“There is nothing simple about Simon the squirrel monkey, who arrived at Jungle Friends on April 17, 2007, fit and ready for action! Simon had been ‘rescued’ from a pet shop. His new ‘owner’ could not stand to see him living in the deplorable conditions there, so Simon moved – from one pet store to another, for that was his new owner’s line of work also. Although he wasn’t ‘for sale’, Simon lived in the store with the other exotic ‘merchandise’. Confined to an indoor cage, Simon could not get the sunlight needed for young bones to grow strong. His space was not sufficient for him to expend his enormous energy, and he had no companion of his own species. No wonder Simon was biting the customers! His new owner soon realized that Simon’s needs could not be met in that environment.
So, Jungle Friends was contacted, and we began the work of fundraising and building a new outdoor habitat for Simon.
After much anticipation, Laura and I set off for South Florida to pick up Simon. When we arrived, we were surprised to see how young he was – not much more than a baby.
After the long trip back to Jungle Friends, Simon was more than ready to check out his new home. He flew out of the travel cage with great enthusiasm when I opened the door.
Simon’s first piece of business was to threaten the neighboring spider monkeys.
Simon |
Kilroy |
Now Simon has plenty of space and sunshine.
And, it seems that Simon has already caught the eye of another one of our squirrel monkey residents. Kilroy is trying to get a better view of his new friend, and making monkey sounds to him, and Simon sings right back.
I think I heard him saying to Kilroy the other day ‘If you’ll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal…’ Well, Kilroy might call him Al, but I’m calling him Rhymin’ Simon. With Simon’s cuteness and his young age, though, I don’t think he will actually need a bodyguard or a name change to protect him from the other guys!
We are off to build a runway so Simon can navigate around the squirrel monkey complex and meet everyone. Keep your fingers crossed that once Simon settles in a little more that the match between Kilroy and him works out. In parting, ‘Simon Says’ please visit our website and consider making a donation or sponsoring a monkey today!”
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