Who is Who at Baboon HQ - Part 2

Well I promised I would let the six middle baboons introduce themselves next.  Most of them arrived at the end of 2011 or in the first half of 2012.

Here they are:

Hi I'm Austin.  You may notice my resemblance to Kolo.  I am one of his cousins.  Like Roko I am about half his size and, like Roko I came from Texas.  I chose my name, Austin, after that great city Austin Texas, which we live.  Especially Kerbey Lane cafe.  I love Formula 1 and I am very excited that there will be a Grande Prix in Austin from now on.  At Baboon HQ I am an assistant hugging instructor.  I help Kolo to teach hugging and test babons on their hugging skills.

Hi I'm Denis, I am Austin's brother, we both arrived at Baboon HQ in December 2011 from Texas.  I chose my name after the great Arsenal player Denis Bergkamp.  Like Austin I love Formula 1 and am exicted for the start of the new season.  I am also an assistant hugging instructor at Baboon HQ.

Hi I'm Ryan, I arrived at Baboon HQ early in 2012.  My brother Rhyland lives with Huntyr @kyba.  He is adventurous, I am not.  Actually I am quite a shy baboon.  At Baboon HQ I make new baboons welcome, whether they are staying here or destined for rehoming.  I like to make sure they are comfortable and have everything they need and that they are happy and confident about their future.

 

Hello I'm Edward.  I think most of you probably know my story.  I am told that I was the reason for the rehoming programme.  I used to work in a shop.  Kolo thinks I have done enough work and should rest, but I do like to keep busy.  I do lots of odd jobs around Baboon HQ.  I love living here and I am so glad I got the opportunity.

 

 



Hi, I'm Ozzie.  I am the second smallest baboon at Baboon HQ.  I was bought for rehoming but didn't get rehomed.  I like being at Baboon HQ and I hang out with Archie, Arnie and Jackson who you will see next.  I have a brother who lives in Berlin in Germany with some great friends from Can Be Social.  I mainly play with toys and read baboon books.

Hello I'm Jackson.  I chose that name because I am a big Longhorns fan and visited their stadium in Austin, Texas.  The player who I saw there was called Jackson so I took that name.  You may also know me as Mini-Kolo.  I have the best job at Baboon HQ.  As Kolo is much to big to travel I trave for him and represent him.  I guess I am an ambassador for Baboon HQ.  I have been to America and will be going again.  I love meeting friends and representing Kolo.  The rest of the time I hang out with Archie, Arnie and Ozzie.  Wherease Roko, Austin and Denis are approximately half of Kolo's size, I am about one third of his size so I can fit in bags easily.

In the third installment we will introduce you to the last six baboons at Baboon HQ.

Who is Who at Baboon HQ - Part 1

Not so long ago there was one baboon here and then two.  However, after we saw Edward working in the shop and realised that not all baboons have a loving home, we started the rehoming programme.  However, we had not intended to rehome baboons here.  So how did we end up with 18 baboons living permanently at Baboon HQ. That was never the intention.

I though, as there are so many of us now I would do a series of blogs introducing all the baboons that live here.  I am going to do it in three parts, six baboons at a time and in order of arrival.

I think anyone who follows this blog knows me, I am Kolo.  I have been living here since 27 December 2003.  I was a Christmas present from my persons's brother to her.  Many people ask how I got my name.  Well my family are Arsenal fans, like me.  The first Arsenal game I saw, on my first day here, the first Arsenal player to score was Kolo Toure.  I decided to take his name in his honour.  I also think its a nice name.  Kolo Toure has moved on to another team but I still like the name.  I am 22 inches tall sitting down.

Hi, I'm Yaya, the number 2 baboon in the Baboon HQ troup.  I arrived in September 2010 as my person thougth it would be nice for Kolo to have another baboon to play with.  I am called Yaya because the footballer that Kolo was named after had a younger brother called Yaya, so that became my name.  I think it suits me.  Sadly Yaya has never played for Arsenal but he has played for Barcelona who we also like.  I am cheeky and often seek out snacks.  I am about two thirds of Kolo's size.

Hi I'm Archie.  I arrived at Baboon HQ just before the rehoming started, September 2011.  JazzydaCat sent me to Kolo because he was disappointed that Edward couldn't come to live here at the time.  There are a number of baboons rehomed who look like me, but I am about three times their size.  You can see I have more stripes on my face than the others.  I play around a lot and give lots of cheek.

Hi I'm Arnie.  I arrived at Baboon HQ in November 2012 before the rehoming started.  I am the smallest baboon at Baboon HQ.  I hang out with Archie and a couple of other friends who arrived later.  I like chocolate, ice cream and bananas, we all do at Baboon HQ.  I am a big fan of Hawaii Five 0.

Hi I'm Roko, Kolo's younger brother.  I just play around.  I chose my name because I liked it.  I am very young and just play with toys and hang out with friends.  I love Formula 1 racing.

