Update # 3 September 8, 2004

"The witness of a monkey hunt"

It was about 9 am, August 1st 2004, Walla the dog was curled up on my lap and
we were quietly enjoying the bus ride from Lxiamis to Ruarranabaque. The bus
suddenly stopped; there was yelling and excitement outside. I looked out the
window and saw about 20 lion monkeys. They were about the size of a fist and
mostly black with long tails. Some were way up in the trees screeching and
hopping, some were lower in the trees and some were on the ground hopping
into the trees as fast as they could.

There is a lot of deforestation between Ixiamis and Ruarranabaque, and the
animals that live there are extremely vulnerable. My guess is that these
monkeys were momentarily on the ground to cross the street.

Time froze. The bus door opened. Six men jumped out of the bus running at
full speed. They ran and lunged at the monkeys on the ground with their
whole bodies. There were high-pitched screeches from all around as the lion
monkeys ran for their lives. The commotion lasted for less then 15 seconds
and then there was silence.

One of the men started yelling. He had jumped on a monkey and his body was
covering her/him. The other men ran over and covered the screeching,
wiggling monkey in clothes. He/she knew it was life or death, and I watched
him/her fight desperately for freedom. One little animal against 6 men
didn’t stand much of a chance. The men got back on the bus with strong
forceful hands and arms wrapped around the wad of clothes that held the
panicked life. She/he will never see his/her family again; never live in the
trees again; never be free again. In those 15 seconds his/her life was taken
away. Time started again. Walla licked my hand. The bus drove on. I
prayed we would find land fast.

Stella Sythe, Esperanza de Libertad Project Coordinator, USA

Esperanza de Libertad is a Bolivian foundation dedicated to forming an animal
sanctuary in Northern Bolivia. Our current project is to buy land in Bolivia.
If you would like to receive emails with the latest news about Esperanza de
Libertad please sign up at: http://lists.riseup.net/www/subrequest/esperanza_de_libertad

Background on Lion Monkeys (note: I saw black lion monkeys):

Vocabulary Words: deforestation, arboreal, diurnal

Physical Appearance: Slightly smaller than squirrels, tamarins are commonly
called "kings of the jungle" because manes around their faces make them look
like lions. All of the species (members) of this family have claws that they
use to dig under bark to gather meals of insects.

Adaptations: The Lion Tamarins are related to Marmosets. They are about 12
inches tall not including the tail, which can be up to 17 inches, long, and
weigh up to 2 pounds. Tamarins jump through trees using their fingers to hold
onto branches.

Reproductive Cycle and Family Habits: Tamarins live in family groups. Parents
mate once a year producing two offspring (babies) per birth. The older twins
stay a long time with their family helping their parents take care of the
children. Both parents care for newborns. The father takes care of the tiny
babies by carrying them on his back. Mothers nurse babies every two to three
hours.

Habitat: Tamarins live in Eastern forests of Brazil. These forests once
covered one million square miles, but because of deforestation 90% of their
home is cleared. Lion tamarins only live in this part of the world because
they are arboreal (preferring dense vegetation of the rainforest).

Threats to Survival: Lion tamarins are losing their homes because of habitat
destruction. This part of Brazil was one of the first areas to be colonized.
Crowding in the surrounding cities makes people want to move to rural areas,
the rainforest. New settlers trying to make ends meet as farmers clear the
rainforest, the home of tamarins, to grow cash crops. Agriculture, industry
and urban expansion all threaten the habitats of lion tamarins.

Behavior: Tamarins are diurnal, meaning they like to seek shelter for the
night in tree cavities. They are sensitive to direct sunlight, so during the
hottest part of the day they stay in the dense vegetation of the rainforest.

Diet: Tamarins are omnivores, meaning they like to eat both plants and
animals. They spend a lot of their day looking for their favorite foods like
small fruits, insects like wild roaches, and even small lizards and snakes.

Language: Tamarins talk to each other by thrills, whines and clucks.

Predators (animals who hunt for tamarins): Black-hawk eagle, ornate
hawk-eagle, jaguar, jaguarundi, ocelot, and tayra.

The golden lion monkey (Leontopithecus rosalia), one of the most threatened
animals of Brazilian fauna, is still endangered, despite enormous efforts by
various Brazilian and international organizations to restore the species.

Starting from the Atlantic Forest, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, a recent
census carried out by the biologist Cecília Kierulff of the Federal
University of Minas Gerais indicated the existence of only 559 monkeys of
which just 290 were living in the Biological Reserve at Poços das Antas in
the municipality of Silva Jardim (Rio de Janeiro). The others were found in
areas without any protection where deforestation and hunting are not
controlled.

In addition to this problem, the populations are very small and the isolation
between them has resulted in considerable inbreeding, which in some cases has
reached 100%. Cecília Kierulff predicts that this fact, together with hunting
and deforestation, which have continued in the region, may lead to the
non-viability of the species during the next hundred years.