Newsletter No. 44
Protecting primates and habitats worldwide
Registered charity No: 1102532
IN THIS ISSUE: Monkey Sanctuary Update, We Won Gold, Marmoset Update and lots more
Top Tweets Tarin @Tarin_Teague #ff @wildfutures dedicated to protection of primates, Wild Futures campaigns to end the pet primate trade.
Suzanne @Knittynora62 @wildfutures Massive thanks to Becky for taking @SHP35 and me to see Billy today. We had a great time.
Kelly Smith MBE @kelly_smith10 Lovely to meet you too @wildfutures
The Week Junior @theweekjunior This week’s Charity of the Week is Wild Futures, which is committed to protecting primates and their habitats worldwide. @wildfutures #WildFutures #CharityoftheWeek #CharityTuesday
Karl Leys @KFor_Karl Gutted that we can’t visit @wildfutures as planned today. Next month though, we’ll be there with treats for the Macaques and the Marmosets! #TeamMonkey
Pride, Primates and Plastics Kiwi
How can we sum up the last few months? Pride, Primates and Plastics, though not necessarily in that order!
As the director of Wild Futures I am proud of the team who work so hard for the monkeys at our sanctuary, for primates and habitats worldwide. The Marmoset Mansion is a great example of all the skills and knowledge of a dedicated group of people determined to provide the best care for those tiny monkeys, coming together and creating something that will provide a quality of life for victims of the pet trade for many years to come. And how wonderful that it was made possible because so many of our supporters believe in what we do and gave generously. A huge thanks to you all! Believing in a wild future has always been an integral part of our work, promoting a sustainable ethos by example. So, yes we are very proud when others shower praise on us! This winter we won top commendation for Sustainable Tourism in Cornwall and the South West – see pages 4 and 5. It is always nice to have a pat on the back and a great incentive to keep improving! The “Attenborough effect” has really helped highlight the importance of us all doing our bit to ensure that we leave this planet a better place than we find it now. We are hoping that our new (recycled, recyclable, made in the UK) travel mugs will be a winner as well; reducing waste and raising funds for primates. (see pages 8 and 11) And raising funds is top priority this year… the calls on the charity have been particularly great, especially the healthcare costs. We take responsibility for every monkey we rescue, and the legacy of the pet trade often leads to big veterinary bills. When a monkey dies, we choose to investigate thoroughly because it will help other primates and provide evidence for our campaign to end the primate pet trade, but these necessary costs are high. During their lifetime we know that you want us to provide the best care possible but we really need your help to do this. Please take a look at our appeal - we hope you are inspired to give and take pride in saving lives with us. Many, many thanks from us all – or as Oliver the woolly monkey would say: Eeolk!
jon udry @jonudry Up to anything this Sunday? Fancy seeing a juggling and comedy show at a Monkey Sanctuary in Cornwall? Of course you do. Come down to @wildfutures to see show 13 of the ABC Tour: M is for Monkey Sanctuary. #abctour #juggling #comedy #tour #monkeysanctuary
Rachel
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Thank you for sharing the Wild Futures’ vision: A world in which people understand and respect the welfare and conservation needs of primates and habitats, where primates have a wild future and the need to provide sanctuary for victims of the pet trade has passed.
Wild Futures, Murrayton House, St Martins, Looe, Cornwall PL13 1NZ Tel: 01503 262532 • Email: info@wildfutures.org Web: wildfutures.org • monkeysanctuary.org • adoptamonkey.org @wildfutures
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www.wildfutures.org | info@wildfutures.org | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Staff profile:
Thank you
Sarah Hanson Wild Futures How did you first get involved with Wild Futures?
What challenges have you faced during your time at Wild Futures?
I first became involved with Wild Futures when I volunteered here as part of my work experience module on my foundation degree nine years ago. After spending two weeks here, I was hooked. During my short volunteering stint, I learnt so much about the plight of primates in the UK, that I knew I wanted to be a part of the movement bringing an end to the UK primate pet trade. Over the next few years, I kept returning to Wild Futures, in voluntary and paid seasonal job roles.
My biggest challenge is not having enough hours in the day! It can be challenging having to juggle a lot of different roles, and I find not being able to complete everything as quickly as I would like frustrating.
Being around the Sanctuary a lot more, learning from the dedicated staff that work here, my passion for primates grew and I decided to enrol on the Primate Conservation Master’s degree at Oxford Brookes University. It was during my MSc that I was able to focus my research into the UK primate pet trade, gathering more data to support Wild Futures’ campaign to end the trade. When I finished my MSc, I was pleased to get a call from Wild Futures asking me to take on the role of campaigns officer, which I jumped at! I have been working in my current roles for just over two years now.
