Cuties and Sweeties
narrated and edited by Johnnie JungleGuts
Ailis, one of the girls who worked with me in the monkey quarantine at Parque Machia, showed up in Puerto Lopez a couple of days ago to Volunteer with Equilibrio Azul. Ailis was in quarantine for about a week after I left and she said that after I was gone they really cleaned out the enclosures of all the monkeys that were permanently caged and put in hammocks and logs and swings and ropes to give the monkeys a bit more to play on. They also started devoting more volunteers to quarantine and there were about eight when Ailis left. When I was there, four people was considered a good number to run the quarantine.
Ailis also told me that Megan, the volunteer coordinator at Parque Machia, said something about how sad it was that I wasn’t there to see how the quarantine had changed. I didn’t know that my voice meant so much to her and it makes me smile with my heart to know that they fixed up things a bit after I left. Bolivia is a complex and suffering thing and I never said that the people at the park weren’t trying their hardest. I guess my point is that I still believe in Inti Wara Yassi. Their magic is real.
EAT YOUR HEART OUT TLAZOLTEOTL!
This video is of Queenie, a Capuchin monkey who I cared for as a volunteer at Parque Machia, an animal refuge in Bolivia. Here we see Queenie having just gone into season and wanting me real bad.
The thing is, when Queenie went into heat she would spend her entire day masturbating with her leg while staring at me and screaming. If I let her climb on me she would never let go. She just clung to me and screamed. This would go on for three days non-stop until she went out of season. When I was in the kitchen cutting up the monkeys´ vegetables for their dinners she would come sit by the window, stare at me, scream, and masturbate.
THEORY OF MIND
Once again it´s me and Llorona at Parque Machia in Villa Tunari, Bolivia. Llorona is a Capuchin, a species of new world monkey native throughout the Amazon rain forest. She was accquired by Parque Machia from a zoo. She´s very old and she´s spent her whole life in captivity, but she will hopefully one day live free in the jungle.
I´M GOING TO ECUADOR
THREE DAYS AGO MY APPLICATION TO VOLUNTEER ON A SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION PROJECT IN ECUADOR AFFILIATED WITH THE ECO-VOLUNTEER UP FOUNDATION WAS ACCEPTED. IF I SURVIVE THE BUS TRIP THERE, (AND THAT´S A BIG ¨IF¨) THEN I´LL PRETTY MUCH BE SPENDING MY FINAL MONTH IN SOUTH AMERICA SCOURING THE BEACHES FOR SEA TURTLE MAMAS TO TAG.
I´M NOT LEAVING THE REFUGE BECAUSE I DON´T BELIEVE IN INTI WARA YASSI ANYMORE. EVEN THOUGH IT´S NOT THE MYTHICAL CULT THAT I ONCE THOUGHT IT WAS, I KNOW THAT THEY´RE DOING A GOOD THING AT THE END OF THE DAY. BUT YOUR ONLY IN SOUTH AMERICA ONCE OR TWICE, RIGHT? AND IF MY LITTLE MONKEY FRIENDS HAVE TAUGHT ME ANYTHING, IT´S THAT YOU SHOULD DO WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT UNTIL THE HUMANS MAKE YOU STOP.
FREE MONKEYS
PUNKY HAD BEEN FREE FOR OVER A WEEK AND A HALF. SOMETIMES WHEN IT WAS RAINING SHE WOULD SNEAK INTO THE CAGE THAT SHE SHARES WITH FRANCA AT THE END OF THE DAY WHEN WE WERE PUTTING AWAY THE OTHER MONKEYS FOR BED TIME. BUT THE NEXT MORNING SHE WOULD ALWAYS JUST DART OUT OF THE CAGE BEFORE WE COULD GRAB HER BY THE TAIL AND PUT A CORD ON HER.
YESTERDAY MORNING I GOT HER. AS I CARRIED HER OUT OF THE QUARANTINE TO TAKE HER TO THE VETS FOR HER NEW BELT AND CORD, ALL THE MONKEYS WERE IN AN UPROAR. WERE THEY FURIOUS AT THE CAPTURE OF A FREE CAPUCHIN? JUST AS I WAS WALKING OUT OF THE ENTRANCE OF QUARANTINE, NATALIA LEAPT AT ME AND BIT ME HARD ON MY LEFT HAND. MONKEY TEETH ARE BLUNT. IT WASN´T A DEEP CUT BUT THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF BLOOD.
THESE PROCEEDINGS AS WELL AS WATCHING AN ESCAPED MONKEY (CESAR) RISK HIS OWN CAPTURE TO LIBERATE VARIOUS MONKEYS ON CORD HAS MADE IT FAIRLY CLEAR TO ME THAT THESE ANIMALS DESIRE A FREEDOM FOR THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER. I PROBABLY SHOULDN´T BE SAYING THIS, BUT PART OF ME SECRETLY WANTED PUNKY TO STAY FREE- AND ONE OF THE TIMES SHE ESCAPED WAS BECAUSE ANOTHER VOLUNTEER LET HER.
