Animal Encounters // Monkeys (Episode 4)

(Narrator) Primates are often said
to be the species

most similar to human beings.

What is unknown, however, is that

primates are also the most abused animals

in the world.

Coming from some horrific experiences

in zoos, laboratories,

and as peoples' pets, the residents here

have a new-found freedom.

Offering visitors a unique viewing

experience, Monkeyland is the world's

first free roaming multi-species
sanctuary,

where primates are rehabilitated

both physically and emotionally.

This is an encounter with animals

at its best.

No cages, no electric fences,

just our three adventurers:

Kezia from Kenya,

Gabi from Germany

and Cassila from Brazil,

in a spacious natural surrounding

with monkeys and other primates.

From an abused past to a glorious future

for these tree-dwellers of planet Earth.

♪ theme music ♪

(Narrator) Among the beautiful mountains

of the Tsitsikamma Forest,

lies the Monkeyland primate sanctuary.

This piece of indigenous forest

is found near the seaside resort town

of Plettenberg Bay in South Africa.

(Bert) The whole idea behind Monkeyland

evolved around the necessity
to get primates

that were previously disadvantaged,

out of cages.

Anything on a chain,

anything in captivity.

(Narrator) Monkeyland gets its primates
from zoos,

laboratories and the general public,

some being surrendered pets.

(Bert) When they arrive here,
we set them through a program

where we try to dehumanize them.

We try to get the hamburgers and
milkshakes out of them

and get the monkey back into them

to prepare them for their life
in this forest here.

(Narrator) There are more than 450

primates in the park.

Monkeyland opened its doors

to the public in April 1998

and since then visitors have enjoyed

their encounters with these primates,

who originate from all over the world,

and now live in this 23 hectare
or 57 acre forest.

(Bert) The whole idea is just
to give them back their freedom.

A little bit of pay back time.

The reason for that being your

non-human primates are possibly

one of the most abused of all the animals

on the planet.

Everybody looks after antelope,

because we eat them, we look after them.

Nobody looks after primates.

They simply catch them, sell them illegally
for the pet trade.

People destroy their forest
that they live in,

and monkeys are tree people,

they live in forests, they need that,

apart from the fact that the
the human being needs this,

this is our lungs around us.

(Narrator) Another threat to primates

is the so-called "Bushmeat" trade,

where people catch primates for food.

People also sell primates
for their own profit,

making millions of dollars

out of illegal monkey
trafficking and the pet trade.

The destruction of the rainforest

is another threat to their existence.

Biomedical research on primates also takes

its regrettable toll.

♪ music ♪

(Bert) And the idea was, here, to create a haven,

a safe haven, a sanctuary for them,

where they can go about the way they do

in the Amazon, they way they do

in central Africa, to give them
their freedom

to live in hierarchies,

to do what monkeys do best,

in other words, to live in forests,
in harmony.

♪ music ♪

(Kezia) It's lovely to watch animals
in their natural environment,

and here at Monkeyland sanctuary,

that's exactly what they do.

It's the world's first multi-species

free-roaming animal sanctuary.

Now we're here with Sirgen.

Hello Sirgen, morning, how are you?

(Sirgen) I'm good, yourself?

(Kezia) Sirgen's going to take us in,

so come with us.

(Sirgen) All right, come through.

All right, so, welcome ladies.

My name is Sirgen,

I'm your guide here in Monkeyland.

I'm going to show you these
interesting species of primates.

Right here I've got a Capuchin,

which is originally from South America.

Just beyond the Capuchin there

is a Black Lemur with a Ring-Tail,

and they're basically cuddling,

they're grooming each other.

It's quite interesting to see how

different species exist in one area,

and, very important,
they don't even fight.

So it's quite interesting to bring

species from around the world together,

and seeing them interacting.

The Black Lemur is completely a different species,

the Ring-Tail also completely different.

The Ring-Tail is basically

your national animal of Madagascar.

Your Ring-Tail would be found more
in the south-west,

where you find your Black and White

in the northern parts of Madagascar.

Lemurs are only found in Madagascar,

nowhere else in the world
will you find lemurs.

