Last week I was provided a copy of Jake, the white-crowned mangaby’s necropsy report, so I could see for myself what happened to the animal I fought so hard for the last 3.5 years.
A little history – I first notified the USDA/APHIS of Jake’s situation back in 2006. When Jake arrived in 2005, he was placed in a large natural enclosure for the media’s benefit. For about two months, Jake got to play in a large enclosure which contained toys and fun enrichment obstacles.
Then one day, Jake was moved behind the old falling down “clinic” building into a very small squeeze back cage. He had no toys, no blanket, no straw – nothing to keep him warm during the cold winter days. Meanwhile, his former enclosure remained empty until it was finally dismantled months later.
Jake was not alone in the squeeze-back cages—he lived in just one of the several cages located in the “quarantine” area. I later learned, all the rhesus macaques and capuchins, which lived with Jake for a couple of months, died in their tiny squeeze-back cages. Jake survived only because I raised the alarm he was in danger to the board of directors. The day before the so-called emergency board meeting, January 7, 2006, Jake was moved from the squeeze-back cage and placed into another enclosure next to the patas monkeys. I have no doubt he was moved because the former pseudo-directors believed the media would be accompanying me to the meeting so as to check out his present health condition. Ironically, this move probably saved Jake’s life that year.
After living next to the patas for several months, Jake up and disappeared—allegedly taken to the unregulated property. After some investigation, I learned Jake was living for about 2 years in a transporter cage located in metal warehouse at the unregulated property. I was told Jake rarely received any sunlight as he was virtually forgotten in the warehouse. I tried to get the USDA/APHIS to do something—anything to save Jake’s life, but was told there was nothing they could do to help him. As long as he was provided adequate food, water, and shelter, there was nothing the inspector could do to help him. When the inspector visited Jake, the workers wheeled him outside so it appeared he was getting sunlight, and then when the inspector left, I was told Jake was wheeled back into the warehouse.
Meanwhile, I continued to receive reports that Jake was losing a lot of weight and was not looking too good. Several months before the ousting of the former directors, Jake was finally moved into a new enclosure. The USDA/APHIS inspector reported in the summer of 2009 he was living in this new enclosure which was located near other monkeys, so he wouldn’t be so alone anymore.
After the new director took over the sanctuary, fresh fruits and vegetables, plus monkey chow was given to the primates in the hopes of improving their health condition. Over the last several years a lot of monkeys died and something needed to be done to save the surviving animals. Sadly, by this time, it was too late for Jake.
I am going to paste several portions of the necropsy report into this blog. My intention is not to embarrass the new director, but merely show what happened to one animal that did not receive proper care and attention. When he left the regulated property, Jake looked okay, but after a few years living at the unregulated property, Jake turned into a living skeleton. The workers should have noticed his declining health condition, but because he was just “one” monkey, he did not receive the kind of attention he should have. In my opinion, the workers caring for Jake should have been fired as they contributed to his declining health and then allegedly lied about when his actual symptoms were noticeable (the workers reported to the new directors symptoms were noticeable a couple of days prior to death, but then told the vet that the symptom were noticed about a week prior to his death). After all, how can you trust animal caretakers to care of one animal or several hundred animals, if they lie to their boss regarding their health condition?
Sadly, Jake’s immune system was comprised, no doubt from the treatment he received while living at the unregulated property. By the time the symptoms were reported, it was too late for Jake. What saddens me is that Jake died alone, outside in his cage. I just pray he did not suffer and he deserved so much better than what he received.
Jake looked fine while on tour back in 2005 and early 2006, but a picture taken a couple of months prior to his death showed how much he had changed while living at the unregulated property. How could the workers not see how much weight he lost? How could they have missed the inflammation/infection under his armpits? When his eyes sunk in, wasn’t that a sign to the workers that Jake was near death? It is my opinion the workers were negligent, which goes towards a pattern (some may even call abuse) documented over the last few years.
Yesterday, I learned a chimp named Sue, a baboon, and a lemur are displaying symptoms of upper respiratory infection. The animals were seen by a vet yesterday, and medication was dispensed.
The vet witnessed the same two animal caretakers as referenced above preparing the animals’ food without wearing gloves. This is a big no-no since germs and bacteria can be spread and infect all the animals at the same time. This upsets me greatly as it goes to show the workers have no desire to ensure the health and well-being of the animals are protected from further health contamination.
I also learned a couple of days ago a non-human primate skull was found in one of the enclosures. When the animal caretakers were asked about the skull, they said yes, they knew about the primate that died in the enclosure. No explanation was provided--just that they were aware that a monkey died in the enclosure and that they never pulled it out!
Truly, the new director has her hands full with the two long-time employed animal caretakers at the second site. I just pray the workers learn from their past mistakes and do something to help the animals.
Anyhoo, here are portions of the necropsy report and an explanation of some of the medical jargon used:
Gross Findings:
External Appearance: Body condition thin; the vertebral column and hips are too prominent. A body conditioning score of 2/5 was assigned. The pelage is in excellent condition. The skin is deeply erythemic in the left axilla, the color extending distally to include the medial surface of the left upper arm. Ecchymoses are present in the skin along the cranial surface of both thighs. A small degree of livor mortis was present on the right medial upper arm.
