Tag: nature

Monkey Forest Tales: Balance of our activities in 2025

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As the year is ending we want to talk today about the projects and activities we develop this year. Probably one of the main goals of 2025 was finishing the project focus on the distribution of the ornate titi monkey (Plecturocebus ornatus). This project started in 2024 and we were able to finished, including the publication of its result in 2025. Although our results were more discouraging than we expected and we had to change this endemic species to a more threatened with extinction category (i.e. they have more risk to disappear in the near future than before), at least know we know what we need to do and we hope that we can make a difference for them in the next few years.We have the opportunity to showed these results in different scenarios and talk about this endemic species to different audiences, from kids to land owners and conservation organizations and other academics in our region and internationally. This project was possible thanks to the incredible support of Little Chalcraft Fund – Rewild and Primate Conservation Inc, we are grateful for their support.

We also started a new project focus on the distribution of another endemic species (Saimiri albigena), a species that is close to my heart as I did my undergraduate and master thesis focus only on this species and is one of the species most found in centers for animals suffering from traffic for pets market in some parts of Colombia. In 2025 we were able to make half of our planned samplings and we are starting to process that data. This project is supported by Rewild.

Additionally we were able to start a new education activity in which we place a tent with education activities and material near to the main activities during town festivals, this education tent is called “El mono Zocay y sus amigos” (the ornate titi monkey and his friends). We were able to participate in one town festival this year, in Acacias town, a town located inside of the distribution of the ornate titi monkey. Hopefully, next year we will be able to participate in more town festivals inside the ornate titi monkeys distribution and increase the awareness and knowledge of this endemic species and the animals who live with them. We also continue searching and recording new Brumback night monkey nest sites in our study area. And supporting and helping, mostly with information private reserves that are located inside the distribution area of the three endemic primate species that we had focus our work in recent years: ornate titi monkeys, Colombian squirrel monkeys and Brumback night monkeys.I also like to thank all the landowners, local people, field assistants, volunteers, donor organizations and donor individuals that support our work over 2025 for helping and allowing me to continue with this project.

Merry Christmas!! And please celebrate without fireworks so our wildlife and domestic animals don’t suffer.

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

Monkey Forest Tales: A collaboration chapter about how Colombian squirrel monkeys (Saimiri albigena) cope with fragmentation

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In today’s post, we continue with our series of articles based on information we had been collecting in the study area over the past 21 years. We are going to talk about a collaborative chapter in which we analyze data from groups of Colombian squirrel monkeys living in a continuous area and groups living in our study area, a fragmented area. Data from two groups, one of which live in the continuous area while the other lives in the fragmented area was used to compare their diet, activity patterns and home range (territory). In addition, data comparing Colombian squirrel monkey’s group composition in both areas were also analyzed. Data from this chapter came from my undergraduate and master thesis, the first one done at Tinigua national park and the second at Zocay Project study area.

We found that diet composition varies although percentage of time used to consume different food items remain similar for arthropods (insects and spiders), fruits and flowers but not for leaves. Leaves were not observed being consumed in the fragmented area. Proportion of time spent consuming each food item was higher for all food items except for young leaves in the fragmented areas compared with the continuous area. Group composition and size were reduced in fragmented areas as well as home range. However, average daily range is higher in fragmented areas. On the other hand, stationary foraging is reduced in fragmented areas compared with the continuous area, while moving and foraging activity increased. Additionally, resting activity is reduced in fragmented areas, while moving increases for the same area when compared with the continuous area. Therefore, the Colombian squirrel monkey’s strategy in fragmented landscapes is to spend more time feeding, increasing the proportion of pioneer species chosen for the diet that are found in forest edges and living fences. The use of living fences in their home ranges increases the space available for food resources.

