Papaya Troop

Once these babies are well enough to leave our wildlife clinic, the orphaned infants spend their days in a large enclosure that has an indoor and outdoor jungle gym filled with branches, vines, ropes, platforms and swings to help them develop better climbing skills. It usually takes a few days for a newcomer to become accustomed to living at the rescue centre, but once they do, the infant nursery is a rowdy playground filled with infants chasing each other, wrestling and having a lot of fun! The infants quickly bond with each other and seek comfort from one another. They are often found snuggled together on platforms and hammocks forming life-long bonds.

Fresh leaves that howlers eat in the wild are collected and provided several times a day. The leaves are hung up around the nursery to develop natural foraging skills, with their favourite leaves, such as papaya and guarumo, are placed in areas that encourage the monkeys to gain confidence. The infants are also given other supplemental foods like sweet potato, apple, carrots, spinach, celery, and green beans. Because the youngest howlers become easily stressed without the comfort of their mothers, the nursery is also filled with furry soft toys, like teddy bears, that the infants cling to. We also provide hot water bottles, several that are covered in a monkey soft toy, which provide soothing warmth similar to that of their mother. Several times a day, a human caregiver attends to the youngest infants who need to be hand-fed infant formula every 2-4 hours depending on their age and requirements.

required by infant howlers, they will graduate to the next step in our Orphaned Howler Rehabilitation Program and move into the Juvenile Nursery. Whilst in our care, Papaya group will begin to progress through different levels of nursery before they will eventually be moved into pre-release enclosures to eventually be released into the freedom of a Protected National Park. The rehabilitation process takes a lot of time and effort from our expert carers but they are always so excited to watch baby monkeys grow into happy, healthy, howlers!

Our 5-step howler rehabilitation programme is organised as follows: Infant Nursery, Junior Nursery, Juvenile Nursery, Pre-release Enclosure and Release Enclosure.

The troop are given enrichment items designed to improve their climbing skills and spatial awareness. Circular swings are made out of natural vines and empty coconuts attached to a rope which are excellent for encouraging jumping and coordination.