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Thanks National Geographic Channel for giving me something else to be angry about.
There are an estimated 15,000 primates being held as pets in the U.S. It is legal in all but nine states to keep them as pets, and federal law prohibits their importation. There are exotic pet breeders who raise them and sell them for $5000 and up.
In the wild, capuchin monkey babies stay on their mothers back and will nurse up to two years. Their diet thereafter consists of fruits, nuts, bugs, bird’s eggs and small vertebrates. They live together in groups of ten to thirty-five males and females, family based groups. They are social, smart and have large territories.
When someone decides to buy a baby monkey, aka ”monkid” or ‘forever baby’, they can simply go online and search for monkey babies for sale. It costs a small fortune for the babies, which are pulled off their mothers backs as soon as three days. They’re given a stuffed animal to cling on to and handed off to the buyer. The new parent is responsible for the monkey for it’s entire life- about 40 years. The parents are told that the diapers they will have to use to prevent the animal from crapping all over the place will cause unnatural calluses to form on the baby monkey’s behind.
After a few years, when the animal reaches sexual maturity, it becomes aggresive and will bite anyone or anything. It must be continuously attended to because without direct attention it gets upset (due to their social nature and the fact that they’re mentally stunted from being raised as human babies) and lashes out. The show featured a woman some call the Monkey Whisperer who highly recommends removing the teeth of this wild animal to prevent biting. The parents are encouraged to ‘alter’ the wild animal by neutering it.
Just like American kids these days, the Monkids living with humans tend to eat a lot of food they are not designed to eat. This leads to serious problems like diabetes which does not occur -at all- in the wild.
I think these monkey parents are insane. Primates are wild animals which simply should not be kept as pets, for no other reason than they are wild animals and nothing a person can create will ever compare to the life they would have in the wild. Domesticated animals are one thing but wild animals will never be trained, tamed, they will never be little people who love you…They are wild animals who need to stay in the wild in order to live a good life. Living in a cage inside a home, being on a leash, wearing diapers, sitting on your shoulder, none of these things are good for a monkey and none of them will ever make it happy. These people buy them to satisfy themselves, to have something they equate to a human baby to spoil but this only leads to problems in the animal like the constant rocking they can spend hours doing.
I hate thinking about keeping wild animals as pets, when I rehabilitated squirrels, possums and bunnies it was understood that they were to be released back into the wild, not kept even a day longer than was absolutely necessary. I wouldn’t want to stunt or hurt an animal in that way and I wish I couls make others understand that line of thinking.
The likelihood that these people will ever change and realize their selfishness in keeping wild animals as pets is almost nonexistent. If these monkey parents could only understand what it is to truly do something good for these animals they would certainly surrender them to a sanctuary where they could live out their lives. Sadly, once a monkey has been kept as a pet it is not able to get into a zoo program or even be rehabilitated back into the wild because it has none of the traits a wild monkey has. What is even more upsetting is that many of the sanctuaries are already full of animals people surrender ( usually due to the animal biting or acting out) so they get sold over and over again- never finding a forever home which truly suits their natural behavior.
It is very important to keep busy while Peter is away, otherwise I’d lose my mind. Thanks to Nationwide firing my ass last year, I discovered my passion for wildlife rehabilitation and found a place to participate and learn about wild animals. Luckily for me, the founders of the refuge liked me too! Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge became like a second home for me during Peter’s last deployment. When Peter got home, he was very accepting of my new hobby and even volunteered when he was able.
Now that Peter is gone again, Evelyn (the founder) has come up with loads of stuff for me to do to keep me busy. Since it isn’t orphaned wild baby season, she is doing educational outreach at local schools and giving classes at the refuge for rehabbers. I will be joining another rehabber, Marjorie (the one who introduced me to the refuge) and Evelyn at a presentation for elementary school students next Tuesday night. I made a flyer for the children, so they know what to do if they come upon sick, injured or orphaned wildlife.
Next month, I am joining her for a presentation on a Thursday evening to a youth group. She is also planning two classes at the refuge for new rehabbers and veteran caretakers. She has asked me to handle the class for the new rehabbers and I’m very excited! I’m not certain exactly how I’ll be setting it up jsut yet but I’ll start working on it tonight.
