Denied His Mother’s Love, Rescued Baby Monkey Finds the Companionship He Needs
March 14, 2015, LIMA, PERU: Baby woolly monkey Fausto has finally found the companionship he desperately needs and craves after being saved from the illegal pet trade in Peru. Torn from his mother, little Fausto is now in the care of Animal Defenders International (ADI). The organization has found the perfect companion for the infant primate in Panchita, an older female and the two bonded immediately. The pair have become inseparable and will soon be relocated to their new home in the Amazon.
Fausto was just 4 months old when he arrived at ADI’s rescue center near Peru’s capital city Lima after being rescued from a restaurant where he was used to entertain guests. As with any baby, he required round-the-clock attention and care. When ADI received news of another woolly monkey who had also been illegally trafficked and used in entertainment, the animal protection group seized the opportunity to help her.
When the mischievous and energetic Fausto was introduced to older and sweet-natured Panchita, the pair burst into joyful play, wrestling, tumbling and tickling one another, clearly delighted to be with someone of their own kind, understanding their language and sense of fun. ADI is now urgently seeking funds to relocate Fausto and Panchita to a location in their native rainforest home range, where they could return to the wild.
Woolly monkeys are threatened in the wild. Like all primate species, they are highly social and intelligent, and typically live in the wild in undisturbed forest habitats in large groups. Babies like Fausto would be fed by their mother for up to a year. ADI is working to take Fausto and Panchita to a new home where they can live with other woolly monkeys.
ADI President Jan Creamer said “It is magical to see Fausto and Panchita together, enjoying the company of their own kind with a bright future ahead of them. We have saved more than 20 other monkeys from circuses and the illegal pet trade and ADI is building new homes for all of them. Giving just ten dollars will help Fausto, Panchita and the others get to the forest where they belong.”
Please donate to help ADI build Fausto and Panchita a new home in the jungle: http://www.ad-international.org/JungleAppealUS
As part of its groundbreaking rescue mission ‘Operation Spirit of Freedom’, ADI has been assisting the Peruvian authorities to enforce the country’s ban on wild animals in circuses and has taken in many animals like Fausto and Panchita who have been seized from the illegal pet trade. The organization is caring for 24 lions, 33 monkeys and many other native wild animals at its temporary rescue center. ADI will be relocating all of the animals to permanent homes in the coming weeks including over 30 lions from circuses in Peru and Colombia who will take the Spirit of Freedom Flight to their vast sanctuary habitats in the US.
Fausto, Panchita and all of the native wild animals rescued during the rescue mission will be relocated to sanctuaries in the Peruvian rainforest where ADI is constructing jungle habitats that will become their homes, and some will get the chance to be released into protected wild areas.
Find out more about ADI’s Operation Spirit of Freedom rescue http://www.ad-international.org/SpiritofFreedom
Peru’s ban on wild animals in circuses was passed in 2012 after a successful campaign by ADI and local animal protection groups, and following a two-year undercover investigation by ADI which revealed widespread suffering of circus animals across South America. The shocking exposé led to calls for action and subsequent nationwide bans in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and El Salvador.
ADI estimates that construction of all the habitats for the indigenous wildlife, their care while they are constructed, and the cost to relocate the animals, will require $60-80,000 – and possibly more because of the diversity of species. Approximately $200,000 is needed for the relocation of the lions from Peru and Colombia.
National restrictions on performing animals in travelling circuses, either wild, all animals, or in a handful of cases specific species have been enacted in 30 countries – Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Malta, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Taiwan, The Netherlands. Similar laws are under discussion in the UK, USA, Brazil and Chile.
Animal Defenders International
With offices in Los Angeles, London and Bogota, ADI campaigns across the globe on animals in entertainment, providing technical advice to governments, securing progressive animal protection legislation, drafting regulations and rescuing animals in distress. ADI has a worldwide reputation for providing video and photographic evidence exposing the behind-the-scenes suffering in industry and supporting this evidence with scientific research on captive wildlife and transport. ADI rescues animals all over the world, educates the public on animals and environmental issues. www.ad-international.org
