News – Mona UK

7 02, 2020

Show some love this Valentine’s Day!

We’re fast approaching Valentine’s Day and it’s time to start thinking about what gifts you might purchase to adorn your loved ones and make them feel special! But what could be more romantic than buying a gift that can not only be enjoyed by your sweetheart, but extends that kindness and compassion in a way that can help others too?

At Mona Chimpanzee Sanctuary we have lots of ideas for meaningful gifts that will really show that special person you love them. Take a look at our suggestions below:

Working Holidays

Giving your loved one a special experience can sometimes mean so much more than a material gift. Our short stay working holidays allow lucky guests to join our experienced care team and become immersed in the day to day life at the sanctuary. Not only will they have an unforgettable experience working closely with the majestic wildlife at Mona, but they will make a real contribution to the welfare of our incredible rescue animals.

MORE INFO

Adopt a Chimp

Adopting one of our rescue primates is a very unique and thoughtful gift because it creates a special link between your beloved and one of our closest non-human relatives. The adopter will receive news about the life and adventures of their new furry friend, be updated on their health and their relationships within the group and, what’s more, have a wonderful warm feeling knowing that your monthly contributions are making a hugely positive impact on the lives of the animals at the sanctuary.

BUY AN ADOPTION

A Special Gift

If none of the options above […]

3 12, 2019

Stopping acting animals: essential to fight against illegal trade

The importance of raising your voice

The well-known restaurant booking platform ElTenedor released an ad in which they used a young chimp. MONA took action and launched a petition demanding that the brand withdraw it. Within a few days, more than 36,000 people had signed the petition on Change.org, and ElTenedor withdrew its advertising campaign and promised not to use chimpanzees or other wild animals in their commercials.

We want to congratulate ElTenedor for making the right decision and being so receptive to our message. Surely they will serve as an inspiration for many other brands that, due to ignorance, continue to use wild animals in their advertising campaigns.

Why is it important that ElTenedor withdrew its ad with a young chimpanzee?

Because of the big negative impact this representation has on society. It perpetuates the mistreatment of these individuals and of the next youngsters that will be used. (Yes, there are still creative minds who think that renting a chimpanzee to market a product is a great idea).

But the problem is not “only” the suffering of a “few” individuals. Seeing chimpanzees in disguise and acting, revives the illegal trafficking of primates, destined for the lucrative world of exotic pets. Already we have encountered about 80 cases of different species of primates in the hands of private individuals. Many more than those used in entertainment. And that shows the great problem that still exists today in the legislation and control of ownership, but especially in the importance of the education as an agent of change. From our beginnings we are working for the awareness of society, through guided visits and the training of future primatologists, but what is being done at the legislation level?

Turning point: Solving the European wildlife rescue crisis

3 12, 2019

Paternity test and other surprises

As you know, we are part of an international study of the chimpanzee genome, led by a team of scientists from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF). The aim is to find the countries of origin (in Africa) of the victims of illegal trafficking and thus being able to pressure local governments to implement measures to stop this trafficking as currently they usually wash their hands in the absence of evidence.

When Dr. Marquès and team presented the results, some of them caught us by surprise. The samples taken by the caretakers of each of the chimpanzees were used to determine their subspecies and the hypothetical country of origin. But in addition to the original purpose, the samples were used to verify possible kinship relationships and have uncovered a reality: […]

3 12, 2019

VII Iberian Primatology Conference

Empathy, Education and Conservation: Primates in a shared world

This year the event took place in Lisbon and this is where our Research team flew, along with some of the students of the Masters in Primatology of Fundació Universitat de Girona and Fundació MONA (masterprimatologiaudg.com).

The presentations were very interesting and enriching, showing a good “level of health” of Iberian Primatology. As always, new bonds and future collaborations were created in order to continue learning about our evolutionary family and working for their conservation and well-being. And we came back with a great reward for our work: winning 4 of the 5 awards were handed out: […]

29 11, 2019

New veterinary annex

You already know that chimpanzees are very long-lived and that some of MONA’s inhabitants are getting old. Age-related illnesses begin to be the order of the day, including a number of different heart problems.

If anaesthesia is a risk for an aging animal, […]

15 11, 2019

7 primate species, one step closer to extinction

Only 29% of all primate species are not threatened

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) updated the data of the Red List of Threatened Species. And it is no good news […]

17 10, 2019

5 actions against animal experimentation

Following the recent news about the filtering of a video recorded in the facilities of a German laboratory, the debate on the use of animals for research has been rekindled. […]

3 09, 2019

Informative session: Masters & Postgraduate in Primatology

*** LAST PLACES TO COURSE THE MASTER IN PRIMATOLOGY ***

The study of the behavior of primates is one of the fundamental sciences for the understanding of the evolution and genesis of human behavior, as well as for the conservation of these species in the wild and their care in captivity in the best well-being conditions. […]

9 08, 2019

ElTenedor withdraws the chimp from their latests advert

ElTenedor, the well-known restaurant booking app, recently used a young chimpanzee for their latest publicity campaign.

From Fundació MONA we launched a petition demanding that the brand commits to not use wild animals in their advertising, given the harsh conditions they have to endure.

After more than 36,000 people signed the petition on Change.org in only a few days, ElTenedor has announced that they will withdraw the advert and have committed not to use chimpanzees or other wild animals again in their commercials.

We want to congratulate ElTenedor for making the right decision and being so receptive to our message. Surely they will be an inspiration for many other companies that due to ignorance continue to use primates and other species in their advertising campaigns.

Thanks to Change.org and the 36,441 people that have been involved and have made this great achievement happen.

28 05, 2019

Africa’s Rescue Anniversary

Today, the 28th of June 2019, marks a very important day in the Mona calendar. It is 10 years since Mona rescued a wild born, female chimpanzee, Africa. She was captured from the wild and smuggled into Spain by boat. When she arrived in Spain she had bruises on her face and back, and a port worker decided to ‘save’ her and take her into his care, without knowing the full implications of keeping a wild animal in his home.

Head Keeper Talk
To help celebrate this milestone we conducted an interview with one of MONA’s first caregivers, Alba Gomara. Alba has worked with the primates at MONA from almost the very beginning, so knows Africa extremely well. We took this opportunity to look back over the past 10 years but also to look to the future.

What’s the biggest improvement you’ve seen in Africa?
When Africa first arrived we thought that her rehabilitation was going to be very difficult, as she was born in the wild, was highly humanised and hadn’t seen another chimp since being taken from the wild as a baby. Prior to her rescue she still had daily physical contact with her owners and they had developed strong emotional bonds.
The process of introducing her to other chimpanzees was slow, however she was curious. Once her other issues were addressed, such as her diet and medical problems, her rehabilitation started moving quickly. At the start she wouldn’t touch the floor and was scared of the straw, as she had never seen it before, but she soon learnt that it was not scary at all.
Soon Africa became a very intelligent and social chimp; she knows how to work the social hierarchy. For example, she created relationships with all the chimps […]