**UPDATE!**

We have hit our 800 pound fundraising goal for the New Enclosure for the Blind monkeys, and we've decided to up the ante! We are nearly doubling our goal to 1,500 pounds with the extra funds being put towards new sun enclosures on our Sickbay recovery area. We have until December 7th at 10:30 am to raise this money!

Sickbay is an incredibly important building on site and has helped us care for countless monkeys since being built in 2007. Some monkeys spend a short time recovering in Sickbay, but others (especially our geriatrics) will often stay inside for extended periods when they are too weak or frail to be in a troop.

Because our Sickbay monkeys are so near and dear to both of us, we'd like to use this fundraiser to help them as well! The plan is to build satellite cages connected to the indoor cages which will allow the oldies to go outside and get some much needed sunlight and enrichment.

Thank you to everyone who has donated towards these expansions- especially to Nathalie Galy for her extremely generous donation! We are incredibly grateful and very excited to have made this much progress for the blinds so far. Please help us reach our new goal and make even more of a difference for our special needs monkeys!

- Torie and Meg

***

A loud bang…then darkness and pain…

This is the sad reality for many vervet monkeys in South Africa, who are often shot by pellet guns to “deter” them from farms and homes. These pellets will ricochet within the monkey, causing significant pain and internal damage. Sometimes the monkey may be left paralyzed, other times with systemic infection. For three monkeys at the Foundation, it rendered them blind.

The Vervet Monkey Foundation has taken in countless pellet gun cases, some who heal and are able to be returned to the wild, and many who aren’t so lucky. In line with our rehabilitation programme , the VMF treats each recovery individually, providing the best possible care to give the monkey every chance to survive and eventually thrive.

In September of this year, Co-Founder and Co-Director Dave Du Toit got a call about an adult vervet, hunched over in a local person’s garden. Dave and Torie drove to the rescue, finding a female who had been shot. After a trip to the vet, we removed a pellet that had lodged itself in her left temple after damaging her optical nerves beyond repair.

This sweet female, soon named Sybil, recovered well under the care of our onsite meds team and visiting veterinarian Dr. Cheryl Chooljian. Soon after her recovery from the trauma, she was ready to meet “The Blinds”.

“The Blinds”

is our affectionate name for our social group off Engeltjie Enclosure which houses our two blind males: Jay-Bee and Shanti-Ray, Matriarch Shasta, and little Cuddy who suffered brain damage after being hit by a car. Dysfunctional as this little family may be, they've won the hearts of our onsite team, and welcomed Sybil with open arms. Check out her story here!

This little troop is beginning to outgrow their current space.

Enter Torie and Meg.

This dynamic duo is raising R15,000 (equal to $1,000 or £800) to build a larger enclosure for our blind monkeys, still off the side of Engeltjie Enclosure. This new enclosure will be outfitted to give the blind monkeys a safe and enriching environment to grow and thrive. We intend to build one large enough not only for our current monkeys, but others who may arrive in the future.

How are they going to do it?

The two of them are going to spend 24 hours (from December 6th-7th) in the introduction cages off Goliath troop (don't worry, they'll be the only primates in the cages). During this time, they will eat what the monkeys eat, enjoy some monkey enrichment, and get cozy in the monkey perches for an overnight sleepover. During this time the two will only be allowed out for bathroom breaks and if they eventually make each other crazy...

Both girls are celebrating their birthdays in December: Torie turns 28 on the 11th and Meg celebrates the 2nd anniversary of her 25th birthday on the 1st. They are asking for birthday donations towards this super awesome cause because they want the best for these monkeys!!

"On behalf of all the staff and volunteers that have fallen in love with our Blinds Family: Thank You ALL in advance for enabling our shenanigans and helping the VMF provide ever better care for the monkeys"

-Love from Torie and Meg

Photo Credit to Julie De Boeck for the beautiful Sybil Photos