Get
To Know
|
 The
Banded Leaf Monkey is a species of monkey which is endemic to
the Thai-Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra. It is diurnal
and is found in mixed mangrove, primary freshwater, riverbank, primary
lowland logged, scrub-grassland riverbank, and secondary riverbank
habitats. Arboreal and gregarious, it is primarily frugivorous,
as its diet consists principally of fruit and immature leaves. It
is found in taller trees of swampy peat forest in Malay Peninsula,
while in Singapore it is limited to primary, secondary, swamp, and
dryland rainforests of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve where
less than 40 individuals still struggle to exist. Considering the
extensive habitat loss that has taken place within the range of
the species, there is reason to believe that this species is in
decline, probably at a rate of less than 30% over three generations
(approximately 30 years), thus qualifying if for listing as Near
Threatened. Additionally, infant mortality rate is extremely high
for these monkeys - probably more than 50 per cent, which greatly
affects their replacement numbers. Deforestation and conversion
of habitat would appear to be the major threats to this species.
It is particularly affected by oil palm plantations, which are expanding
very rapidly within its range. In Singapore, which cites the monkey
as precious to their history, there is an effort to protect the
remaining forest habitats, and to police its habitat against poaching
and human disturbances.
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The Interrogation
By
Ken Poyner
Forgive me, but this is going to hurt.
Focus on the fact that blood
Is blue on the inside: it only
Goes red when it is suddenly
Fattened with free oxygen. Let's keep
As much of your blood as blue as we can.
My job is to fill
Three college ruled pages with scribbles.
I don't care if the scribbles are correct,
But they have to appear at least relevant.
No one is going to question my method,
Just the character of my output. Given:
We both know extremes do not work.
The people who direct me to use them
Have seen too many black and white movies,
Have a two dimensional conception
Of the Technicolor space in which truth breeds
Uncomfortably with reality, and both
Have their way with fabrication as fabrication
Screams. Here, we both
Have only roles. Forgive me,
But it is my job to know
There are parts of you which
You do not need.
We can begin.
Ken Poyner has had fiction of late in Corium and
Kill Author, and poetry in Adirondack Review, Medulla
Review, Blue Collar Review, Poet Lore and about forty other places.
His wife is a world class power lifter and the two together live a somewhat
strange life in the right hand bottom corner of Virginia. His book "Constant
Animals", 42 unruly fictions, is $4.99 as an e-book and vendor links are
available at www.kpoyner.com. |
The
Banded Leaf Monkey - Issue Twenty