The first monsoon showers have hit Goa during the last week which has brought a reprieve from the high temperatures and sticky humidity which has been as high as 85% according to the local news reports. During the storms the monkeys huddle together to keep dry and warm, a walk past Ruby’s cage saw her and Tilly wrapped tightly around baby Dennis with just his tail and head poking out of their warm fur.
One day was particularly stormy with bright flashes of lightening and loud claps of thunder, many of the monkeys found solace in each others warm embrace but Tufty (who’s actually a big softy ? a name change I think is required!) was pacing around his enclosure looking up at each flash of lightening and crash of thunder obviously frightened by the fierce storm.
We don’t like to see the monkeys in distress so I went down into the cage to give him some comfort. He sat on his bamboo perch and quickly cuddled up, arms around my head which had my ear pressed firmly against his chest. The only thing I could hear was rain, thunder and the frantic beat of his heart pounding away with each flash of light and clap of thunder. After a while he settled down and his enclosure buddy, Preston came over for a cuddle too. Preston didn’t seem so bothered about the storm, but didn’t want to miss out on the group comfort time.
Maggot wondering what was inside the storm went on for 30-45 mins and after a while the storm lessened and so did Trufty’s grip, his arms relaxed and turned to grooming (looking for lice) rather than holding on for dear life.
At the start of June The Tree House received a visit from the Forestry Department who brought along a small cage. Maggot, one of our more elderly dogs was very curious to find out what kind of food there was inside. Sadly, maggot was a little disappointed when all he found was a tiny little baby Langur monkey, not more than a month old.
The last thing Tom wanted while watching over The Tree House was another monkey, so what happens just 4 days after John and Jo leave, yep, that’s right another baby monkey! 🙂
It seems that her mother was killed by a dog while protecting her. Fortunately the little one ran out of harms way and managed to escape a nearby tree and into the roof of a nearby house. The poor thing was obviously terrified in the beginning, new surrounding, no mother to tell her everything will be alright. Thankfully after a little while she had settled down enough to feed her some milk and after she slept for a few hours and woke up much happier.
She is going to need 24-hour care in order to survive and wakes up every two hours for her feed. While Jo is in England, Alba, one of the volunteers will be her adoptive mom. She has also got a few babysitters that will take care of her when mom needs a nap or a shower.
At the moment she already got used to bottled milk, which is very good sign. She also loves to chew on grapes (and human ears). We are very happy to see her getting stronger every day.
If you happen to be around Goa in July and feel like babysitting this little cutie, then do please contact us, a bit of help is always welcome!
