THIS PAGE REMEMBERS OUR PRIMATE FRIENDS WHO HAVE DIED
About Capuchin Monkeys
Capuchin monkeys were named by Portuguese explorers for a group monks called the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Capuchin monkeys have brown bodies, arms, legs, and tails. They eat fruit, nuts, seeds, and insects in the wild and use tools to get their food. Unlike apes, they use their prehensile tail to carry objects and to hang from trees. In fact, they are great climbers and spend most of their time in trees. Capuchins live together in families of as little as six monkeys to groups as large as forty! They are located in the rain forests of Central and South America. Capuchins are endangered, however, due to habitat loss and the pet trade. The main reason for their popularity in zoos and laboratories is due to their high intelligence level, which is said to be as good as chimpanzees!
Dudley 7/12/1993 - 2/3/2019
Gender: Male
Birthday: July 12, 1993
Relatives: Nikko (Brother)
Species: Capuchin Monkey
Favorite Food: Grapes, watermelon, corn, sweet potato, monkey chow
Favorite Activities: Throwing things like monkey chow at people
Birthday: July 12, 1993
Relatives: Nikko (Brother)
Species: Capuchin Monkey
Favorite Food: Grapes, watermelon, corn, sweet potato, monkey chow
Favorite Activities: Throwing things like monkey chow at people
We lost our Dudley February 3, 2019 after an extended illness. He was 25. We suspect he missed his brother, Nikko, very much. Whatever they were doing, they would be chirping and squawking back and forth to maintain their connection. Their brother bond appeared very strong.
Although a small monkey, Dudley could be a force to be reckoned with. He chose his favorite humans sparingly, so the chosen few felt very special.
Dudley loved to rub himself with smelly stuff! For some reason, he loved having his hands sprayed with vinegar when we were cleaning.
Dudley was a special little guy who charmed us all with his toothless grin and mock ferociousness.
Although a small monkey, Dudley could be a force to be reckoned with. He chose his favorite humans sparingly, so the chosen few felt very special.
Dudley loved to rub himself with smelly stuff! For some reason, he loved having his hands sprayed with vinegar when we were cleaning.
Dudley was a special little guy who charmed us all with his toothless grin and mock ferociousness.
“Dudley is Nikko’s brother and the two of them have been around each other since Dudley was only two weeks old. Nikko was very protective of Dudley and even went so far as putting his arm around and covering Dudley’s face as he ate so no one could steal the bottle. Dudley’s original owner got him when he was only two weeks old. Even then, I knew that Dudley would some day live at A.P.E.S. My premonition came true when his owner became unable to care for him properly. Dudley loved his previous owner so much that I thought we were going to lose him when he first came to A.P.E.S. By the grace of God, and with Nikko’s help, Dudley pulled through. Dudley, like his brother, is a cinnamon capuchin.”
-Pam White, Founder of A.P.E.S.
-Pam White, Founder of A.P.E.S.
Nikko 11/11/1992 - 10/25/2017
Gender: Male
Birthday: November 11, 1992
Relatives: Dudley (Brother)
Species: Capuchin Monkey
Favorite Food: Grapes, watermelon, corn, sweet potato, monkey chow
Favorite Activities: Playing ball, taking a bath in a bucket, and grooming
Click Nikko's picture to see a video of him playing with his new "choppers".
Birthday: November 11, 1992
Relatives: Dudley (Brother)
Species: Capuchin Monkey
Favorite Food: Grapes, watermelon, corn, sweet potato, monkey chow
Favorite Activities: Playing ball, taking a bath in a bucket, and grooming
Click Nikko's picture to see a video of him playing with his new "choppers".
October 25, 2017 we lost our dear Nikko as a result of an illness.
Nikko was the first primate to come to A.P.E.S. He was incredibly loving and protective of his brother, Dudley, who struggled when he first came to live at the sanctuary. Nikko loved to play with his brother and ape friends as well as snuggle up at the end of the day in a warm blanket. He thoroughly enjoyed enrichment activities and was always up for a challenge. Nikko was so smart and always the first to crack any puzzle. Not to mention, what a musician he was! He loved to smash, bang and drum on just about anything. We will miss his demonstrative emotions, chirps, grunts and percussion.
Thank you, Nikko, for your many years of friendship.
Nikko was the first primate to come to A.P.E.S. He was incredibly loving and protective of his brother, Dudley, who struggled when he first came to live at the sanctuary. Nikko loved to play with his brother and ape friends as well as snuggle up at the end of the day in a warm blanket. He thoroughly enjoyed enrichment activities and was always up for a challenge. Nikko was so smart and always the first to crack any puzzle. Not to mention, what a musician he was! He loved to smash, bang and drum on just about anything. We will miss his demonstrative emotions, chirps, grunts and percussion.
Thank you, Nikko, for your many years of friendship.
