The Centre  started in the year 1994 with the arrival of Cristóbal, a male baby Lagothrix lagothricha  of 8 months old. We took care of him and we started looking for other damaged monkeys and we realised there were many in Chile that had been bought as pets (even it is illegal). We saw the need to fight the pet trade and we decided to start a Centre of Rescue and Rehabilitation of Woolly Monkeys.

The last few years in Chile people is having more money, so the pet trade has been increased. That is why we decided to start receiving some other species too.

PURPOSES:

 -        Fight the illegal pet trade

-         Educate people about care and preservation of primates.

-         Rehabilitate physically and psychologically the confiscated primates.

-         Rescue primates from circuses, private owners and others to live in a colony.

-         Contact other International Institutions that has the same interest than the Centre.

-         Return to the Amazon all the primates that are in conditions to do it..

-         Promote the modernisation of the animal protection Laws. 

CURRENT POPULATION: 

Currently we have 54 monkeys of 7 different species:

13 Lagothrix lagothricha  ( 18 months - 9 years old ):

-          1 adult male: Johnny ( leader of the group ),
-         2 sub-adult male: Cristóbal and Nico,
-         3 young male: Pulito, Fernando and Felipe,
-         2 baby male: Yeye and Figu,
-         1 adult female: Beatriz (leader of the female)
-         2 sub adult female: Javiera Pilar and Javiera Andrea,
-         1 young female: Pilila.
-         1 baby female (1 month)Porota

6 Ateles paniscus  ( 1 - 5 years old ):

-         3 sub adult female : Abril, mayo and Junio

-         1 young male: Antonio,

-         2 baby: male, Mellizo. Female, Melliza

 7 Saimiri sciureus, ( 3 months - 9 years old ):

-         2 female : Kika and Enriqueta,

-         4 male : Kiko, Viejito, Niñito and Toño

-         1 baby : Yoshi (3 month)

2 Alouatta caraya , 1 - 4 years old

-         1 male, Esperanzo.
-         1 female, Esperanza

 22 Cebus apella, 6 months - 10 years old:

-         8 female,
-         14 male.

3 Cebus albifrons, 2 - 5 years old:

-         3 female, Camila , Princesa and Francisca

1 Saguinus mystax,

-  1 Female, Jacobita

AVERAGE AGE: 4.5

RANGE: 1 month - 10 years old

AMOUNT OF MALE: 30

AMOUNT OF FEMALE: 24

PRESENT: 54 monkeys (46 are in the Centre and 8 have been derivated to our

Quarantine Centre in the city of Malloco (8 km. from the Centre).

CAPACITY:  55 in the Centre, 15 in the Quarantine Centre

GOVERNMENT/PRIVATE: The Centre is Private, with the Government authorisation (Resolution Nº 1.045, of 1996 to work as a Centre of rescue, and as a Centre of Rehabilitation in march of 1998). Currently asking for Personalidad Juridica, which means that the Centre solicitate the President of the Republic through the Ministery of Justice, the permission to be a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO). The Centre is financed with money from our family, and we are not currently receiving any funds, excepting a valuable donation from the IPPL consisting of US$1.000. With that money we built an enclosure for the Ateles monkeys, connected to one of the woolies. At this point, Ateles and Lagothrix can go freely from one enclosure to the other, since the young from both species won´t separate. We also thank the help given by a friend of us and the monkeys, Mr. Sergio Galano, an Engineer specialized on glass and aluminium structures that designs and builds all the enclosures at the minimum cost. We also count with the help from an other friend, Mr. Tomás Poblete, a fruit exported that sends us fruit for export during the summer.

ENCLOSURES: All monkeys live in interconnected cages so they can move

freely. All cages have an area protected from the cold with heaters.

BIRTH CONTROL: None. We are studying a way of birth control on Cebus apella

MEDICAL CARE: Dra. Alejandra Ortiz Latorre, Dra. Rita Ortiz Latorre, Dr. Rodrigo Bahamondes, (veterinary) Dr. Carlos Almazán Arcil ( MD), Sra Elba Muñoz López (Obstetrician and Puericulture ). 

PRIMATE`S HISTORY: All primates came to Chile illegally. They arrive to our centre after being confiscated by the authorities from Pet stores (8), Circuses  (4), Airport (1),Private Zoo (17) given by their owners ( 9), given by The National Zoo (2), by a Laboratory (1), Others (10) .

The primates of our centre can be divided in two groups :
-        Young-Babys, whom require intensive medical care and a day long attention.
-        Young and Adults, their principal problems are stress and bad nutrition.
-        This primates generally arrive with behaviour pathologies and depression.

The most frequent clinical diagnosis done to the monkeys arrived to our centre are:

-         Low body weight according to age and sex.

-         Subnutritional state (anemia, depigmentation of hair color).

-         Stress (stereotype behaviour).

-         Mycosis cutaneous simple or contaminated with bacterial agents.

-         Intestinal parasites.

-         Mutilated canines with no proper treatment.

-         Diarrhoea

-         One case of blindness.

-         Epilepsy.
 
PRESENT LEVEL OF REHABILITATION:
The Lagothrix live in a colony ruled by a male leader and a female leader. They are all together (13) and they can all acceed freely to all the areas, which are connected by tunnels.

Cebus apella: they live in cages connected by tunnels that are closed most of the time because of the agressive natural behaviour of the adult males. They are divided in 3 groups. One of the groups have 2 baby of 6 months old each (given birth in the Centre).

Saimiri sciureus: The 5 of them live together in 2 enclosures connected by a tunnel. One of them is protected from the cold.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:

-         Advice and supervision of Veterinary students.

-         Speaches to schools and local authorities.

-         Printing pousters that are given to Schools, Universities, Public offices, Subway stations, etc

-         The Centre participates in Courses and Congresses about rehabilitation and wild life.

-         The Centre keeps contact with zoos in order to offer help and advice on monkeys care

-         The Centre is in contact with the printed press, radio stations and television channels.

SPONSORSHIP: We do not have. The Centre is runed with money of the family.

STAFF AND POSITION:

-         Elba Muñoz , Director.

-         Alejandra Ortiz, Vet. expert on Neotropical primates.

-         Rita Ortiz,Vet. expert on cebus.

-         Rodrigo Bahamondes, Veterinary expert on the bucal cavity.

-         Carlos Almazán, MD , Pediatrician.

-         Lorena Almazán, Ad Honorem Inspector of the SAG and monkey keeper.

-         Alberto Vera, Care staff and cage constructor.

-         Manuel Aracena, Care staff and environmental care

-         Sergio Galano, Constructor Engineer and cage designer.

-         Carlos Felipe Almazán, Encharged of the software of the centre