‘My monkey was my best friend’: Queen Silvia
Published: 5 Apr 12 06:50 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/40102/20120405/
Swedish Queen Silvia recently confessed to a children's magazine that when she was a child her best friend was the family’s pet monkey, Mickey.
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According to the Queen, the Sommerlath family were gifted the animal by some missionaries when they gave away medicines. He stayed with them for four years, to the then 9-year-old girl’s delight.
Today, the Queen doesn't think it's appropriate to keep a money as a pet and away from its natural habitat but at the time, she told the paper, Mickey felt more like a friend than a pet.
When he first came to the family, Mickey was very angry and frightened and it took a lot of cajoling by the young Silvia to get in his good books.
She approached the distressed animal with great caution.
“I would sing and be happy. Next day I’d do the same, but a little closer,” said the Queen to KP.
Eventually, the animal warmed to her and from that day forward they were the “best of friends”.
However, the animal was very mischievous and Silvia remembers many occasions when she got into trouble on account of her friend.
“Sometimes he would run away and once he climbed out on the roof and broke the neighbours’ TV-antenna. Another time he pilfered all their fruit,” she told the paper.
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i agree with #1 stop it at once no more royal news like this one at least
Some common sense must be exercised.
The designation was a birthday gift from Sweden's national zoo, Skansen, where since 1982 the Princess' rare subjects (lion tamarins) serve as captive breeders whose offspring (total 66) are removed, flown, and relocated to boost low population in the Brazilian rainforest.
While the first generation has weak skillsets, low adaptation and thus a low survival rate in the new environment, the offspring (second generation) of those who procreate aquire better survival skills in the new environment and fare better.
Seperate populations of tamarins have increased, however none of them alone is viable, so scientists are working still to integrate the seperate populations.
www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/monkey-business
www.skansen-akvariet.se/index.php?id=48&djurgroup=3&undergroup=39
www.thelocal.se/7896/20070714/