Monkey on my head #AtoZChallenge
“The responses of the baby monkey are very similar to those of a human baby.”
— Harry Harlow
A monkey climbed all over a guy in the courtyard. A woman fed it pieces of banana while she touched it here and there.
The monkey ran over to some dogs, climbed all over them, raced back to the guy. It was on top of his head in a no time. Bite of banana. To the dogs. To the man’s head. Rinse, repeat. So much energy!
My husband and I had stopped for lunch at a hotel near Cojimies. We were receiving quite a show with our meal! After lunch, we asked the woman about the scene. She was a veterinarian. The Lodge had asked her to come and do a check up.
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| Monkey on man’s shoulders while vet does check up Coco Solo, Cojimies, ManabĂ, Ecuador |
The baby mantled howler monkey was found nearby with it’s deceased mom the day before. He was only a few days old. They were bottle feeding him and would keep him as wild as possible. They hoped a nursing female could be found to adopt him.
While we were talking, the monkey continued racing around. At some point, he ended up in the woman’s arms. I asked if I could hold him. Once she established that I had on no lotion, makeup or other products that could harm the baby, she let him climb on me.
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| He scampered up on his way to the highest location |
He went straight to the top of my head and started kneading my scalp with his baby soft fingers. His cool, rough tail wrapped around my neck, providing added balance.
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| Once on top, he settled in |
As we left, we thanked them for taking care of the little orphan. I hope he’s running around in the trees today with some friends, having a ball.
If you are visiting from the #AtoZChallenge please include your blog link in a comment so I can check it out.
Emily Bloomquist
I am a US Expat in Ecuador. I grew up on a Minnesota farm, worked in IT in California's Silicon Valley, then moved to a coastal Ecuador fishing village. My goal is to share Ecuador with you, one snippet at a time. Topics include attractions, compassion, ecotourism, Ecuador products, everyday Ecuador, and flora and fauna. Please let me know what you would like to read more about!
22 Comments
Molly of Molly's Canopy
What a great story and photos! When I was a kid, a monkey once stole my grandmother's hat and ran up a tree with it at the Catskill Game Farm in upstate New York. It was quite a job convincing the playful monkey to give it back!
Emily Bloomquist
I imagine that it took a lot of convincing! Thanks for the fun story.
Donna H
That's a cool story. Girl Who Reads
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Donna!
Judy Rinehimer
Fun read. Thoughtful vet, too. I wonder if the vet was able to tag or microchip the baby to monitor its location in the future.
I am still working on my "M" blog about Mountain Lions. I certainly don't one on my head! — Judy Rinehimer
Emily Bloomquist
Good question about monitoring the baby. Wish I would have thought to ask.
Oh I also would not want a Mountain Lion on my head! Looking forward to your post about them, though.
Bob Scotney
When my sons were young they hd their photos taken with monkeys on their shoulder – not in the will however.
Ironically links work in comments here but still not on the AtoZ Callenge site. M for Menabilly http://bit.ly/2pCbDhS
Emily Bloomquist
Cool photos and memories for your sons!
Glad the links are at least partially working now.
coach-daddy
What a cool experience! I love that people were so concerned about the baby's safety, too. The closest I ever got to this was the time in school when a python peed on my back.
———-
Eli@CoachDaddy
M is for Men I Forgot to Be
Emily Bloomquist
Wow – a python peed on your back? I think I prefer the monkey 🙂
It was touching to see how caring and concerned for his safety they were.
Sonrisa
Oh my! I would freak out with a monkey on my head, haha!
Heidi at, Decibel Memos (Perspectives absent of sound)
Emily Bloomquist
It was very cool!
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Hi Emily – lovely to read about and to see the photos -liek you … I hope he is safely and happily in amongst the trees and his pals in the wild …cheers Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/m-is-for-melton-mowbray-market-national.html
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Hilary – I certainly hope so, too.
A Tarkabarka Hölgy
D'awwww! Adorable!
The Multicolored Diary: WTF – Weird Things in Folktales
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks! 🙂
Jean Davis
A baby monkey scalp massage, now there's a spa treatment I bet you hadn't planned on. Good to see that it was being taken care of.
Discarded Darlings – Jean Davis, Speculative Fiction Writer, A to Z: Editing Fiction
Emily Bloomquist
Completely unexpected but great spa treatment!
Chicky Kadambari
Hahaha! That sounded like a fun story, Emily! Although I must confess… I would have totally freaked out at having the monkey come anywhere near me, let alone sit on my head! But I like people who care for animals.
Btw, I'm lagging behind. (Was unwell.) Will post my 'L' and catch up with your 'L' next Sunday. In the meantime, DO visit my 'M'.
Happy AtoZing!
Chicky @ http://www.mysteriouskaddu.com
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Chicky! I think that you are in the majority. A lot of people have told me they would have watched from afar.
Glad you are feeling better. I will check out your M post!
Courtney Turner
Not something that happens every day! Will a wild monkey mom adopt him if he smells like a human – by hanging around humans? Or are monkeys not that fussy about human contact? Maui Jungalow
Emily Bloomquist
They have had success before with wild moms adopting infants. They have also had the infants rejected. So it is kind of a guessing game that depends on the mom. Contact with humans is not a problem, though, like with some other creatures.