Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary

Jungle Friends Activities

Primate Rescue and Rehabilitation

Jungle Friends rescues and houses or finds placement for primates in need of help from across the country. Those that we house at the sanctuary are all New World monkeys, species native to Central and South America who have been imported or bred in captivity. The majority of our monkeys are either cast-offs of the exotic pet trade or retired from laboratory research. Many of our residents arrive with psychological and physical problems as a result of being isolated, neglected, malnourished, or abused.

The primary goal of our organization is to rehabilitate our monkeys medically and psychologically and ultimately socialize them with members of their own species. Through our unique primate housing system and socialization procedures, Jungle Friends has successfully integrated our monkeys into groups of varying sizes who live in heavily enriched, spacious indoor/outdoor habitats.

Outreach and Education

Jungle Friends, while formed to rescue monkeys, has developed into a community educational resource. We offer PowerPoint presentations and our Almost Wild video to groups, clubs, conferences, festivals, schools, etc.

Jungle Friends’ outreach program teaches how to be better caretakers of our Earth and all its inhabitants. We are dedicated to dynamic harmlessness, animal welfare issues and advocacy for primate protection.

In our presentation we show the monkeys upon arrival or where they came from and how they flourish here at Jungle Friends. We bring awareness to the problem with the ever-exploding trade in wild and exotic animals and make clear that wild animals are not ‘pets’, not domesticated, and should be free to live in the wild with their natural families. People learn to take more responsibility in their relationship with the world and all its inhabitants.

In addition to education, Jungle Friends also participates in advocacy campaigns to improve the lives of all animals in captivity, as well as our local wildlife. There are a number of bills in process in both Congress and Senate that would improve the lives of animals in homes, labs and zoos. Take a look at our current campaigns here.

Internship Program and New Sanctuary Assistance

Jungle Friends offers internships from eight weeks up to one year. Interns come from all over the U.S. and around the world to learn about primate care and sanctuary operations. Interns participate in daily animal care to gain hands-on experience in all aspects of caring for captive primates. Subject areas include proper interaction with primates, environmental enrichment, nutrition and feeding, enclosure cleaning, habitat building and maintenance, restraint and capture procedures, and socialization techniques. Interns learn specifics of natural and unnatural primate behavior and needs, how to interpret vocalizations, expressions and behaviors, and how to use this knowledge to ensure the well-being of their charges.

For those interested in working at or founding a sanctuary we offer the opportunity to participate in and learn the business side of running a non-profit organization, including fundraising, grant writing, donor and financial recordkeeping. Some of our past interns have established animal sanctuaries and others are working toward that goal. We have also had the opportunity to provide both mentoring and some material assistance for several newly established sanctuaries.