The one that likes monkeys…and understands them

The one that likes monkeys…and understands them
2011.05.23.

Everybody asked us about Linda, our new Collar baboon (Papio hamadryas, or Papio hamadryas hamadryas) female, when we showed her to the public. For example why?, how?, when?, with whom? etc.
Naturally, it was not unexpectedly for us. We went through the same process a few weeks or months ago. That time when Linda arrived from her family we asked the same questions about her housing.
We had some basic questions such as what does she eat, what and how big place she needs, how long does she live? We also asked that why to us or why she cannot go to the zoo? How should we keep her and how should we deal her place to be comfortable and exciting enough. What can we do to her not to feel alone and having a beautiful, happy and long life.
We could make a responsible decision about this project just after speaking with a specialist. So our first step was to search for a specialist who can help us and Linda with his knowledge and experience from the first moments.

It was a real luck to find the best person by our visit in the Zoo in Jászberény. He is Tibor Tóth who takes care of the animals in Zoo Jászberény and he is also a zoopedagogist. When we visited the Zoo, which is beautiful and you can see that everything is about animals and the love of them, we asked the first person what to do and he offered us Tibor Tóth (28). Despite the fact he is so young he’s got huge experience in taking care of primates. In is former workplace (the Zoo Veszprém) he worked with baboons as well and he takes care of primates here in Jászberény too.

So we asked him some questions.

How come that the owners of Linda would give her to a zoo or to a wildlife park but nobody can accommodate her?

It wasn’t surprising for Tibor. There are so many baboons in the zoo, not just in Hungary but all over Europe and it’s true all over the world. This is the outcome of banning animal testing. Those laboratory that work with animal testing use thousands of monkeys, most of them are collar baboons who find homes in the zoo. In these institutes in most cases monkeys live in a colony where the number of them is above one hundred. So it is impossible to integrate a newcomer.

If she cannot live with her mates won’t she be lonely?

Since her childhood she is living alone or with her mankind family. She used to live in a team, for e.g. with the dog and cat of the family and naturally the family took care of her. This can’t substitute her species mates totally, but she can live in happiness with the needed caretaking.
When she moves to NOÉ Állatotthon (shelters) she won’t be alone. There will be so many people and animals as well. Rather we should take care about her, because she will meet so many new stimulus. We have to be gradual.
First and foremost she should get to know her new place. First of all she has to trust in the people who look after her and she should feel her place as a home. As soon as we see that she is prepared for a new mate, she would live with a dog. Tibor says that this story will encourage people for asking for help in some same situation. But this just in the future.

What kind of and how big place she needs?

Now she is living in a tiny place, so we think it doesn’t matter what kind of place she gets. The only thing that it should be a bit bigger. Naturally we’d like to build a habitat for her which is comfortable and she gets all the welfare she needs. She will get a comfortable, covered and heated room and a 50 square meter yard. We design the equipment based on Tibor’s experience. The most important aspect is the safety of Linda and the visitors as well. We should set up her environment as she can’t damage herself and other things. We have some special techniques that we take into account by planning.
As Tibor plans it, there will be some fixed games, ropes, some billets where Linda can climb. We also would surprise her from time to time. Experience has shown that they love everything what is in connection with people for example clothes. Their favorites are gloves.

My first step is to persuade her to climb. She should be a real monkey again!

What does a collar baboon eat? How long do they live?

They love every kind of fruits and vegetables but they also need some animal protein as well. Her owner says she loves kiwi, orange, apple and sweet potato.

Linda is 13 years old now. Thank for her stimulus-poor and sedentary life she is overweight. So we have the last chance now to change this. If she does more and more exercise gradually she can live for 30 years as an average captive collar baboon.

Her fooding needs attention and we have to plan everything in advance. That’s why we would like to ask our visitors to give all the food to the keepers and they decide when Linda can get it.

Naturally, nothing is better than a little fun. That’s why we would teach Linda to do some tricks and motivate for some games. Tibor is planning the tricks already. With the help of these games she can learn, do some exercises and have fun at the same time.

How hard the change will be for her?

Baboons are intelligent so big changes are hard for them. Her new home is not just new but also much bigger than she used to it. Suddenly changing world is hide happiness and fears as well. We should plan everything in advance to help her in tough times.
Probably she is going to use just her smaller closed room in the first days. Our plans are to show her here those new things she has never met before but these thing will be a part of her everyday life in the future. Here in this protected area will she met with her new keepers as well. As Tibor’s experiences show, for primates use sex selection and they adopt much easier an opposite sex keeper.
Fortunately Linda’s former owner lives close to the Pet home so he tries to help us as much as he can in the first few months.

You can also ask Tibor! Please send an e-mail to pr@noeallatotthon.hu or ask on Linda’s facebook site: www.facebook.com/Lindaegyujkezdet.

Please send us some money to help in the building of Linda’s new home.
Our bank account:
11710002-20083777

If you send us money from abroad:

IBAN: HU62 1171 0002 2008 3777 0000 0000
SWIFT (BIC): OTPV-HU-HB
OTP Bank / Budapest, 1102 Kőrösi Csoma sétány 6.

Please write in the communication box: Linda

You can read ont he preparation, the building process, the moveing and the everyday life of Linda on her facebook site: www.facebook.com/Lindaegyujkezdet . As we plan Linda is going to move her place during this summer.

For us it’s just 1-2 thousand forints but for Linda, it’s her life!

This video was made by Natália Meister.