More Good News from Primarily Primates
“A beehive of activity.” That’s the way the Primarily Primates’ staff describe the work going on today at the sanctuary.
Tractors moving dirt, equipment and supplies. Contractors welding metal bars. Electricians connecting new wires that will improve lighting and heat for the animals. Plumbers installing new pipes for high-pressure washers and to improve drainage. Work is going on in every part of the sanctuary. There are more than 30 projects underway or planned for the future. Here’s the latest news.
The aging squirrel monkey house has been torn down and rebuilt. This new area is higher and larger, and the sleeping quarters are more comfortable and roomy. A group of nine lemurs also have a new and larger grass-based outdoor enclosure with trees and shrubs and a new sleeping area that keeps them warm in the winter.
Two emus, Lizzie and Marilyn, also have a new home that is twice the size of their previous enclosure, and it’s much more private and quiet. Lizzie and Marilyn were victims of the ill-fated ranching trade in meat, hides and oil who were rescued by Primarily Primates many years ago.
The mountain lions, Jessie and James, also have a renovated two-sided space, and shade trees have been planted all over the sanctuary, including around the Air Force chimpanzee structures. The Air Force chimpanzees also have a new heating system that will keep them warm during even the coldest winter days. Ropes, tires, cargo nets, drums, climbing ladders, swings, and new perching structures have been installed in all of the primate living areas.
For native wild bird rehabilitation activities, a new intensive care area has been created which specifically addresses the unique needs of ill or injured birds. And a sarus crane, native to Asia, and two black crowned cranes, native to Africa, were released from their enclosed space and given access to the outdoor property and pond.
Installation of the new walk-in cooler is now complete as well as a new walk-in dry food unit, all of which will keep the animals’ large variety of foods clean and safe.
Primarily Primates’ veterinarian has been busy as well, performing vasectomies on tamarins, lemurs, cavies and capuchins. And many primate families, broken up during the receivership, have been reunited.
Coming up soon, the fox enclosure will be rebuilt, and the patas monkeys will have their indoor and outdoor housing improved and expanded. The serval living area will be renovated and many of the primate enclosures will get new lighting and paint. The building that houses tamarins and marmosets will be torn down and replaced with a larger and more advanced structure.
Since May 2007, when management of the sanctuary was returned to the former staff and a reformed board, Priscilla Feral has visited Primarily Primates every month. She also serves as President of Primarily Primates’ board. Together with Stephen Rene Tello, the Executive Director, Priscilla has been supervising new construction and renovation projects.
Friends of Animals has been generously helping Primarily Primates with financial assistance, but we can’t do it alone. Your help is needed now more than ever before. Besides the many sanctuary improvement projects that still remain, the electric bills skyrocket during the winter because all the animal sleeping areas need heating. You can help Friends of Animals by investing in the future of Primarily Primates.
You Can Help:
We hope you will consider making a year-end charitable gift to Primarily Primates.
You can mail your donation to Friends of Animals by using the enveloped inserted inside ActionLine, or make an online contribution at www.primarilyprimates.org. Your gift now will be put to work immediately helping to improve the lives of all of the animals living in the sanctuary.
