Americans To Protect Spider Monkeys in Costa Rica

The sharp decline in the population of Costa Rican spider monkeys, classified in about 70% between 1995 and 2007 by biologists from the University of Costa Rica, was the main motivation for a couple of Americans to began a rehabilitation project that will allow monkeys to return to their natural habitat.



Spider Monkey Rehab opened only in January this year and already has two monkeys in development, which instead of joining captivity and death rates, return to the jungle to procreate their species.

Passionate about primates and conservation, Michele Gawenka and her husband Paul, began to interact with the monkeys and became the proud adoptive parents of Shorty and Lolita, two monkey orphans in need of protection.

Lolita still takes a bottle and follows Michele wherever she goes as if she was her mother... even sleeps near them in the room and cries when she sees them. Although she is just like a baby, the Gawenkas do not want their monkeys treated as humans but rather that they live in the jungle where they will develop in freedom and interact with their peers.

To do this they spend several hours in the forest every day, accompanying them to develop in their natural habitat, learn what foods they should eat, interact with peers and be prepared for the time of maturity and to say goodbye to the family.

"We make a smooth release. There are two types of release in rehabilitation, one of which is the release where the animal is taken to a remote place with thick jungle and left there, but if there is not enough food or they are not sufficiently prepared the monkey will die. The other type is the soft release, where the animal is left in the area where he has been rehabilitated but food for the animal is left just in case he's not completely capable of taking care of himself, this has been very successful for a large number of rehabilitation centers," Gawenka said.

Gawenka cited the case of other similar centers that have worked successfully in areas like soft release Nosara and Sibu, and even know a monkey who returned with two pregnant females with calves to show their caretakers appreciation .

"In the afternoon, Paul takes the little monkey to the trees for two hours , leaves him to play and look for fruits that can find and eat, these experiences are very important because I can not see any successful results for a monkey that has been in a cage for five years and then expect him to adapt to the wild. I think they should have experience in the wild all the time, he must even learn what foods provide his wife, there is much practice," Gawenka said.

The Foreigners took them home with the requirements of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAE), working with biologists and specialists to care for them. They have been prepared by freezing fruit when harvest season happens and their passion is such that they have given up family visits to be with the monkeys.

However, despite the isolated efforts of people like the Gawenkas, the reality of spider monkeys in Costa Rica has a grayish hue. Gawenka says that after the last study which showed a dramatic decrease in only twelve years, you need a census of the population again, because they believe there could be even less spider monkeys.

For those with a monkey in captivity, the council Gawenka is certain:

"I would like to see these monkeys have a life where they can play at least in a large cage or in the trees and be monkeys. Many have been damaged psychologically, because they are primates, it would be exactly as though we had been separated and never have had contact with other people or mental stimulation. They need exercise, they need to find their food, have the company of other monkeys, it's not fair... Those people, who say they love their monkeys can provide a better life," said Gawenka.

Source: Costa Rica North