If little girls like playing with dolls, what do little monkeys like to play with?Meet Pooka, a female black capped capuchin (Cebus apella) who is one of my research participants and has a yearning for teddy bears. Pooka was hand raised as her mother wasn't caring for her properly, and she developed a liking for soft toys. This isn't unusual in hand raised primates as the fur is similar to what they would grip on their mother's body. All primates in captivity need enrichment, they have active minds and need to keep busy to prevent abnormal behaviours arising from boredom. You know the saying, idle hands make for the devil's work, well, nothing sums up a bored primate as aptly.
So in an effort to provide something different from the usual food based enrichment I had a friend make Pooka her own special mini-me!
Mini-me monkey was a hit, Pooka took to her new buddy, poking mini-me's arms and legs through the wire, inspecting every crevice and even 'grooming' mini-me at one stage. Mini-me was also a convenient cushion when she was the recipient of some grooming from her cage mate Abu (right). Though Pooka had mini-me monkey close and used it happily she didn't object when the others took mini-me on a tour of the enclosure for a bit of roughing up. These enchanting little monkeys are known for being gregarious and aggression over objects is uncommon. If a favourite food item is found, they will retreat, but if another individual takes the food it's a case of Que sera sera.Mini-me monkey was lovingly made by LoveBird Animal Art
LoveBird Animal Art
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment