Trunkline Magazine (Louisville Zoo) March 2019 | Page 9
blood pressure. Unlike
today, smaller primates
in the 80s did not
participate in regular
training to actively par-
ticipate in preventative
healthcare. With Silvia’s
help and expertise in
training using operant
conditioning (as well
as yummy grapes and
a handy whistle), the
Hand-raised infant woolly monkey.
woollies learned to
present their tail (and
later their arm) for
— it wasn’t always
Silvia to apply a blood
an easy task. Silvia
pressure cuff. In fact, Silvia was one
recalls a giraffe named
of the first zoo keepers to measure
Silvester that was born
resting blood pressure from a non-
on her birthday to
human primate! What an incred-
Malaika, but Malaika
ible achievement and significant
wasn’t interested in mothering him.
innovation in primate care. Keepers
"He refused to take a bottle and
and vets in AZA-accredited Zoos
wouldn’t let any of us touch him.”
in North America now commonly
Anxious for the future of this stub-
utilize this technique to test blood
pressure of primates. Silvia gets calls born giraffe calf, Silvia did the only
thing she could think of: “I was des-
occasionally from facilities across
perate. I set up a step ladder that
the world asking for her advice on
night and climbed to the top of the
their woolly monkey issues — most
recently from a rehabilitation facility ladder and just sat there with him
for hours talking to him and hoping
in South America.
he would get comfortable with me.
Silvia says some of her most
Finally, after a long time, he came
treasured moments come from
over and let me touch him. Then,
the many animals she hand-raised
he took a bottle from me. I came
over the years. “It’s so rewarding
to find out later that he preferred
to watch them grow up!” she said.
But like most rewarding experiences drinking milk from a bucket — and
Silvia taking a woolly
monkey's blood pressure
so that’s what he did from then on
mostly.”
Nowadays, Silvia is still doing
what she does best — taking care
of animals in the Africa zone like
the giraffes and retired woolly mon-
key boys Henry and Tomas. The two
boys were retired in 2016 after the
decision of the AZA Primate Taxon
Advisory Group to phase woolly
monkeys out of North American
zoo collections where it was not
possible to maintain a sustainable
population of woolly monkeys; it
also allowed European Zoos to lead
the focus on helping the species
outside of South America. The
group also determined it was in our
monkeys’ best interest to let them
remain together in Louisville with
their expert caretaker, Silvia. The
woollies enjoy both indoor and out-
door spaces where they can climb,
munch and explore while receiv-
ing specialized attention. You can
sometimes catch glimpses of the
two boys from the train as it travels
behind their outdoor exhibit next to
the giraffe house. If you see Silvia,
be sure to wave and thank her for
her dedication.
(Left) Marcelle Gianelloni and Silvia hand feed a young woolly monkey.
Louisville Zoo Trunkline • Spring 2019 • 9