Ella seems to be on the mend and all three babies are doing well.
During our absence two bonnet macaque males, both under one year were dumped loose at our gate, as unwanted pets. As there are none in the wild in this area they have only been attacked by the wild troop of Langurs to date. Initially they might have been easily trapped, but after many weeks being hand fed by our staff, they are now more clued up to the advantage of freedom; but the withdrawal of such ample food and strategically placed traps will hopefully soon end their rampage. Complaints from the locals who they readily steal from, having no fear of humans, and the almost constant fighting they cause in the pens of our resident males are only the start of the aggro they are causing. The regular exercising of our monkeys and the three babies has had to be curtailed, and as these two males mature, their attacks on ours will only intensify. Still being young hopefully we can integrate them into one of our groups once caught.
Re stocking our supplies I was please to see available in the shops, what appeared to be a ‘proper’ white loaf. Although used to the rustic Indian breads, this would be a luxury item for us here, so I bought it to try. Reading the wrapper later I was astonished to see the main selling point, it boasts ‘high calorie loaf’, each slice packed with calories!. This would hardly be the selling point in the UK!
Due to the two vandals, I can’t get to take the three babies out in the garden as much as I would like, so asked the monkey staff to bring me in some small branches off the local trees for them to play in. This was enthusiastically complied with, and several of my biggest and best hibiscus in the garden were chopped to the ground to provide a huge mountain of greenery for them.
My expressions of horror were soothed by the staff who assured me they love the flowers. I hope that I have managed to explain that they can bring them the flowers, but leave the bushes to provide a steady supply. Very few people around here grow plants for anything but food, and the concept of having and keeping attractive plants in the garden is clearly not understood! What with the vandals having smashed or uprooted all my pot plants, including the Orchid collection, I begin to despair.
