WE WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME ALL OF THE NEW
MEMBERS TO MONKEY TALES


BEGINNING WITH THE NEXT ISSUE OF MONKEY
TALES, THE NEWSLETTER WILL BE SENT OUT ON
THE 5TH OF EVERY MONTH INSTEAD OF THE 4TH.


COME MEET THE MONKEYS, SEE WHAT THEY
WERE, WHO THEY HAVE BECOME AND SEE WHAT
THEY ARE UP TO NOW!!!


This issue will feature Detroit, Neeko and
Sunshine


Detroit is a 6 year old Pigtail Macaque, who
came to us from Michigan 3 years ago. As with
most other monkeys here, he has his own sad
story. He had been confiscated by the Humane
Society and kept in lock up for several months
due to a reported monkey bite. His owner had
been trying to sell him and he was grabbed by
someone who had no idea what they were doing.
This was probably the best thing that could
have happened to him, as it was the first step
to a much better life. His former owner
provided us with a list of his favorite foods,
which consisted of pizza, macaroni and cheese,
chicken and hot dogs. As a result of his diet,
he was nothing but skin and bones upon arrival.
Changing his diet and getting him to eat was a
major chore. He has now gained weight and is
doing well. His nickname is Slick, given to him
for his new eating habits. He will gobble down
his food so he can steal Neeko's food, mostly
the fruit. Like most males, he loves playing
with a basketball. When given his first
basketball, he took it and climbed up as high
as he could so he would not have to share his
new found treasure with anyone.


Neeko is a 9 year old Pigtail Macaque. We are
thrilled with the progress that Neeko has made
since his arrival in August 2000. It was first
thought that Neeko would never be able to be
placed with another monkey as he is mentally
challenged. The first part of his life was not
a good one. He lived in an apartment, where he
was confined to a dog carrier. Upon arrival,
he had a severe rash and his hair had been
worn away, since he was forced to constantly
wear a diaper. His diet consisted of baby
formula, which he drank from a baby bottle.
He had to be taught how to eat solid foods.
His liquid diet had made him anemic. Neeko
has shown much improvement and can now share
his new life with his best friends Detroit and
Sunshine. However, he does still exhibit signs
of behavioral problems. When agitated he will
slap or bite himself. It is a mock bite, so he
is not in any way injuring himself. Detroit and
Sunshine are never the target of this behavior.
His favorite food is corn on the cob.


Sunshine is the baby of the Sanctuary at 2 years
old. This sweet little Barbary Macaque is one
lucky monkey. In July 2001 an email was received
from The Fauna Foundation, in Quebec, Canada,
regarding the fate of a 6 month old Barbary
Macaque. She was being detained by customs
at the US/Canada border, in a filthy cage,
dehydrated and terrified. When her papers
were examined it was determined that she had
been bought from a zoo in Morocco. Wanting to
avoid fines and additional expenses, the
purchaser chose to have her euthanized.
Thankfully, the resident vet showed compassion
for her and contacted The Fauna Foundation. They
immediately dispatched a volunteer to check on
her well being. She would not drink the formula
being provided, she preferred fruits and
vegetables. For close to 3 weeks, this volunteer
would travel back and forth from Quebec to
Montreal to take care of the baby Barbary. She
was being kept in the dark basement of the
customs building, which had no windows and very
little light. Fittingly, she was named Sunshine,
as she brought a ray of sunshine to the dismal
room. In order to be spared the death sentence,
she needed to be placed in a 31 day quarantine.
But where? When all hope was beginning to fade,
the Director of Charles River Bio-Medical
Laboratories, in Houston, Texas came forward
offering to sponsor her quarantine. For this,
everyone involved in Sunshine's rescue will be
eternally grateful. Quarantine can be very hard
on an animal, but Sunshine came through with
flying colors and was now ready to begin her
new life at Mindy's. Hopefully all the pampering
and love that she is receiving now will make her
troubled beginning a faded memory. I can only
imagine how long those 31 days must have felt
for Sunshine. They seemed like an eternity to me,
as I spent many anxious days with Linda, sharing
our concerns that Sunshine was okay. Finally,
September 12, 2001, ARRIVAL DAY was here. Instead
of walking, she was hopping. Just like a manx cat,
she has absolutely no tail whatsoever, and her
fur was just like a baby bunny. As she was just a
baby she was not able to be placed with any of
the other monkeys. This did not bother her in the
least as she was being pampered and given extra
special treats.

Once she became a young juvenile, it was thought
that she could be placed with Linus, Ginger,
Garner and Pumpkin. She was placed in an adjoining
enclosure, so she was separated but could interact.
She was absolutely terrified and had to be taken
back to her enclosure. The older macaques were just
too rambunctious for her. She spent the rest of the
day scolding Linda for putting her in a situation
that she did not feel that she was ready for. New
plans were made as to who her new cagemates would
be. Since Phoebus and Missybelle were relatively
calm macaques they were chosen. When Sunshine was
placed with them, everyone knew that it would not
be a permanent placement. As Sunshine matured,
she would become much too active and would have
to once again be relocated.


WHAT THEY ARE UP TO NOW!!!