THIS REFUGE HAS BECOME TOO CRAMMED WITH MONKEYS. LONG TERM VOLUNTEERS CLAIM THAT IF SOME OF THESE MONKEYS WERE RELEASED THEY WOULD BE BRUTALIZED BY CAPUCHIN GROUPS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN FORMED. THEY´RE PROBABLY RIGHT. I READ PUNKY´S FILE. IT SAID THAT SHE USED TO BE A FREE MONKEY IN THE MIRADOR BUT SHE WAS GANG RAPED BY A GROUP OF LARGE MALES AND HER ANUS WAS RUPTURED. AH YES, ASS RAPE IS THE WAY OF CAPUCHINS. IN THE WORDS OF THE HEAD VET AT THE REFUGE, THEY´RE CABRONES (ASSHOLES IN SPANISH.) SO IS SHE BETTER OFF IN THE QUARANTINE ON A CORD? HOW CAN WE CHOOSE TO GIVE AN ANIMAL OUR HUMAN JUDGEMENT OF HAPPINESS OVER OUR HUMAN IDEA OF FREEDOM? IT´S ALL VERY TRICKY.
HALO WITH LLORONA
MY FAVORITE MONKEYS
THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF MY FAVORITE CAPUCHINS CURRENTLY RESIDING AT PARQUE MACHIA, THE ANIMAL REFUGE WHERE I CURRENTLY VOLUNTEER.
VICTOR
VICTOR MAKES THE LIST FOR BEING A GENERAL BADASS. EVEN THOUGH HE´S TRAPPED IN A CAGE, HE IS STILL THE ALPHA MALE FROM HELL IN THE QUARANTINE. VICTOR IS A HUGE CAPUCHIN AND SEVERAL VETS HAVE EXPRESSED TO ME THAT HE MAY BE THE MOST DANGEROUS IN THE PARK. IF VICTOR GOT FREE, I WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE TERRIFIED THAN A HAITIAN WHO JUST FOUND OUT THAT THE DRUG LORDS HAD TAKEN OVER AGAIN. VICTOR IS CURRENTLY IMPRISONED FOR STARTING BLOODY WARS WITH VARIOUS ALPHA MALES AND THEIR GANGS IN OTHER SECTIONS OF THE PARK. ALSO, FEMALE CAPUCHINS AND THEIR BABIES HANG OUT AROUND VICTOR´S CAGE EVERYDAY. THESE ARE VICTOR´S HOES AND THE BABIES ARE THE CHILDREN HE HAS HAD WITH THEM. THREE TIMES I HAVE SEEN HIM STICK HIS PURPLE COCK THROUGH THE BARS OF HIS CAGE AND HAVE CONJUGAL VISITS WITH THOSE SHAMELESS HOES. HE´S JUST THAT MUCH OF A PIMP DADDY.
RUSBER
RUSBER IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES BECAUSE I AM ONE OF HIS FAVORITES. RUSBER IS NOW CONSIDERED THE MOST AGGRESSIVE CAPUCHIN ON CORD, BUT HE IS ALSO MORE CUDDLY WITH ME THAN ANY OTHER CAPUCHINS. HE MOSTLY SEEMS TO HATE FEMALE VOLUNTEERS, OFTEN PULLING THEIR HAIR AND BITING THEM VERY VERY HARD. WE HAD ONE QUARANTINE VOLUNTEER QUIT AFTER ONLY ONE DAY BECAUSE RUSBER BIT HER QUITE DEEPLY ON THE HAND. AND RIGHT AFTER HE DID SO HE GAVE ME BIG PUPPY DOG EYES AND CUDDLED UP IN MY ARMS. I MUST ADMIT, I SECRETLY LOVE RUSBER´S CHAUVINISTIC WAYS. ALSO, RUSBER AND PEPE (ALSO A BOY) WERE GOING AT IT THE OTHER DAY WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO PUT THEM AWAY FOR BED, AND YOU KNOW THAT MADE MY DAY.
LLORONA
ONE OF MY BIGGEST CHARACTER FLAWS IS THAT I DEMAND CONSTANT PRAISE AND ATTENTION FROM THE PEOPLE AROUND ME. WITHOUT IT, I START TO FEEL VERY UNNAPRECIATED. IF IT WASN´T FOR LLORONA, I MIGHT´VE TRIED TO SWITCH OUT OF THE QUARANTINE AFTER ONLY TWO WEEKS. SHE WILL LITERALLY SIT IN MY LAP OR ON MY SHOULDER FOR HOURS RUNNING HER LITTLE FINGERS THROUGH MY BEARD AND HAIR, ITICHING MY BUG BITES AND LICKING UP BITS OF DEAD SKIN. SHE´S LIKE A PERSONAL MASSEUSE THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE AT ALL TIMES OF THE DAY. LLORONA IS QUITE OLD AND HAS A LARGE SCAR UNDER HER RIGHT EYE. BUT SHE´S STILL MY FAVORITE.