Handing in of petition. Credit RSPCA
What is your role? My main roles at Wild Futures are Campaigns Officer and PR and Fundraising Officer. As we are such a small team, we all need to chip in and help out with jobs outside of our roles. So I am currently carrying out half of the education officer role, marketing, and general assistance to teams when we are open to the public.
We are extremely grateful to have so much support from various companies around the UK who generously donate to us. Donating much-needed resources such as washing machines, vitamins for the monkeys, and locks for the monkey enclosures, is vital to Wild Futures and helps within all areas of our day-to-day work. We want to give a huge thank you to: • ASSA ABLOY Ltd (Yale Locks) for their loyal and longterm donations of padlocks and snib locks. • Eliza Tinsley for their continuing donations of rings on plates and bolts to help us hang enrichment for the monkeys.
Talk about the marmoset trade
What inspires you? The monkeys who live at the Sanctuary; their strength and resilience to withstand the traumas of their past is inspiring. The primates who are still in the trade inspire me to continue working to the best of my ability to help bring about an end to the cruel trade. The people who I work alongside at Wild Futures and further afield are inspirational. From being at the Sanctuary, caring for the monkeys, raising money and awareness for the work we do, to working with the public when we are open, as well as those that are in the field, we are all working to the same goal to create a better world for primates. The dedication and love that people show in their work is incredible, and something I am extremely proud to be a part of.
What do you hope to achieve in the future? I have dedicated my short career on being a part of the campaign to end the UK primate pet trade along with my colleagues at Wild Futures, both past and present, and those at other organisations. I hope that one day soon we can achieve that. I hope to make a difference, and help preserve the habitats and protect our primate cousins as much as I can.
Promoting the welfare, conservation and survival of primates
• Viridian for their life-giving donations of vital vitamins for the monkeys. • Cireson for continuing to donate essential funds every quarter to help us continue our work. • Quorn Foods and the Coop for donating food and equipment to help us with our Supporter’s Day. • Miele GB for donating a washing machine, fridge, and freezer for our Marmoset Mansion • Tecni Ltd for continuing to donate clips so we can hang ropes and other items in the monkey enclosures. • Howard Rosen for his continued support and donations to the marmoset builds. • Gabi Douglass and Corinna Thuelen for their wonderful support, encouragement, and generous donations. • HMS Raleigh, Royal Navy Falmouth Docks, and Crownhill fire station for their ongoing donations of ropes and fire hose. Find out how you can donate some of our much-needed resources here: wildfutures. org/waystohelp/parcels-forprimates-monkey-wish-listappeal
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In January, we had a visit from BBC One Spotlight, the regional news programme for the South West of England, to talk to us about being finalists for the Sustainable Tourism Award at the South West Tourism Awards. Victoria Graham, one of the presenters on the show, came to interview us about the sustainability work we do here, and how we aim to live and work with as little impact to the environment as possible. It was a great opportunity for us to show off our wonderful sanctuary and talk about our sustainability work and what we do to protect local wildlife on site. We are extremely proud of our home on the south east coast of Cornwall and work hard to preserve and conserve it.
THE MONKEY SANCTUARY UPDATE After what has felt like a long, long winter, all of us at the Monkey Sanctuary have loved the start of spring – what a beautiful May and June we’ve all enjoyed! Long may it continue! The monkeys are just like us and so much happier and relaxed with the sun shining. It can feel very idyllic here with hot sunny days, happy monkeys and the incredible sea views we’re lucky to have. We’ve been enjoying welcoming visitors to meet our monkeys and chat to our care team staff. We hope all visitors so far have enjoyed themselves as much as we have! If you haven’t been yet – please come and meet us all!
The Monkey Sanctuary
Another socialisation we’ve been doing is between our five weeper/ hybrid capuchins– Lodi, Chanel, Gucci, Morwella and Mr Monkey. These guys have made fantastic progress and now also spend every day together. They haven’t yet stayed together overnight but this will be the next step when we feel that they’re ready. If anyone has found this socialisation hard it’s Gucci.
Frosty relaxing in the sun
Rachel and Victoria Graham of BBC spotlight at awards ceremony
Having never been here before, Victoria was shocked to hear about the plight of primates in the UK, and really fell in love with the monkeys that reside at The Sanctuary. The interview went really well, and was amazing coverage that went out on the evening news across the whole of the South West of England. It was an amazing opportunity for us to talk not just about our sustainability work, but also to talk about the reality of the UK primate pet trade. We want to thank BBC Spotlight for choosing us and coming to visit. Coverage like this is so important to a small charity and as a result, more people have learnt about us and the plight of primates in the UK.