I am also continuing to look for Nico, no sign of her yet. There is a little black neighborhood cat who makes the rounds. I have seen him somewhat often.
I have met with my old coworkers from Nationwide for lunch or dinner. It was great to catch up with everyone.
Peter’s email communications haven’t been as regular as last time, I’m hoping that as time goes by they will allow more email access. He sent me a couple long emails and several short ones. He seems to be holding up well being away from me. It must be harder for him than it is for me…
So a while ago, two days after the wedding, Peter and I decided to release 5 of my 7 baby squirrelies. I took some photos before we went to the place to release them…They were so hard to catch that day! It took me about 20 minutes to catch them and get them in the travel box. Then we headed to a wildlife refuge south of here. With a box full fo squirrels in the back seat. We bought them some peanuts and cheerios on the way so we could leave them food.
We arrived at the the site and hurried the box down the path to the spot we decided would be perfect. I pulled back the lid and they froze like popsicles. It was hilarious and shocking. So I pulled the first one out- The March Hare (so named because his large, rabbit like ears) and he took off. Next came The White Rabbit (also a character from Alice in Wonderland, he had a very light colored coat, almost white, and long, rabbity ears) and finally The Mad Hatter (originally called Roadkill due to her crazily uncontrollable movement I figured would surely result in her being hit by an automobile. Then I felt bad for naming her that and renamed her.) anyway, she, the Mad Hatter, took off out of the box all by herself. She moved so fast I didn’t even see her leave.
Then I took out Dave Brubeck and he ran towards the pond. We didn’t see where he went after that and the final one, Dolly (she wasn’t fat, just fluffy) left on her own after I tipped over the box and shook it. They all took off except The White Rabbit. He lingered and posed for a few photos. He was always very fond of me and I think he wanted to see me walk away as badly as I wanted to watch him scurry off into the woods.
The pics:
The squirrels in their cage | Clockwise from top left: Dave Brubeck, the March Hare, Dolly and the White Rabbit | Dave Brubeck | Dave Brubeck | White Rabbit | White Rabbit | popsicles | White Rabbit free | This is where I live now??? | Dolly in profile | His last look
Sorry for the unintentional hiatus. Things have been somewhat busy here and I no longer get paid to blog.
Not that I ever actually got paid to blog…I t’s just that I used to have time to blog while at work. This new temp job is really cramping my creative freedom. I mean, they’re nice people and the work is steady so the days seem to fly by, but I literally have to work from 11 until I get off at five p.m. just to get it all done. It’s crazy.
So what’s new with you? Really? Thats boring. Let me fill you in on whats been going on around here. I successfully reared and released 5 orphaned squirrels. Oh yeah. I, along with Peter, helped plan and volunteered for Ride on the Wild Side, a very successful fundraiser for the refuge I support and love. I picked out a gorgeous informal wedding dress, coordinated and had a mini-wedding at the Courthouse…yeah…I got married.
I am scheming ways to buy a home- The Home. It is my dream house in Portsmouth, VA. Peter and I put an offer in on it over a year ago, before we bought our current home, but the owner did not accept it. So we moved on and ended up here. I love this house in Portsmouth and it is still for sale. For WAYYYYYYY less than what we offered over a year ago. Holy crap, I love it so much and it KILLS me that we bought this place instead.
We went to a halloween party dressed as the loves of our lives: each other. I know…so sweet…but wait until you see the pictures.
There is a possibility of something good happening to me over the next several days and I am asking for your blind support and hope that it comes through for me!!!
(it isn’t a wedding or pregnancy so calm yourselves down)
I don’t want to blow it yet by blabbing all about it but it would be total awesomeness if I could manage to get this good thing to come my way & work out. So if you have a spare moment or day, please send good thoughts my way and wish on a star that You wish My wish!
Will update next week if anything good happens, and Thank you!!!
In other news: My second time at Nationwide comes to an end on Friday. Then I will be unemployed again.
I have 6 new squirrels. They range in age from 4 weeks to almost 6 weeks and boy are they a wild bunch! They are the most active little guys I ever met. 4 boys and 2 little girls, only one still has her eyes shut but even she runs around; climbs the walls until she hits the ceiling or crawls across the floor until she hits a wall. No names have been given yet but we’re working on it.
We’re accepting any suggestions you have for names so put them in a comment here!!!
