We would like to welcome all of the new members to Monkey Tales.


This issue will introduce you to Abu, Suki and Bonny


MEET THE MONKEYS


Abu is a 7 year old Bonnet Macaque, who arrived on 3/14/00. Abu
was a former pet, who depended on his human caregivers for
everything. He was treated as a member of the family until he did
what so many pet monkeys do. He bit a family member. Then his life
changed forever. For the next 5 months he was kept in the backyard
tool shed. It was always dark, he was cold and alone for the first
time in his life. The shed was never cleaned and he was barely fed.
He weighed only 8 pounds. A 5 year old Bonnet Macaque should weigh
at least 16 pounds. His owner finally called animal control, stating
that he was going out of town and abandoning Abu. They were told
that they should send someone out to do something about the monkey.
They immediately began searching for a sanctuary. The first one had
no room for him. Linda was contacted and agreed to take Abu. When
she inquired what species he was, she was told that the shed was so
dark they could barely make out the monkey. When he arrived, his
face and skin were snow white, from never seeing daylight or the
sunshine. He was also anemic. Now that he is being fed a wonderful
diet, with his favorites being steamed squash, cooked beets,
bananas, peanuts and apples he is doing wonderfully. Now he weighs
somewhere around 20 pounds. He has grown into quite a handsome
monkey. Abu loves to sit 10 - 15 feet up in the air atop his house
surveying all of his domain. His nickname is Mr. Personality. He
does have one very strange habit, he likes to walk around with a
dried banana peel hanging out of his mouth. You can view a couple
of photos of Abu in the yahoogroups photo album.


Suki is a 13 year old Bonnet Macaque who was retired from Lehmann
College in October 2001, where she had spent her entire life as a
research monkey. She had been born into research and was rejected
by her mother. When she first arrived at the sanctuary she could
not get enough of sitting in the sunshine. In fact, she spent so
much time sunning herself that she received a slight sunburn on
her pale face. Now her face is a nice walnut color. When she first
arrived, if she became frustrated she would bite herself and hit
her face with her foot. This behavior comes from being confined in
a small area without social contact. She has adapted well to her
new life. Now that she can roam freely, climbing and playing
whenever she chooses to, she no longer exhibits any odd mannerisms.
There is a picture of Suki in the yahoogroups photo album.


Bonny is a 9 year old Bonnet Macaque who arrived at Mindy's in
March 1993, when she was only 8 months old. She lost her home
due to a divorce. As a result of being taken away from her
mother at an early age, she still sucks her thumb. Bonny and
Suki act like two little old spinsters. They just love sleeping,
grooming and laying out in the sunshine. On windy days they can
both be found sitting in a barrel, that has been turned on its
side. There is a photo of Bonny in the yahoogroups photo album.


Toy Drive Update


So far several toys have been collected, but we are a long way from
reaching our goal. Please try to have all of your toys delivered to
the sanctuary by December 15th.

ITEMS COLLECTED FOR INDIVIDUAL MONKEYS (25 MONKEYS TO GO)

2 Pails
1 shovel
2 plastic serving spoons
15 baby rattles (all of the monkeys enjoy rattles)

MULTIPLE MONKEY TOYS (13 ENCLOSURES TO GO)

1 Toddler Swing


HELP US MAKE THE FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS MONKEY
TOY DRIVE A SUCCESS.

Wouldn't you like to help make a Monkey's Christmas dreams come true.
Our goal is to collect at least one toy for every monkey. The toys do
not have to be new, just in good condition. What many people do not
realize is that monkeys can enjoy the same toys that human children
do. All you have to do is make sure that the toy is sturdy or durable
enough to be played with by a strong child. For example, Fisher Price
or Playschool, busy boxes or riding toys make excellent choices for
them. They cannot be something that can easily be taken apart. The
capuchins, especially Cookie, love playing with musical toys that
play nursery rhymes. She just keeps pushing the buttons over and
over until the batteries need recharging. As you are putting away
all of the backyard toys, if your child will have outgrown some of
the toys by next summer, consider sending them to the monkeys. Keep
this in mind as you are getting rid of the old toys to make room
for the new Christmas toys. They also enjoy flat bed sheets, that
will have plenty of knots tied in them. They like to drag them
around and hide under them. When they peek out to see if anyone is
watching, another monkey will quickly pounce on them and then the
wrestling fun begins. Spray them with a little perfume and they
enjoy it all the more. All of the monkeys love to play with pails
and shovels, sometimes out of necessity dust pans and containers
are substituted. They love to scoop up and fill the pails with
mulch from the floors of their enclosures. Kong toys for dogs are
also used as enrichment items. If you would like to donate a toy
as a gift for someone, please indicate this when the donation is
made. A gift notification will be sent, letting that special
someone know that you have made the donation in their name.


