This month has been a very trying month for the Foundation which April always seems to be, having to make hard decisions and always hoping they are the right ones in the end of the day. We saw 4 road accident victims within a week of each other that were not in a state to be saved, one had a fractured skull and the others multiple injuries with internal bleeding. We are grateful to the public for reporting any road accident victims as sometimes these animals can be saved - Scritch being a perfect example.

Coming into mating season also has it's trials and tribulations with the usual misbehaviour of males often resulting in severe injuries to each other or infanticide. When new male vervets try to join a troop they sometimes kill or fatally injure baby vervets to ensure their own genes are passed on. An example of this was a beautiful baby monkey that was with us for two weeks who we named Smiley. She was from a wild troop and found by a member of the public who had looked after her for a few days. She was brought into the centre with a large wound across her abdomen and suspected nerve damage to her spine / legs. Despite being a strong little monkey who deserved a chance, with the help of vets, 24hr care and our own efforts, we were unable to save her as she lost her smile and gave up. But these are things we all need to cope with as part of nature and running the centre.

Other than that we have had a great group of volunteers here who have really put in a lot of effort which is really appreciated by all.

Our little orphans are getting along fine and growing up fast slowly sorting themselves out, Mistletoe of course thinking she is the little madam and trying to put everyone in their place before they even enter the enclosure so she is not only sorting out the little ones but volunteers aswell.

Everyone thanks for all your hard work and enjoyable times it's so great to have such dedicated people and it just amazes me what can actually be achieved - please do let your friends and family know about us and for those looking to make a worthwhile donation we are trying to get a new enclosure built for the orphans and need help with funding so please use our donate online links and lets see if we can get this done before the next babies arrive towards the end of the year.

Our Annual Report for 2009 is complete and can be read on:

VMF Annual Report 2009 - click here to read

Jacqui Ralston, Helen Barton, Linda & Genna Lipkin.

Welcome Back:
Rachel Plotnek

We were lucky to have the help of Alicia & Agata (2 newly qualified vets from Poland) helping us this month. By their second day here they were already having to deal with a few emergency cases that came in, to their surprise.

Smartie moves in with Dolly
Smartie one of the males in the sickbay intro cages has moved in with Dolly - the pair ignored one another for a long time but are now seen occasionally grooming each other when no-one is looking!

Lily returns to Robert Troop
Lily has returned to Robert Troop talking away - a very excited monkey to see her friends again! This means sickbay is now empty except for two temporary residents - Scritch (one of the juniors from Disneyland) who is just in for observation and treatment as he has been a little bloated lately & Kelsey from Robert Troop who will remain in sickbay for a few weeks for treatment until he is returned to his troop.

Frenchie, Shasta & Hector
Frenchie & Shasta who were in sickbay for a long time have now moved to an introduction cage on Engeltjie 1 enjoying their bigger cage and Hector (one of the 4 boys) is now in Engeltjie 2 and is back to being the sweet natured boy he always was without having a love - hate relationship with his old neighbour Brian. It seems quiet around sickbay without the 2 boys screaming at each other then making up 5 mins later!

Jacqui, one of this month's volunteers has been quick to spot any new injuries with the males in mating season - we can guaranteee if there is a new injury, the males in Robert troop will simply stroll along the fence waiting for Jacqui to notice them and spray them with some colloidal silver!

Thank you to all those volunteers who have been working hard in sickbay and on meds this month.

PASA member sanctuaries have become the first in Africa to earn "Verified" status from the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS).

“The verification status means that each PASA member sanctuary meets the comprehensive definition of a true sanctuary, and provides humane and responsible care of the animals in accordance with GFAS guidelines. GFAS is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that is the only internationally recognized body providing standards for legitimate animal sanctuaries.

The verification status also provides a clear and trusted means for the public, donors and government agencies worldwide to recognize PASA and its member sanctuaries as credible organizations that adhere to the true mission of providing safe haven and humane care for the primates entrusted to their care.”

GFAS website - click here

There’s been a lot of progress on top section lately, with integrations starting at Royal and Gismo. Florence at Royal has met a few monkeys from the troop, but had a bit of a scuffle with two of the females, so is taking a short break before integration starts again.

After quite a long stay in Block C4, ET has now moved to Gismo B and integration has started. He’s a very astute monkey, and wise enough to know that it pays to be polite and submissive to Aslan, the enormous Alpha male of Gismo. He’s also smart enough to realise that when Aslan’s wife Pointy comes into his integration cage, it’s best not to give her too much attention in case Aslan gets the wrong idea! He did almost urinate on Patchwork and Matty whilst they were in his cage, though they decided not to hold this against him...

Skinnie and Mini have now moved from Top Section, back to their original troop at Camelot, into an integration cage with Sad-Eyes. There were a few initial nerves when they first went into the cage, but two days later when I walked past the cage, Skinnie was chatting away excitedly to the whole troop, who were all talking back! Those of you who have seen the Camelot intro cages will know what a lovely environment they are for the monkeys to live in, and all three of them are looking much happier there together.

With mating season coming up, there have been a few frank exchanges of view amongst the Goliath males as to who should be getting all the female affection! Baboo and Mr Gold have been debating this point at length recently, but things seem to have calmed down there, and Baboo has now accepted that the role of Alpha male belongs to Mr Gold at least for the time being, and is learning to behave himself. Shadow and Baboo have become close friends over the last few weeks, with Halo always sticking close by, happy to have the attentions of two handsome and high ranked males.

I’d like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers that have been helping out on Top Section lately. Whether it’s handing out grass or digging the firebreaks, it all makes a difference to the well-being of the monkeys.

Many of you may have been following the stories of Apie - a very humanised ex-pet who is approx 7yrs old. It has been very difficult finding a companion for her as she has many monkey social skills to learn. We attempted to try a male this time instead of a female with her as in the past she has always bullied the females at feeding time and injured them.

All initially went well with Apie giving Jet a 20min grooming session. However it was Apie who got the telling off this time and ended up with a large wound on the side of her head the next day so we sadly had to remove Jet as it was obvious from her behaviour afterwards that Apie still hadn't learnt the skills she needs. We suspect most of this is due to her not knowing how to interact with other monkeys. Meanwhile Apie will have to stick to her human volunteer friends. Her wound is healing but it will take more time before we can find another suitable companion.

Once again, we urge the public not to keep orphaned vervet monkeys as pets but to hand them into us immediately - it is far kinder and quicker to rehabilitate them back into a natural environment with other monkeys if they are brought to us at a young age. This saves a lot of trauma for the monkey having to lose yet another 'mum' when they are eventually handed over due to biting, destruction or when they become lonely and depressed. Although many think they are helping the vervet by caring for it - they are wild animals and need to be with their own kind as quickly as possible.

The last few weeks down on the bottom section have been eventful for the monkeys. After a short stay in the Troop Cage on Skunkey, Big Charlie returned to the troop to be greeted by the juniors and babies who were very happy to see him back. He has settled back in well and is much happier again.

In Skunkey (A) Amber, Jasper and Snow White have had a cage re-fit, they are all very excited and love to swing and climb on their new tubes and platforms.

Elf, Armstrong, Thandi and baby Lola are settling in well in the new Skunkey F cage. Lola is now 3 months old and doing very well after a rough start to her life, she was brought in as an orphan in January and after losing her own baby, Thandi adopted her as her own. She has started to jump around and play with Elf and Armstrong and is a very happy and healthy little monkey now.

Sammy from Skunkey B1 has moved in next door with Pedro so we can start integrating Honey Bear back into the Skunkey Troop. So far all is going well and she is interacting and grooming the troop monkeys through the fence, soon we will start letting a troop monkey in to her cage to play and hopefully it won’t be long until she is back in with her old friends.

Chippy from Robert Troop was brought into an intro cage for a few weeks as a mysterious lump was found on her chest, after some antibiotics and some careful monitoring she is now well enough to return to the troop again.

In Skrow enclosure, the Tweedles and Opal are doing very well after their integration into the troop. Tweedle Dee is often seen playing with the other juniors and Opal has finally been accepted by Tripod and Derek but he is still wary and still prefers to eat alone in the safety of the intro cage. Bernadette is also back in with troop and doing well, she is becoming more sociable every week and enjoys having her freedom in the enclosure rather than being alone in an intro cage.

Myself and the monkeys on bottom section are very grateful for all the help from the volunteers and workers here, they really need and the attention and love to be groomed and given grasses etc. We still have a lot to accomplish over the next few months and it wouldn’t be possible without them.

Angela & Pepper are also now in their new cage seperated from Jasmine & co so all can have some peace!

My month long stay at the Foundation is nearly over as I write this. When I arrived, my ambition was to have some hands on experience with the monkeys. To find out that there was an enclosure, called Disneyland, with 11 babies that needed volunteers to go in and interact with them was music to my ears. I was so eager to get in with them that waiting a week for my TB test results to come back was like an eternity. When I was told the results were negative, I could have screamed with joy. Fantastic! My up close and personal experience with the babies was about to begin.

I had had the week to observe the babies from outside the enclosure and heard the volunteers tell their tales of their shifts with the babies. I was so jealous.

Disneyland has 8 babies and 3 junior monkeys ranging from 3 to 18 months old. I tried to remember all their names and find distinguishable markings so that I could tell them apart. Some were easier to find and remember than others:

Mistletoe - The largest ... and The Boss!
Hoppy - missing right foot
Jessie - The smallest and youngest of the group
Ash - Mr. Well-endowed
Mamba - Mis-shapen right ear
The others; Phylis, Chane, Precious, Skollie, Forest and Scritch I found a little more difficult to tell apart.

For those who are familiar with the Foundation, you will know Mistletoe. As I said, she is The Boss of the troop, fiesty and has a reputation (being an ex-pet for 18 months). Jo, who was doing my intro, said to enter the enclosure with confidence, stand tall and gave me some tips on how to interact with the troop and handle Mistletoe if necessary.

When I entered Disneyland, I felt like a magnet as 4 of the babies just attached themselves to me. When I sat down, another two joined them on my lap, shoulders and head. They were all inquisative, needed cuddles and grooming, used me as a spring box and at times needed a little discipline. The first meeting went extremely well with the babies and I left on a real high.
Since then I have had many shifts with the babies which involves; cleaning, making up baby bottles of milk and time in the enclosure to interact and play with the them. The babies try to help with the sweeping in their own way.... but I still find it difficult to use the broom with three little ones attached to the handle, Ash attached to my leg, Skollie to the back of my head and a few others rolling in the pile of leaves I've already swept!

I have enjoyed all of my experience but my baby shifts have been the highlights of my time here. I have got to know all the monkeys by name now and know their personalities. I will find it hard to leave, but look forward to hearing how this troop develop and how they adapt to the new enclosure which is still in need of funds to build. I will definitely be back for more baby time.

Don't forget to click on our fundraising page to contribute towards the new orphan enclosure:

Click here to read our orphan enclosure appeal

Donations & Thank you's April 2010:

Agata & Alicia – suture materials, gloves & other vet supplies
Sue & Allen – bunny drinking bottles
Rachel Plotnek – medical supplies
Linda & Genna Lipkin – suture material
'About Marketing' - for ongoing support
Worldwide Veterinary Service - more veterinary supplies to help with vasectomies

Helen Sunter, Sharon Clarke, Michaela Rowley (return), Melissa Cann, Eugenie Dadachpour, Sue Roberts, Allen Cullen, Agata Pilarczyk, Alicia Wierzuchowska, Victoria Stubbs.