Why Did I Do Tricks For Luis? / ¿Por Qué Le Mostré Mis Trampas a Luis?

Preview Pages in Spanish and English

I wanted to be the hero of a book showing the agility of spider monkeys. When I saw Carol’s guide and co-photographer Luis with his camera, I seized my opportunity. I showed off my tricks, then followed him to Carol, to whom I explained my goals. Carol is very sympathetic, and she promised to write this book about me. – Simon, the spider monkey

Why are humans less wise than animals? So many of us have difficulty accepting that surface colors are interesting but irrelevant. What we are in our minds, hearts and morals are what matters, not surface coloration. How we behave is who we are.

This book is dedicated to another unique tropical species needing to be saved and to have its habitat protected.  Whether species live in the tropics or in the far north or south, they have adapted to their environment as it is.  It takes time for any species to change.  Now migrations and food supplies are not compatible.  Resting places for migrating birds along coasts are disappearing as people build along those areas, which are then destroyed by hurricanes and floods.  As islands and mangrove forests disappear, they no longer protect towns and homes from extreme weather.

One species we tend to overlook is humans.  We cannot survive if temperatures continue to rise and if we overpopulate the planet to the point of eliminating forests, clean water, and clean air.  We already are suffering the effects of pollution to the extent of increasing respiratory and cancerous conditions.  How long can we survive if we do not reverse the global trend?

Spending so much time in Costa Rica has made me increasingly aware of climate change.  Costa Rica is a tiny country with an extremely wide range of elevations.  Wild species have been moving higher in the mountains.  How high can they go?   What about the survival of those who already live in the mountain tops?  Where can they go?  What about the trees and vegetation that cannot spread their seeds higher?

What about the deforestation that has already imperiled the original Panama Canal that depended on large amounts of rainfall to replenish the lake that fed it?  The rainforests have largely disappeared, as has the amount of rain.  People as well as wildlife depend on a constant supply of clean water, but it is diminishing. 

There are already disputes over the water in lakes and rivers which lie between two states in the USA. There are already states in the United States that suffer from a lack of water, as their resources are sent elsewhere or they suffer prolonged droughts.  Underground reservoirs, accumulated over many centuries, are running dry after a century of usage.

Both conservation and a certain amount of preservation have become immediate priorities for everyone, of whatever race, creed, gender, religion, political party, or any other seemingly apparent difference.