Very important, they are not monkeys,

but they are a completely different group,

what we call prosimian, or pre-monkey.

♪ music ♪

(Narrator) These are Ring-Tailed Lemurs,

Most of them have 13 white rings

and 13 black rings on their tails.

Lemurs use their tails for balance,

but also to remain in visual contact.

Now they are endangered
because of their tails.

Tourists come to Madagascar and buy

these tails as souvenirs, trophies

or for adornment.

In Madagascar, 70 per cent
of the indigenous forest

has been lost.

Ring-Tails can be seen feeding

mostly on sweet-potatoes, broccoli,

apples, bananas and oranges.

Strictly vegetarian, lemurs, in the wild,

would feed on bamboo.

Here at Monkeyland,

they like to eat leaves.

On sunny days, they sit in the sun,

spread their arms wide open,

and sunbathe.

Ring-Tails come in groups of up to 30.

They are very social animals,

with females leading the pack.

They kick out all the big males,

who form their bachelor group.

♪ music ♪

(Sirgen) Right, we're looking at
a Malaysian primate.

They're found in Malaysia, Indonesia,

but you also find them around Thailand.

These are Spectacled Langurs,

the name derived from the eyes,

and the long tail,
which is over 70 cm long.

All right, beautiful grey colors
when they are adults,

but when they are young,
when young ones are born,

they have a complete different color.

We're looking at an orange color.

Bright orange is normally poisonous
in the wild,

and at the age of 2 years,
they start changing color,

and this color now shows adult.

Spectacled Langurs weigh, normally,
from 10 to 15 kg,

and your Spectacled Langurs live
up to 40 years,

so that's quite a good average
for your primates.

Then , they come in groups of 10 to 30,

quite big groups for something that big,

and what normally happens in the group,

is that you have dominant males,

and then the few females that they have

would be, then, the partners.

If he flicks his tongue, you know
it's not a good sign,

so you're going to have to
get out of there.

By the flick of the tongue
they show a threat,

and if you flick your tongue,
it's a challenge,

so rather prefer that you keep
your tongue in your mouth.

(laughs)

But (laughs), still very
friendly primates.

I want to make sure that
you see the Gibbon

so I don't think we're going to rest

before we've found the Gibbon.

The sound we hear are your Gibbons,

vocalizing as a result
of marking territory.

They do it at certain times of the day.

But also in mating season there is
a slightly different tone to it,

and this is where they would
entertain each other.

Gibbons would normally be considered

or called Asian singers of the forest,

and this is exactly the sound you hear.

(Gibbon calling sounds)

(Narrator) Gibbons are found in
south-east Asia,

and are extremely agile and acrobatic.

They move by swinging gracefully

from branch to branch, and on vines.

They also negotiate small branches
high up in the air,

like tightrope walkers.

They use outstretched arms
to help keep their balance.

Gibbons can also leap acrobatically

across large gaps in the tree canopy,

from tree branch to tree branch.

Gibbons have been known to leap
over 9 meters in a single jump.

Gibbons are classified as apes,
not monkeys,

owing to the absence of a tail.

They come in different colors:

brown, silver, gray, snow-white
and beige.

Group sizes are in the region of 6 to 8.

Gibbons give birth to only one baby,
every 4 years.

Unfortunately, Gibbons are on the
endangered species list.

(Gibbon noises)

(Narrator ) The primates at Monkeyland

are not found on pre-determined points

displayed on the map.

Visitors should search for them,

and be rewarded by finding them

as they should be: free and in the wild.

(Sirgen) There's a Black-and-white
Ruffed Lemur on the table,

and with no tail.

This is one of the reasons why they're
still in Monkeyland,

because they are handicapped.

(Narrator) There are 12 feeding stations
in Monkeyland.

Residents are fed twice a day,
in mornings and late afternoon.

Monkeyland primates consume 400kg
of food per day.

One of the features that distinguish
lemurs from monkeys

is their pointed snouts.

Lemurs have a good sense of smell,

where monkeys choose by sight.

