Kamal, an endangered Geoffroy's spider monkey rescued by Wildtracks
Kamal (shortened to Kam), an endangered Geoffroy's spider monkey, arrived in January 2016 - the most emaciated and sickly intake that Wildtracks has encountered. He was only ten months old when he was confiscated by the Belize Forest Department - skin and bones, and missing most of his hair from malnutrition and scabies. Far too young to be away from his mother, he was on his own, attached to a wire in someone's yard.
Kam took time to put on weight. For the first months after arrival he was still skin and bones, terrified of sudden movements, and completely reliant on his carers. With the introduction of a diet of high nutrient milk formula, fruit and leaves, he gradually started putting on weight.
Over the months, his hair started to grow in, and exercise and sunshine improved his muscles and energy levels
Kam is now healthy and happily integrated with Cas, another young spider monkey. Kam and Cas have now moved out of the Nursery Unit and into one of the Forest Enclosures. They have begun their integration with Chippa and Izzie, two of the younger female spider monkeys in the Spider Monkey Complex, with the hope that they will become a unit of four.
Story written in December, 2016
Top photograph by Eran Gissus
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