We would like to welcome the new members to Monkey
Tales


Come Meet The Monkeys, see what they were, who
they have become and what they are doing now.


This issue introduces you to Mikey and Olivia


Mikey is one of the Alabama monkeys that finally
arrived on April 19th 2002. He is a Stumptail
Macaque whose exact age is unknown, but it is
estimated that he is over 20 years old. I would
like to emphasize that all of the abuse that
Mikey received was from a previous owner many
years ago, NOT at the hands of the gentlemen
that placed him at Mindy's. Approximately
12 years ago Mikey's life was about to make
a change for the better. Up until that point,
he had been repeatedly beaten about the head
and face and even shot many times with blow
darts. He had also been deprived of food. He
is still slim built, but muscular and does
not appear to be able to gain weight. For an
unknown reason he was finally taken to the
vets office. Not liking what he saw, the vet
called the gentlemen who was to become Mikey's
new owner, asking that he come and pick up the
monkey. With his new owner he was about to
begin a life free of abuse. To this day, Mikey
still suffers from the abuse he endured. He
has permanent nerve damage in his feet,
they curl under and cannot be straightened.
Sometimes, when he is sitting he will lose his
balance and tip over backwards. In spite of
all that he has been through Mikey is still
a very loving monkey. Upon arrival at Mindy's,
Mikey was shown to his new enclosure. He
clung to his owners neck and did not want
to let go. Then all of a sudden he spotted the
female stumptails, he quickly ran over to them
and forgot all about his owner. Talk about a
quick change of heart. It was originally planned
that Mikey would be housed with Meg, but
Mikey had other ideas. While not showing much
interest in Meg, he immediately bonded with
Olivia. As all introductions are made through
petitions, for safety reasons, plans can easily
be changed. Olivia and Mikey were to be
cagemates. He loves oranges, grapes and the
occasional granola peanut butter bar. When
Linda approaches his enclosure, he speaks to
her rather loudly.


Olivia, an 18 year old Stumptail Macaque, is
a former Lehmann College Research monkey, who
arrived on October 17, 2001. On October 20th
Olivia was able to experience having the sun
warm her face for the very first time in her
life. I wonder what she thought when that
winter she saw and touched snow for the first
time. Like many of the other monkeys at Mindy's,
she had never been outside before and was
enjoying her new found freedom. Up until she
met Mikey she was totally inseparable from
Cleo and Meg. Now, she does not bother that
much with the girls, even though their
enclosure is right next to hers. Her entire
focus is on Mikey. They spend hours grooming
each other and just sitting close, watching
everything that goes on around them. It is
amazing how quickly they formed such a close
bond. Olivia is very partial to raw carrots
and very ripe juicy pears.


WHAT THEY ARE UP TO NOW!


Mikey and Olivia could not be closer. Olivia
just loves to be groomed by Mikey. Like all
of the Macaques at Mindy's they love to spend
hours searching through their mulch floors to
see what Linda has hidden for them. This form
of enrichment is a very important part of their
lives. Some of the items that Linda hides are
raw in shell peanuts, almonds in their shells
and raw pasta. Mikey's absolute favorite treat
is whole wheat bread. When given a piece, he
tries to stuff it into his mouth with both hands
as quickly as he can. His eyes get to be twice
their normal size. He hurries like this to get
it into his pouches before Olivia can realize what
he has. Mikey has a new favorite food, cauliflower.
He is not that interested in what had been one of
his favorites, sweet potatoes. Olivia has added
several new foods to her favorites, peanuts,
apples, bananas and grapes. She also enjoys
the occasional orange. Mikey has now put on
some weight and is in excellent condition.
When Linda has someone there to help clean
up the mess made, Mikey and Olivia along
with many of the monkeys love to tear the
pages out of phone books. Several months
ago, Mikey's former owner came for a visit.
Mikey was very excited about seeing him
again. After he left Mikey was calling for
him.


HELP US MAKE THE SECOND ANNUAL CHRISTMAS 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 and one group toy for every
enclosure. 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 Playskool,
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 some
of the old toys to make room for the new Christmas
toys. They also like 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. 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 like
to play with, please visit:
http://www.amomentintimedonations.freeservers.com/photo.html
where you will see photos of some of the monkeys enjoying
themselves with their toys. You will see:

1) Indigo and his pail

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

3) Katy Jo is enjoying herself on a toddler's swing.

4) Cookie is on her slide. Monkeys do not use a slide
the same way that humans do. Instead of sliding down
the middle, they slide down the sides.


Please try to have your toys delivered by 12/15/03.


Toys can be sent 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 THE MONKEYS FEATURED IN THIS
ISSUE ALONG WITH THEIR FRIENDS CAN BE
VIEWED AT:
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/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 OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE SANCTUARY ARE
AVAILABLE FOR SPONSORSHIP. PLEASE VISIT THE
MINDY'S WEBSITE FOR DETAILS.


For photos that can be sent as greeting cards,
which will help promote the sanctuary, please visit

Mindy's Specific Holiday Greeting Cards
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/118046932
Mindy's Residents
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/824159902


Other albums that you may find interesting

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
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/768443115


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, The Rainforest and Pets In Need.


At RedJellyFish http://www.redjellyfish.com
a simple click allows you to donate food to
a hungry primate. While there you can also
preserve The Rainforest.


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


HOW YOU CAN HELP


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


When shopping online, please check to 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 the purchase total donated, at no cost to
you. The amount donated varies by store.


For your convenience, donations can be made
online using the Paypal link on the Mindy's
homepage http://www.mindysmem.org You can
make a donation to the Building Fund to help
raise funds for housing future residents.
This fund was created after funds were not
able to be raised quickly enough to rescue
Ben and Norman before they were sold back
into research. You can also donate to the
Mindy's General Fund.


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


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


WRITTEN BY - JOANNE CHRISTIE-SHPAK
PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE
http://www.amomentintimedonations.freeservers.com
to explore several wildlife sanctuaries including
Mindy's. There are also links to various Click To
Donate websites, which are done at no cost to you.
You can also find Helpful Organizations, Websites
of Interest, Quotes, a collection of Animal Poems,
an Animal Story, as well as ways to help your
favorite cause.


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