Spider Monkey Shenanigans

Last night, Paul requested that I distract Pancho so he could get out of the enclosure after spending some time with him. Pancho is very attached to Paul and it’s pretty difficult for Paul to get out of the enclosure. Jasmine and I tried distracting him, acting interested in fruit on the ground and making kissy sounds, but nothing would distract him for long enough. After about a half hour, Si had to distract him by shaking a tree and making him angry. This morning I had to feed the three in the pre-release cage. They receive milk in the morning as well as the afternoon since Sultan had lost quite a bit of weight. Sultan receives the majority of the milk, but Nicky is the most dominant in the group and is always trying to grab the syringe from your hand, which makes feeding quite a difficult task. At the next feed, I fed Paz and the monkeys in quarantine. I spent some time in Teresa’s enclosure and she had me groom her back some more, but she also groomed my head quite a bit. I was relieved she didn’t find anything in my hair. Paul went to pick up more monkeys today, three howlers and one spider, so most of the day was spent trying to figure out where they were going and constructing cages. I can’t believe it’s already August, this summer has been great but I’m definitely getting ready to go home. I miss all my American luxuries, like a real shower, and food. It’s been over two weeks and I haven’t had any chocolate! I think this has been the longest I’ve ever gone without it!