First, the WAO made it through its first freeze of the year, and sadly there were casualties. 1 Baboon, cause of death unknown died, and 5 macaques died (not from the freeze, but from fighting). The new director was very upset, but there was no way to know in advance the monkeys would start fighting when the temperature dipped below freezing.
The two animal caretakers at the second property did not report to the new director that there were two primate enclosures not set-up for heat. Since there was no run-off area, the workers were also unable to place straw in shelter boxes for the primates. Thankfully, none of the animals from these two cages died--truly a miracle. The workers were able to provide hay in several of the big cat and wolf-dog dens because the enclosures had no run-off areas! So while the animals at the touring facility had warm dens, the animals at the second site did not receive the same treatment, just cold hard ground. I know the new director was upset with this news. The lowest temperature (with wind chill factor included) dipped to the low teens. It was amazing more animals did not die.
This week, the director toured the second site and discovered that the baboon that died on a Friday, was still in the enclosure the following Tuesday, AND that there were still macaque blood and other fluids on the surgical table used by the vet when one of the mortally wounded primates was removed and euthanized by the facilities' new vet. The new vet toured the second site right after the first cold snap to check on the animals when she witnessed the macaque attack. The primate was injured so badly the vet did not believe it would survive the trip to the clinic for x-rays and surgery. The new director immediately cleaned the surgical table, for failure to do so would be in violation of the AWA (housekeeping issue).
The new director was hopping mad. She was upset to see the dead macaque still in the enclosure. It was ironic because just several days early we were discussing some of the crazy rules the former director taught the workers, like leaving dead non-human primate bodies in the enclosures for about a week before removing the body so the other non-human primates can "grieve" over the loss of their family member. Explains why there were non-human primate bones/skulls left in the enclosure. Something tells me the other primates may have eaten the primate remains after so much time passed. After all, they only received primarily dog food under the previous management, so this was probably the only meat they received throughout the year.
Also, the new vet was upset because Mona, a female chimpanzee, did not receive the required medicine to reduce the inflammation and swelling on her leg/foot. When asked by the vet and the new director, the senior animal caretakers said they did not know why they discontinued the medicine. So Mona's injury did not heal and she is still in pain. Needless to say, Mona is back on the medicine, no thanks to the senior animal caretaker.
The new director had a meeting with the two ladies and apparently they had a 'really good meeting.' The two workers apparently broke down, cried, and admitted what they learned under the old management was completely wrong and now they are having a difficult time adjusting to all the new rules and requirements. The new director explained that the focus should be on the animals and if they were not willing to do what was necessary to protect and care for the animals, then they would have to go. The two ladies also told the new director that a lot of pressure has been put on them because everyone comes to them with questions (gee I wonder why--are they not the Senior Animal Caretakers?). So instead of admitting they do not know all the answers and volunteer to reseach the problem, they have essentially been passing on bad information or just ignore the issue.
In my opinion, I think the new animal caretakers are coming in with great ideas, they search and learn on the Internet, and they are connecting with other professionals, and therefore the senior animal caretakers probably feel threatened by them--which explains why they said nothing about their concerns. I also think they knew their jobs were on the line and were confronted for the first time in a long time that they may lose their current employment. It is a scary time to lose a job right now because there are not a lot of jobs in their profession and breaking into a new profession at 40+ years of age can be very difficult.
I personally believe they are burned out and should have been let go long time ago and I say this despite the fact we used to be friends. From what I have been able to gather the senior animal caretakers do not take any initiative to research and implement changes to diet and care. When the water pipes froze at the second site, the two senior animal caretakers did not want to lug around water containers to fill up the animals' water bowls. Instead a male worker from the touring facility had to come out and water the animals. When it looked like the worker wasn't going to finish in time, the other animal caretakers from the touring property went out after hours to help him!
Despite all the past bad behaviors, the director elected to give them another chance, primarily because the chimpanzees have truly grown attached to the senior animal caretakers, and to remove them completely would upset the chimps. Instead, she elected to move the ladies to the touring facility, so they can correctly learn their positions. I've been told all the workers will be rotated so everyone will know how to work at both facilities.
As to the fighting macaque deaths--sadly, the former directors did not create run-off area or install walls to create separate areas for the primates. Instead, the former directors stuck a lot of primates inside the same enclosure and let them "duke it out." Macaques are very aggressive and if one starts a fight with another, that primate normally does not stop until the primate dies or becomes incapacitated. Also, other members of the group may join in on the beating. It is a horrible sight to see because there is nothing one can do to stop the fight.
So, the director is making plans to install run-off areas and install walls, so primates can hide from the group. Most of the trees died in the enclosure as the monkeys stripped the bark and leaves from the trees, so there is very little natural vegetation. Therefore, either man-made or purchased natural "vegetation" will need to be placed in the enclosure.
So from Thursday, January 7 - 10, the monkeys experienced their first freeze of the year. On the plus side, no big/little cat or wolves died from the freeze. Thankfully, the workers worked really hard installing heat for almost all the primates living at both sites, which probably explains why there were no deaths reported related to the cold weather. I also believe that lives were saved as the result of the primate and big cat diet change made in October, as it probably boosted their immune system.
Also, on the plus side, the new wolf enclosure at the touring facility is complete (and the wolves are already in their new home) and hopefully by next week the cougars will move out of the tiny enclosure (clearly not made for five cougars!). The new director wants to move the young cougar named Noel into the small enclosure next to the cougars. While I am not thrilled about the idea, it is probably better to move her next the cougars and take her away from the quarantine cage where she is surrounded by tigers. I've been told Noel is very distressed living around the tigers. Maybe, some day, she can be integrated with the surviving five cougars. If not, at least she will be close to her own kind.
More news to report, but for now, I think I shall take a break!
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