A Zookeeper's Adventuresin Belize

In February, Prospect Park Zoo keeper Crystal DiMiceli visited Belize, but unlike most travelers to this Central American country, she didn't go there for sandy beaches and tropical drinks. Instead, she went for business. Monkey business.

DiMiceli joined other staff from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) zoos to participate in a survey to identify and count black howler monkeys over a three-week period. WCS has been working since 1992 to re-establish a population of these monkeys in southern Belize's Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and Jaguar Reserve.

Howler monkeys disappeared from Cockscomb by the late 1970s, due to a series of natural and man-made disasters that occurred before the reserve was created. From 1992 to 1994, 14 troops-62 animals in total-were relocated from a sanctuary in northern Belize and released as family units in the reserve. Until the zoo staff returned in 2006, there had been no follow-up counts of the Cockscomb troops. Though visitors and scientists had reported seeing or hearing the howler monkeys-known for their deep, loud calls-it was unknown whether the population had grown in the intervening years.

During their time in the jungle, DiMiceli and the other WCS staff worked with volunteers, field assistants, and park wardens to track the monkeys, recording howling and other evidence of their nearby activity. The group hiked and camped throughout the Cockscomb reserve as they conducted their monkey business, trading conference calls for howler calls and power lunches for trail mix. They followed the monkey groups they encountered, recording their sex and estimating ages. With each sighting, they recorded the locations on a global positioning unit, later entering this data on a map.

By the end of their survey, the group determined that at least 21 troops live in the reserve, comprising more than 100 monkeys. The actual population is likely to be even bigger, since the survey team limited their search to only a quarter of the approximately 160-square-mile reserve.

Returning with news-and noise-of the growing population in Cockscomb, DiMiceli got back to work serving her other clients. Among them were Hamadryas baboons and cotton-topped tamarins, who had missed her dearly.


Posted by: Janet    Source