Long lost urine...

I found myself watching monkeys last night, or lately I should say and when they urinate the thought that goes through my head is always along the lines of: "Nooo! Long lost urine! You could've been mine!" Yes, it's that serious. Almost heartbreaking at moments, especially when an individual urinates that you had been trying so hard to collect from.

Mrs. Fuzzy, begging: "Please?"

Mr. Fuzzy eating his marshmallows, after feverishly rubbing himself.

Alas, it's been an insanely busy week at the Conservancy. Today there was about 11 people in the woods (unhappy face insert here). WAY too many people. Thank God for Larissa who was watching Spruce be re-introduced to Connie with me, I had to hand her my clipboard half way through, because I had a migraine I felt was splitting my head in two. Spruce is on the floor. At least, that is where I left him. I think Connie smells Lilac on him and is super pissed off. I'm sure in the wild she would have rejected him. I mean, wouldn't you reject someone who left you for someone else? If only I could talk to her I'd say: "It wasn't his choice, it was ours, silly humans - and he was very unhappy." Maybe he'll speak up for himself and they can chill out again, all our cortisol levels could go down.

I had another run in with anointing yesterday. I had a photoshoot with the Fuzzies. Literally, that's what it felt like. Oh, and they asked me to anoint them. When they ran out of cinnamon coated marshmallows they looked at me, face to face, almost begging me...so I rubbed them with my cinnamon paper. They were in heaven. Obviously, they derive pleasure from this. Who can watch them and say they don't? Only someone with no common sense.

Connection and communication that occurs
without words is the most amazing kind.

LC/ MS: Losing Control (of) My Sanity :)

I spent the entire day yesterday lost, but in a good way. By the end of my undergraduate career I will owe a lot of my success to a lot of other people. Dr. John Barry at BBC is letting us use his HPLC, LCMS, and Elisa machines at will as long as we provide standards for our samples. I won't lie, it's fun. I don't know why, but it is. Maybe because it allows the perfectionist in me to come out and play without being criticized. I'm so excited, I almost can't believe its all happening. I literally stood in front of the machine yesterday that will define the next year of my life. I got a taste. I will spend countless hours at monkey jungle and countless hours at the lab over the next year, countless weekends and nights - and I'm excited. I am a ballsy undergraduate, and I will make an even ballsier graduate student.

I can't wait to run my first urine sample. I just might cry from joy! :) Seriously.

All in all, the festival during the weekend was fantastic. It was a nice turnout, and the talk by Angela Maldonado was inspiring. There was Amazonian fruit, Brazilian dancers, and lots of talk about what else? Primates. It was a really nice afternoon.

Dr. Angela Maldonado & Thomas from Entropika.

With Jay & Bruce, the team I worked with on social anointing.

The lungs of the world. 

More urine collections and observations, my hypothesis is finally coming together. I think I've decided on something I'll stick with, and it means only a slight adjustment to my methods. The only thing I want at the moment is to watch the antics of Wookie & Austin, I think I will make time for them tonight. (: 

A Bittersweet Symphony ♪

Like humans, who are sometimes incompatibile together as a unit. I find that owl monkeys can also be incompatibile as a unit. The latest pairing will most likely be separated next week. Spruce is most likely going back in with Connie, and Gustavo is most likely going to pair with Lilac. Everyone is too stressed as is. I doubt Connie & Spruce will ever breed, but he won't breed with Lilac either if he is so "unhappy."

Lilac & Spruce, a few days after pairing, before sunset.
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Urine collection was unsuccessful this week. No one wanted to pee. It's like they went on strike. Almost as if saying: "No! Just because I'm a monkey and your holding a marshmallow DOES NOT mean you can manipulate me into peeing in a bowl for you!" Me:  -__-

Yesterday I think Violet deliberately urinated outside her enclosure just to spite me. How she managed that one, is over my head. Whoever says animals don't have a mind of their own, has very obviously never met a primate.

The festival is this Saturday! Get excited! FIU has also taken an interest in the research at the Conservancy, which is fantastic. I say the more exposure for our partnership, the better. We do fantastic things, and I'm pleased the university I've spent the last 5 years of my life at agrees. On that note, my thanks go out to Dr. Furton and Dr.Makemson who seem to both have forwarded & gotten my e-mails into the right hands & Evelyn Perez for a fantastic article. It's my deep hope that the link between FIU and the Conservancy will only grow stronger as the years progress.

http://news.fiu.edu/2012/02/research-with-monkeys-may-yield-solutions-to-conservation-issues/35523

A bittersweet week indeed, but here's to the future and to looking forwards and never behind.

