Monkey business at SA festival
It was fun, games and food galore at SA’s biggest gathering of pet monkeys
THE Place Café and Grill in Erasmuskloof, Pretoria, is packed with families who’ve come from far and wide for this special day and the atmosphere is positively festive. Moms and dads chat away while the little ones sit on laps peering around curiously or napping in their strollers. But this is no ordinary family gathering. The “children” are monkeys and their owners have gathered to celebrate South Africa’s biggest monkey festival. Eighty pets are here for a day of dedicated monkey business.
“Many monkey festivals have been held all over the country where little groups have come together, but what we’re seeing today is a top-notch monkey festival,” says Annemarie Redelinghuys, founder of the Facebook group New World Monkeys.
All the guests are here for a good time. The humans tuck into eats and drinks from the restaurant while the animals are offered treats by local pet shops. Today lettuce leaves, nuts and tomatoes are on the menu.
Many owners don’t think of their charges as pets but rather as their chil- dren. “Mine sleep in bed with me and they each have their own spot,” says Anne-Marie Joubert of Pretoria. “They’re very attached to their mommy.”
Her three monkeys are sitting on top of their cage, nibbling their snacks. “And they love camping. We’ll often head out and just pitch our tent.”
It infuriates her when, during these trips, people presume they can come up and touch her “kids”, often with filthy hands. It’s just not on, she says.
SOON it’s competition time and about 50 monkeys have entered. Judges need to select winners in five categories. Mr Personality is Kobus Boshoff’s four-year-old, Trompie.
He might come across as a bit arrogant, Kobus concedes, and Trompie’s T-shirt warns, “Here comes trouble”.
“And he’s very jealous,” Kobus sighs. “Let a woman come near me and Trompie gets his back up”.
Micky, who belongs to Ansie du Plessis of Alberton, is crowned Miss Beautiful while Roana, belonging to Bella de Beer of Secunda, wins the cutest outfit prize for her adorable gown.
The next winner, for biggest attitude, is Lulu, who’s here with Arthur Flemming from Benoni.
The most adorable baby prize is awarded to Avalon. The little cutie belongs to Bets Page of Pretoria.
Bennie and Jakoline de Bruyn and their two monkeys, Katie and Buddy, have driven all the way from Strand near Cape Town to be here.
“Monkey parents are like one big family,” Bennie says. “We chat on Facebook but here we can meet one another.”
Katie sits quietly on Jakoline’s shoulder and plays with her hair. “She’s love itself,” Jakoline says.
“Buddy is more like a circus monkey. He just wants to do flips and stare at us from between his legs.”
LEANDA van der Merwe left her “children” back home in Paarl. Today she’s here as a babysitter for other monkeys. She’s a member of the countrywide Primate Ultimate Truth network, or the monkey police, as the volunteers call themselves. “When it comes to our attention that someone isn’t properly caring for a primate or there’s any hint of neglect, we’ll pay them a visit.
“Often it’s because they don’t know any better, then we’ll educate and advise the owner on the correct care. In serious cases we’ll persuade the owner to let the animal go. The monkey is then placed in the care of new parents or in a conservation area.”
Although it looks as if having monkeys in your home is one big party, Annemarie warns having a primate for a pet can be challenging. “Some owners resort to locking them in cages, which is when they become aggressive and tend to bite.”
But Jessie (2) looks innocent and happy here in her pram as she sits and munches from a bowl of fruit. Owner Shizel Morris of Boksburg says the monkey loves posing for photos.
“We take a lot of selfies and then she sticks out her tongue when she looks at the pictures.”
By 3pm all the excitement has exhausted the little monkeys and one after the other they clamber into their strollers and drift off to sleep. Others nestle into their owners’ necks to catch a nap.
It’s time to pack up and start saying goodbye. There’s been quite enough monkeying around for one day!