contacted by Wild Futures in this way.
Please enter your payment details on the donations form below.
Please feel free to photocopy this page and pass on to your friends and family, or if you want to leave your newsletter intact.
Good luck to you all!
Winter DrawName (I am over 16)
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Draw closing date is 28/02/15. Draw will take place on 03/03/15. All winners will be contacted by telephone and winners will be announced on www.wildfutures.org
I AM entering the Winter Draw
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Tick if you do not need a thank you letter. This helps us to save on postage costs, leaving more money for the monkeys.
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