FEMALE CAPUCHIN MATING BEHAVIOR
A VIDEO OF FEMALE MATING BEHAVIOR IN CAPUCHIN MONKEYS TAKEN AT PARQUE MACHIA ANIMAL REFUGE IN VILLA TUNARI BOLIVIA. CAPUCHINS DO NOT SEEM TO DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN SOME SPECIES AS THESE AFFECTIONS WERE CLEARLY DIRECTED AT THE CAMERAMAN.
SO LOOKS LIKE I´M BACK DRINKING THE KOOL-AID HERE AT GOOD OL´ PARQUE MACHIA. MY FAITH IN INTI WARA YASSI HAS BEEN RESTORED… SORT OF. WE HELD A BIG MEETING WITH THE HEAD VET AND EVERYONE WHO WORKS IN THE MONKEY QUARANTINE AND TALKED ABOUT THE MONKEYS PASSING AWAY. THEY SAID IT WASN´T THE VOLUNTEERS´ FAULT AND THINGS HAD BEEN STRAINED IN THE ADMINISTRATION AND THEY WERE JUST SORTING OUT WHAT VETS WENT WHERE IN THE PARK AND THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE THE VETS IN MORE AND THEY WERE REALLY SORRY AND YADA YADA YADA. REALLY, THE THING THAT SOLD ME WAS THAT THEY SHOWED ME THAT THEY DID HAVE A PLAN FOR EACH MONKEY TO GET OUT OF QUARANTINE- THEY JUST DIDN´T HAVE THE NEW PARK FOR THEM FULLY DEVELOPED YET. BUT THEY´VE BOUGHT THE LAND AND THEY´RE BUILDING A CLINIC FOR THEM AS WE SPEAK. THE HEAD VET, JOHNNY, IS A REAL SMART GUY AND I LIKED EVERYTHING HE HAD TO SAY IN THE MEETING.
BUT THE PROBLEMS IN QUARANTINE AND THE PROBLEMS WITH THE FORMER PRESIDENT HAVEN´T BEEN THE ORGANIZATIONS ONLY PROBLEMS SINCE I´VE BEEN HERE. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE HERE EITHER HAS FOOT FUNGUS, KNEE INJURIES, OR PARASITES. A MAN WAS SERIOUSLY ELECTROCUTED IN THE SHOWER OF MY HOSTAL TWO WEEKS AGO AND HAD ENTRANCE AND EXIT WOUNDS ON HIS HAND AND FOOT. TWO DAYS AFTER THAT, THREE GIRLS WERE ROBBED AT GUN POINT IN TOWN. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN QUITTING EVERY DAY. AT ONE POINT WE AVERAGED FOUR QUITS A DAY WHICH IS QUITE BAD CONSIDERING THE PARK NEVER HAS MORE THAN 40 VOLUNTEERS. BUT I´M A MAN OF FAITH. MAYBE THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIT OF BAD TIMING FOR ME. I HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT I SHOWED UP AT PARQUE MACHIA WHEN IT WAS AT IT´S ABSOLUTE WORST EVER.
THIS REFUGE IS LIKE THE BAD NEWS BEARS OF ANIMAL REFUGES. WE COME FROM ALL OVER AND WE DRINK AND SMOKE AND SOME OF US ONLY SPEAK ENGLISH AND SOME OF US ONLY SPEAK SPANISH. AND SOME OF US ONLY SORT OF CARE BUT SOME OF US GO OUT THERE AND WE TRY TO SAVE THEM AMINALS REAL HARD.
FOR THE LAST TWO DAYS WE ONLY HAD TWO VOLUNTEERS IN THE MONKEY QUARANTINE-MYSELF AND A HARD WORKING NEW GIRL NAMED AILIS WHOSE FROM SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. IT´S ALREADY A TWELVE HOUR WORK DAY SO WITH ONLY TWO WE CAN´T POSSIBLY GET EVERYTHING DONE FOR THOSE LITTLE MONKEYS BEFORE THE SUN GOES DOWN. I´M SO BUSY DOING THE CHORES THAT I DON´T KNOW WHAT THE MONKEYS ARE DOING. BUT A TON OF NEW VOLUNTEERS SHOWED UP ON A BUS TONIGHT, LOOKING CLEAN AND SEXY AND READY TO SAVE THE WORLD. DESPERATELY WANTING THEM TO STAY, I LOOKED UP FROM MY BEER AND UTTERED WHAT MIGHT BE THE NEW PARQUE MACHIA MOTTO:
¨EVERYONE MAKE THIS LOOK LIKE THE BEST DAMN ANIMAL REFUGE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.¨
