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A post mortem conducted by Jim Densmore (Stones & Waves Vet Clinic) revealed that the animal sustained a broken right jaw and a 6.5 centimetre compression fracture to the right side of her skull.

The examination also found that she had recently given birth and had still been nursing her infant. The baby Howler was later offered for sale in San Juan del Sur and is now being taken care of by the clinic.

Killing certain animals for food is acceptable in most cultures. Sadly, killing an endangered animal for food goes on every day all over the world and dedicated groups of animal lovers and governments try and stop this behavior so that we do not have any more extinct species. However; Killing an endangered animal (in order to steal its baby so that you can sell it) is plain and simply a crime, whether it’s on the books as one or not.

We now have a baby Howler that may or may not survive without its mother. Dedicated animal lover(s) will have to care for this animal knowing that it wants to be in the wild where it belongs and where they want it to be. An attempt to return the Howler to nature, may cost the animal its life. Yes animals die in the wild every day, its nature, but lets not interfere with that process more than we do already.

But why did this person or persons kill the mother and steal it in the first place? For the same reason turtle eggs are poached, laptops and and cameras are stolen - There is a market for them. Take the market away and the poachers don’t have a business. It’s unlikely that a tourist would have bought the baby monkey and walked onto an airplane with it! Therefore the market is here.

Note: Cindy, the monkey you may see around town, has been reared by Beverley (a.k.a. BJ) since she was also orphaned in the same way as the monkey above. Cindy would have died as her mother did if it wasn’t for being rescued. She was not purchased as a pet.

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