Click here for Part 1.
The island of Barbados has one group of animals that tend to captivate almost all visitors.
The green monkey was transported from West Africa round 350 years ago and has since evolved on the island to be their own species. They can be a nuisance, especially to farmers and gardeners, so the attitude of the local residents is mixed. As a tourist, I was excited to spend time with them up close, and I think residents in the end do find them as an overall positive to the island.
We were able to have an up close visit at the Barbados Wildlife Reserve.
(a quick video clip…. Wildlife reserve worker was chatting with someone feeding the monkeys cucumber in the background)
Link to video
Technically the monkeys were wild, but with a set feeding time every day (2 pm), the troops that live nearby travel through the trees and gather like clockwork.
They are also quite used to humans in the preserve and pretty much ignored all the photographers. We did spot a couple more wild monkeys on a drive in the mountains, but they had no desire to hang about with crazy tourists jumping out of a van.
There are some tourists who dislike the wildlife reserve due to the income they gain from monkeys being sold for research and to zoos (namely their kidney tissue is used to create polio vaccines).
I did not know this before my visit, but upon further research, the whole concept is a bit of a catch 22. The monkeys are agricultural pests, so the non profit reserve has programs that pay farmers to trap the monkeys live and bring them to the reserve rather then poisoning or killing them. There is not enough space or income to run solely off tours though.
My hope would be that financially helping the sanctuary through my admission fees might diminish the need for research funds to run their programs……..I hope.
If you visit Barbados and do not want to stop by the preserve, you can hunt for the monkeys in particular areas of the island at prime active hours of the day. The more tropical out of the way resorts, such as the Almond Casuarina Beach resort also have troops living nearby.
The expressions on the monkeys faces were quite amusing. To be so close to them and watch there behaviors was a treat.
We saw pregnant females….
…and mothers with their young babies.
The mothers seemed to keep more of a distance then any of them. I do not blame them.
The youngsters between 6-9 months old were probably my favorite. They would play with each other, zoom around chasing this or that, and at times follow a scared tourist who made the mistake of eating something or bringing in a brightly colored purse.
One young fellow laid across a bench we were sitting on, and when we were not looking would sneak up and touch your hair and then bound off to a nearby tree.
We also got to see two young monkeys playing with a toad they had found. At first I was chuckling at their fun, but later realized the poor toad was still alive.
Ahhhh, nature……always there to put the reality spin on things.
_________
We had great fun on our vacation. I do miss the beach and palm trees and the warmth, which I experience so rarely. I am currently scheming ways of making this a more common occurrence. All the same, we are still glad to be back home with our crew.
Besides, I have monkeys of my own!!