Lemurs are more nocturnal,

and for that they have
black-and-white vision,

where monkeys see color.

Female social dominance also sets
lemurs apart from other primates

and mammals.

They have a different type of ear
to monkeys.

Monkeys have rounded ears,
like humans,

but lemurs have more cat-like ears,

that can turn to where the sound
is coming from.

There are approximately 100 species
and sub-species of lemur,

and most of them are either
threatened or endangered.

Unless trends change, extinctions
are likely to continue.

Monkeys and lemurs without tails
or limbs quickly learn to compensate.

What does help, is that there are
no predators in Monkeyland.

(Sirgen) Now, normally when primates
come from captivity,

they come with problems.

Some come with tails that have
been taken off, amputated.

Some come with canines that
have been removed,

because they eventually start to bite.

Some primates come from laboratories,

where they have been tested on cosmetics,

and you see them come
with eyesight problems.

Some are mentally disturbed when they
come to Monkeyland,

because of the wrong injections,
testing on vaccines.

You also find primates that come

from people who have abused them,

and abusing the monkey is not just
by whipping them, but also by

giving them the wrong diet.

Some are coming here
completely overweight,

and also been diagnosed with diabetes.

In Monkeyland, we are releasing primates

into the natural habitat,

but it's only those that we know
will be able to take care of themselves.

They need to be strong mentally, physically,

before we can release them.

It's not any type of monkey
that can get released.

Some it's just completely
"Mission: Impossible."

♪ music ♪

(Narrator) Monkeyland has
a suspension bridge

that is 128 meters long,

that hangs over the forest canopy,
at a height of 20 meters.

This is where the Vervet monkeys
like to hang out.

These indigenously South African monkeys

are found throughout the country,

but also throughout Africa.

Unfortunately, many
farmers in South Africa

view Vervets as agricultural pests.

At Monkeyland, they have a better status.

Here they are known as the
teachers of Monkeyland,

because they know this type of forest,

the weather conditions, and the types

of vegetation available as food so well,

that they can teach the other monkeys.

(Sirgen) Squirrel monkeys
are very social.

The kids like to play a lot.

I'm now viewing them playing, wrestling,

interacting, basically socializing.

These are young ones
of maybe just 8 months old,

9 months old, but nothing more
than 1 year.

One of those young ones will definitely

become a leader, because he's
outsmarting the others

when they play wrestling games.

So, yes, this is how they
also become leaders.

Becoming leaders is not
always about fighting,

but sometimes, just for fun,

they say, well, I don't mind
if you want to be our leader,

because you're quite cool to play with.

(Narrator) Squirrel monkeys are found
in the Amazon jungle,

and along the coasts
of South America.

Squirrel monkeys are known as
the piranhas of the Amazon.

They come in big groups,

most often of 100 to 150,

but group sizes of up to 500
have been observed.

They may be the smallest monkey
species in Monkeyland,

but the largest in number,

and they are definitely the cheekiest.

Around 100 to 120 Squirrel monkeys
live in Monkeyland.

It's safety in numbers for these
small monkeys of the forest.

(lemur noises)

(Sirgen) Those are your
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemurs,

busy marking territory.

They don't want to be
beaten by the Gibbons,

so they thought, "Ok, we are also
going to mark our territories.

Seeing that everyone
is marking territories,

this is how we mark our territory."

♪ music ♪

(Narrator) Second only to the
Blue Whale in vocal ability,

the Howler Monkey is recognised as

the loudest land mammal
to inhabit planet Earth.

Male Howlers have large throats

and specialized shell-like vocal chambers

that help to turn up the volume
on their distinctive call,

which can be heard from
a distance of 6 kilometers.

(Sirgen) The Howler Monkeys are typically
known by the way they make sounds,

but also recognized by the mane
that you see. It's almost like a beard,

almost like a lion would look like.

♪ music ♪

(Kezia) Back at the restaurant,
it's time for rest and relaxation,

a much-deserved respite,
after a hard life.

Time to lie in the sun,
enjoy the fresh air,

and not to worry about where
the next meal's coming from.

