Gilberto

Iron0nically, one of the best monkeys I’ve ever worked with was also one of the worst behaved monkey’s I’ve ever known. It was a good thing that by the time I met Gilberto I was already well experienced in handling and interacting with his species because not only was he a handful, he was also quite dangerous. This juvenile woolly would bite, attack and chase me. He’d get a running start and then bounce up with such power, grabbing my hair and using my thick, curly strands to suspend himself in the air before bringing me to my knees. At first I found him to be pretty annoying and very destructive. Having worked with him during the peak of the pandemic I entered his “monkey island” for the first time still carrying the necessary-for-travel face shield in my hands. That was until he gave me a warm welcoming by snatching it away from me and snapping it in half. He also ripped all my clothes that I had brought out there with me, and made sure to do it right in front of other people every time, placing me at the pillar of humiliation as the men who worked there laughed and shared jokes in jungle slang I could not understand.

Despite all the trauma that came with working with Gilberto, I quickly developed a unique fondness of him. I believe trying to understand the misunderstood is a crucial element in wildlife conservation and animal welfare. We have to speak for the unspoken, which means we must step outside of our immediate feelings, we must dismiss our initial thoughts and we must dig deep.

Most people on the island were not big fans of Gilberto. Not only did he harass the people who lived and worked there, he’d also tease and bully the other monkeys, especially the younger ones. But, where did Gilberto come from? What was his story and how did he end up on the island of “misfit monkeys”? I came to discover that Gilberto, like most rescued primates, was a victim of wildlife trafficking and was quickly surrendered to the sanctuary after being sold. With no assigned surrogate, Gilberto just so happened to be adopted by a monkey not of his own kind, but a spider monkey. For those of you who don’t know, spider monkeys are very different from woollys. They are larger and faster, truly using their tails as a fifth limb. They communicate differently compared to woollys and do not have opposable thumbs.

One afternoon, in an effort to keep up with his adoptive “parent” an inexperienced Gilberto tried to quickly climb a large tree but fell to the ground once near the top. This resulted in him losing two bottom incisors and spending some time in a local clinic. Eventually, the spider monkeys of the island were relocated and Gilberto was left with his own kind as well as Howler monkeys, Tamarins, and Dusky Titi monkeys. Combine this complicated upbringing with the fact he was the only sexually maturing free-range male on the property and of course he’d have some “issues” getting along with others.

I found Gilberto to be very smart. He knew who he could mess with and he knew who was afraid of him. Fear of him only made him more bold and attempting to “discipline” or isolate him only made him more angry. Gilberto responded better to a combination of assertiveness and kindness. I started building a friendship with Gilberto. I noticed he really liked the red berries on a large nearby bush. Most of it, however, was hanging over a large body of water (and woollys do not swim, at all). So I’d carry him on my back and walk through the water as he’d reach for and munch on the wild fruits. After engaging in this activity with Gilberto frequently, respect between the two of us was established. When Gilberto would reach moments of temper tantrums, I’d simply ignore him and would not give into inflicted pain or my own frustrations.

Gilberto’s fate remains uncertain, and no longer being on the island myself, I worry about his current circumstances. It was clear the island was not yet able to support a mature free roaming male as there will be far too many instances of aggression and fighting both towards the caretakers and other monkeys. I hope he has not gone into isolation like three other monkeys who were living at the sanctuary at the time. Hopefully, he has been relocated to a different facility that can properly rehabilitate Gilberto as he grows. This situation, like many, highlights the potential pitfalls in wildlife rehabilitation in countries like Peru. A male like Gilberto could provide so much for his species in the wild. Even so much as one individual rehabilitated unsuccessfully is one too many when you consider the species as a whole. It is so important to keep this in mind.