It's a Festival!

The Amazon Festival is on Saturday! Last year was a lot of fun, with the Brazilian dancers and all that jazz. This year, both Angela Maldonado and Mireya Mayor are set to speak. 

Urine collection is becoming easier, I'm finding a rotation of three pairs per week works wonders. What's even better? People WANT to collect urine and possibly be peed on. I couldn't do what I want without everyone at the Conservancy working as a team, and we do, and for that I am beyond blessed. 

Also, since we can't publish this I may as well include it here. This map is the coolest map ever. If only there was a way we could adequately test what the pattern may suggest. 

It's Dog-gone luck!

I have evening urine samples for the next pairing! Here I thought I would continue to be unlucky, but I thank Monkey.

I found this beautiful german shepherd on the way to the conservancy last night. She was running amuk and almost got run over by a car twice. Yet she was so sweet and so full of life. I couldn't bear the thought that something so full of life, with so much love to give would just be obliterated from the world. So, I took her to monkey jungle with me! :) Needless to say, everyone loved having her there and she loved being there. I named her Monkey - she responded to it, and I figured it was fitting. I ended up reuniting her with her owner. It was this little old lady who was very happy I had returned her, and Monkey well...she ended up bringing me luck.

Urine sample from exactly who I needed urine from.

Hello Sex, Goodbye Bugs

I missed posting on Tuesday, I blame the start of another busy semester. In all actuality, Tuesday was quite exciting. It was a full moon out, and it's 'that time of year' so owl monkeys were mating. I saw Restina and Ferry mate 3x, and I saw Yanni & Pinegirl attempt. It was all very exciting. It means that hopefully some infants should be born this year. Yanni does this thing where he constantly scratches his left arm with his right hand. Such odd behavior.

I actually went in that night to clean out the freezer. Yes, quite glorious. I had to make space for urine samples so I had to get rid of these cell culture plates. I'm not going to lie, just that alone made the day cool. Leaf bugs, and a butterfly. All frozen, and perfect.

I've been quite un-successful in collecting urine samples in the evening. Let's see if I can change that tonight. 

Clicker Training?

The elusive clicker. I used it to teach my dogs numerous commands - sit, down, stay, roll over. The idea is that once you get desired X result, you click, then treat. It helps add additional positive reinforcement. I was handed one today, and I was actually quite excited but ended up not using it because I had an unsuccessful evening in terms of urine collection. I'll make sure I update on how it goes.

I went in today to organize all the urine samples we've collected from August to present time. There will be a more efficient system in place once Spring semester starts on Monday, a more orderly one at that too. It's a good and easy way for me to be accountable for each day of urine collection, and to try to match my behavioral observations to the dates samples are collected.

I wonder what they think many times. I went to sit in the enclosure with Yanni & Pinegirl today and they were looking at me like I was an alien species. Sure we feed them, but why on earth was I sitting on their floor? They are so curious they tried to make sense of it, which I understand and respect. If only there was owl monkey talk for "May you please urinate for me?" They kept inching up towards me, analyzing me, and then bouncing away. Literally "bouncing" since some of the enclosure bars have a spring to them if they walk on them to fast.

Life is like a night in the owl monkey woods, you never know what you're going to get.

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

Tonight I saw one of the most astounding behaviors. I have been watching owl monkeys on and off for five years on various projects. Tonight, on the fifth year, on the first day that the temperature has dipped into the low 40's this year I observed cold owl monkeys and then IT happened. Austin is part of one of our newer pairs, with Wookie as a mate - he came from Texas - hence the name. Tonight, they were huddled together for warmth and Austin was sitting on his wooden open box and he brought his hands together and rubbed them in a circular motion around each other and brought them up to his mouth just like people do to warm their hands!! It's audacious because no one has ever seen on documented this behavior before in an owl monkey...or maybe in New World primates period. It was amazing, but of course I can't blame him - it was freezing!

Wookie (left), Austin (right). In October.

I went out tonight for the mere fact that it was cold, and I wanted to see the change in behavior and hormone levels on such a night. I was expecting to see correlations, but that blew my mind. By the way, collecting owl monkey urine is one of the hardest things I've had to do. They are the only anthropoid that soils their nest box - so they urinate throughout the day (even though they are nocturnal)! Alas though, with the help of marshmallows we are trying to employ a reward system for urination. Oh the lengths you go to in research. However, this has to be by far one of the most rewarding and enjoyable projects I've had the pleasure to be a part of.