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We now have five of our marmosets in their Marmoset Mansion. There has been lots to think about and adjust to for all of them, what with getting to know their new neighbours and exploring the outside part of their spaces. It hasn’t all been sunshine and smiles as we sadly lost two monkeys recently, Amy and Gayler, which has been very difficult for all of us here. It’s always hard to lose a monkey, but particularly when it’s unexpected. We were concerned about Betty and Banjo, Amy’s mum and half-brother, after Amy passed away. We knew we needed to socialise them as soon as possible with some other monkeys. We decided to try them again with Elvis, Sue and Roccita, their old family. There have obviously been some problems between them all in the past, which is why they were separated a while ago, but we thought it was worth trying them again. It’s still relatively early days but we quickly managed to get all five of them together for a few hours at a time and now they’re spending most days together all day long! They’ve even done a night together now but aren’t quite ready for full time yet.
Banjo, Roccita and Sue
She has terrible social skills and mentally struggles with change due to her past as a pet. Morwella is quite unpredictable and Gucci is very wary of her. This is why they aren’t quite ready for a sleepover yet! However, Gucci is coping very well and things are constantly improving between her and Morwella. These five monkeys are some of the most traumatised monkeys due to their pasts, so the care team really wasn’t sure that they would be able to cope being together. Their progress so far has amazed us all, and we now know they can make it! We’ll take it as slow as they need to go, but they’re very close now!
Morwella
www.wildfutures.org | info@wildfutures.org | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Donkey’s Story Thankfully, Donkey was confiscated from the circus by the authorities and taken to an animal rescue centre, but there was still some bad luck ahead for poor Donkey. Whilst there, his leg was bitten by a dog through the mesh of his enclosure, and some of his toes were fractured.
Donkey
Fortunately, his recovery was swift and he was soon on his way to a zoo in France where he would see other Barbary macaques for the first time in 5 years!
Donkey is a unique character, with a tough past. Although we can’t be entirely certain, it is very likely that he was born in the wild, and taken from his family group at a very young age to be sold into the pet trade. He then ended up as a performing animal in a French travelling circus, unlike most of the primates that we have rescued here at the Monkey Sanctuary, who were kept as pets in people’s homes. The circus was where he spent the first four and a half years of his life. Completely separate from other monkeys of his own kind, he would have been forced to perform tricks to large crowds of people, likely under stressful conditions. It is believed that he was also beaten by his handler, in order to get him to learn and perform tricks. These atrocities that he had to endure have caused him long-lasting psychological damage. At a young age, Donkey was also castrated in what was presumably an attempt to make him less aggressive; however, it meant that he was never able to properly develop, which has affected him both physically and psychologically.
Donkey being groomed by Mario
Donkey enjoying his food
There he met Mario and Chico, and they were socialised together in the zoo for a while before being sent to a sanctuary in Wales. Shortly afterwards the sanctuary unfortunately had to close down, and Donkey was faced again with an uncertain future. But he was rescued by us, along with his friends Mario and Chico, and they arrived here together in 2008. Despite being the lowest-ranking member of his group, Donkey has established himself a pivotal role amongst the Barbary boys. His quiet and friendly nature means that he is the monkey that Chico and Mario turn to when they need someone to play or groom with.
We won gold! We are delighted to share with you the news that we won Gold for Sustainable Tourism at the Cornwall Tourism Awards in November and at the South West Tourism Awards in February. The Sustainable Tourism Award recognises the work of tourism businesses in Cornwall who are actively trying to improve their own sustainability. Both the Cornwall Tourism awards and the South West Tourism awards recognise the vision, investment, hard work, and excellence of tourism businesses spread all across the county and the whole of the South West region. We achieved gold for both awards due to our conservation work and the passion that members of staff have for the work the charity does. The judges were impressed that despite very limited resources, we have made impressive investments in renewable energy, which, coupled with a dedication to self-sufficiency and reusing/recycling materials, we are able to achieve an impressive environmental impact. We were also rewarded for promoting local wildlife alongside the obvious emphasis on primates.
He is still very nervous of people, and takes a long time to trust his carers, but once he knows that he is safe he is loving and affectionate.
All our staff and volunteers work hard to ensure that our organisational operations have as little effect on the environment as possible; it is great to be recognised for our hard work through these awards.
After all that he has suffered, Donkey can finally relax here at The Monkey Sanctuary, spending his days doing what he loves; foraging in the grass, napping in the sun, and hanging out with his friends!
We are extremely proud to have won gold at both awards ceremonies, and want to thank everyone who supports us and the work that we do.
Operating a sanctuary to care for victims of the UK primate pet trade
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The Big Give update
CAMPAIGNS UPDATE
Last winter we entered The Big Give Christmas Challenge, a nationwide matched-funding campaign. It was the first time that we have been part of this challenge and we did not know quite what to expect. First we had to create a funding pot which we would then have to match; we were pledged donations amounting to £1750 from some of our supporters to create our funding ‘pot’. We then had to seek support from one of the Big Give sponsors.
