AR-News: (Africa) Marmoset monkeys, wild animals not pets

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

February 12, 2004

By Thomas Hartleb

It's hard to resist those big brown eyes, that little human-like face and 
those bushy white ears.

Yet few people realise that by getting a marmoset monkey, they're dealing 
with a wild animal and not a pet.

Marmosets that have been left to run free around the house have been known to 
drown in toilet bowls and burn their paws on hot plates.

Wendy Macleod is a primatologist and manager of the World Primate Sanctuary 
in Linbro Park, Johannesburg, where she takes care of around 150 marmosets. It 
costs R200 a month to look after a single monkey.

About four new ones are brought to her every month by owners who don't know 
how to care for them.

Lack of awareness often causes owners to overlook problems until it's too 
late. Most of the marmosets Macleod receives suffer from rickets, the result of 
undernourishment and lack of exposure to sunlight.

They also easily contract human diseases such as the common cold and the 
Herpes Simplex virus, which causes fever blisters in humans. The virus is 
transmitted when the monkeys lick a plate or spoon that has been used by a human or by 
kissing them.






full story:
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=347293 
"The world is a dangerous place,
not because of those who do evil,
but because of those who look on and do nothing.",
Albert Einstein
      /\   /\         
>' .' <   
                              
There is no justice, just us!  








    
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