The origin of the swamp monkey, behavior in the wild, appearance, the content of the primate at home, health, the price when buying a primate. Today, in the vastness of our country, the keeping of such exotic animals as monkeys at home is gaining more and more popularity. Perhaps this is due to the intellectual abilities of these animals, because what kind of emotion it is to watch your four-legged friend sitting across from you at the table and drinking tea, or, sitting comfortably next to you, watching a TV series or football, while eating popcorn from your plate, and they really love to watch TV.
Indeed, the monkey is an amazing creature that can please you and cheer you up at any dreary moment, in addition, in moments of sadness, she will always pity you and listen to you no worse than any friend.
But when you bring such a representative of the fauna into your house, do not forget that you can get as a result both a cute and funny pet and a wild animal that is not subject to anyone - and it all depends only on you and on your care for him. If you are willing to give your companion the proper amount of your time and attention, you will surely never regret your choice. You will eagerly rush home from work, and not only you, but all your friends and acquaintances will visit you with great interest and pleasure in order to admire your amazing friend.
When choosing between the large variety of monkey species, turn your attention to the swamp monkey. This is a very extraordinary creature, which with its one appearance will be able to conquer your heart once and for all. Getting to know her better, perhaps you will come to the conclusion that this is exactly the one you missed so much in your home.
The origin and homelands of the swamp monkey
The swamp monkey is a mammal of extraordinary beauty, which belongs to the order of primates and the family of monkeys. Her other name is the Brazza monkey, she received it in honor of the person who first observed it in open nature - this is Count Pierre-Paul-François-Camille Savornyan de Brazza, who came to the homeland of this primate from distant Italy. The thing is that the French government instructed the young naturalist and researcher to go to distant Africa in order to bring some interesting representatives of the African fauna from there for further description and study. It was during this trip that the Italian had the opportunity to get acquainted with an amazing monkey, who was going about her personal affairs in the middle of dense grasses in a marshy area. In all likelihood, thanks to the "meeting place" this miracle of nature has received its second name.
The natural distribution areas of this monkey in the wild are quite wide: it seems possible to meet it in the territories of Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and even in the vastness of many countries of the hot African continent.
The judgment that for their comfortable living they select only locations located in the swamps is very erroneous, so, in all likelihood, only the discoverer of these wonderful animals thought. In fact, primates can quite happily and comfortably live in thickets of bushes, and in bamboo groves, and even in places where dry air reigns, for example, in mountain forests.
Features of the behavior of the swamp monkey in the wild
This animal is distinguished by its extreme speed and dexterity; it is difficult to find a more active and mobile representative among the relatives of the boggy beauty. It predominantly leads an aboveground arboreal lifestyle, although this does not prevent it from hiking in search of food. Also, these original creatures are notable for their special care and attentiveness, firstly, the natural color of the monkey helps it remain unnoticed among the dense foliage, but if there are no dense thickets nearby, it simply freezes in place, imitating a beautiful statuette, at the sight of an approaching danger.
As food products, this bright little animal prefers food of plant origin: shoots of young plants, beautiful green leaves, nuts, various berries and fruits - all this, of course, is to the taste of the swampy monkey, but sometimes it can afford to devour some kind of insect and even a small animal. Among all primates, they eat living creatures more often than others.
In their native locations, these mammals are accustomed to living in relatively small groups, the number of which ranges from 8 to 30 individuals. In such a social company, the presence of a "president" is necessary, in his role is an adult representative male, but although he occupies such an honorable and respected position by all, relations in their large family are very democratic, the leader never demands unquestioning submission to his person, therefore, in their the family has a friendly relationship.
These adorable mammals are quite silent by nature. Wandering around the areas in which they live, it is rare to hear loud screams and exclamations, usually they communicate with each other using just a few audio communication signals and they do not make very noisy.
Also, monkeys spend an impressive part of their free time, having fun with each other and taking care of the cleanliness of their fellows. They can swarm around in the fur of their fellow for a long time, comb it out thoroughly and clean it from clogs, wool lumps and various insects.
The period of bearing a baby in a female lasts from about 175 to 220 days, after this period, one cub is born, sometimes there are cases when twins are born. For almost the entire first year of the baby's life, the mother monkey feeds him with her breast milk, later teaching him to adult food. The baby has been living with his mother for many years, it also happens that the children do not leave the parent's nest at all. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 3-4 years.
The male monkey can be distinguished from the female half at first sight - the fact is that males are usually twice the size of females of swamp monkeys.
Description of the exterior of the monkey Brazza
Mother nature gave this active primate a rather bright, peculiar and very memorable outer shell. It is safe to say that if you at least once, even out of the corner of your eye, saw this extraordinary creation of nature - it will definitely be deposited in your memory forever. There are not so many such extraordinary inhabitants on our planet, dressed in such original and stylish "clothes".
The parameters of the monkey's body vary greatly depending on the sex characteristics. So female monkeys can grow in length up to about 40–55 cm, the body of the male is slightly longer - 47–60 cm. The length of the caudal process in the female is approximately 47–59 cm, in males the tail is much larger - 59–80 cm The body weight of an adult male is on average 7.5–8 kg. "Ladies", in turn, are miniature and graceful, they weigh no more than 4, 4-5 kg.
Their fur "coat" is formed by wool of medium length, but in turn it very densely envelops the body of the monkey. Their coat color deserves special attention. The main tone of the fur is gray with a slightly yellowish tint. The beard area is white. The head of the swampy monkey has a peculiar decoration - this is a large spot on the frontal part, which has the shape of a crescent and is painted in a reddish-brown color scheme. The projection of the abdominal cavity and throat are usually presented in the same color scheme - these are lighter shades of pinkish, orange, white and gray tones. But the sides, dorsal surface of the body and the head are painted in an olive-green color spectrum.