Hi I'm Bradley, I am the oldest baboon at Baboon HQ.  I was going to be rehomed but I have hip troubles so Kolo kept me here.  I teach meditation at Baboon HQ and am a sort of counsellor.  I did have a home before but I don't remember it much.  I know I am called Bradley because I arrived with a badge saying My Name is Bradley.  I have two brothers who were the first baboons to be rehomed, Hugo who lives with Zack Rabbit and Tony who lives with Marshall Sheldon.

So those are the first six baboons at Baboon HQ.  In the next installment you will meet the middle six.

Jan and Feb 2013 Baboons

I am very happy to say that three more baboons have found new homes in 2013.

The first rehoming in 2013 was to Bertie the Cat in Wales.  Bertie's baboon will live in the retreat centre.  He is a quiet, meditative baboon so when I thought about where to send him Bertie came to mind.  Bertie's home isn't a retreat centre all of the time and when it is entertaining other kinds of guests this baboon is happy to look after himself and stay quiet.

After a great deal of careful thought Bertie named his baboon Hudson.  Hudson is the baboon next to Bertie.  Yes, you are right there is another baboon with them.  I introduced you to him in my last rehoming update, that is Artie, who lives with Miss Bertie Junior.

Yes here they are in Bertie's beautiful garden, with none other than Bertie Junior.  These baboons will probably see quite a lot of each other from time to time.  They have already had a lovely holiday together in Wales, visiting places of interest.

What happy and contented baboons they are.

The next rehoming in 2013 went to live with Clapton Terrier. 

Obviously he and Clapton are getting on well and he is showing his hugging abilities.  There was quite a discussion to decide on his name.  See the terrier blog for more details http://marleyandlola.blogspot.co.uk/

He was named Peter Tosh after one of Bob Marley's Wailers.  I am sure many of you will work out what an honour that is for a baboon as Clapton lives in dear Marley's home.  You may notice that Peter Tosh looks rather like me and my mini version.  Yes, he does!  Of all the baboons I have rehomed this is the most like me.  I thought he should go to live with Clapton in honour of our love and friendship for Marley who was my first friend and follower on Twitter and a really good friend.

Now Clapton and his family were going on holiday not long after Peter Tosh's arrival and, knowing that baboons are very good at looking after houses, Clapton showed Peter what he should look out for.  I believe that Peter did a very good job of looking after the house and Clapton hasn't found the pizza delivery boxes yet.  Clever baboon Peter Tosh!

Clapton gave Peter a great welcome on his first day with chocolate cake.

Yep, I would say another baboon who has found a great home.

Finally, in February another baboon left HQ to go to live in Colorado with @bdgrlaw, Kirsten has welcomed him even before he arrived, by opening a Twitter account for him and he has been tweeting even before he got there.  To follow his adventures you can follow him on Twitter @samson_ch.  He has only just arrived and not had pictures taken yet, he is just settling in, but here he is before he left Baboon HQ.

 



 I am sure you will see more of him!!  He was named after a gorilla that was in the zoo when Kirsten was a child, so he must hold nice memories.

Other baboon updates:

I am finding the right baboon to send to New Zealand to Baxtsa (@baxter_man).  This will the first baboon to go all the way to New Zealand although one has gone to Australia.

OllyTed's baboon buddy, Nyani Baboon, has opened a Twitter account to pass on some great baboon stories.  I am sure you are all aware of Nyani's talent for finding banana cakes for #caykclub every Tuesday, no matter where #caykclub is Nyani finds a banana cake, quite a talent!  To read Nyani's baboon stories you can follow him on Twitter @ImNyani.

Thank you for reading and for your interest n baboons.

Valentine competition winners

Firstly thank you to everyone who entered the competition.  I always hate this part because I wanted everyone to win and they never do all win.  However, the good bit is telling the winners that they did win and I notice that over time more and more friends have one a prize in my competitions so eventually I think everyone will win.

The winners of the Valentine competition are:

1. The winner of the Zack Rabbit mug is - @pumpkinpuddy.  Pumpkin I will send you instructions by DM on Twitter.

2. The winner of the monkey or owl adoption is - @nocrybabydogs.  Daffy I will send you instructions by DM on Twitter.

3. The winner of the Owl and Monkey Sanctuary mug is - @justanothertrend. Hurley I will get in touch with you on Twitter.

4. The winner of the rabbit mug or T-shirt is - @wirdnerves. I will also get in touch with your on Twitter and send you instructions.

Well done to all the winners.  Remember everyone else, you have all won my heart.  Watch out for my Easter competition coming up next!

HAPPY VALENTINES TODAY TO EVERYONE!

Flat pack

As most of you know we have been doing some renovations at Baboon HQ. One thing that we really wanted was a bigger kitchen table. Our old one was supposed to accommodate six but they would have to be six very tiny people.