You can just see in their eyes,

they're thinking, "Ah, this is
how it should be after all."

(Bert) We, for instance, earlier,
saw a Black Lemur in the forest here.

He is, at this stage, one of his
kind that we have in the forest.

Now his name, by the way, is Brad Pitt.

He came to Monkeyland a couple
of years ago,

3, 4 years ago, 5 years ago, even,

with the problem in the sense that
he was completely blind.

His eyes were riddled with cataracts.

Now, this is often what happens
to primates in captivity, where

they don't receive the necessary
care that they should get.

Once the animal arrived here, we
became aware of this problem,

and to solve the problem,

the way we've done with so many
other primates in the sanctuary -

there are hundreds of
stories we can tell you -

was that we sent this
specific Black Lemur

to the Johannesburg human Eye Hospital,

to perform laser surgery on the eyes,

which was, in the end,
a very big success story.

After the animal had been walking around

with this problem of
having poor or no sight

for a great deal of his life,

it was very rewarding when Brad Pitt
came back to us after the operation.

Being a prosimian, your so-called
"half-monkeys",

he had to rely until that time,
basically, just on his smell to

identify whatever he liked in life -

the people he liked around him,
the food he liked, his wife,

his female that he lived with,

and he never had the opportunity
to see that. Now coming back after

the operation, as I mentioned,
that was a very big success,

it was extremely rewarding to see
how this animal actually reacted.

In the past, he would sniff around
the feeding station for his favorite

tidbits, his favorite foods,

which all of us have, we have
certain favorites.

Coming back with the eye-sight restored,

it was amazing to see
this animal sniffing,

going around the normal behavior,

and then sniff something
that he really likes,

and then just stand back,
and for the first time be

able to see the color of a papaya,

for instance. It was
extremely rewarding.

And the female that he had to live
with during that period of time,

he had to always follow his snout,
smell the lady to find her attractive.

And when that familiar smell came with
the female, when he joined up with the

female, before we released
him into the park,

you could see him sniffing the female,

and then stand back, and
look at this female,

"look at my wife", so to say, the
first time that he could see her.

What makes it very interesting, that your
Black Lemurs, the males are always black,

and the females are basically red-heads,

so it must have been an
amazing sight for this animal,

to see this red female for the first time,
and to see that he's black, in that sense,

and still in his brain realize that
"we are actually one of a species,

and this is how I look, and
this is how my wife looks."

The success of the surgery on the eyes

also enabled us to, for the first time,

let the animal out of captivity, out of

cages, so he could go into a forest

like this, and enjoy the forest,

see the colors, see the birds,

things that never existed in his life

of darkness before that.

There are so many similar stories
in Monkeyland,

where we had primates that were
previously disadvantaged,

and this is the whole driving force
behind Monkeyland,

is to give them back their freedom.

(Cassila) It made my heart happy
to see animals who were once abused

and neglected, now being treated
so well.

Tables of food laid out in front of them.

Trees to swing and play in, a place
to relax in the sun, and feel at home.

(Kezia) Thousands of monkeys perish
or suffer unnecessarily every year,

because of human indiscretion.

Wild animals, such as monkeys,
do not make good pets.

Please spread this message.

On top of that, make a decision
not to perpetuate animal abuse,

and refuse to buy products that
have been tested on animals.

(Gabi) Many people say that animals do
not have the ability to make decisions,

but only act from instinct.

And yet, here, I saw with my own eyes

a lemur that was searching out his
favorite food.

He kept looking until he found
the piece of fruit that he wanted,

perhaps that which was best for him.

I believe that God created
these animals with intelligence,

with the ability to choose, to make
wise decisions, and even strategize.

God surely is a wonderful creator!

(Kezia) We've come to the end
of the program.

Thank you so much for joining us!

Thank you so much, Sirgen, as well,
for that wonderful tour!

(Sirgen) And you are welcome,
it's a pleasure!

(Kezia) Thank you. You know,
the closer I get to nature,

the more I feel God's creation,

the more I feel the responsibility
to take care of it.

Until next week, God bless!

♪ theme music ♪