I couldn’t close this series of log entries without more photos and info on some of the animals, so here goes.

Geoffroy’s Tamarin

These cute little monkey’s (not much bigger than your hand) look like Gremlins!! John likes to have his tummy scratched, so stretches out across the fence and pushes his tummy against the fence.  They’re in danger of becoming endangered, mainly because of habitat loss. The first Tamarin rescue was John, a 2 year old male. He was rescued from Darien by a doctor working there and was raised by the doctor’s mother. Sadly one of her other monkeys was stoned to death by a neighbours children, so she sent John to Paradise Gardens for safety. Pretty soon after his arrival there was another arrival. A baby called Limpet. It was common practice to kill the mother in the forest so that you could keep the baby as a pet. So a breeding program was started to try and stop this practice.

Squirrel Monkey

Bengy arrived at Paradise Gardens, when his owner had a baby and thought it safer to have the monkey adopted. He was used to being on a lead, but loves human company and will sit on your shoulder and hold onto your arm like branch.

Margay

Lottie was rescued after one of the local boys working on the butterfly house in 2006, told us of an animal that needed help. She had been taken from the forest when she was a month old. When she grew big teeth and claws they decided to make a cage for her. It was 2’ x 4’ with a wire floor so they didn’t have to clean it out. There was no bedding and no easy access. Because the children had lost interest in her, she was put to the back of a dark chicken shed and left. So she got no sunlight.

When she was brought to Paradise Gardens she had a kink in her tail from living in the cage for 9 months, she still has the kink. Her muscles were so weak she needed massage and physio.

We had been told she was an Ocelot, but upon further investigation we found out she was a Margay, so the enclosure we had built, was re-designed to better suit her.  She is truly beautiful and spends most of her days lazing in the sun.