We decided that when the renovations were over we would get one. We went to that famous Swedish shop that is famous for meatballs as well as flat pack furniture and we found the one we wanted and ordered it online. Yesterday was the day for it to arrive.  But then it needed to be assembled. We did the chairs OK yesterday but the table seemed difficult. We decided to leave it till today. Some of the bigger baboons at Baboon HQ set to work this morning.

While Yaya Baboon and I scratched our heads Freddy baboon took the opportunity to pose for a picture.  What a lot of pieces.

We realised that we would need to use power tools. I felt that the smaller baboons should stay away at this stage.

WARNING: Power tools can be dangerous and must be handled with care!!

Eventually we managed to assemble it.

Oh dear but Roko Baboon, Yaya Baboon, Denis Baboon, Thierry Baboon and Austin Baboon were puzzled about how to get it upright.  In the end we all worked together with help of our humans to get it on its legs.

Oh dear but we seemed to have an extra piece.  Yaya and I were worried about this, what can we have missed.  Then we realised it was the middle piece that could be used to extent it further.

Once we had fitted the extending piece Freddy Baboon was worried that it was too long.  Well he wasn't really he just likes to get into a picture.  We soon found that you can store the extending piece under the rest and we slid that into place.

Edward Baboon, Marley Baboon and I decided that we needed to try it out. We decided we might need some cushion pads for the chairs and the boys are a little bit low here, but that will be easy to get.

Once we had got our table covering on it all fitted fine and looked nice. I will look for another stool like mine for the the other end, get a new table cover and some sushion pads and then it will all be done.

 

Our lovely pepper grinder baboon is very happy and that is what matters because he lives on the kitchen table.

Valentine competition

Hi y'all its nearly that time of year again when we all think about our loved ones.

Yes February 14th, Valentine's day is less than two weeks away.  I love all of my friends equally so I prefer to run a competition rather than sending cards.

As usual, in my competitions, all the prizes are first prizes.  There are always primate prizes and as Valentines day tells us that spring is almost here, I have decided that rabbit prizes are a nice way of celebrating the imminence of spring.

So what are the prizes Kolo? I hear you ask.  Well here they are.

1. A mug of your choice from the Zack Rabbit Zazzle shop.  http://www.zazzle.co.uk/zackrabbit After all what better anipal than Zack to help us celebrate Valentine's day!

2. A T-shirt or mug of your choice from @RettetKaninchen's rabbit haven shop. http://www.hasenfarm.com/pages/de/motive/kaninchenrettung.php

3. An owl or monkey adoption of your choice from the Owl and Monkey sanctuary on my island.  http://www.owlandmonkeyhaven.co.uk/products/adoptions.aspx

4. An owl and primate mug from the owl and monkey haven on my island, showing all your favourite owls and monkeys.

Who can enter?

Anyone can enter, if you have won a prize before you are still very welcome to enter, the more who enter the more fun we have.

How do I enter?

There are three ways to enter:

1. Leave a message on this blog saying that you would like to enter.
2. Send me a Direct Message on Twitter saying you would like to enter.
3. Send me a private message on Can Be Social to say you would like to enter.

How will the prize winners be chosen?

I do not judge between my friends so I don't ask you to make sure your message is cleverer than anyone elses or anything like that.  I could never choose between friends.  What happens is that each entrant is given a number in the order they enter.  We use a random number generator to draw the prizes.  Usually I ask one of the other baboons here or a rehomed friend or one of my other friends like Leroy to draw it.  I could never do it myself.

How will the winners be notified?

I will do a blog entry announcing the winners and I will send direct messages on Twitter or private messages on Can be Social to let you know whether you have won.

Thank you for your interest in my competition.  Please enter and tell all your friends.

Announcing the winner

Hi everyone, another competition has been and gone and we have four winners.  If you are not a winner this time please do not despair another competition will be along before you know it!!

Marley Baboon did the draw as our first choice drawer was very busy.  He did a good job I think although like me he wanted everyone to win.  We had 45 entrants so that could not be possible.

Congratulations to the winners, they are:

1. The first number to come out was number 1 and that was Bijntje, who wins the monkey or owl adoption from the haven on my island.  Bijntje please look at http://www.owlandmonkeyhaven.co.uk/products/adoptions.aspx and choose a monkey or owl to adopt and let me know who you would like and where to have the pack sent to.  Send me a DM on Twitter to let me know.
2. The next number to come out was number 6 and that is LilyLuWuTo,  Lily you win the bunny T-shirt or mug.  Please look at http://www.hasenfarm.com/pages/de/motive/kaninchenrettung.php and let me know whether you want a T-shirt or a mug, what colour and if it is a T-shirt, what size and where to send it.  Send me a DM on Twitter to let me know.
3. The next number to come out was 37 and that is Oatuling.  Oatuling wins the mug from the Owl and Monkey Haven.  Please let me know where to send it.  Send me a DM on Twitter.

 

  4. The final number to come out was number 12 and that is JazzydaCat.  Jazzy wins the donation to Marley's fund and I will arrange that for you Jazzy.