If Detroit and Neeko thought that they had fun
before, they were in for a big surprise. They
were moved to one side of the enclosure, and
Sunshine was placed on the other side, separated
but yet able to interact until Sunshine was ready.
As every effort is made to keep the monkeys in as
natural a setting as possible they have almost no
contact with humans. Feeding is either done from
the outside of the enclosure or the monkeys
enter a shift cage until their food is ready.
This is the same way cleaning is done. When Linda
entered the cage to release Sunshine into her new
enclosure, she was a very frightened baby Barbary.
She responded to Linda as a mother figure. She
very quickly climbed up Linda's legs and wrapped
her arms around Linda's neck, clinging to her.
Linda walked over to a platform hut, and Sunshine
jumped off. As soon as this happened Linda
exited. Sunshine made certain that Linda knew
she was not happy with her new, unfamiliar
surroundings. The first day, she stayed inside her
warm up hut, peeking out frequently to see if
Linda had changed her mind and was coming back
for her. By the second day, she was sitting close
to the barrier checking out the new monkeys.
Detroit was sitting there quietly admiring her
with his arms folded in his lap. He was the first
to be allowed to be placed with her. Neeko was
soon to follow. They are all very hyper and need
a lot of space and entertainment. Now, all of
their time is spent tumbling, chasing, and
swinging. They never seem to tire. Sunshine and
Detroit love playing with baby rattles.


The next issue will feature: Gabby, George,
Mercury and Gilligan


WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING AT MINDY'S


A new links page has been set up at the Mindy's
Yahoogroups website
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monkeytales/


The yahoogroups photo album has been updated
and contains over 90 pictures.


The monkeys have a new friend who has donated
a box of stuffed toys for them to play with.
Monkeys are very hard on their toys, so toys
are always needed.


WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE EVERYONE AWARE
OF TWO WEBSITES THAT YOU CAN VISIT
ON A DAILY BASIS AND WITH A SIMPLE CLICK,
YOU CAN DONATE FOOD TO SOME HUNGRY
PRIMATES.


Join Care2.com's Race for the Primates
http://primates.care2.com where on a daily
basis you can help protect chimpanzees,
gorillas, bonobos, and other endangered
primates supported by The Jane Goodall
Institute. By registering, you can keep
track of your donations, as well as invite
friends to join the race. While there, you
can also participate in races for The
Oceans, Big Cats and The Rainforest.


At Redjellyfish, http://www.redjellyfish.com
a simple click allows you to donate 1/2 cup
of food to a hungry primate. While there you
can also help preserve The Rainforest.


MONKEY WISH LIST
Rice
Jelly
Raisins
Craisins
Kong Toys
Juicy Juice
Basket Balls
Peanut Butter
Raw Unsalted In Shell Peanuts
Scrub Brushes (round, with handles and nylon
brushes, they are sold in Walmart's)


**********
PLEASE READ "A MONKEY'S PRAYER"
WHICH WAS WRITTEN BY LINDA
http://www.mindysmem.org/monkprayer.html
**********


PHOTOS OF ALL OF THE MONKEYS CAN BE VIEWED
AT http://www.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.


FOR PHOTOS THAT CAN BE SENT AS GREETING
CARDS WHICH WILL HELP PROMOTE THE SANCTUARY
PLEASE VISIT:

SPECIFIC HOLIDAYS
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/118046932
ALL OF THE RESIDENTS
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/824159902


OTHER ALBUMS THAT YOU MIGHT FIND
INTERESTING, ALL CAN BE SENT AS GREETING
CARDS:

MISSYBELLE BEFORE MINDY'S
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/484014251
MISSYBELLE AT MINDY'S
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/963449033
LORRAINE'S NOVEMBER 2002 VISIT TO THE
SANCTUARY
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/768443115
2002 TOY DRIVE
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/988295082


MOSTLY MONKEYS SANCTUARY (photos include,
a raccoon, badger and birds as well as monkeys)
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/135791661
MOSTY MONKEYS SANCTUARY SPECIFIC HOLIDAYS
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/102604785


WAYS YOU CAN HELP


When shopping online, please check and see if the
store you will be making your purchases from is
listed with http://www.Igive.com If it is and you
choose Mindy's as your charity of choice the
sanctuary will receive a portion of your purchase
at no cost to you.


Make a donation, which for your convenience
can be made through a Paypal link located on
the Mindy's homepage, for a specific project,
such as the Building Fund which was established
after we were not able to raise funds quickly
enough to build an enclosure and rescue Ben and
Norman before they were sold back into research,
or the donation can be made to the Mindy's
General Fund.


If you know an animal lover and don't know
what to give as a gift, we have the solution.
Send a donation in their name. We will send
them a card letting them know that you have
given the donation.


INFORMATION PROVIDED BY LINDA BARCKLAY
mindysmem@...
http://www.mindysmem.org
Mindy's Memory Primate Sanctuary
P.O. Box 134
Newcastle, OK 73065


WRITTEN BY JOANNE CHRISTIE-SHPAK
sacajaweabaucis@...
http://www.amomentintimedonations.freeservers.com
Please visit my website to explore several wildlife
sanctuaries, including Mindy's, find many click to
donate sites, helpful organizations and websites of
interest, quotes as well as a collection of animal
poems and an animal story.


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