Monkey Business

[mimpimanis]

Ok, I have a confession to make. I know I will probably take some flak for this but I would like to get some feedback here before I "come out" elsewhere.

Since I have been in Lombok, I have resisited the urge to buy a monkey when people come around selling them. I never even go outside the house. Just tell Made a flat "NO!" He has always been keen. However our neighbour had one to sell a few days ago. We said No as usual but he was keeping it tied up to a tree, at ground level, with dogs around at the side of the road. SO I Could not help but see it. I couldnt bare it. Made & I talked about. I made him understand what a big committment it is. Monkies can live upto 25-30 years, can not be toilet trained etc etc. He still wanted to go ahead & I felt sure we could offer this little creature a better chance than she had where she was. So for the heartbraking price of Rp25,000. She was ours. heartbreaking, that such a special life can be so cheap.

I intend to be a responsible owner. I have no intention of leaving her tied up or in a cage all day. For the moment she stays with me in the house all day, follows me around & sleeps alone in the spare room with a climbing frame of clothes driers, ladders & wood. Tomorrow we have a builder coming who will start to build a house for her. For her current tiny size. The house at 1.5m X 5m will be okay & as she gets bigger (and when I come back with more money w can extend) She will have a totally enclosed indoor section, an outdoor section with roof to protect from rain & sun & an out door section. I have taken the desin froma primate welfare site. The intention is that she will spend days out of the house, unless we have to go out for the day & sleep in it at night time.


I have no intentioon of riding around on the motorbike with the monkey on my head as I seem some expats doing here!!


I am quite aware of the negative effect this could have on our homestay business, which is why I am keen to get some feedback from you guys. My own mother is quite angry with me over this but she also is not aware of how many people do keep monkeys here.

So please, go gentle on me :oops:

Mimpi

[Roy]

NO, no, no! You are talking about macaques. VERY nasty critters, and very capable of rendering a host of life threatening diseases upon you. Do a search on Yahoo, Google, or the BTF.

Sorry Mimpi, but this post of yours is about as horrible as they come. One bite from these critters is all it takes…and it ain’t worth it to have one as a pet. Better to adopt an orangutan from Kalimantan.

[mimpimanis]

I am sorry Roy, but having taken on the responsibility I do not intend now to shirk it a few days later. I have already bought many of the materials for making her house today, as well as an array of toys which she is already enjoying. We are just having trouble finding tukans as so many are busy on a big building project going on here at the moment & the rest are now in the paddies, now the rain as at last started.

So I will take my chances that we can domesticate her sufficiantly that she does not become aggressive. What other option do I have than to turn her out or sell her on again. Neither of which I am prepared to do. I have been taking in and caring for injured and abused animals most of my life, though this is my first monkey.

I have looked at a load of sites on the net & as you say most advise against keeping a monkey but I have also found sites which give advice & have many members that do & without incident.

So thanks for the feedback but its her health & welfare I am thinking of rather than my own.

Cheers

Mimpi

[rien.gluvers]

Dear Mimi,

I think your intentions are good but I want to warn you about the feelings of a lot of European people. If you rent out rooms to them be sure that you will get a lot of negative reactions.
Having animals in captivity is more and more a hot issue. My wife for instance, and also a lot of my friends, will not stay in a place such as yours, where monkeys are kept for personal pleasure.
The remarks about the monkey being better of they don’t buy. The only way to break the circle of capturing wild animals is to stop buying them.

Why I am so sure about this is because of all the negative advise we got
from European people in our hotel about visiting Turttle Island, yust because of the snakes, monkeys and so on the have there.

[Roy]

Well, what can I say to a woman who regards a monkey's health and welfare more than her own? Not a whole lot...so, as Bert would say...that's it!

[rien.gluvers]

That is way I said to be sure of the good intentions.
Unfortunately people passing by don't know the full story.
But if it is al about the monkey's welfare, I have seen
on Dutch television organisations witch or specialised in
placing the animals back in nature. If the monkey is all its
about I think the best way to spend effort the goal should be
to make it possible to release the monkey.
Information of how the reach that goal http://www.wwf.or.id/

[made marko]

I truly feel sympathy for you Mimpi, I too would be torn.
I am sure you would take very good care of the monyet, the purchase did increase the trade in them by 1...
Let us consider this also; humans and monkeys have lived and worked together for a very long time, unfortunately almost always as a detriment to the animal.
Now, I think we all know that you will not force this creature to perform for your guests, or fetch coconuts for you.
And you have already stated that you will not use him as a hat (i would personally think a helmet would offer better protection :)...
What about cockfighting? Caru? Sate?
While I love animals. I also love tradition, the gods and my ancestors, and chicken on a stick.
What to do?

[marisa]

I would like you to be VERY careful, and will tell you my monkey story.....
last August 2003 I took several friends from our village to the Bali Zoo because I thought it would be a fun adventure for the kids. While I was taking photos of a medium size monkey in the cage with a young boy in front, I noticed through the lens that the monkey was looking very menacing at the boy's head..... I took the photo quickly, and reached forward to grab him, telling him that he was a little too close. While this happened, the monkey grabbed through the cage and grabbed my hair ( I threw our friends son away from the cage) and was pulled by my hair into the cage wire and concrete base, several times ( complete with monkey noises)until he could be scared away by my frightened friends. I came home with a very bad concussion, and have not yet recovered, after a brain scan, I have a cranial blood vessel pressing on a facial nerve, and I am really lucky, as serious as this is. My hair was so torn I bled for close to a week, and took strong pain medication. The poor boy was pretty traumitized, as we are friends. And I am not allowed to fly anywhere because of the pressure, until it's all worked out. Please be careful, as the even worse thing I had to endure were many, so many, (!!!) blood tests by infectious disease doctors to rule out diseases from the monkey. Because of the wound no one could be sure there wasn't a transfer of saliva, yuck. Of course, in typical Bali fashion, everyone laughed, behind careful eyes. That is all. Be careful, It's Bali :shock:

[Sparky]

I think Roy advice on not keeping the monkey as a pet should be taken very seriousley indeed. These monkeys are truely evil. :twisted: Also just to let you know Mimpi what you have taken on here is an extract from a scientist who deals with these critters ;

The hazard to the practitioner and the owner makes it imperative that macaques not be kept as pets and that the risk be explained to the owner.

Enough said folks would you not agree


Regards Sparky

[marisa]

Well, to add a little more, I told my husband that I wrote in a forum about what had happened. He was more than a little surprised, and of course, would never set foot in the zoo in Bali, not too sympathetic to the situation, but none the less, comes up with the thought I want to go further here to pass on - " there are domesticated animals called "pets" Marisa, and there are wild animals that are and should be wild. " After what happened to me, I believe if you think about this and what others have written you will also agree that without amazing experience you might be trying to domesticate a wild animal? Is this a good idea? Even the zoos have trouble with this, and I am living(hopefully for a long time)proof of this. Please take care of the animal, yourself, and others who do not know if it's trouble for them.....it can be dangerous - and then you have to think, was it really worth it? Imagine if what happened to me had happened to the 4 year old boy? I'm old enough to have seen my children grown and happy, please take a check of all the responses, carefully....... really read them..thanks