We were successful in this and The Reed Foundation pledged a further £1000, bringing our total to £2750! The rest was up to you, our wonderful supporters, and you did not let us down! During The Big Give Christmas Challenge week (28 November to 5 December) anything you donated during that week was automatically doubled using the money from our funding ‘pot’. We were overwhelmed by your response! Within the first 24 hours, we were already over half way to our target of £5500: incredible! Over the week, we received more and more donations and we are delighted to say that we raised £6906.25 in matched and offline donations. We want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who donated during the challenge: those who donated the funding to be matched, to The Reed Foundation for believing in us, and of course to every single one of you who donated and spread the word to your family and friends. Thank you for making double the difference! www.TheBigGive.org.uk @theBigGive.org.uk
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EARS meeting
This proved to be a great opportunity for EARS to illustrate the importance of rescue centres and sanctuaries in countering this trade and, in the months since the meeting, Dave Eastham, the Executive Director of EARS, was able to submit recommendations on the criteria for the creation of a list of facilities that can house confiscated animals to one of the CITES working groups.
The impact of the wildlife trade has created huge welfare issues for many species and it is often the rescue centres and sanctuaries who are asked to take in the victims of the trade. The aim of the European Alliance of Rescue Centres and Sanctuaries (EARS) is to support and build capacity across European facilities. Wild Futures’ Director, Rachel Hevesi, is a board member of EARS. This year’s annual meeting was hosted by De Zonnegloed in Belgium – this is a family-run facility and a new partner for EARS. Once run as a conventional zoo, the family are keen to revise their ethos as a sanctuary and offer a home for life for many different species. As ever, the meeting agenda was packed to enable all the partners to make the most of our time together. Highlights included a workshop on the use of Zoo Monitor, a behavioural research resource that will be very useful for monitoring and analysing animal behaviour, relationships and use of territory. These are all areas which inform our mission to give all our rescued animals the best quality of life that we can provide. EARS seeks to develop welfare standards and best practice and we were able to discuss the main areas of focus for this and create a working group which, following the meeting, will be developing guidelines over the coming year. One of the key aims of EARS is to share skills and experience and we were pleased to launch a new online database or Expert Portal so that Partners can search by topic and make the most of our knowledge. One of the meeting presentations was by Ilaria de Silvestre, of Eurogroup for Animals, updating us on discussions within the European Commission and CITES on the illegal wildlife trade.
EARS meeting
The report was accepted without amendment. All the EARS partners are hugely busy working to help animals in need in their country, but it is very worthwhile to take a short break each year to collaborate and promote our passion for animal welfare. Unfortunately, the numbers of requests to rescue monkeys from the UK primate pet trade are on the rise. In the whole of 2017 we had seven requests to take in monkeys from the UK trade, already this year we have had nine (involving 22 individuals); proof that the issue is getting worse not better. The majority of the requests are to take in marmosets. Unfortunately, the government is still no further forward in changing the laws, but rest assured we are keeping the pressure on, gathering more evidence and, with your help, we will not stop campaigning to end the trade.
Marmosets living as pets
www.wildfutures.org | info@wildfutures.org | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Education Update The winter season is a great opportunity for us to host educational days at The Monkey Sanctuary. We really relish the chance to talk to students about our charitable work, especially the two university groups who visited us in March. For the past 11 years, Oxford Brookes University have been participating in a two-day course as part of their programme for the MSc degree in Primate Conservation. We always have a fantastic time with them, talking in depth about the plight of primates in the UK, teaching about our enclosure design, monkey welfare and rescue work. Their visit is a great opportunity to share our knowledge and expertise with future primatologists, and we thoroughly enjoy having them at the Sanctuary.
Oxford Brookes University workshop
Newquay College took part in our primate welfare and conservation short course, which usually runs for three days. However, a very rare snowstorm made the roads to the Sanctuary too dangerous to drive. Luckily the sun came out and quickly melted the snow, so the students could arrive the next day. We quickly re-planned the three-day course into two days and the students learnt all about the taxonomy of primates, the rationale behind the design of the monkey enclosures, how to safely catch monkeys for transport or rescue, and were introduced to a variety of topics concerning primate conservation.
Newquay college
We want to thank the students for attending the course; we received fantastic feedback and hope to run the course again next year. If you are interested in organising an educational visit to the Monkey Sanctuary, email us for more information education @wildfutures.org Due to the location of our new Marmoset Mansion, we had to close the bat zone to the public and relocate the displays. A change is always an opportunity, and thanks to funding we received from the Naturesave Trust, we have managed to move our ‘bat cam’ to our wildlife room, as well as update all our educational information on the bats that live on site. We have rare lesser horseshoe bats living under the house at the Sanctuary, and due to their protected status, we cannot disturb them. The camera gives our visitors a chance to see them in their maternal roost and even spy the babies. We want to say a huge thank you to Naturesave Trust for their grant of £1000, which made this possible, and meant we could continue telling our visitors about the wonderful world of bats! We’ve also been updating other educational areas around The Monkey Sanctuary for everyone to enjoy. When you visit, you can now check your height against other species of primates and compare your digits with non-human primate hands. We would also like to say a big thank you to Emma Stevenson for creating an amazing piece of artwork for our display room. She has painted a beautiful rainforest scene with lots of animals hidden inside. Look closely: you may spot a woolly monkey, a capuchin, a squirrel monkey and lots more!
Display Room
Working to end the primate trade and abuse of primates in captivity
Thank you Cireson Cireson have been corporate sponsors of ours for over three years now, and their support has been instrumental in helping us continue our work.
They are a company specialising in IT and software management, with their headquarters in San Diego, and offices throughout Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, and the United Kingdom. Having a passion for primate conservation and wanting to give back, Cireson started supporting us through a corporate adoption of Amy. We were overwhelmed by their support, and regularly updated them on how Amy was and what we were working on. Staff based in London regularly come and visit us at the Sanctuary to see the monkeys so they can feed back to the rest of the team around the world! When we had to share the sad news of Amy’s death with them, they were saddened by the news and extremely supportive, and they now support Amy’s halfbrother Banjo. Over the years, our relationship with them has gone from strength to strength, and we treasure their support. They have donated over £30,000 in the time they have been supporting us, and that money has been monumental in helping us achieve our charitable aims. We want to say a huge thank you to Paul Sutton and everyone at Cireson for their continued and unwavering support. A phrase on their website states ‘When Cireson and customers come together, magic happens’ and we wholeheartedly support that statement. To find out more about Cireson, please visit their website www.cireson.com
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Shop with W Check out our exciting summer stock! We have amazing kids t-shirts for those little monkey enthusiasts out there – new adult hoodies for our older Wild Futures’ supporters and lots of other fantastic merchandise such as our lovely tea towels and cute cuddly toys. All proceeds go to Wild Futures, helping us to care for the monkeys at the Monkey Sanctuary, as well as campaign against the cruel primate pet trade in the UK. Please visit our shop website www.wildfutures.org/ shop to have a browse and place an order.
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Adults Organic Navy Hoodie - Front
Adults Organic Navy Hoodie - Back
Adults Grey Hoodie - Front
Adults Organic Grey T-shirt
Fox Soft Toy
Monkey Soft Toy
Bat Soft Toy
Otter Soft Toy
www.wildfutures.org | info@wildfutures.org | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Wild Futures Children’s Grey T-shirt
Travel Mug
Hanging Monkey
Pencil
Rabbit Soft Toy
Monkey Soft Toy
Tea Towel
Squirrel Monkey Soft Toy
Conserving natural habitats through education and sustainable living
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Banjo
Mickey
Capuchin Fact File Latin Name: Cebus spp, Sapajus spp Native to: Central and South America Group Size: 10-30 individuals Lifespan: 35 years (wild) Diet: Fruit, seeds, pith, insects and small vertebrates Special Characteristics: Highly intelligent; the only monkey known to use tools in the wild Major threats: Hunted for meat; primate pet trade; deforestation, climate change. Capuchin monkeys are among the most numerous and widely distributed primate species in the New World. They exploit almost every type of forest, from mangroves to mountain forests. Capuchins are primarily tree dwellers but will occasionally descend to the ground in search of food, to raid crops, or just to play! Capuchins are named after capuchin monks because the dark fur that forms a cap on their heads resembles a priest’s cowl or headdress. Male and female capuchins each have their own hierarchy. The males tend to be larger and more muscular and will protect the group from external threats. The females are very influential in the group structure and formation of alliances. Females stay in their birth groups while males may emigrate as they reach maturity. Communication between these intelligent and socially complex monkeys is through a wide variety of calls, sounds, body language and facial expressions.
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They gesticulate, flash their eyelids and raise their eyebrows, scream, purr and much more, to explain their needs and feelings and tell of dangers. Each individual also uses their own unique perfume by rubbing their urine over their hands, feet and fur and marking the branches as they move around their territory. Capuchins are one of the most intelligent and adaptable of all South American primates. They are known to use tools; a trait that was once used to define humans. Capuchins employ a variety of nut-cracking techniques, including selecting and using the correct combination of rocks as a hammer and anvil to break open shells, banging nuts against a hard surface or smashing two nuts together. They have also developed their own insect repellent; by rubbing millipede innards over themselves they keep mosquitoes at bay. Capuchins are important to the ecology of the rainforest. They pollinate flowers as they feed on nectar, disperse seeds when they eat fruits, and eat buds of trees which enhances fruit production. Capuchins have the most varied diet of all the New World monkeys. They eat the fruits of up to 96 different plants, as well as nuts, seeds, insects, small vertebrates, birds, crustaceans and shellfish. Black-capped capuchins are able to eat larger nuts and seeds than the other capuchin monkeys as they have more powerful jaws and larger teeth. The monkeys also make a good meal for predators like the jaguar and harpy eagle.