I’ll try to get some photos on here asap of vacation/birthday extravaganza week as well as the squirrels cause I know thats the only reason you check back regularly.
Last night I headed over to the Refuge for a while and ended up getting three more baby girls. Now I have six total. They are all doing pretty well, the newest three are not drinking the bottle as well as the others but they’re just getting used to it. Two of the three new babies have eyes open. The other is the same size but hers are still shut. They will open soon.
Sandy Claire is a running, chewing, playing maniac. She checks the othrs out when they wake up and she reviewed the newest additions last night. She eats twice as much as the others and is beginning to eat a solid food diet as well.
Cindy Lou is doing well, her eyes are now open also and she is at home today with Sandy Claire. Sarah Jessica is not doing quite as well. She came into the refuge with injuries- internal damage as well as some bruises on her back and shoulders. Evelyn warned me to watch out for her because it is difficult for such a tiny squirrel to overcome the internal injuries like hers that were evidenced by the dark belly. I thought she was doing so well yesterday I had left her home with Sandy all day but last night and this morning, it is obvious that she isn’t keeping up in size with the others and when I fed her this morning there was blood in her mouth. I checked her out and she seems ok- she had a very healthy appetite and her mouth did not seem to bother her one bit. I brought her along with the three new babies to work today and will be feeding her the formula diet a little longer & more often than what is traditional for her age just because she isn’t quite as healthy as the others. I will update with pictures of the new girls once they settle in and are comfortable.
Here is Sandy, Cindy and Sarah: 1. in my shirt, 2. & 3. learning to climb, 4. erady for the bottle!
I walked around the office several times today with a squirrel inside my shirt. Either the little rice heating pad I made was needing to be remicrowaved or she was just being uppity so I stuck her in there since it seems to calm her down.
I have to feed them 5 times a day until their eyes open so I take the young ones into the office with me so I can feed them at 11am and 3pm. I haven’t kept it a secret from anyone besides the brass who were here the other day but I haven’t broadcast it for everyone to know that I am rehabbing babies in the office either. So I could be wandering around sorting mail and a coworker comes into the mail room and we chat for a minute. Little do they know, there is a tiny baby squirrel snuggled up in my tanktop staying warm.
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Two of the squirrels have opened their eyes since I received them. When they opened their eyes, I was the first thing they ever saw! Can you imagine- they must assume I’m their mommy and that they’ll grow up to look just like me, those lucky little bastards. But they’ll turn out even cuter- the most adorable little girly squirrels ever!
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Squirrel update: I have received a third squirrely girl whom I named Sarah Jessica. She had some injuries from a fall when she was little and several bruises on her back and shoulders. She was the same size as Cindy Lou but has since opened her eyes, indicating that she is closer to Sandy Claire’s age than what I thought she was despite her size. I left Sandy Claire and Sarah Jessica at home today to play and brought Cindy Lou to the office though her eyes have since opened so I will leave all three at home tomorrow.
I got these two over the weekend. It is the season when squirrels have their second litter (if they have one) and in the last few weeks, a couple dozen have come into the refuge. They’re beind distributed to whoever can take them so I volunteered to take these two. They are both girls, one is 5-6 weeks, the other is just 4 with eyes still closed. The older of the two came named: Sandy Claire so I named the small one Cindy Lou!
The first picture is Cindy Lou. The next 4 are all of Sandy Claire and the last picture is both of them cuddled up next to Peter’s neck. Sandy Claire is the one you can mainly see and she is trying to get under Cindy Lou where it’s warmer.
They love their bottle feedings and Sandy Claire enjoys crawling all over me. She eats like a little growing teenage boy and will continue to suck the nipple even after I take the bottle away. She has loads of energy and she is slowly starting to eat solid food. Over the next few days I will transition her from 5 bottles a day to 4 then 3…until she is eating her solid diet only. Cindy sleeps when she isn’t taking her bottle. Peter watches one while I feed the other and they really love to cuddle up to him- the warmer you are, the more they love you so they nestle near his neck for their naps once their bellies are full.
I volunteered last night for the first time since Friday. I needed to get out of the house and get my mind off his arrival for a bit since I’m driving myself insane with the detail of preparation.
