|
Back to Archives
May 28, 2004
Dear
Friends of Jungle Friends,
New
Monkey Arrivals: Jungle Friends is expecting two capuchins
to arrive this evening, May 28. Puchi, a brown capuchin estimated
to be over 20 years old, was found running loose on the streets
of Chicago, and Stinky, a 10-year-old white-faced capuchin, was
a cast off from the exotic pet trade. They were originally rescued
by World Wildlife Kingdom in Cherry Valley, Illinois. Unfortunately,
WWK is in financial ruin due to improper business practices by
the founder, who was forced to resign. All of the animals needed
to be placed immediately. The staff of WWK are driving these two
capuchins to Jungle Friends. They are bringing supplies and materials,
and will be staying on-site for several days to build temporary
enclosures for Puchi and Stinky.
Animal
Rescue TV Show: Animal
Rescue is covering the entire Udi Story. The show will air
in September and Udi’s Story will be the first episode of the
season so be sure to watch.
Our
Race Car Heroes: A very special monkeys’ thanks to the world
of racing! Willy Evernham, the 14 year-old nephew of legendary
Ray Evernham, has a Jungle Friends decal on his race car and will
be racing for Udi Saturdays at the Hickory Motor Speedway in North
Carolina. Other drivers, sponsors and fans are getting on board
too… check Our Race Car Heroes section
to learn more.
Udi
Update: Last Monday, May 24, we took Udi to see Dr. Herd at
the University of Florida Veterinary School for a complete physical
to learn why this little guy was so tiny and could not walk. Little
Udi’s radiographs show that he has severe metabolic bone disease;
all of his bones are soft. Udi’s legs are bowed and he has some
disease in the joints and a small problem with his wrists. Unfortunately,
the disease has also affected Udi’s teeth and gums; he has a terrible
overbite and may need corrective dental surgery in the future.
Udi weighs only 4 pounds, and he should weigh 2-3 times that.
Udi’s stunted growth and bone disease is from malnutrition, a
deficiency of calcium and vitamin D, due to poor diet and lack
of sunlight. Well, the poor baby is in much worse shape that we
had originally suspected - we hope that with the right diet, exercise
and plenty of sunshine, Udi will be able to fully recover, especially
since he is so young. Udi is quite the trooper, and such a sweetie,
he has stolen everyone’s heart.
Dr.
Herd strongly recommends lots of exercise for Udi, but has cautioned
us about an introduction with our three adult spider monkeys until
he is stronger and puts on some weight. It may be quite a while
before Udi can be socialized with the other monkeys, so we desperately
need to finish his habitat; unfortunately, we are having trouble
with funding for this project. To date we have accumulated $1985
and have pledges for another $135. We are lacking $2880 and Udi
is in need of sponsors. You can Sponsor Udi
from his link on the website. Udi has also been painting and is
quite talented; the monkey photo art makes a great gift and is
available for a donation of only $40. I hope that you can help
us - please make a donation for Udi today!
Lots
of monkey love,
Kari and the monks
|