The enclosure at Myrick Park Zoo offers the spider monkeys only a fraction of their natural territory, but since all the monkeys are captive reared this is not unfamiliar to them. The cage is composed of a cross linked metal fence and allows climbing on all sides. There are scattered platforms at all levels around the sides of the cage and hanging from the ceiling. The spider monkeys spend their greatest portion of their time resting and grooming in these areas. Balls, swings, ropes, and other toys are the stimulants for the monkeys high activity level.
Fruit is also the major staple of the spider monkeys diet in captivity.
Monkey chow is also a basic zoo supplement fed to the monkeys, which ensures the monkeys nutritional health. Treats such as peanuts, marshmallows, crackers, and cereal are given to the monkeys a few times a day, and were the major enticement used in my experiment. My procedure for this study includes two general categories of treatments to determine the type and degree of handedness each individual expresses. Second, is the manual hand preference involved in normal grooming observations. Hopefully this range of exercises and observations will cover most of the spider monkeys natural hand use.