Outwitted by a monkey

At the gorilla orphan facility in Kinigi we care for 2 monkeys - a golden monkey and a vervet monkey.  Neither are releasable. The little vervet is called Gimlet, and she was a "pet" from a very young age until she was confiscated several years ago. She still has scars around her waist where her "leash" was attached.  She loves to be groomed by her caregivers, but is a very confused little monkey.  The Golden Monkey has also been in human care since a young age, and is missing a hand after an accident with his cage several years ago.

Last week Gimlet was found with a broken right arm in the morning.  She must have tried to reach something outside the mesh and gotton her arm tangled.  Her ulna was broken and her elbow dislocated - poor little thing.   Sandy and I anesthetized her so I could try to repair the damage.  We don't have an X-ray machine so I had to rely on my hands to evaluate the fracture - it felt like only the ulna was fractured, and the radius was stable.  Gimlet was pretty relaxed under anesthesia, and I was able to get the elbow back into proper position.  We didn't have any cast material available, so I bandaged her arm, making her a nice little pink jacket.  Now, I've had some experience with monkeys and fractures, and I was pretty confident that my technique would work.  AND she looked great in pink!

She got it off in 2 hours.

Outwitted by a monkey, again.






The next day Magda and I tried again.  This time we put a nice splint on, and taped the makeshift "cast" to her arm.

She got this one off in 3 hours.

Never underestimate the determination of a monkey.

Take three was a splint, wrap, and tape all the way around her body, and the whole thing smeared with a yucky tasting paste.

This one stayed on for 6 days!!!

Yesterday Magda and I looked at her again - the bone is healing nicely, and the elbow is still in place - yay!  We put yet another bandage on, and as of today, she only has the outer layer off...  little stinker!  But even if she gets this on off, I thing her arm will heal well.

Felt good being a monkey doctor again - even if I was outwitted...

Here is the gorilla peanut gallery - the monkey procedures provided a good deal of entertainment for them!