By Madeline Krasno | Project Leader
We have some exciting (and adorable) news to share with you! Thanks to your ongoing support and generosity, we’ve been hard at work preparing the last three enclosures for their new residents. In the meantime, a few weeks ago, the Israeli Primate Sanctuary Foundation (IPSF) was notified of a baby vervet monkey that was being advertised on Facebook as a pet for sale; the asking price was over $5,000. It is illegal to privately own a monkey in Israel, so authorities took it upon themselves to pose as prospective buyers of the young monkey and catch the sellers in the act. An enormous thanks to the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority, especially Mr. Ori Lineal, Head of Wildlife Trade & Maintenance Supervision Unit, Law Enforcement Division, who became aware of the situation and filed a complaint with the local police, prompting an investigation. The diligence of the Israeli Authorities in seizing this sweet little girl has given her a second chance at life and sent a very important message to individuals looking to profit off of these intelligent, wild animals.
We were heartbroken to learn that, during the set-up, the sellers had remarked that the young monkey did not like to be hit. No animal deserves this abuse and, thankfully, this baby will never experience such harm ever again.
The young monkey arrived at IPSF with a small dog collar still around her waist, where she was likely leashed in the seller’s home when she was not being kept in a tiny, cramped cage. After being transferred to a temporary quarantine enclosure in the Sanctuary’s hospital space, the monkey immediately began munching on leaves and banana, busily exploring her surroundings. Once she has passed all of her health checks, we will introduce her to a monkey family of her own. Though we can never erase the certain trauma this young monkey felt being seized as an infant from her mother to be sold illegally as pet, we are hopeful that she will be in the good company of her own kind very soon.
Remember the vervet monkeys rehomed from the Gaza zoo late last year? It turns out that this young monkey is the same age as the baby, Amir, that was born to one of the rescued females. We are hopeful that we can introduce this little female to the Gaza monkeys so that the two babies may become siblings, playmates, and lifelong friends.
This new baby, along with the vervets rehomed from Gaza, will benefit from the habitats that your donations are helping us complete!
What else is happening? Beginning at 9:00 AM ET on April 3, 2017 and ending at 12:00 AM ET on April 7, 2017, Global Giving is hosting the “Little by Little” campaign, a campaign whose purpose is to demonstrate how far donations can go, no matter how small. There are $50,000 worth of matching funds, and donations of up to $50 will be matched at 50% until these matching funds have run out! Moreover, there are bonus funds awarded to fundraisers who raise at least $3,000 during the campaign, and new, reoccurring monthly donations will be matched at up to 200%!
We simply could not do this lifesaving work without you! Stay tuned for more updates on this sweet little girl (name to come!) who, with your help, will soon be romping around with a monkey family of her own in a state-of-the art enclosure!
If you haven't already, follow IPSF on Facebook for more updates on the rest of the Sanctuary's monkeys!
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