Sad news here, with the loss of Butch, from a still unknown illness. We were all worried about the effect his loss would have on Matilda, his companion, but she doesn’t seem depressed at all, and as with many of our females sharing with a lone male, I think she considered him as a bit
Plenty of rain for the crops again in this year’s monsoon so far, but of course this makes the market trips for the monkeys food and supplies a bit of a trial, Some of the market areas in Mapusa, our local town, are now permanently ankle deep in mud for the duration of the monsoon.
With the monsoon weather here to stay until September, and after some 9 months without rain, now is the time that all those leaks in the roofs show up and need quick repairs. They are mostly caused by the wild monkey troop, who gaily crash and leap over the house and monkey pen roofs in
A new bonnet macaque monkey was admitted this month, a middle aged female, Rani, meaning queen in Hindi. Her owners approached us , as they had heard of our facilities and work, and had realized that life as a pet ,was not fulfilling her needs. She had been kept in isolation from other monkeys as
Almost the last of the resident one month volunteers, booked for this season have now left, and with Goa’s hottest and wettest months ahead of us, probably a long stretch now with little additional help, as our invaluable and regular long term day volunteers, also return to the UK. Although we have many requests to
A busy time here still with lots of visitors from the nearby holiday resorts. Even after many trips to Goa, some people have still never seen the wild monkeys, that inhabit the less built up areas, and a trip out into a bit of wilder India to visit us, is a revelation to many. Here,
With the weather at its best for the holiday trade, this always results for us in more volunteers and visitors, to the monkeys benefit! The days for the next two months or so, are always dry and hot, without being oppressive, and the nights cool enough, so those not used to a tropical climate can
With the start of the holiday season, some visitors again, and some bringing with them, the much needed second hand baby toys. These rattles and chunky toys are a big part of the environmental enrichment we spend so much time on for our residents. The local Indian made toys for babies are of no use,
A busy month here looking after all the monkeys and other animals,with few volunteers to help, and yet another Indian festival occurred, this time Divali. All the Indian holiday festivals last over several days, and my staff, mainly local married ladies, have to cook for and welcome visitors, friends and relatives for festivities at their
Again, a few nice breaks in the weather recently, meant a brief return to the pool and the joys of swimming for many of the monkeys. See Tom’s latest video on the diving contests! What are hopefully the last rains of the season have now returned in force, turning everything to mud again, but at
The Primate Trust was founded by Jo and John Hicks (the same founders of IAR) it provides long term care to orphaned, abused and injured primates. This work is essential due to the loss of natural habitat, human conflict causing an increasing number of injured and orphaned monkeys. Other monkeys are rescued for being illegally kept as pets and for begging, often in appalling conditions.