Betty
Kirsty foraging
Roccita grooming Elvis
www.wildfutures.org | info@wildfutures.org | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Any aspiring wildlife gardeners out there?
Wildlife garden - Hedgehogs!
Fancy making your garden wildlife friendly? A lot of preparations for any garden are done earlier in the year when it’s time for potting and planting, but if you would like small spiky friends to visit your garden, or even make it their home, then autumn is the time to make your garden welcoming for hedgehogs.
They love a variety of bugs including slugs, snails, beetles and worms. In fact hedgehogs are a natural slug repellent – they are often referred to as the ‘gardener’s friend’! Please don’t use any pesticides on your garden as this can kill some of the essential food that hedgehogs need to survive!
Hedgehogs were once widespread but unfortunately their numbers are now massively reducing, mainly due to the constant development of urban areas destroying natural habitat that hedgehogs live in. It is also harder for hedgehogs to live in urban areas which are all fenced off as there is no through way for wildlife. Sadly hedgehogs are now classed as an endangered species.
To make an environment attractive for hedgehogs looking to hibernate you can have a pile of fallen leaves, a log pile or even buy or make a purpose-built hedgehog house. If you suspect you have a spiny visitor and want to leave them some food out, wet cat food is ideal, with water to drink but not milk. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, so drinking milk can give them diarrhoea which can sometimes be fatal.
So what can we all do to help? Something that makes a big difference is making sure wildlife can come in and out of your garden – hedges are the perfect fence as little critters can easily wend their way in and out and go about their business. If you have fences one of the best things you can do for the wonderful hog is to put a few small holes in the bottom of your fence to allow them to come in and out. If a whole row of houses manages to do this together then you’ve created a perfect walkway for our prickly pals. Another tip for a hog-friendly environment is to keep a small area of your garden wild. This is a perfect environment for edible snacks for hedgehogs.
Hedgehogs are good swimmers so if you have a pond they might fancy a bath – but sometimes they get stuck in ponds and drown. Something you can do to help them out is make sure there’s easy access in and out. Providing a ramp made from something they can grip onto such as wood with grooves or covered in chicken wire gives a perfect solution and ensures your local hedgie can go for a danger-free dip!
Single Use Plastic In the last year there has been an increasing amount of media coverage and awareness being raised around plastic and the devastating effect it is having on our planet. This awareness is fantastic, and the positive impact it is having on people’s attitudes towards plastics is inspiring. Globally, there are around 300 million tons of plastic produced yearly, and many of these items are created for single use, with an estimated 50% being used once and then discarded. Scientists have stated that only 9% of the world’s plastics are recycled, and most are not biodegradable and can take more than 400 years to degrade. Plastic pollution is one of the major threats to our environment, particularly our oceans. Singleuse plastics are the biggest problem, and include plastic bags, food packaging, straws, and drinks bottles. At Wild Futures, we live and work with as little impact on the environment as possible, and we are always working on ways to improve our sustainable living. This year we are aiming to remove all single-use plastics from The Monkey Sanctuary and we no longer sell singleuse water bottles and takeaway coffee mugs to our visitors. We have installed a water filling station to make this easier for our visitors; we sell reusable water bottles, and brand new this year, we have started selling takeaway coffee mugs! You can help the environment, whilst supporting Wild Futures, by purchasing your takeaway coffee mug for just £5.00 from www.wildfutures.org/shop
Hopefully this has provided some hogtastic tips for you hedgehog lovers out there – good luck with having a prickly autumn!
Promoting the welfare, conservation and survival of primates
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Marmoset Update Recipe Vegan Courgette Brownies Ingredients • 300g (1 ½ cups) sugar • 120ml (½ cup) coconut oil, melted • 125g (1 cup) plain flour The Marmoset Mansion
• 25g (¼ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder • 250g (2 cups) courgette, shredded • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda • 100g (¾ cup) vegan dark chocolate, chopped • 1tbsp chia seeds (optional) Method 1. Preheat oven to 175C/350F/ Gas mark 4. Grease an 8”x 8” pan with some coconut oil. 2. Grate the unpeeled raw courgette and set aside.
Following our last update, with Jerry, Coco, and Kiki all now living in the Marmoset Mansion, our isolation unit was empty again allowing us the opportunity to rescue more marmosets from the primate pet trade. And, in November of 2017, we were off to rescue brother and sister duo, Disco and Peanut! These siblings were born and sold into the primate pet trade in 2010, and lived for seven years together as pets before arriving at the Monkey Sanctuary. They moved straight into our isolation unit for their quarantine period, and once their health checks came back all fine, they moved over to the Marmoset Mansion, along with their new neighbours Coco, Kiki and Jerry.