Definitions from on-line dictionary:
Erythemic in the left axilla : Redness of the skin caused by dilatation and congestion
of the capillaries, often a sign of inflammation or infection in the
armpit.
Ecchymoses : The passage of blood from ruptured blood vessels into subcutaneous tissue, marked by a purple discoloration of the skin.
Livor mortis: Malignity mortis
A body conditioning score of 1 = emaciated
A body conditioning score of 2 = dangerously thin
Skin: Ecchymoses are present along the left lateral surface.
Pleura: An adhesions is present between the right pleural surface at the fifth rib and the right middle lung lobe. Three adhesions are present between the pleural surface, the pericardium and the right cranial lung lobe. Excessive pleural fluid is present; the character of the fluid is bloody. The amount was not quantified but was characterized as moderate.
Pericardium: NSL, excepting the adhesion mentioned above.
Heart: NSL
Lungs: All lung lobes are diffusely affected. The lobes were overall deep red in color and bleed readily on cut surface. The bronchi and bronchioles are filled with blood which has a mild purulent quality to it. There are white foci ranging in size from pinpoint to 2-3 mm diameter present in all the lobes. The pinpoint foci often assume a linear to archiform pattern, not unlike an archipeligo in appearance. The larger foci are singular and diffusely scattered. The linear to archiform foci are visible only on the caudal surface of the lobes. The larger singular foci are visible on the cranial and caudal lung surfaces. The left diaphragmatic lobe contains a large centrally located area which appeared red-gray in color. When incised, this area appears to have little normal architecture left and was filled with the blood with the mildly purulent quality. There is no caseous material present or firm areas suggesting granulomas.
Trachea: The blood in the trachea is abundant and more purulent in quality at the carina than at the larynx. The carina is almost completely filled with blood of this character.
Esophagus: The serosal surface appears normal; the mucosal surface was not examined.
Vessels: NSL
Lymph nodes: The bronchial nodes appear normal to slightly increased in size but of normal character. The hilar lymph nodes are markedly enlarged and are filled with creamy exudate.
Definitions from on-line dictionary:
Pleura adhesions: Pleura - A thin serous membrane in mammals that envelops each lung and folds back to make a lining for the chest cavity.
a. A condition in which bodily tissues that are normally separate grow together.
b. A fibrous band of scar tissue that binds together normally separate anatomical structures.
Purulent quality: Containing, discharging, or causing the production of pus.
Foci (pl): The region of a localized bodily infection or disease.
Carina: In anatomy, the carina is a cartilaginous ridge within the trachea that runs anteroposteriorly between the two primary bronchi at the site of the tracheal bifurcation at the inferior end of the trachea.
Hilar lymph nodes: In human anatomy, the hilum is part of an organ where structures such as blood vessels and nerves enter.
Exudate: Pus is an example of exudate found in infected wounds that also includes bacteria and high concentrations of white blood cells. Clear blister fluid is an example of an exudate that contains water (and solutes) together with some plasma proteins, but not many blood cells.
ADDENDUM (December 3, 2009)
The diagnosis is severe necrohemorrhagic pneumonia and necrotizing lymphadenitis caused by one of the zygomycotic fungi. The lungs and the draining lymph node were severely affected. Without a culture, the exact identification of the fungal will not be possible but it is a member of a group of environmental fungi which opportunistically invade immuno-compromised individuals, both human and animal. Most who are exposed to this fungus are able to resist disease even if moderately immuno-compromised. Jake had the most severe mycotic pneumonia ever seen by the pathologist and would most like been severely immuno-compromised. The cause for him being immuno-compromised is unknown but may have been viral. There are viruses which cause immune suppression in nonhuman primates, two of which are the two type D oncornaviruses (simian retrovirus D1 and D2) which may cause an immunodeficiency predisposing to a complex of diseases including fibromatosis, atypical mycobacteriosis, intestinal cryptosporidiosis, pneumocystic pneumonia, disseminated cytomegalovirus infection, and candidiasis in colonies of macaques, African green monkeys, and sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys ). Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a lentivirus related to HIV-1 and HIV-2 in humans is also an immunosuppressive virus.
The pulmonary hemorrhage was acute and would have occurred in the last 2-3 days prior to Jake's death. His clinical signs would have been very noticeable at that point. Prior to that, he would have been coughing intermittantly and would not have had a change in appetite or mentation. However, an observant caregiver would have seen the clinical signs (coughing). The clinical course would have been slow and insidious.
There was significant autolysis in the tissue examined, which caused the fungal hyphae to be brought to the surface; the fungus would not have continued to grow post mortem.
This case illustrates the need for close and careful observation of wild animals due to their instinctive nature of hiding illnesses and injury as a means of survival. Any chance for response to treatment would have necessitated early intervention in this case. It is my opinion that treatment more than likely would not have been effective in this case due to the presence of immune suppression.
Dr. Clayton Robison of the Tuberculosis Surveillance Program with the USDA was informed by the NSVL and me of the laboratory results. He, in turn, forwarded the information to [USDA/APHIS investigator].
Christmas Eve brought some news - 