Just to give you an idea as to what monkeys play with, please visit
http://amomentintimedonations.freeservers.com/catalog.html where you
will see photos of some of the monkeys enjoying themselves, with
their toys.

There is a picture of Cookie, playing on her slide. Monkeys do not
use the slide the same way we do. They slide down the edges of it as
opposed to the middle. They do enjoy using it as an additional
climbing structure.

Missybelle is sitting by her Christmas Tree, showing how she used to
spend her Christmas, as a pet. As you can see by reading Missybelle's
story http://amomentintimedonations.freeservers.com/custom.html while
everything possible was done to make her happy, this life style did
not work out for her. Primates do not make good pets. Now she spends
her life in as natural a setting as possible. While there are no more
Christmas trees and lights, it does not mean that she does not still
enjoy playing with many of the same presents she used to receive. She
now gets to enjoy playing with them, with her new primate companions.
Her former owner, Lorraine, believes that she has already given
Missybelle the best Christmas present possible, a new life at Mindy's
Memory Primate Sanctuary.

Katy Jo is enjoying herself swinging on a toddlers swing.

Detroit has climbed up high, just as soon as he was given a
basketball. He did not want to share his new found treasure.

When Pumpkin arrived, he came with a carload of toys. Ginger very
quickly confiscated his purple riding toy and really made it work
for her.

Toys can be mailed to:

Mindy's Memory Primate Sanctuary
P.O. Box 134
Newcastle, OK 73065


*************
Please read "A Monkey's Prayer" which was written by Linda
http://www.mindysmem.org/monkprayer.html
*************


PHOTOS OF ALL THE ABOVE MONKEYS AND THEIR FRIENDS CAN BE VIEWED AT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monkeytales Mindy's has the largest
enclosures of any Primate Sanctuary, complete with wooden shelves
and perches for the monkeys to sit on and climb to. Please bear in
mind that many of the pictures are taken at an angle, as the monkeys
can be sitting as high as 15 feet up in the air. This could make the
enclosures look smaller than they actually are.


ALL RESIDENTS OF THE SANCTUARY ARE AVAILABLE FOR SPONSORSHIP,
FOR DETAILS VISIT THE MINDY'S WEBSITE


THE NEXT ISSUE WILL FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS FROM LORRAINE'S VISIT WITH
MISSYBELLE AND ALL OF HER FRIENDS


WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING AT THE SANCUARY????


Lorraine is now at Mindy's visiting with Missybelle.


The sanctuary has been busy preparing for what is hoped to be a
mild winter. Heat has been added to Mikey and Olivia's house. All
of the heaters have been cleaned and checked to make sure that
everything is in working order.


Remember, when sending a Greeting Card, consider sending a Monkey
Greeting Card. Please view our selection at
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/118046932 or by using the link at
Mindy's homepage (http://www.mindysmem.org). There are Birthday,
Anniversary and Everyday cards available. This will be a wonderful
way for you to help us promote the sanctuary.


If you would rather send a card featuring a species other than a
monkey, please visit the Greeting Card album that I have set up
for Mostly Monkeys Sanctuary (http://www.mostlymonkeys.org) by
visiting http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/102604785 Here you will
find Parrot, Badger and Raccoon in addition to Monkey Greeting
Cards.


Visit the Missybelle Before Mindy's photo album
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/484014251


Visit the Missybelle Enjoying Life At Mindy's photo album
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/963449033


HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you are considering switching internet providers and are
going to switch to AOL, please visit a web page that was set up by
Missybelle's former owner Lorraine
http://hometown.aol.com/missybellemom2/myhomepage/index.html
By using the link on the bottom of the page you will receive a free
trial period. When the free trial period ends, if you keep the
service for an additional 6 months, Lorraine will receive a $15.00
check, which she will donate to Mindy's.

If you have a website consider adding a banner to link directly to
Mindy's.

When shopping at http://www.vegecyber.com always use our code 2027MM
when checking out so the sanctuary will receive 5% of your purchase
donated.

When shopping at http://www.igive.com please list Mindy's as your
charity of choice so the sanctuary will receive a portion of purchase
donated. The amount donated varies by store.

Make a donation to the Building Fund to help raise funds for housing
future residents. This fund was established after funds were not
raised quickly enough to rescue 2 research monkeys, Ben and Norman
before they were sold back into research.

Make a donation online using Paypal, there is a link on the Mindy's
homepage.


INFORMATION PROVIDED BY - LINDA BARCKLAY
DIRECTOR
http://www.mindysmem.org
mindysmem@...


WRITTEN BY - JOANNE CHRISTIE-SHPAK
PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE
http://amomentintimedonations.freeservers.com which features several
wildlife sanctuaries including Mindy's. There are also links to
various click for donations, which are done at no cost to you. You
can also find helpful organizations as well as ways to help your
favorite cause.


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