A blind introduction: my sightless friends get a new home

Hi everyone!

Well the South African weather changes faster than the wind and I have become a specialist at layering clothing. The mornings are quite cold and I have a long sleeve shirt and a fleece and long pants..by mid morning it is just the long sleeve..by 11am it is change to a t-shirt..by lunch time it is into short pants and depending on the job function, maybe a tank top. By dinner time (5p), I reverse this process! At bedtime you will find me in long socks, fleece pajama pants, a long sleeve night shirt, big sweater and a winter cap and then tucked in my sleeping bag, head covered!

This past week has been an exciting one for VMF as some of the blind (sight challenged!) monkeys were introduced to each other in their new home- a large outside enclosure (they have a night time covered enclosure). I had the privilege to be there for the first two introductions and wow, it was great. These monkeys had been living in small, catching-size cages as they came in without an enclosure available to them. They were solitary and I imagine a bit stressed or scared as they were sitting next to stranger monkeys but could not see what was happening around them. When one monkey in the inside facility would start alarm calling, the whole lot of them follow and it because a house of stress- if maybe only for a minute or so. Just imagine being blind in all this!

Gedaffi, a lovely female who could be about 10-12 years old and her young baby companion, Rainbow, were the first to be carried out of this madness and into the outside enclosure. They have not been outside for some time therefore not having the pleasure of having the sun in their face. The photo posted here is me with Gedaffi. We took quite a liking to one another and later she would sleep resting on my knee. She is very humanized and may have been a pet so she is reliant on humans. She did, however, set off to explore this new environment. She cautiously walked around, sniffing and put her little hand out in front of her so not to bump into anything. She knows the work "careful" and I was instructed to go along with her and warn her when she is about to bump into something. By telling her "careful" she will know to stop or go around the object. She often would check back with me, however, and would follow my voice back to my lap. I was proud, however, to see her being quite independent the second time around in the enclosure. Her companion, Rainbow, is completely afraid of humans and would not come out of her small cage to explore. A funny little skittish female who apparently looked to Gedaffi for companionship and protection.

I was happy to hear and see Rainbow out of her little cage and exploring the next day! She still would not approach a human (which is fine, actually) but her fear no longer deterred her from "stretching her legs" finally. Gedaffi and Rainbow were then introduced to another blind female, Keller, who explored at a bit more faster pace, possibly a nervous pace. But Keller seemed not to be bothered. It was soon clear at feeding time that Gedaffi would be the dominant female! She was aware that Keller was eating "her" food nearby and went after her. A bite to the tail and Keller was put in her place in this hierarchy. Keller seemed a bit more nervous after this and slept in a small cozy spot between her old cage and the wall. Since then a few other monkeys have been introduced and it seems to be going very well. I unfortunately haven't been there as I was in Kruger National Park for 3 days. Sad to have missed more of the introduction, but I hope to see them soon.

We had a nice game drive in Kruger National Park. We saw a rhino, two leopards, a lovely hyena family on the side of the road (mama nursing the cubs), a jackal, warthogs, elephants, buffalo, antelopes, and giraffes. I was disappointed, however, that we could not find any lions.

In the next blog I will tell about another fun job that I experienced today: monkey patrolling out in communities...

Hope all is great with everyone! Ciao for now..