For the first 33 years of life, Besty was confined to a small cage, living in her own filth, with no contact with other baboons. A victim of the exotic pet trade, Betsy’s existence for most of her life was tortured. Deprived of sunlight, space, proper nutrition, and other primates to groom or interact with, Betsy was never set up for a happy, fulfilled, or natural life. From the stress of her living conditions, she self-mutilated. When I first met her in 2021, all her toes on one foot and her tail had been amputated years prior due to her stress induced self-harm. She moved around carefully, with limited mobility due to her age and the confinement of her past. Her enclosure was fitted with ladders of different sizes to help her get around and allow her to access one of her favorite spots – her heat box high up in her enclosure from which she could survey her kingdom.
Sanctuary Meant Freedom and Choice for the First Time
Betsy embodied the spirit of sanctuary living; the spirit of choice. She was often described as stubborn and set in her ways, but being rescued gave her options she never had before. For the first time in her life, she could choose if she wanted to interact with her caregivers or with other monkeys, she could choose what to eat and when, she could choose if and when she was willing to move so we could clean her enclosure. She soon learned that we would accommodate those choices and bend over backwards to make sure she had everything she needed and wanted.
Betsy Loved Her Blankets and Stuffed Toys
Betsy had a love for all things small, soft, and fluffy. She had a collection of plush animals (all with the stuffing pulled out for safety) and blankets, which were her prized possessions. Depending on how she felt about you on any given day, Betsy would either proudly and excitedly show you her treasures or she would suspiciously gather them, running to her heat box as if to say “These are mine! You can’t have them!” Betsy’s stuffed animals and blankets were the first and only things to be truly hers, and she protected them at all costs. On my days off, I would scour thrift shops in nearby San Antonio to find Betsy new toys. I shared her delight when she happily clutched a new “baby” to her chest and toddled up to her heat box to add it to her collection.
Betsy Preferred Her Independence
She was particularly possessive of her belongings while being introduced to new baboons. Over the years, she was introduced to another elderly female named Picassa and later on, elderly male, Darwin. Betsy was more concerned about keeping her blankets and babies out of the other baboons’ reach than she was with making new friends. She would quickly collect all her items and carry them up to the heat box for safety, barking at the other monkeys to make her point clear: they were hers, and hers alone. And that was her right. She did not have to share, and she certainly didn’t want to. As it turned out, Betsy enjoyed her independence and chose not to spend time with other monkeys. This, too, was her right and we honored her choice.
Reuniting with Betsy, and Saying Goodbye
Betsy was almost 41 years old when she passed, which is ancient for a baboon. For the last seven years of Betsy’s life, she had choices, and the freedom to exercise them. I worked at the sanctuary from 2021 to 2022, before leaving for a year, and then returning to my previous position again in 2023. It was with immense joy and fulfillment that I met Betsy again for the first time in over a year as it was clear she remembered me. She looked down at me from her high vantage point with eyes that held thousands of stories, grabbed her stuffed baby, and made a happy greeting grunt, as if welcoming me back. I climbed up the step ladder that had been placed on the side of her enclosure for better access to feed her and reached out with a grape. Before I could place it down on her box, she gently grabbed the grape from my hand, popped it into her mouth, and turned back to the sun.
Betsy, the pleasure was all mine. Being one of your caretakers was one of the greatest privileges of my life. I cleaned your enclosure for the last time yesterday, and thought of every happy moment you shared with me. We will miss you.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Nour
