Loca The Capuchin Monkey

When I signed up for two weeks, I was assigned to work with Loca, a three-year old Capuchin monkey. I received information booklets on the needs and habits of Capuchin monkeys, and a stack of typed files. Each file had been written by a previous volunteer who had worked with Loca.
When Loca was a few weeks old, a group of Bolivians snatched her from her mother and sold her in a market in La Paz. The Bolivian family who bought her kept her in a metal cage just large enough for her to stand. They cleaned the cage rarely, so that her fur matted and her skin grew infected from constant contact with her feces and urine. Her lungs weakened from the lack of fresh air. She grew nervous, depressed and irritable. The family nicknamed her Loca, meaning crazy, because of her erratic, and sometimes violent, behaviour. Her skin infection and mood swings worsened, and the family wanted to dispose of her. They brought her to the jungle to set her free. Loca had never seen another wild animal before. She clung to the family, hid in their clothes, and wailed. They brought her back to their home. A neighbour took Loca from the family and brought her to Inti Wara Yassi.
Loca received the same treatment as all new animals at the refuge. A veterinarian treated her illnesses, and placed her in quarantine for thirty days of observation. He shaved her fur to rid her of her infection, and, with the help of volunteers, slowly exposed her to the other animals. After the quarantine period, the volunteer coordinator assigned a volunteer to bring Loca up to the monkey park on a cord. This volunteer ensured that Loca ate properly, protected her from other animals, and started the process of integrating her into the Inti Wara Yassi family.
In her first few weeks, Loca stayed with her volunteer at all times and avoided interacting with other monkeys. Like all volunteers at the park, Loca's volunteer read information on the habits and behaviours of capuchin monkeys, and learned to set goals for Loca. At the end of her two weeks of volunteering, she wrote a progress report. The next volunteer read that report, and continued the work.

When I arrived at the park and read the previous reports on Loca, I set goals for my two weeks with her. I wanted Loca to be comfortable eating with the other monkeys and to interact regularly. Utlimately, we wanted Loca to become independent enough to be set free, and Loca's next volunteer was able to continue her programme and achieve this.