Saving howler monkeys in Chiriqui

PANAMA. When Michelle and Steven Walker arrived in Panama with their two children three years ago they little expected that their family would expand so rapidly, or that the latest arrivals would be so small, black and hairy.

Yahoo, Macie, Lisa and Kitoko consider themselves adoptive siblings to the Walkers' human children but are, in fact, howler monkeys. All were rescued from near-death situations and now restored to health, are gradually being conditioned to return to the wild.

Michelle never dreamed that she would become the foster mother to a tribe of howler orphans.

"But one day we went to pay our gardener and he had this monkey with him," she said. "He was dirty and skinny and looked pretty sad. We had no choice. It was a case of leave him to die or take him home and look after him."

The Walkers knew nothing about raising monkeys so they consulted the owners of Paradise Gardens in Boquete who were also involved in animal rescue and had a howler monkey of a similar age.

"They gave me lots of advice," said Michelle. "Even though the monkey looked awful he was reasonably healthy and needed only food and affection. But we were very lucky because monkeys don't tolerate medications very well."

That monkey was Yahoo who, two years later, is a fine, strapping monkey teenager who has already found a mate and is about to start his own family.

But although Yahoo may have already fled the nest, these days Michelle is rarely seen without a couple of howler babies dressed in Pampers, jumping around her shoulders. The latest additions are nine-month old Lisa and six-month old Kitoko.

As a tiny newborn, Kitoko fell from her mother and was crying on the forest floor where she was found by tourists who took her to Summit Gardens in Gamboa. She had to be bottle-fed every two hours, 24 hours a day for several months, and is now a healthy six-months old.

"Kitoko (it means 'beautiful') survived because there was a woman in Summit who was totally dedicated to her," Michelle said. "The same woman is now planning a trip to UK to study primates and wants to come back to Panama to start a primate rescue sanctuary."

Which is why Kitoko moved in with the Walker family in June this year.

Lisa was raided by a woman in Bocas del Toro who was seven months pregnant and running a fledgling bed and breakfast when Lisa was first brought to her by her gardener who had rescued her from poor living conditions. Lisa stayed in Bocas for nine months.

"I don't know how this lady coped for so long," said Michelle. "You can imagine trying to look after a new born human and a young monkey. It would be like raising twins."

In the wild, monkeys cling to their mothers for up to 15 months and only then start to become independent. So both Lisa and Kitoko still sleep in the Walker's bedroom and Michelle spends a good part of her day out in the garden teaching them to climb trees and encouraging them to explore. Eventually both Kitoko and Lisa will move outside into the Walker's large 6 x 12 metre enclosure where they will initially be locked up overnight for their own safety, and then gradually left for longer periods out in the open.

This is how Yahoo and his companion Macie were re-introduced to the wild. They now live and feed in the treetops and just come down to visit the Walkers once or twice a day.

"Macie was waiting for me outside the door at 5.30 this morning." said Michelle. "She bounced in, jumped up for a few minutes cuddle time, and then went outside."

But though monkeys may look cute and cuddly, when they are young, they grow up to be wild animals, dominated by their instincts, and they can be dangerous. Last week, Yahoo bit Michelle when she tried to stop him from destroying her kitchen in a fit of pique.

"He knows he is male and I am female so he wants to dominate," said Michelle.

When they are not dealing with hostile monkey teenagers, Michelle and Steven are busy further landscaping their tropical paradise on the top of the Chorcha Plateau, just 25 minutes outside David. They have already created five walking and bird-watching trails and offer overnight accommodation in state-of-the-art hammocks, complete with built in mosquito nets and fly sheets so that visitors can experience sleeping out in the jungle. For the less adventurous, they also offer a large, family-sized tent on a covered platform.

Steven takes visitors on excursions through the jungle or boat trips through the unspoiled mangroves on the nearby estuary. Soon they begin construction of family cabins with views overlooking Boca Brava.