Keeping a swampy monkey, home care
Despite the fact that this elegant representative of the Brazza monkey is listed in the International Red Book and it is almost impossible to obtain official permission to keep such a specimen as a pet, some avid lovers of everything unconventional and out of the ordinary still find some ways, how to settle this miracle of nature in your home. In addition, even the price of such pleasure does not scare them.
Animals such as various monkeys differ from ordinary pets, and, perhaps, from the most exotic animals in their remarkable intelligence. Probably, it is impossible to find a smarter animal, but this does not mean at all that such a pet can have free access to all corners of your house, we must not forget that no matter how smart and intelligent it is, this is primarily an animal from the wild nature, with its own habits and habits.
In order to provide a comfortable stay for your new friend from Africa and to protect yourself from a number of unpleasant moments, you should learn in more detail how to properly live under the same roof with such an exotic.
The first thing you need to take care of is a home for your swamp monkey. For this, it is advisable to build a large spacious cage. As the main material of her house, a hardwood tree is excellent, the front wall, she and the entrance door of the pet's personal apartment should be from metal rods that are located close enough to each other so that the primate in no way has the opportunity to stick his head between them. It is not necessary to make connections from screws or bolts, this smart guy will easily open and unscrew everything.
Since these monkeys are by their nature very active and mobile, it will be good to furnish her house with various devices for entertainment. Often, various wooden shelves, ropes, ropes, branches, and even a kind of swing are installed in their cages. Your pet will not be overjoyed at the mirror, this is perhaps one of the most interesting entertainments for him, believe me, not only it will be interesting for him to look at himself, but you can also cheer yourself up by watching this process of narcissism. Only it should be very tightly and securely attached to the wall, otherwise the animal can break it and get hurt, and much worse and swallow the fragments.
The presence of even the most spacious cage does not in any way imply that the swamp monkey must be constantly locked up. From time to time it is necessary to let it out for a walk around the apartment, only this animal should only make its travels around your house under close supervision. By virtue of his intellect and curiosity, this eccentric has a thing to do with everything, he will study and touch everything that catches his eye, he can open any door, a faucet in the bathroom, gas burners, break a book, break a plate or a vase, and this is far not the whole list of all his skills and talents. What will come to mind of a monkey at one moment or another is unknown, probably, even to herself.
You need to know that a spacious home, regular walks around the apartment and in the fresh air is a guarantee not only of the comfort and physical health of your smaller friend, but also the prevention of pathologies from the nervous system, such as apathy, attacks of unmotivated aggression, well, just bad mood. Nature has not endowed such animals as monkeys with special cleanliness, so be prepared for the fact that you will be cleaning your African tenant's house with enviable regularity. As a flooring, you can use coarse river sand or dry sawdust, best of all spruce. The presence of a retractable metal tray will greatly facilitate the cleaning process in the cage.
It is recommended to periodically remove containers for drinking water and food from the cage, otherwise all the remnants of liquid and food products will immediately be spilled and scattered throughout his personal territory.
You can take such a pet with you to the dacha in the summer, where it can rest from the heart. On the territory of the summer cottage, it is recommended for him to build a spacious aviary, which can be equipped with different branches and even trees, so the swamp monkey will feel at home, climbing through his possessions.
You can feed the animal with various fruits and vegetables, as well as milk, bread, rice and various cereal products. Monkeys are very fond of sweets, only they should not be abused, otherwise your friend will start to turn up his nose from the basic food.
Like humans, monkeys are prone to various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, therefore, the quality and quantity of food should be carefully monitored. The appetite of these mammals is very good, no matter how much you give them, they gobble everything up, so excessive feeding can lead to obesity, impaired intestinal motility, as well as diseases such as gastritis, pancreatitis, cholecystitis.
Also, these animals are not protected from infectious diseases with the fecal-oral transmission mechanism, the source of which is unwashed fruits and vegetables, as well as untreated drinking water. So it is better not to allow this, because for the reason that keeping monkeys is not quite common, it is not easy to find such a veterinarian who can provide qualified assistance to this African comrade.
Health problems of swamp monkeys
Perhaps the most common reason for monkey owners to go to a veterinarian is the injuries of the animals, and in turn the most common cause of injury is the lack of space or excessive curiosity of these animals. Treatment of wounds and bruises with the help of bandages and ointments is almost impossible, since all this is at this very moment erased and removed by the primate itself, the only exception are surgical sutures, the animal does not touch them, which does not interfere with their healing. For the prevention of fractures, it is good to feed your exotic from time to time with various vitamin complexes, which include calcium and cholecalciferol.
Due to the fact that this native of hot Africa is accustomed to constantly high temperatures, sometimes walking in the fresh cool air can lead to various diseases of the respiratory system. Starting from the seemingly banal ARVI to severe lingering bronchitis and bronchopneumonia. In such cases, it is best to consult a doctor who treats the same diseases in humans.
And also, probably, the most common pathological condition in all animals is parasitic invasion, monkeys are no exception. Therefore, if you are treating your pet to insects or worms, it is better to buy them in the store, and not to catch them yourself, because the process of expelling parasites from your friend's body is a long, very complicated and not entirely pleasant procedure.
Purchase and price of a rare swamp monkey
Buying such an original little beast is not an easy pleasure, well, and not the most affordable. The average cost of one individual of the Brazza swamp monkey ranges from 200,000 to 350,000 rubles.
What a swamp monkey looks like, see this video:
