May 11
First Flight
I cried like a child when I left my mom and entered security for my 9:50 A.M. flight from Indy. I had just finished my freshman year, gotten home, and WHAM 5 days later I'm on a plane to Charlotte, North Carolina. Another plane took me to Gainesville, Florida, where my summer plans were located.
My goal in life is to become a licensed veterinarian. Part of achieving that goal is gaining as much experience with animals as I can. Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary looks like it will be a fantastic opportunity to increase my leadership ability, strengthen my work ethic, and better my experience with exotic animals. At Jungle Friends, there are Brown Capuchins (Cebus apella), Weeper Capuchins (Cebus olivaceus),White Faced Capuchins (Cebus capucinus), White-Fronted Capuchins (Cebus albifrons), Black-Handed Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi), Peruvian Spider Monkeys (Ateles chamek),Common Squirell Monkeys (Saimiri scuireus), Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis), Common Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), Black Tufted-Ear Marmosets (Callithrix penicllata), Cotton-Top Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus), Golden-Handed Tamarins (Saguinus midas). There are also two Cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus), and two Macaws. I'm looking forward to a great summer. As for now, there is an apprentice and one other intern.
May 12, 2011
Woke up about 5:50 and helped sort out monkey biscuits to the specific bowls (regular, spider, and toothless)
Washing dishes
Making monkey soup (beans+ veggies in a crock pot for 10 hours with broth/water)
Feeding the birds (they've been digging a hole at the bottom of their enclosure, but the fencing goes pretty deep into the ground)
CHOP!- chopping veggies and fruits for soup and for the diets
More dishes J
Using peanuts and cookie pieces to distract 1 pregnant monkey and 1 monkey that may be pregnant while Kari, Lucy, and Mimi try to lure more possibly pregnant monkeys into a habitat. After given a taste of a cookie, the two monkeys rebel against the peanuts being offered. One looked at a peanut and they hopped away.
Will be going back to try again with the monkeys tomorrow
Raked up food and feces around the sanctuary with Lucy, the other intern. There are runways that connect the habitats and indoor enclosures. Noah the spider monkey grabbed my pony tail and stole my hat! Lucy retrieved the hat while I distracted the monkeys with peanuts.
Took out the trash with Mimi.
Dinner – Connie made "Tofu Surprise!"--- I've never had tofu before…. I think it tastes funny, but it's bearable as a source for protein. This wasn't flavored tofu, so I plan to try more varieties.
After dinner I got to skype with my mom and Two brothers! But then at 7:30 it was back to work J As the other intern and apprentice collected the food dishes, I refilled the biscuit bowls in "Rainforest Café," where the primate diets are prepared.
-was going to post on the blog, but the site is down for maintenance L
May 13
Almond Brothers? Walnut sisters?
Today we made sure to finish early, so we could go to town square to see an allman brothers tribute band play at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza.
Earlier that day Maryanne and I cleaned 2 indoor habitats while Kari and Lucy talked to a local media crew.
May 14, 2011
Today I woke up half an hour late! I'll have adjust to the different schedule as soon as possible. Also, a big storm came in so not a whole lot got done around the sanctuary.
During the storm I sat in Marmoset village and chopped fruit for the marmosets, tamarins, and squirrel monkeys.
The storm didn't do a whole lot of damage to JF, but to a neighboring sanctuary it caused a large hole in a habitiat. Lucy and Kari went to help repair the habitat.
Angel, a monkey here seemed to have something lodged in his mouth. It ended up to be an issue with his teeth, so Kari sedated him and took him the UF vet school.
May 15, 2011
Busy day today!
We had a community service volunteer help us do chop. Another regular volunteer arrived later and worked over at munchkin land
Today I chopped for both the large monkeys and the munchkins
I prepared the calorie enhanced diet with added "Emergen-C" for the marmosets and tamarins
More dishes! Whoo! As there are may monkeys at the sanctuary, there are many dirty dishes! However, the work must be done in order for the monkeys to be happy and healthy. I'm willing to do the work for the monkeys!