3. Mix all ingredients, except the courgette and chopped chocolate, in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the courgette and chocolate chunks. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with moist crumbs clinging. 4. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool. Cut into squares and serve. Delicious!
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Disco and Peanut
Disco is a very cautious male, and does not trust people very easily; he often relies on his sister Peanut to lead the way and let him know that things are safe.
Peanut is much more confident than her brother, but is still quite nervous of people. Since their arrival they have both progressed very well; Peanut is an expert at finding all of the hidden treats in her enclosure, and Disco has become one of our bravest monkeys, climbing all the way to the top of his outdoor enclosure to enjoy all of the wonderful views! Despite having the odd sibling squabble, the pair enjoys grooming together and foraging outside in the sunshine. With Jerry still living alone, we were desperately hoping to receive a call about a female marmoset who we could hopefully pair up with him, and, in March of 2018, we were lucky enough to get just that. We quickly prepared the isolation unit ready for her arrival, and made the journey all the way to South Yorkshire to rescue Gayler the marmoset! At 8 years of age she was a fairly old lady, and having been kept in poor conditions for seven years of her life as a pet she was struggling with a few issues. The initial vet results from her health check showed some abnormalities with her kidneys, so we sent off for further tests and in the meantime worked on introducing Gayler to all of the things she had been denied as a pet. She was a strong-willed girl, pushing her own limits and abilities to try and experience everything she could. She showed immense improvement in her locomotive skills, at first finding it difficult to jump or to use ropes, she was soon leaping from branch to branch and running over whenever she saw her carers with a treat.
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She was also able to hear other marmosets for the first time in 8 years, and after a few days she even began to respond, calling out to the others all the way over in the Marmoset Mansion. One morning, before the lab results had come back, Gayler seemed to take a turn for the worse, and we decided to take her into the vets immediately. Unfortunately, on our journey there, she passed away.
With the loss of Gayler, we are still hoping to find a female marmoset to pair up with Jerry. We are still regularly receiving calls to rescue marmosets; however, as the majority of these calls are for lone males, we are currently unable to take them. Due to the high demand to rescue male marmosets, we intend to make the second stage of our marmoset build dedicated solely to males in bachelor groups. The presence of at least one female in the whole building would make the males more aggressive, as they would all want to be the one who was paired up with her. And, as we already have females in the Marmoset Mansion, we are not able to take on any more lone males until we have raised enough funds to start building the second stage.
Dickies provides brilliant hardwearing, functional workwear and has been incredibly generous to Wild Futures, donating over a thousand pounds’ worth of overalls.
These are all essential items for our daily cleaning routines, and we are very grateful. Gifts in kind like this are wonderful because they help our cash donations go further! Dickies have also helped us by tweeting about us regularly @DickiesEurope.
Gayler
Gayler’s post mortem showed that she was suffering with many issues, including chronic kidney disease, as well as having complications in her liver and pancreas. There was not much we could have done, and a lifetime of suffering in unsuitable conditions had clearly taken its toll on her body. Her death was a harsh reminder of the suffering that primates experience in the pet trade; it is simply not possible to provide them with their complex physical, dietary, and social needs in a domestic environment. We will continue to work hard to end the primate pet trade, in memory of beautiful Gayler, and all of the other primates in situations just like hers.
A Big Thank You To Dickies!
Please check out wonderful Dickies www.dickiesstore.co.uk
The Marmoset Mansion
Stop The Press
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If you think your workplace might be interested in corporate sponsorship and support a charity please check out our website for more information: www. wildfutures.org/waystohelp/ corporate-sponsorship
Towards the end of June, we received two desperate phone calls to rescue marmoset monkeys, which we had to respond to. As a result, we rescued eight marmosets from lives in parrot cages. Thanks to our supporters, the Marmoset Mansion can offer sanctuary to four of the eight marmosets. Sadly, we cannot take all the monkeys that we are asked to help and we must work with our colleagues and partners to find appropriate homes when we have no space at our Sanctuary. Of course this highlights the need for us to continue with our plans for a second mansion and space for more monkeys in need. We are hoping that one of the marmosets who recently arrived at the Sanctuary will be a suitable friend for Jerry. Keep an eye on our social media to find out how they all settle in, and whether Jerry has found a friend at last!
Marmoset rescue
Operating a sanctuary to care for victims of the UK primate pet trade
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Barbary Facts Barbary Macaques are the only non-human primates living wild in Europe (in the UK colony of Gibraltar). al babies to Sometimes, lower ranking males ste males! get on the good side of dominant
Barbary Macaques have very short tails, so they are sometimes called Barbary Apes. But they are monkeys, not apes!
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DONKEY MOROCCO TERRESTRIAL MARIO ALGERIA CHICO
Barbary Crossword Puzzle 1
Barbary Crossword Puzzle
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ACROSS 2 A _______ Macaque. 4 Barbary Macaques have short _____. 5 A Barbary _______.