“Nikko (Nee-ko) was only two and a half weeks old when he came to live at APES. He was born prematurely and weighed only about a half pound. He is a cinnamon capuchin monkey and is very intelligent. My husband and I worked with him quite often. Two cats and two dogs also called A.P.E.S. home when Nikko arrived. The five of them took to each other and played together. Nikko was the “main man” around APES. As new primates came to live here, Nikko would “adopt” them into the family and teach them to groom each other. He also taught them the “do’s and don’ts.” Nikko is a lover.”
-Pam White, Founder of A.P.E.S.
-Pam White, Founder of A.P.E.S.
THE GIBBONS
Abbie 12/26/1998 - 6/22/2017
June 22 we said goodbye to our dear, sweet Abbie. She had bone degeneration in her jaw which was making it difficult for her to eat and was not improving with medication. After struggling for weeks, Abbie's loved ones felt she should no longer live in pain.
Abbie was a wonderful soul, independent, full of curiosity, the “girl next door” whom everyone loved. But she also had "the look" that told us "don't mess with me"! She was known to share “tag and go” hugs, leaving the receiver wishing for more. We will all miss her deeply.
Abbie was a wonderful soul, independent, full of curiosity, the “girl next door” whom everyone loved. But she also had "the look" that told us "don't mess with me"! She was known to share “tag and go” hugs, leaving the receiver wishing for more. We will all miss her deeply.
She loved us to hoot when the other gibbons hooted and sang, and she would run to you and hug you at the very end. Abbie usually needed a little prompting to sing but would always look at me and then join in. It was like a game with her.
She would let me know when I went too far by first giving the look and then grabbing my hand if I continued doing anything that displeased her.
From day one, Abbie was always the baby and even as she matured and other babies were born, Abbie was always our sweet, adorable girl. I called her Forever Young because to me she would always be our baby girl. Everyone who met her could not help but love her. It is still hard to talk about her. She was my Abbadabbadoo.
-Claire Kitchen
She would let me know when I went too far by first giving the look and then grabbing my hand if I continued doing anything that displeased her.
From day one, Abbie was always the baby and even as she matured and other babies were born, Abbie was always our sweet, adorable girl. I called her Forever Young because to me she would always be our baby girl. Everyone who met her could not help but love her. It is still hard to talk about her. She was my Abbadabbadoo.
-Claire Kitchen
“I knew Sonny needed one of his own kind, so I started looking for a female gibbon. I found Abbie when she was 4 months old, but did not get her until she was almost 7 months. She is blonde and beautiful, my little miss independent. Relationships are on her terms. I can remember putting her in a dress. It was OK as long as I was there and watching, but if I turned around she would have the dress pulled over her head so fast. She is very protective of Nik and Dud. It is a two-way street with those three; they look at her as if she is their little sister. She is the gibbon I trust the most.”
-Pam White, Founder of A.P.E.S.
-Pam White, Founder of A.P.E.S.
Timothy 5/16/1985 - 1/10/2014
Timothy was one of five who moved to A.P.E.S. from Texas in 2003. He was mates with Stephanie, and the father to Shelby and Yoda. Whenever he met someone new, he was always one of the first to take a swipe at you or grab a chunk of your hair. He only opened up to those that he trusted (which was very few). But once he did open up to you, he had so much love to give. One of Timmy’s favorite things was to have his feet rubbed. If you walked by his cage and stopped to talk to him, he would almost immediately stick a foot out for you to pet. He had such a calming demeanor about him. He was known for making a mess of himself when eating food (especially peanut butter). He had such a unique personality, one that everyone who has ever worked with him will never forget.
Gibbons normally live to be in their 40’s in captivity. Tim was only 28. He should have had so much life left in him. We began noticing something wrong with Tim when one Saturday a volunteer witnessed him throwing up. The gibbons get stomach viruses just like humans, so we kept an eye on him and made sure he had plenty of fluids. Later that week, he had a bloody nose that lasted the majority of the day and acted very lethargic. We attributed it to the cold weather, and our vet informed us that their bloody noses last a lot longer than human bloody noses (he wasn’t eating or drinking much at this point in time either). Over the week following we started to see improvement in his eating and drinking and thought he was finally coming out of his sickness. The next week his bloody nose came back and appetite had decreased once again. Our vet prescribed him an antibiotic and we crossed our fingers that it would work. The next day we took him in for tests and x-rays to be done. It was the morning after that we received the bad news. Tim was suffering from kidney failure. It was then that we had to take him back to the vet to be put to rest.
As heartbroken as we all are to see Tim go, we know that he is no longer in pain and that is ultimately what is most important. We thank everyone who has kept us in their thoughts and wished us love and healing during this time. Losing our first definitely hasn’t been easy, but we are getting better each and every day.
We love you Tim! Thank you for all the joy you brought into our lives!
-Aleisha Stanley
“I feel a part of my soul is gone since I lost him. Even as sick as he was, when I would sit in the cage with him and I would cry, he would always muster up the strength to put his arms around me and hug me as if everything was going to be okay. Not only am I mourning the loss of him, so are the other primates.
It is like losing a child, so dear to our hearts.”
-Pam White, Founder of A.P.E.S.
It is like losing a child, so dear to our hearts.”
-Pam White, Founder of A.P.E.S.