The Fear of Monkeys - The Best E-Zine on the Web for Politically Conscious WritingThe Mantled Howler Monkey - Issue Forty-Five
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Vervet Monkey from Christiano Artuso The Mantled Howler Monkey is a type of New World monkey from Central and South America in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. They live in several different types of forest, including secondary forest and semi-deciduous forest but are found in higher densities in older areas of forest and in areas containing evergreen forest. They eat large quantities of leaves; it has several adaptations to this folivorous diet. They possess large salivary glands that help break down the leaf tannins. The leaves and fruit from Ficus trees tend to be their preferred source but flowers can also make up a significant portion of the diet. They satisfy their water needs by drinking from tree holes during the wet season and sourcing water trapped in bromeliads. The fact that they rely so heavily on a low energy food sources drives much of their behaviour--for example, howling to locate other groups and spending a large portion of the day resting. They are primarily black except for a fringe of yellow or golden brown guard hairs on the flanks of the body earning the common name "mantled" howler monkey. The infant's fur is silver at birth, but turns pale or gold after a few days and then darkens until the infant takes on the adult coloration at about 3 months old. They are one of the largest Central American monkeys, and males can weigh up to 9.8 kg while females generally weigh between 3.1 and 7.6 kg. They live in groups of 10 to 20 members, generally 1 to 3 adult males and 5 to 10 adult females, but some groups have over 40 members. Grooming activity in the mantled howler is infrequent and has been shown to reflect social hierarchy, with dominant individuals grooming subordinates. Males outrank females, and younger animals of each gender generally have a higher rank than older animals. Higher-ranking animals get preference for food and resting sites, and the alpha male gets primary mating rights. Females become sexually mature at 36 months, males at 42 months. They undergo a regular estrus cycle, with an average duration of 16.3 days, and display sexual skin changes. The copulatory sequence begins when a receptive female approaches a male and engages in rhythmic tongue flicking. The male responds with the same tongue movements before the female turns while elevating her rump, which allows for mating to begin. The gestational period is 186 days; births can occur at any time of year. The infant is carried under its mother, clinging to its mother's chest, for the first 2 or 3 weeks of its life. After that, it is carried on its mother's back. The male mantled howler has an enlarged hyoid bone, a hollow bone near the vocal cords, which amplifies the calls made by the male, and is the reason for the name "howler". Howling allows the monkeys to locate each other without expending energy on moving or risking physical confrontation. They also use non-vocal communication, such as "urine rubbing" when in a distressful social situation. They rub their hands, feet, tail and/or chest with urine and mark their scent by rubbing its throat on branches. Genital displays are used to indicate emotional states, and group members shake branches, which is apparently a playful activity. The mantled howler is usually indifferent to the presence of humans. However, when it is disturbed by people, it often express its irritation by urinating or defecating on them. It can accurately hit its observers despite being high in the trees. They are regarded as vulnerable and their numbers are adversely affected by rainforest fragmentation which has caused forced relocation of groups to less habitable regions, as well as deforestation and capture for the pet trade. They are protected from international trade under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
   


Old School

by

Lowell Weber

"Excuse me, Senator," said the thin old man in the baggy suit that might have fit him once long ago.

Senator Owend stopped and turned with his professional politician smile that could mean anything to anyone. He was a large man, gone to fat since his early fifties but still able to see his toes, his personal measure of controlled excess.

"Senator, I understand you will be voting to eliminate Social Security next week. Is that correct?" asked the thin man.

Another one of those, thought the Senator. He nodded briefly without speaking.

"You can't just cancel Social Security, Senator. Do you have any idea what will happen?"

Senator Owend was irritated at being buttonholed by an elderly fellow under the hot Washington, DC sun. He looked over his wire rimmed spectacles at the man in front of him. "Yes, of course, a great many old people will have a rough time in their final years but it can't be helped. Social Security costs too much, plain and simple, Mr.?."

"Joshua Altman."

"Mr. Altman," said the Senator.

"And you honestly think a great many old people are going to roll over and die? Become homeless so the rich can remove more money from the tax rolls? Are you serious?"

"Well, they will behave themselves or face the full rigor of the law. We'll not tolerate petty crime to replace the free ride they've been on," said the Senator with diminishing concern for the man's feelings.

"Senator, you may need to rethink your position. I'm sorry, but you and the rest of Congress have completely lost touch with your constituents. There won't be a bank branch anywhere in the country that won't be held up by some starving elder to feed themselves."

"What are you suggesting, sir?" said the Senator pompously.

"They will want to be caught. The courts and prison system will be overwhelmed by the number of serious crimes perpetrated by people with nothing to lose, not even their freedom. They are trapped in bodies that are falling apart. They are already incarcerated. In prison they will have room and board, medical care and free burial. And that's the nice ones. What of the veterans among them, trained to do harm? Protest marches? Think again. The bitter ones will not shy away from taking someone with them. Why not blow away a few fat cats who think that by owning the law they are safe in their beds?"

"You paint a pretty grim picture, Mr. Altman. I don't think it will be quite so bad."

"Do you honestly think Americans who have spent their entire long lives convinced they are special, deserving a comfortable retirement, are going to up and die quietly so as not to upset a system that has failed them completely? They have pride in themselves, pride in the privileges they think they have earned. Pride, Senator, is not the exclusive property of the rich or the young. Remove pride from the old and they have nothing left. There will be repercussions."

"Come on, Altman, what are frail, vulnerable old people going to be able to perpetrate? You exaggerate. Why…"

"Guns, Senator, guns. The great equalizer. The very tools you have steadfastly defended as every American's right will be their tools of revenge. Most of the elderly have been gun owners for years as home defense. Being frail and vulnerable has made them arm themselves. These are people who grew up after the Vietnam War, after Watergate. They know that government only works for the few. They have watched the erosion of public confidence in government for decades. Some of them have been expecting this betrayal for a long time."

"Betrayal, what betrayal? Social Security is an entitlement, not a right," said the Senator becoming irritated.

"That they have been paying into through FICA payroll deductions their entire working lives. That betrayal. Understand Senator, it isn't simply a matter of them voting you out of office. Once Social Security is canceled they will have no faith whatsoever in the system. Vote? Whatever for? The system is rigged and it wants them dead. That's not a difficult conclusion to reach."

"I'm sure there will be ways of dealing with any sort of insurrection by the aged," he was starting to become angry. Who does this guy think he's talking to?

"How? There are millions of us, tens of millions. Yes, we will go away in time, but not yet. We can still make a difference."

"Mr. Altman, you can't possibly speak for the millions of old people in this nation."

Joshua smiled at the obtuse politician. "Once the shooting starts, Senator, who knows how it will end or who will end up on top."

"Mr. Altman, you will have to excuse me I have an appointment. Perhaps we can discuss this again at a later date. I must be going now," said Senator Owend late for a fundraiser with his personal posse of fat cats. He turned and walked towards his car, his chauffer holding open the door.

"Yes, Senator, you must," said Altman pulling his revolver from beneath his suit jacket and shooting Senator Owend in the back of the head in front of dozens of tourists. He placed the revolver carefully on the sidewalk, took three steps away so it was out of reach, kneeled down stiffly and put his hands behind his back. The police were on him in seconds.

Joshua Altman's retirement was secure.

Lowell Weber is a fictional character living in a provincial backwater in the middle of nowhere called Minneapolis, MN. (when people are being polite). He believes social media is a sinister plot perpetrated by an evil character known as Bitcoin.
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