OUTDOOR CAGES; MONKEYS; MONKEY AND DOG PLAYING; MONKEY ON ROPES; MONKEYS IN DINING ROOM WITH WILLIAMS' FAMILY.




Initials JSU/VS/AS/SS



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: FOURTEEN WOOLLY MONKEYS HAVE EXCHANGED THEIR NATIVE HOME IN THE DENSE JUNGLES OF THE AMAZON FOR A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY. THEY SHARE A 17-ROOM CORNISH HOUSE AT MURRAYTON, NEAR LOOE, WITH 58-YEAR-OLD LEONARD WILLIAMS, HIS WIFE, TWO CHILDREN AND FOUR HELPERS.
ALREADY THREE OF THE MONKEYS, WHICH GET THEIR NAME FROM THE FEEL OF THEIR COATS, HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE COLONY. AND TWO MORE ARE EXPECTED AT ANY TIME.
THESE BIRTHS ARE A TRIUMPH FOR WILLIAMS. FOR WHEN A WOOLLY MONKEY CALLED CHARLIE WAS BORN AT MURRAYTON TWO YEARS AGO IT WAS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL BIRTH-AND SURVIVAL-IN BRITAIN SAYS WILLIAMS, OF ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT PRIMATES TO BREED IN CAPTIVITY.
IN HIS TEN ACRE COLONY WILLIAMS HAS CREATED A SETTING WHERE THE MONKEYS CAN LIVE AS NEARLY IN THE WILD AS POSSIBLE. THEY HAVE THE RUN OF TWO HOUSES, SOME OUTSIDE HUTS, GRASS ENCLOSURES AND BEECH AND CEDAR TREES LINKED BY ROPES AND REACHED FROM THEIR QUARTERS BY MEANS OF INTERCONNECTING CORRIDORS.
THE MONKEYS ALSO TAKE AN ACTIVE INTEREST IN THE DAY TO DAY LIFE OF THE WILLIAMS'S FAMILY AND ARE ENCOURAGED TO DO SO.
WILLIAMS BELIEVES THAT SANCTUARIES LIKE HIS AND NOT ZOOS WILL PLAY THE MAIN ROLE IN FUTURE IN SOLVING THE PROBLEMS OF ANIMAL SURVIVAL IN THE CONFLICT BETWEEN HUMAN SOCIETY AND WILD LIFE.