Pacific Primate Sanctuary - All About the Sanctuary

All About the Sanctuary

Pacific Primate Sanctuary's Environmental Education for Young People

Humans, apes and monkeys belong to a group of mammals called "primates"

The primates we care for at Pacific Primate Sanctuary are monkeys. There are marmosets, tamarins, capuchins, and spider monkeys living at PPS.

Pacific Primate Sanctuary is not a zoo. It is a safe place (sanctuary) where primates can live, grow and heal with as little human contact as possible.

We provide the primates with a habitat very like their natural one in the rain forests where they find what they need to survive- food, water, shelter and space. Most importantly they live in family groups.

Pacific Primate Sanctuary is located here on the North Shore of Maui because this is a tropical rain forest and the climate and vegetation are very similar to those of the Amazon Rain Forest.

We grow our own fruit and vegetables "organically", which means without the use of pesticides or chemicals.

The monkeys eat fruits like bananas, papaya, mangos, avocado and citrus as well as a variety of vegetables, nuts and seeds. Here at the Sanctuary we feed the monkeys a great variety of fruits and vegetables and a also feed the marmosets and tamarins a special canned food called Mazuri Primate Gel and the capuchin and spider monkeys get Primate Dry Biscuits. They obviously don't eat these in the wild but this way we can be sure that they get the proper nutrition.

The monkeys come to us for a number of reasons:

Their natural habitat has been destroyed to make room for ranching and "slash and burn" agriculture.
They were captured and sold as pets. Monkeys don't make good pets, as they need to be in a natural environment with other monkeys to be happy.
They were held at research laboratories waiting to be used in research projects. This is called "Warehousing." Many of the monkeys sent here were not actually used for research.
Monkeys are social animals. While not generally aggressive, like any wild animal in captivity they may show aggression if they feel threatened, and will defend themselves. Animals that show aggression in stressful situations may need additional care to recover, and PPS can provide that.
PPS provides sanctuary for those that need rehabilitation, care, and a permanent home since they cannot return to their natural habitat.

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