RESEARCHERS ARE REBUILDING THEIR WORK ON AN ISLAND OFF OF PUERTO RICO. IT’S AN ISLAND INHABITED BY THEIR MONKEYS.
LYNDA KINKADE HAS THE STORY.
LYNDA: IT'S BEEN 3 WEEKS SINCE HURRICANE MARIA LEFT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PUERTO RICANS HUNGRY AND HOMELESS.
THE EFFECTS ARE BEING FELT BY ALL COMMUNITIES, EVEN A GROUP OF MONKEYS.
SINCE THE 1930'S NINE GENERATIONS OF MONKEYS HAVE BEEN STUDIED TO FURTHER OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PRIMATE BEHAVIOR.
THE ISLAND WAS THE VISION OF A SCIENTIST NAMED CLARENCE RAY CARPENTER WHO BROUGHT THE MONKEYS FROM INDIA IN AN EFFORT TO STUDY THEM MORE EASILY.
THE MONKEYS ARE LOCATED OFF THE EAST COAST OFF THE MAINLAND ON AN ISLAND CALLED CAYO SANTIAGO (CAEE-O SANTIAGO)
THESE WERE AMONG THE BEST-STUDIED PRIMATES IN THE WORLD.
THE HURRICANE DEMOLISHED EVERY MAN-MADE STRUCTURE ON THE ISLAND AND LEFT THE MONKEYS SCATTERED...
NOAH: ALL THE BUILDINGS WERE JUST FLATTENED AND DESTROYED.
LYNDA: NOAH SNYDER-MACKLER STUDIES THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE RHESUS MACAQUE (REESUZ - MAKAK) MONKEYS AND SAYS THE PROJECT HAS SUFFERED A MAJOR SETBACK...
NOAH: IT REALLY HAMPERED OUR ABILITY TO COLLECT DATA SO WERE DELAYED IN THAT ASPECT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR.
LYNDA: RESEARCHERS FEAR ADDITIONAL SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES ARE AT STAKE IF THE PROJECT IS NOT RESTORED QUICKLY...
NOAH: WE REALLY DON'T WANT TO LOSE THIS. I THINK THIS COULD PROVE BAD FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND RESEARCHING HUMAN HEALTH IN GENERAL, IS IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO SAVE THIS VULNERABLE AND EXTREMELY VALUABLE POPULATION OF RHESUS MCACQUES THAT HAVE LED TO NUMEROUS DISCOVERIES AND HAVE LED TO UNDERSTANDING HUMAN HEALTH, THE HUMAN BRAIN.
LYNDA: THIS COULD HINDER AUTISM RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED ON MACAQUE (MAKAK) MONKEYS THAT HAVE GENETIC SIMILARITIES TO SOME HUMANS WITH AUTISM...
BUT THE LACK OF RESOURCES HASN'T SEEMED TO WEAKEN THE SCIENTISTS' DEDICATION TO THEIR PRIMATE SUBJECTS….
NOAH: WHAT I THINK MORE INCREDIBLE IS THE RESILIENCE OF THESE HUMAN PRIMATES, OUR STAFF, AND OTHER PUERTO RICANS, WHO DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY LOST ALMOST EVERYTHING IN THE STORM, ARE STILL GOING OUT ON A DAILY BASIS TO THE ISLAND TO TRY TO HELP THESE ANIMALS AND MAKE SURE THEY SURVIVE AND PRESERVE THIS VALUABLE SCIENTIFIC RESOURCE.
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