Well, it was a great night to go…A late baby raccoon and an early baby squirrel had come in. There are also 6 baby bunnies there now as well as a mystery shore bird.
Evelyn took the opportunity to begin to teach me to feed the squirrel and baby bunnies. I watched her feed the squirrel, it was his first time being fed here so she did it. They take a really long nipple and he went to town.
The bunnies are amazing for her. She was explaining that most rehabbers cannot feed baby bunnies with a bottle because they never take the time to make the babies enjoy it. So after explaining it to me then demonstrating, I fed two of them. They ate like champs. I didn’t get any photos of the bunnies (they scare so easily) but here are two of the shore bird and one of the raccoon & squirrel.
The shore bird was eating the mealworms really well. I was surprised. The baby squirrel is so tiny he fit inside my fist. His head is covered up in the photo. After feeding him, I stuck him inside my shirt and he crawled on top of my shoulder and fell asleep there, where it was warm, while I fed the raccoon baby. They are around the same size and until they get a little bigger they will likely stay in the cage together since they are just sleeping on a heating pad all the time now.
A gentleman called last night to ask about dropping another baby raccoon off so maybe when I stop by tonight there will be another baby!
The older ones are doing really well- they are really becoming raccoons- their behaviour is changing and they are becoming wild now. Little J- the little girl raccoon I had for a weekend a while back is growing up as well. She has learned the intimidating run where her back arches up and she hops/runs on her tip toes. It’s hilarious to watch, after her bottle last night she just ran across the room like that, back & forth, for 30+ minutes. I can’t believe she used to be small enough to fit in my hand.
Seventeen days remain until Peter is back. Thank the Navy. He gets to call me tomorrow…I feel like it has been months since we last talked but it’s more likely only been a month.
Dad and Wendy are visiting, they got here about 2am Saturday morning. We spent Saturday at the pool and opted for the beach yesterday. I got some sun, Dad’s feet and belly got burned and Wendy was good. She spent almost the entire day in the ocean. I can’t bring myself to go in past my kneecaps due to an overwhelming fear of fish touching me. I had spotted several jellyfish washed up on the beach (who cares if they’re the size of a quarter, I’d still have to pee on it if they stung me.) I didn’t see anything in the water but I know there are always fish in there- it’s their territory and I am encroaching on it.
There was a noticeable lack of seagulls at the beach yesterday. I don’t know what’s been going on around here but they don’t hang aroudn in parking lots, they are not present at work, none in my neighborhood…I don’t know where they all are. It’s their season at the beach- that place is a buffet for them in the summer. It was definately fishy that they weren’t around yesterday. Maybe they’re plotting against us. They’re all hanging around, just out of sight and they’ll wait until the height of tourist season to swoop in and attack us just like in Hitchcock’s The Birds.
The kids are doing great, Atticus couldn’t be more excited that his Grampy is here to visit. He has been cuddling up to Dad & Wendy 24/7 since they arrived. I have never seen him more interested in giving kisses and being hugged then he has been since they arrived. He is constantly on Dad’s chest nuzzling his neck and acting extra cute. Wendy wakes up early and has been taking both dogs out for a walk around the lake. Mickey came down as well and she and Atticus get along pretty well, except when there is food around or if one of them is getting more attention than the other.
Simon is taking the new dog in stride. He spends more of his time perched on top of the bar or kitchen table so he has little to no interaction with the strange black dog. He enjoys the extra attention from Dad & Wendy though. He even talks to them sometimes, when the conditions are just right.
Nico is completely perturbed by Mickey. She spent the first two days cooped up in my bedroom to avoid the second dog and after I carried her down into the living room, has quietly begun plotting her revenge from under the dining room table. She has completely rebuked Simon’s attempts to wrestle and avoids her usual spot in the middle of the [wide open] living room floor.
I don’t know what she is plotting under there but I know it’s going to be pure hell. That is just her nature. She looks like a little sweet kitten then, just as you begin to become relaxed from petting her she swerves around and sinks her teeth into your hand, leaving you stunned. But you always fall for it.
I am back at work this morning. We are planning an easy dinner tonight so we can head over to the Refuge and they can see the baby raccoons eat. I can’t wait to get back over there. I really miss it- I usually go over 5-6 nights a week and I haven’t gone since Dad & Wendy arrived. I need a fix!
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