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October 6, 2005

Dear Friends of Jungle Friends,

Buddy's Big Adventure

I am happy to report that Buddy, our blind retired research squirrel monkey, went outside for the first time last week! We first thought it was an accident or a fluke; however, he went right back out the next day.

Buddy lives with Howard, another retired research monkey, who is nearly blind. We have their indoor enclosure and outdoor habitat set up with many PVC perches so that they are able to negotiate their space easily and safely.

When we discovered that Buddy had gone out on his own, we brought him several bowls of food to scatter around where ever he traveled so that he was sure to find them. He would hang by his tail searching for the food bowls that his heightened sense of smell told him were near. We also put up half a dozen water bottles for his convenience.

During Buddy's adventure he climbed around much more than we had expected. He did not appear to be nervous at all, just very happy about being outside, feeling the warm sun on his little body. Buddy had not felt the sun in nearly two decades. It was a little breezy that day and Buddy seemed to enjoy the wind in his face that brought the fragrance of other parts of the sanctuary to him. He would reach down to the earth floor grabbing at pieces of plant and grass. All of Buddy's senses were engaged.

Howard joined him; I am not sure if he stayed near Buddy to protect him and comfort him or because I had some special treats. Either way, I feel that Buddy felt more secure with Howard nearby.

We sat with Buddy for the better part of the day, until it was nearing evening and then we helped him back inside. We hope that "Buddy's Big Adventure" will be repeated again soon and often. One of the things that we have noticed about the monkeys here at Jungle Friends, is that they definitely seem to prefer being outside rather than inside!

Jungle Friends eBay Store
We are working on our 2006 calendar and it should be ready by the end of October. The monkeys that we are featuring in the calendar next year are; Angel, Udi, Lizzy, Goldie, Stinky, PC, Jimisett, Marvin, Lily, Murphy, Iris and Moses. The Monkey Calendars are only $25 and they make really great holiday gifts. Below is a preview of the 2006 Monkey Calendar, we are still making minor adjustments and changes.

If you could get your orders in as soon as possible, that would be great! You can order the calendar on the website. Don't worry, we know it still has the 2005 calendar, but we will send you the 2006 calendar. Actually, it would be better if you ordered your Monkey Calendars from our eBay store and then give us good feedback!

Our eBay store is called Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary and you can get to it by clicking here http://stores.ebay.com/Jungle-Friends-Primate-Sanctuary. We also have monkey art listed and are listing new items all the time, so please visit our eBay store today! Also, if you have any items that are monkey-related that you would like to donate, just send them to us and we will list them on our eBay store.

Stacey DiBiccaro, one of our past interns, made a wonderful 10-minute video of the Jungle Friends monkeys. We will include a DVD with all orders. If you just want to order the DVD itself, we will send it to you for a donation of $15. Thank you Stacey!!

Please make a donation to Jungle Friends today!