Español: Un capítulo colaborativo acerca de cómo los monos ardilla (Saimiri albigena) manejan la fragmentación

En el blog de hoy continuamos con nuestra serie de artículos basados en la información que hemos venido colectando en el área de estudio del Proyecto Zocay en los últimos 21 años. Vamos a hablar de un capítulo colaborativo en el cual analizamos datos de grupos de monos ardilla viviendo en zonas continuas y grupos viviendo en nuestra área de estudio, un área fragmentada. Datos de dos grupos, uno viviendo en un área continua y el otro en un área fragmentada fueron usados para comparar su dieta, patrones de actividad y rango de hogar (territorio). Además, datos comparando la composición de los grupos de monos ardilla en las dos áreas también fue analizado. Los datos de este capítulo provienen de mi tesis de pregrado y maestría, el primero realizado en el parque nacional Tinigua y el segundo en el área de estudio del Proyecto Zocay.

Encontramos que la composición de la dieta varia pero el porcentaje de tiempo usado para consumir diferentes ítems permanece similar para artrópodos (insectos y arañas), frutos y flores, pero no para hojas. Las hojas fueron consumidas en el área fragmentada. La proporción de tiempo usada consumiendo cada ítem fue mayor para todos los alimentos, excepto las hojas, en la zona fragmentada comparada con la zona continua. La composición y tamaño de los grupos fue reducido en la zona fragmentada, así como el rango de hogar. Sin embargo, el promedio de las distancias recorridas diariamente es más alta en la zona fragmentada. Por otro lado, el forrejeo estacionario es reducido en áreas fragmentadas comparado con el área continua, mientras que la actividad alimentarse mientras se mueven es mayor. Además, la actividad de Descanso es reducida en el área fragmentada, mientras que el movimiento se mayor en esta área comparado con el área continua. Por lo tanto, la estrategia de los monos ardilla colombianos es pasar más tiempo alimentándose, incrementando la proporción de plantas pioneras escogidas para su dieta y que se encuentran en los bordes de los bosques y en las cercas vivas. El uso de las cercas vivas como parte de su rango de hogar incrementa el espacio disponible para los recursos alimenticios.

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

Monkey Forest Tales: Remembering Jane Goodall

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In today’s post we want to remember and celebrate the legacy of Jane Goodall, a pioneer female researcher in primatology, who make us change the way we see humans, chimps and all primates. There are so many lessons Jane taught us…from never give up if we really wanted something, to appreciate nature and the value each living thing has just for being in this planet and to have hope that we can have a better future in which humans and the rest of the planet can live in peace…

Life has given me many opportunities, one of those was to have a few minutes chat with Jane Goodall in 2010. At that time I was feeling frustrated for not being able to talk with the different productive sectors that converge in my study area (palm oil, cattle ranchers, among others), in just a few minutes she just listened me and said to keep going and continue trying, just don’t give up…a lesson she always were repeating as one of the reason to continue working for nature and keep having hope for our planet. I’m not sure I’m exactly in speaking terms with those productive sectors but I keep trying and continue to try for as many years as I’ll be able to do it, our monkeys and other native fauna needed.

Another of the many stories she used to tell in her talks was how many of the professors in Cambridge told her that she shouldn’t say primates have personalities, even after three decades some of my own professor used to tell me the same thing. When I started, I was studying the development of red howler monkeys and I remember that for me, part of the differences that I was observing in the way the females were behaving around their infants seems to be related to their own personalities, their own life histories, but my professor though I was not scientific enough by saying that. I still agree with Jane that primates had personalities and that definitely influence the way in which they respond and behave in different situations…

Thank you, Jane, for your inspiration, for giving us hope and for sharing your love for animals with all of us. Rest in peace…

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

Monkey Forest Tales:

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The past September 1rst we celebrate International Primate Day, a day to raise awareness about the importance of this charismatic and important group of mammals of which we are part. Every time there is an environmental celebration day my mind reflects on how much we have done to really raise awareness about a specific environmental topic. This week was similar and I was reflecting on my personal work and how much impact I had made through Proyecto Zocay to raise awareness about all the primate species that share our planet with us, but especially the ones in my study area… and I have to recognize that there is still too much to do and so much to learn from them…