May 16
Today was similar to others at the beginning, biscuit bowls, soup, all that jazz
BUT I helped Lucy clean two "motley crew" outdoor habitats and filled them with branches from trees and bamboo.
The monkeys really enjoyed their newly decorated habitats, while we looked forward to cleaning up all the soon-to-be dried up branches and leaves!
I also got my hair pulled by Bambam and Tabetha. Tabetha got a sizable chunk of my hair as a keepsake.
May 17
Cleaned indoor habitats with Bethany (volunteer)
DIDN'T get my hair pulled today!J
Picked up branches
Went to the dump
Went to walmart J
May have to do a heat check tonight!
May 18
Hawk appeared today and the monkeys went crazy
Lots of chopping,
More chopping in munchkin land… caring for meal worms, cutting cans, big to-do list for munchkin land (munchkin land is the area of the sanctuary where the marmosets and tamarins are)
May 19, 2011
Cleaning munchkin land and moving marmosets and tamarins
two new marmosets coming
May 20
Munchkin land stuff… sweet potato, fruit, more veggies, eggs, grits, oatmeal
Laundry
More dishes
THE IMPOSTERS!---I drove and we kinda got lost in Gainesville…
May 21 2011
Munchkin land again…. Weed wacking in my bikini top
May 22
Volunteer Day! Big Cat Rescue and community service volunteers
Filing fences, chop, stacking wood, insulation on trailers
Went under the spider monkey runway to collect bowls with the cart and got my hair pulled by noah and patty.
My face was scratched, but I got my hands over my eyes before any major damage could be done
New intern, Jordan arrives
May 23
Flat tire on the trailer L went to wood resources to drop off tree limbs with Chris (visiting volunteer)
May 24, 2011
Laundry, "motley crew"
MORE MUNCHKIN LAND
May 25
Birthday! Day off!
May 26
Mer arrives!
May 27
Becky!
May 28
Tom and Tara! (owners of the marmoset "Peanut")
May 29
The new marmoset and tamarin seem to be doing better, but willy still acts sad L
The munchkins aren't eating all of their wet food diet, so I plan on offering them less
Tom and Tara!
May 30, 2011
Weed wacking
My turn to make dinner (stir fry)
May 30
Day Off!
May 31
June 1
Rabbit Rabbit
June 2
Cleaning Tamarain Town
June 3
Cleaning Marmoset village , Satchel's pizza YUM
June 4, 2011
Ant bait
ANTS! EVERYWHERE!!!
-In an indoor habitat for white faced capuchins
June 5
Taking Lucy to the Airport L
GOODBYE LUCY!!!!
Munchkin land, placed Arie's bowl in the feeder, NO ANTS!!! WHOOO
Cleaning indoors and suds and grubs
Trash
June 6
Drove to drop off the "beast" and the "new" jeep to get checked out at the mechanic, then drove to pick up monkey biscuits and pine chips at the Alachua Farm and Animal
June 7
Day off J
Constructed the satchel's buses (pictures soon after I color them!)
June 8, 2011
Hopefully will start moving things over to the blog today!
There were ants in Arie's AND Willy's feeders this morning, so their diet bowls had to be put in the runways
Will maybe go in with arie and massage his hurt wrist to prevent atrophy of the muscles (Didn't need to)
June 9
More ant baiting
June 10
Fala (marmoset) gets upset in the mornings so I began to give her a diet bowl early
June 11
Volunteers came and helped clean indoor habitats
June 12
Chop
June 13
We may try to socialize Willy and Arie (tamarin and marmoset) again
June 14 Day Off! Read some of my pledge mom's organic chemistry book
June 15
A rat snake was bothering 2 whiteface capuchins, we weren’t able to catch it
June 16, 2011
This morning I saw a white egret at munchkin land
June 17
Went to Bo Diddley Community Plaza to watch the band Third Stone
June 18, 2011
Woah, it's June 18th already!!! Today we moved the cleaning shed to a new location, cleaned marmoset village, and worked through the morning chores without any power!
Cleaned Marmoset Village
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