One of our monkeys needs a new name – can you help?

Normally, when a new monkey arrives at Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary, they keep the name they came with – however silly it may seem!  One of our latest monkey arrivals, however, came with a name that we couldn’t keep.  We need help re-naming him!  Read on to find out why we need a new name, how you can help… and what you can win!

The Contest

Suggest a name by commenting on the post on our facebook page (making sure to check that the name has not been suggested already) by Sunday 15th April.  On Monday 16th April, our Keepers will shortlist 10 names – then YOU can vote to decide a winner on a facebook poll between 17th and 20th April!

The successful monkey-namer will win a family ticket to visit Wild Futures’ flagship project The Monkey Sanctuary, the home of this young monkey and his group.  The prize will also include a complimentary lunch at our very own Treetop Café! (Please note there will be no direct contact with our monkeys, just a chance to see them enjoying their beautiful new home with their monkey neighbours.  See terms and conditions for full details).

The winner will be announced on Friday  20^th April. We will be posting photos and facts on our facebook page to help you to come up with the best name possible!

Why the name change?

Normally, when a new resident arrives at Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary, they keep the name they came with – whether it’s a name we would choose or not (case in point: few of the keepers tend to be the most fashion-forward of people – at least in a catwalk sense! – but we have both a Chanel and a Gucci under our care).  For the first time we’ve decided to make an exception to this rule.

One of our new capuchin monkeys, a 3 year old male,  is currently known as “Dexter”.  While in itself the name “Dexter” is inoffensive (some may say it is amongst the nicer names that our rescued monkeys have arrived with!), we found that the implications of having a monkey with this name were inappropriate and counter to much of the work that we do.  “Dexter” is a well-known character in a series of Hollywood blockbuster films, played by a monkey “actor” named Crystal.  While the name “Dexter” does provide a good talking point about the problems with using primates as entertainers, Wild Futures is wary about appearing to support or condone this damaging practice – which has many of the same implications as the primate pet trade.  Given that, despite our best efforts, we might not be able to reach every one of the visitors to The Monkey Sanctuary site where he lives,  to explain our position on primate “actors”, we made the decision to give this young monkey a new, less controversial name.

Although the subject of primates in “entertainment” is not the primary focus of our campaigns work at the moment, it is an issue close to many of our hearts and it is inextricably linked with the pet trade.  Whenever a monkey appears as an “actor” in the mass media, the number of inquiries that we at Wild Futures receive about how to obtain a pet monkey, or whether we offer our residents to be held or touched for money, seems to increase.  Recent research has demonstrated that the inappropriate use and portrayal of chimpanzees in the media distorts public perception of their conservation status and suitability as pets, and in this way may even contribute to their demise in the wild[i] [ii].  We feel that the results of such research will inevitably be similar for other primates, including capuchin monkeys who are probably the most frequently used primate “actors” of all.

To learn more about the use of primates as entertainers, please visit the Ape Alliance’s Apes in Entertainment Working Group page at http://www.4apes.com/ent/.  And keep your eye out for the forthcoming Animalpledge.org !