DOWN 1 Where Barbary Macaques live in Europe. 3 Barbary Macaques are not apes but _______.
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Fundraise for the monkeys
Carwash for the capuchins!
Ever thought about fundraising for Wild Futures? We welcome all kinds of support and fundraising doesn’t have to be hard work. There are lots of interesting and fun ways for everyone to get involved. All donations no matter how big or small make a huge difference to our vital work. As a small charity we need all the help we can get – please help us protect primates!! Anyone can get involved – either ask your school/ work/ family and friends to help you or go solo! Here are some ideas of what you can do…
Bake sale for the Barbaries Bake some delicious snacks; ask others to help you either at work, school or home and find somewhere with lots of people passing by to sell them! School playgrounds are fantastic places or outside your home if it’s a safe location to have a stall.
Walk for the Woollies Do a sponsored walk! This is something you can do by yourself or ask your family to join in. If it’s safe to do so – bring your dog along! You could ask if your class or even if your whole school could do it together.
Mufti for the Marmosets Ask if your whole school could have a mufti (non-uniform) day to raise money for the monkeys.
Car wash for the Capuchins Get some people to help you, choose a good location like a car park, pre-sell some tickets to family and friends, make some signs and
posters to let other people know what you’re doing – include your price and why you’re doing it – and see how many cars you can wash to raise cash for the capuchins!
Walk for the woollys
You can hold a quiz night at a local pub, skydive, run a half or full marathon – maybe even a triathlon! You could have a book sale and much, much more! Use your imagination to think of new and fun ways to raise money for the monkeys, or for more inspiration please check out our fundraising pack, found on our website w w w. w i l d f u t u r e s . o r g / way s t o h e l p / community-fundraising Fancy helping Wild Futures on a more permanent basis? We are always looking for supporters who would like to be ambassadors for Wild Futures. Ambassadors help with fundraising, raising awareness of Wild Futures, and campaigning. Contact us at fundraising@ wildfutures.org for more information.
Working to end the primate trade and abuse of primates in captivity
Adopt a monkey If you want to help Wild Futures, but are not in a position to do any fundraising, why not adopt one of the resident monkeys at the Sanctuary? With over 60% of primates facing extinction, and more and more monkeys being rescued from the UK primate pet trade, your support is needed more than ever. In the UK there are thousands of monkeys being kept as pets in unsuitable conditions, alone and suffering, and we have had an alarming increase in requests to rescue monkeys. By adopting a monkey, you will be helping us raise funds to continue our vital rescue work; our work to stop the primate pet trade; fund our campaigns and education work and help us fund grassroots organisations in other countries that work tirelessly to protect primates and their habitats. Adopting a monkey is easy; simply visit adoptamonkey.org and personalise your adoption by choosing which monkey you would like to adopt. You can even adopt a monkey as a gift for someone you care about! From £3 a month, or £36 for the year, your money will be helping to care for that monkey as well as funding our vital charitable work. As part of your adoption, you will receive a cuddly monkey toy, a personalised certificate, a photo and story of your adopted monkey, newsletters, discounted entrance to our Monkey Sanctuary in Cornwall and an invitation to our VIP day! To adopt a monkey today visit adoptamonkey.org Your support really does help to make our vital work possible. Thank you!
Coco
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Thank you to our supporters ✁
All the monkeys and staff cannot thank you enough for your generous support and for being part of the Wild Futures family. You play a crucial role in every aspect of the vital charitable work of Wild Futures; with your help we have been able to rescue more monkeys from conditions of abuse and neglect, and continue to provide excellent care and a safe home for life for them at our Sanctuary. The start of 2018 has had many ups and downs for us, but knowing that you are always by our sides, supporting the work we do, is so very much appreciated. We are able to continue fighting for the future of all primates because of you. Once again, a huge thank you from all of the monkeys and staff at Wild Futures; without wonderful people like you, our vital work, protecting primates and habitats, would not be possible.
Lily
Tick if you do not need a thank you letter. This helps us to save on postage costs, leaving more money for the monkeys.
Donations Donations – Please fill in the form below to make your donation – Your generous gift today makes it possible for us to continue our work – Thank you!
A I would like to make a donation to Wild Futures of £ Cheque / PO made payable to ‘Wild Futures’
Please debit my credit/debit card
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Security No. First Name
Valid from Issue number
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B Alternatively, to donate online, please go to www.wildfutures.org Yes! I would like to Gift Aid my donation and all donations I make in the future or have made in the past 4 years to Wild Futures. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference. I will notify Wild Futures of any changes to my name or address, or if I no longer pay sufficient tax or wish to cancel this declaration. I would like to receive the monthly email update on Wild Futures’ work.
www.wildfutures.org | info@wildfutures.org | www.monkeysanctuary.org
Newsletter No. 44