Two is not a troop, and after two-and-a-half years with just our duo, Chiquito and Lolita, I was getting discouraged. IF the reason we weren't getting spider monkeys was because none were being orphaned it would have been great, but the reality is that there just aren't many left in the wild. The population of spider monkeys in Costa Rica decreased 72% between 1995 and 2007 (Ronald Sanchez, UCR) and now, seven years later, they have been "upgraded" to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, which means they face an extremely high risk of extinction.
So, Paul and I are still in shock over this past week. On Friday the owner of another rehabilitation center brought us Anita, a 5 or 6-year-old female; and Pancita, a ten-month-old female. On Monday MINAET brought us a three-month-old female - tragically, orphaned near the Nicaraguan border when her mother was shot for meat. And on Thursday MINAET confiscated a 1 or 2-year-old female from an unlicensed facility, and we picked her up yesterday afternoon. All of them are the same subspecies as Chiquito and Lolita, Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi, except for the orphan Dorita, who we believe is Ateles geoffroyi ornatus. Dorita has five fingers on one hand (spider monkeys have four fingers and no thumb), a black tongue, and unusually long golden hair - so we'll have her DNA tested to confirm our suspicions (in which case we will eventually need a male of the same subspecies).
We have a full house now, with a real troop if introductions go well in the next few weeks, and we plan to add a series of exercise corridors as soon as weather permits.
We have a full house now, with a real troop if introductions go well in the next few weeks, and we plan to add a series of exercise corridors as soon as weather permits.
 ANITA |  PANCITA |  JUANITA |  DORITA |
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