Breakfast is served
This is always the first job of every day, as the monkeys need feeding at sun-rise. The bowls are prepared the day before, so it is just a case of placing them in the enclosures. In addition to prepared food, they also get warm porridge and fresh water to start the day off. Don't worry, this task is performed by volunteers on a rotating basis through the week, so you still get lie-ins!
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Medications, supplements, and treats
At 9am every day, medications, supplements and treats are given out. The monkeys are treated for any condition they may have. For example, some are very elderly and need extra supplement vitimins. From time to time monkeys will need antiboitics or other medications. The medication or supplement is dropped into a sweet porridge mixture, so the monkeys think they are getting a treat every day. The monkeys who do not require supplements or medications, just get a sweet treat. |
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Distributing the supplements, medications, treats, and doing monkey checks
After all the supplements, medications and treats are prepared, there’s the fun job of feeding them to the monkeys. They are more than happy to see you when you come along with the sweet treats, and you are sure to make monkey friends if you are doing this job in the morning. Every monkey is hand fed with a teaspoon through the wire and checked over to make sure that all is well. The other, larger monkey also receive a hand fed treat and are checked over in the morning.
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Food preparation, cooking and plating
The monkeys are fed a diet of fruit, vegetables and meat. They also enjoy pasta, scrambled egg, potatoes etc. Food is cooked and prepared daily in the primate kitchen. We even have our own monkey cook book to help you prepare a delicious meal for our primates. Once the food is cooked and chopped, it is placed into different sized bowls
and stored in the fridge for the following morning feed. |
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Lunch time "Top-ups"
At 1:30pm, all the food bowls in the enclosures are checked and topped up with food and water if necessary. This ensures that all our primates are never without fresh food and water through out the day.
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Hand feeding pellets
At 4pm the monkeys are all fed a commerical monkey pellet - which is a correct balanced diet for them - but they refuse to eat it from their bowls. The crunchy pellet is very good for their teeth and ensures that nobody goes to bed hungary. The elderly monkeys have their pellets soaked in water, which makes it easier for them to eat with their worn down teeth.
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Bowl collection
As the sun goes down, the monkeys start going off to their beds. Volunteers go out and collect the bowls from the monkey enclosures and close the feeding area trap doors in preparation for the morning feed. The bowls are then soaked in a germ killing solution and washed the following day, after the morning feed. |
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Hand raising a baby monkey
Sometimes baby monkeys (usually marmosets) are received by the sanctuary – and, although it’s not our intention to breed the monkeys, sometimes there are new editions that sneak in (the sanctuary undertakes to provide vasectomies for the males, but these need to be paid for and are usually batched so we can justify having a vet/surgeon on-site). If a baby is born and the mother is unable to raise it herself the volunteers work together with feeding and comforting the new arrival before, at the earliest possible stage, they are re-introduced to “socialize” in their more natural social groups. Despite the early hours hand rearing is a very popular task!
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Primate re-location and introductions
As with humans, not all monkeys get along all the time. The monkeys are constantly monitored. If we find that the monkeys are fighting amongst themselves, we sometimes need to move them (no matter how many times you tell them – they just don’t seem to listen!). The same is true for monkeys on their own in enclosures and whenever an opportunity arises we always try to pair them up (if they both are prepared to get along) and, as you can imagine, this needs a lot of supervision.
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Making monkey beds
The monkeys can be quite fussy when it comes to their beds. They even throw their blankets out of the bed when they are dirty! Every now and again new beds need to be made (provided we have the funds or have been fortunate enough to receive the necessary materials). Again, another job that can be done while enjoying the sun.
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Monkey'ing around
It is always nice to get to know the monkeys. Although some of the monkeys have behavioral problems and simply need somewhere quiet to live, some enclosures hold very friendly, playful monkeys. Volunteers often enjoy spending quality time in these enclosures and allowing the monkeys to play, investigate, and amuse themselves!
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Enclosure enrichment
The monkeys are very intelligent and need a lot of stimulation. Keeping the enclosures interesting and thus enriching the monkeys’ days is a fun task – we like to keep them stimulated with new toys and foliage. These are regularly changed by the volunteers, making sure the monkeys have plenty to look at and explore.
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Washing up
It's not the most fun job, but there tends to be quite a few dishes around here. With all the volunteer and monkey meals, be prepared to get stuck with washing up, as well as the general up-keep and cleaning of the volunteer and monkey areas.
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A sun-break
Don’t worry, it’s not all work! Although there are plenty of jobs to keep you entertained throughout the day, there is always a chance to catch up on a bit of reading or topping up your tan. You don’t want to come all this way without enjoying a bit of sun!
For more of the activities our volunteers enjoy, feel free to see us having a bit of fun.....
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Please also check out our Volunteer Testimonials |
