The Fear of Monkeys - The Best E-Zine on the Web for Politically Conscious WritingCelebes Crested Macaque - Issue Forty-One
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The Lar Gibbon  from Christiano Artuso The Celebes Crested Macaque is an Old World monkey that lives in the Tangkoko reserve (home of the biggest crested macaque population remaining in the species' original distribution range) in the north-eastern tip of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi as well as on smaller neighbouring islands. The Celebes crested macaque is a diurnal rain forest dweller. This macaque is primarily terrestrial, spending most of its day on the ground foraging for food and socializing, while sleeping and searching for food in the trees. They are frugivorous, with most of their diet fruit, although they also eat leaves, buds, seeds, fungus, small birds and bird eggs, insects (such as beetles and caterpillars) worms, snails and the occasional small lizard or frog. Locally known as yaki or wolai, its skin and hairless face is, with the exception of some white hair in the shoulder range, entirely jet black. Unusual for a primate, it has striking reddish-brown eyes. The long muzzle with high cheeks and the long hair tuft, or crest, at the top of the head are remarkable features. It has an "apelike" appearance due to its almost non-existent, non-visible, vestigial tail stub of only approximately 2 cm. With a total body length of 44 cm to 60 cm and a weight of 3.6 kg to 10.4 kg, it is one of the smaller macaque species. Its life expectancy is estimated at approximately 15-20 years in the wild. They typically live in groups of five to twenty-five animals, and occasionally in groups of up to seventy-five animals. Smaller groups have only a single adult male, while larger groups have up to four adult males. However, adult females always outnumber adult males by about 4:1. Young adult males are forced to leave their birth group upon maturity, sometimes forming bachelor groups before seeking a connection to an existing adult mixed-sex group. Communication consists of various sounds and gestures; such as the presentation of the long canine teeth while grimacing, a clearly threatening gesture. They are promiscuous, with both males and females mating multiple times with multiple partners. The receptivity of the females is clearly indicated by an extreme tumescence (swelling) and redness of their buttocks which, in contrast to the black skin color, is particularly noticeable. The gestation time is 174 days, and the birth of the usually single offspring happens in the spring when food is more plentiful. Young animals are nursed for approximately one year, becoming fully mature in three to four years, females somewhat sooner than males. Because they live from crops and fields, they are hunted as a pest. They are also hunted for the bushmeat trade. Clearing the rain forests further threatens their survival. Their situation on the small neighbouring islands of Sulawesi (such as Bacan) is somewhat better, since these have a low human population. The total population of the macaque on Sulawesi is estimated at 4,000-6,000, while a booming population of up to 100,000 monkeys is found on Bacan.

   


Why She Went In

by

Julie Sichi


Because the beer-soaked thoughts steered
around good sense like a frightened deer.
Because the shifty streetlights speared the thoughts
and left them trapped in bags of crystal.
Because there was no thought as he stuffed her
into the stolen car next to stolen sanity.
Because the thoughts picked a lock and skulked.

Then policemen clambered from coffee stained seats,
sturdy and blue. And she thought, Run, and she ran.
Then they yelled "STOP RIGHT THERE!"
And she panicked at the wooden limits of the yard
and she thought, Climb, and she climbed
Then they unsnapped their black tasers from their black holsters
and aimed and she fell from the fence
And was dragged into a police cruiser
where, in the mute backseat, gleaming handcuffs
sliced into scarred flesh.

A drive downtown, where stern steel doors
sneer welcome to hell and please undress.
In dingy blue instead of cartoon stripes,
the newly garbed inmate sits in tears on a metal bunk
and tries to remember phone numbers and friendly faces
and sunlight and why she went in.
Because the new sheriff in town is tough on crime
and deputies smooth new paint over old stories.


Julie Sichi is a California beach girl who currently lives in Converse, Texas with her four adult children, three dogs, three birds, a multitude of fish, and a 25 year old leopard gecko. She is a senior at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas and a substitute teacher and track coach who enjoys a good glass of wine or three. After observing the experiences of her sister in the Texas prison system, she became passionate about opening the eyes of the citizenry to the cruel and unusual punishment suffered by the prison inmates in the United States. She has now graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of the Incarnate Word.

 

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