Lolo: Who IS he, anyway?

Lolo is a white-faced capuchin, born somewhere in the verdant forests of Nicaragua.  Of course, Lolo wasn’t given his name by his mom.  That would be silly!  But, alas, he has a name nonetheless, which is a pretty clear indication that while Lolo was born free, he doesn’t necessarily live free any longer.

Lolo story has been marked by humans.

Lolo is a white-faced capuchin, and his face is one of many, many white-faced capuchins who have similar stories.  Lolo was purchased along the Pan American highway, where he was being sold as a pet.  He was tied up and hanging from a rope.  On the day he was bought, Lolo was just four months old.  Still of nursing age.  Like any good primate mother, Lolo’s would not have just handed him over to strange men intending to sell her baby.  Unfortunately, as is often the case in stories like Lolo’s, his mother was killed.

Lolo is a white-faced capuchin, and here is how his story differs from other monkeys in similar situations.  Lolo has a blog.  He has a story.  I – Monica Szczupider, a.k.a. Cigana – found Lolo in a hotel in Granada, Nicaragua.  Having had some experience rehabbing primates – particularly orphaned primates like Lolo – I spoke at length with Lolo’s “owner,” and by communication, he could see that life alone in a cage in a hotel lobby was not an optimal life for Lolo.  And together, Lolo and I went to a rescue center near Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua.  At this rescue center, Lolo will be rehabilitated into a group of other white-faced capuchins who were subjects of a similar story, though not one of those monkeys has accompanying blog – though each one has a story rich enough to warrant a blog.

In time, and if all goes well, Lolo and his friends will be reintroduced into a protected forest.

Free again.

This blog is written from Lolo’s perspective, and tells Lolo’s incredible story in his so-far short five months on planet Earth.