In a world in which all our activities impact the lives of so many primates around us and how they found strategies to adapt to the challenges they face by living close to us, it is also inevitable that we found conflict between humans and primates…For me is always challenging to mediate those conflicts, especially when I know the behavior monkeys does, like crop feeding is just their strategy to compensate for the loss of resources in an area caused by deforestation. However, I also understand the frustration and need local people in areas close to forest have to growth their crops to eat and get financial resources for their lives. For me it is always a difficult situation that requires understanding and empathy for both people and monkeys…

Despite all the efforts around the world to protect primates, most of the species are threatened in some way due to our economic activities and it seems the actions we are taking are not enough or not at a speed enough to allow many species to recover. So, what else we can do… I guess keep trying and do the best we can for the primates living near to us, even if that sometimes looks like it is not enough. Keep raising awareness and keep educating others about how smart and important primates are for our forest. Talking about their threats and searching for solutions together is part of raising awareness about primates’ conservation, support research so we understand better how they relate with their environment and how they behave and keep sharing the stories of the people working with and for them…

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. Copyrights of pictures in this blog post belongs to Francisco Gomez and Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

Monkey Forest Tales: A collaborative book chapter about the use of flooded forest by primates in Colombian Llanos (Español abajo)

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In today’s post, we continue with our series of articles based on information we had been collecting in the study area over the past 21 years. We are going to talk about a book chapter that we write with Dr. Thomas Defler. This chapter present habitat use data by primate species from three areas of Colombian Llanos: Tinigua national park, El Tuparro national park and San Martín area, Zocay Project study area. The data from Tinigua national park came from my bachelor thesis on Colombian squirrel monkeys (Saimiri albigena, before called Saimiri cassiquiarensis albigena), and published data on other primate species in this park from other authors. San Martin area data came from my master thesis focused on the behavior and ecology of Colombian squirrel monkey (Saimiri albigena) and occasional observations of other primate species in the area using flooded forest fragments and Mauritia flexuosa swamp fragments. Finally, El Tuparro national park data came from data collected by Thomas in flooded and unflooded forest focused mainly on the use of these forest types by Cebus albifrons and Sapajus apella (before called Cebus apella).

This chapter showed the importance of flooded forest in different parts of the Colombian Llanos for different primate species in degraded and undegraded areas. The use of flooded forest in the Colombian Llanos seems to be influenced by fruit availability especially during the early rainy reason in the areas studied. However, this chapter also shows that it is important to make more studies of primate species in these flooded areas as there is still information missing on how seasonal the use of this flooded forest for some primate species is as well as the role that Mauritia flexuosa swamp fragments can have on the ecology of primate species in fragmented landscapes of the Orinoquia region.

Español: Un capítulo de libro en colaboración sobre el uso de bosques inundables por monos en los Llanos Orientales

En el blog de hoy continuamos con nuestra serie de artículos basados en la información que hemos estado recolectando en el área de estudio por los últimos 21 años. Vamos a hablar de un capítulo de libro que escribimos con el Dr. Thomas Defler. Este capítulo presenta datos sobre el uso del hábitat por monos en tres áreas de los llanos colombianos: el parque nacional Tinigua y El Tuparro y el área de San Martín, área de estudio del Proyecto Zocay. Los datos del parque nacional Tinigua son parte de mi tesis de biología sobre los monos titis colombianos (Saimiri albigena, antes llamados Saimiri cassiquiarensis albigena), y datos publicados sobre otras especies de monos en este parque por otros autores. Los datos del área de San Martin vienen de mi tesis de maestría enfocada en el comportamiento y ecología de los monos titis colombianos (Saimiri albigena) y observaciones ocasionales de otras especies de monos en el área que usan fragmentos de bosque que se inundan y fragmentos de morichales (fragmentos de bosque principalmente compuestos de la palma de moriche, Mauritia flexuosa). Finalmente, los datos del parque nacional El Tuparro vienen de datos colectados por Thomas en bosques inundado y no inundados, principalmente enfocados en el uso de estos tipos de bosque por Cebus albifrons y Sapajus apella (antes llamado Cebus apella).

