conservation and re-introduction ef-
forts. But author Benjamin Beck
decided to frame his experiences
taking golden lion tamarin monkeys
back to the wild in a creative non-
fiction novel meant to appeal to chil-
dren and adults, conservationists
and laypeople.
the force of the plot focuses on Beck
and other conservationists' efforts to
re-introduce the tamarins to the wild
in Brazil, there was so much more
going on under the surface, accord-
ing to Beck, including the personal
story of how he developed a relation-
ship with his future wife.
this tension between us about what
was the best way to re-introduce the
monkeys," said Beck. "So that's
kind of a sub-theme of the story,
how our relationship developed."
evolve from just being a pleasant
distraction into what we have today.
zoos," explained Beck. "We were
challenged in the '70s and early-
'80s to change the concept of zoos
meaningful organizations."
Monkeys, the re-introduction of the
creatures into the wild in the hopes
of boosting their population. To pre-
pare them for release, Beck ex-
plains that he and his colleagues at-
tempted to train them to find hidden
food in their cages at irregular hours
to better prepare them to forage.
that food won't be delivered twice a
day in a pan," said Beck.
realistically mimic what their new
environments would be like, and
Beck said that many of the animals
early in the program struggled to
survive or disappeared. Improve-
ments came quickly, however, like
allowing the monkeys to roam the
entire zoo in the summer and pro-
viding some food and shelter for
them post-release, all of which
greatly improved their chances for
survival.
on it further, which is where the "cre-
ative" part of the non-fiction comes
in. The original 13 monkeys that are
referenced in the story are given the
gift of human speech by Beck's nar-
rative, the better to express what
they would have been feeling going