Carlos Salas from MINAET writes in my Libro de Bitacora.
Today was Friday the 13th and the third "anniversary" of my fortuitous encounter with David Peiro [see the Friday the 13th of January entry]. So it seemed appropriate that we received an unannounced inspection from MINAET (Ministerio del Ambiente, Energia y Telecomunicaciones) - their first visit since the monkeys arrived. Chiquito was entertaining and a willing photographic subject, and appeared to find Carlos Salas and Jose Montero good company. Chiquito likes men. But he's been indifferent or aggressive toward women for the past month - twice grabbing and yanking long hair that was within his reach - and in fact came to us because he had started biting his first human surrogate mother.
Although the subject of sexual preference with regard to humans is only mentioned briefly in Spider Monkeys; Behavior, Ecology and Evolution of the Genus Ateles ed. by Christina J. Campbell, it supports Chiquito's behavior. "The keeping of monkeys as pets among indigenus peoples is commonly observed. In the Amazonian city of Iquitos in lowland Peru, many locals believe that spider monkeys behave differently toward women than to men (D. Urdaneta, personal communication)."
Chiquito has showed me his teeth three times - once when I wouldn't let him take the empty plastic syringe after giving him medication orally in applesauce, and twice when I wouldn't let him pull the nipple off a baby bottle with his teeth - but fortunately there was chainlink between us each time. I need to reprogram myself to distract him or offer a desirable substitute.
Although the subject of sexual preference with regard to humans is only mentioned briefly in Spider Monkeys; Behavior, Ecology and Evolution of the Genus Ateles ed. by Christina J. Campbell, it supports Chiquito's behavior. "The keeping of monkeys as pets among indigenus peoples is commonly observed. In the Amazonian city of Iquitos in lowland Peru, many locals believe that spider monkeys behave differently toward women than to men (D. Urdaneta, personal communication)."
Chiquito has showed me his teeth three times - once when I wouldn't let him take the empty plastic syringe after giving him medication orally in applesauce, and twice when I wouldn't let him pull the nipple off a baby bottle with his teeth - but fortunately there was chainlink between us each time. I need to reprogram myself to distract him or offer a desirable substitute.
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