Este capítulo muestra la importancia de los bosques inundados en diferentes partes de los llanos colombianos para diferentes especies de monos en áreas degradadas y no degradados. El uso de bosques inundados en los llanos colombianos parece estar influenciado por la disponibilidad de frutos especialmente durante principios de la época de lluvias en las áreas estudiadas. Sin embargo, este capítulo también muestra que es importante hacer más estudios de las especies de monos en estas áreas inundadas ya que aún falta información sobre qué tan estacional es el uso de estas áreas inundadas para algunas de las especies de monos, así como el papel que los fragmentos de bosque de morichal tienen en la ecología de las especies de monos en paisajes fragmentados de la región de la Orinoquia.

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?

© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

Monkey Forest Tales: news from the field

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In today’s post we are going to talk about some of our recent news from the field. This month field season was a little bit longer due to a small anonymous donation to our field surveys. We continue with our samplings of Colombian squirrel monkey’s babies (Saimiri albigena) in Villavicencio and San Martin. We also had the opportunity to see other primate species during our surveys.

During these surveys we try to count as many monkey groups of black-capped capuchins (Sapajus apella), red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) and ornate titi monkeys (Plecturocebus ornatus) as possible. We also have the opportunity to spend time observing Colombian squirrel monkey’s babies during their first months of their lives. At the moment, Colombian squirrel monkeys have babies from one to three months old. So, some of the older babies are starting to move a little bit away from their mother’s body, starting to bite branches and trying to bite fruits, showing interest in their environment. However, this also means that Colombian squirrel monkey’s babies living in the city, also explore human structures while growing up in the city. Unfortunately, this means that in cities babies bite not only tree branches as well as electricity cables, which is a huge risk for this endemic species of Colombian primate.

It is time for ornate titi monkey’s babies too, however the ornate titi monkey’s groups we had seen up to now didn’t have any. However, we saw one six month old black capped capuchin baby in one of the groups we saw in San Martin. No babies had been observed for red howler monkeys. We will continue surveying monkey groups in both areas and will be able to make an additional sampling in Villanueva next month. Information about when and how many babies are born every year is important information to know the birth rate of monkey’s population. Over the years we have tried to compiled information about as many groups as possible of all monkey’s species in San Martin area, however resources are not always easy to get, so in some years we had not been able to collect all the information necessary, an effort we will try to correct this year and if possible, in the following years.

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

Monkey Forest Tales: Balance of Zocay Project activities in 2023 – Part 2: projects and collaborations (continuation)

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In today’s post we want to continue mentioning some of our collaborations and projects from 2023. This year also give us the opportunity to know and support an incredible nature tourist project lead by Cesar Angel and his company Nature Trips Colombia that is supporting nature tourism projects in Vista Hermosa area where ornate titi monkeys are used as an umbrella species to incentivize sustainable economic alternatives in an area that suffers from violence over the past decades.
Additionally we continue supporting Cumaral biodiversa and El Silencio farm in their effort to monitor and map Brumback night monkey’s nest in Cumaral town. We also support them in their efforts to learn more about the wildlife they have in their territory through camera traps.
A few days back, we also received great news for our project about the ornate titi monkey’s distribution. We received funds from Little Chalcraft Fund, manage by Rewild, to make specific surveys on the north, east and south part of ornate titi monkey distribution limits next year. So stay tuned in the following months for news on these trips and more ornate titi monkey (Plecturocebus ornatus) news.
We are also in conversations with two organizations at national and international level to increase our impact on primate conservation. More news on these collaborations in the following months. We are also reconnecting with El Caduceo reserve in San Martin to monitor primates there
Finally, this year had leave us with multiple learnings about the impact we can and must have on primates and their habitats as well as multiple new friendships, renewed collaborations and friendships and more plans for future years.
If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with as at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our dusky titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website.