Orkanen ødelagde PRs berømte forskningscenter på Monkey Island

I denne onsdag, 4. oktober kl. 2017 foto, aber bevæger sig rundt på Cayo Santiago, kendt som Monkey Island, i Puerto Rico. Et af de første steder, hvor orkanen Maria ramte i det amerikanske territorium 20. september, var Monkey Island, en 40-acre outcropping ud for østkysten, der er et af verdens vigtigste steder for forskning i, hvordan primater tænker, socialisere og udvikle sig. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Da tusinder af tropper og regeringsarbejdere kæmper for at genoprette det normale liv i Puerto Rico, en lille gruppe forskere kører efter at redde mere end 1, 000 aber, hvis hjerne kan indeholde spor til mysterier i det menneskelige sind.

Et af de første steder, hvor orkanen Maria ramte på det amerikanske territorium 20. september, var Cayo Santiago, kendt som Monkey Island, en 40-acre outcropping ud for østkysten, der er et af verdens vigtigste steder for forskning i, hvordan primater tænker, socialisere og udvikle sig.

Stormen ødelagde stort set alt på øen, fjerner den fra vegetation, ødelægge abernes metalltrinkedragter og knuse de moler, som arbejdere ved University of Puerto Rico bruger til at indbringe poser med abe chow - brune piller af forarbejdet mad, der fuldender primaternes naturlige vegetationskost.

"Alle vores værktøjer blev ødelagt, "sagde Angelina Ruiz Lambides, direktøren for Cayo Santiago -anlægget. "Dækker FEMA dette? Dækker universitetets forsikring dette? Jeg ved det ikke."

Utroligt, så vidt forskerne hidtil kan fortælle, aberne overlevede det direkte hit fra orkanen, måske ved at søge højt terræn og samle sig ved bunden af træer.

Der er ikke fundet nogen lig, og en folketælling registrerer ikke et stort antal manglende makaker.

I denne onsdag, 4. oktober kl. 2017 foto, en kvindelig abe bærer sin baby på ryggen på Cayo Santiago, kendt som Monkey Island, i Puerto Rico, et af verdens vigtigste steder til forskning i, hvordan primater tænker, socialisere og udvikle sig. Hvert dyr født på øen er tatoveret for let identifikation, og skelettet for alle, der er døde i ni generationer, er blevet gemt til fremtidig reference. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Øens historie som forskningscenter stammer fra 1938, da manden kendt som faderen til amerikansk primatvidenskab bragte en befolkning af indiske rhesus -makakker til USA. Clarence Ray Carpenter ønskede et sted med den perfekte blanding af isolation og fri rækkevidde, hvor aberne kunne studeres ved at leve meget som de gør i naturen uden vanskelighederne med at spore dem gennem naturen.

Siden da har de omkring 400 makakker reproduceret og udvidet deres antal, ved at blive verdens mest studerede fritgående primatpopulation og noget af et levende bibliotek.

Hvert dyr født på øen er tatoveret for let identifikation, og skelettet for alle, der er døde i ni generationer, er blevet gemt til fremtidig reference. Omkring 100 har fået sekventeret hele deres genetiske makeup, og flere hundrede har fået analyseret i det mindste noget af deres DNA.

I dette skærmbillede lavet af video onsdag, 4. oktober kl. 2017, forskere vender tilbage til land fra Cayo Santiago, kendt som Monkey Island, i Puerto Rico, et af verdens vigtigste steder til forskning i, hvordan primater tænker, socialisere og udvikle sig. Efter orkanen Marias død, universitetets personale og lokale medarbejdere, der holder Monkey Island kørende, færger vanvittigt poser med chow i en lille skiff, fodring af makakerne med en overlevelseskost og forsøger at samle regnvandssamlerne og drikkekummer, der holder dyrene i live i den tropiske sol. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Forskere fra Yale, University of Pennsylvania, New York University og andre har brugt store dele af året på øen for at studere alt lige fra abernes øjenbevægelser til gener og adfærd hos socialt afvigende personer, der kan give indsigt i årsagerne til autisme.

"Det er helt uden fortilfælde i sin bredde og størrelse, "sagde James Higham, a professor of biological anthropology at NYU who is studying the monkeys' behavior, cognition and communication.

Now the university staff and local employees who keep Monkey Island running are frantically ferrying bags of chow in a tiny skiff, feeding the macaques a survival diet and trying to reassemble the rainwater collectors and drinking troughs that keep the animals alive in the tropical sun.

In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 foto, a monkey drinks from a puddle on Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the world's most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve. Researchers have been spending much of the year on the island studying everything from the monkeys' eye movements to the genes and behavior of socially aberrant individuals that may provide insight into the causes of autism. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Mainland scientists are bringing in equipment from chain saws to a portable pier, funded by tens of thousands of dollars raised so far in university departments and online.

Complicating the effort, the monkeys all carry herpes B, a version of the virus that is harmless to macaques but can be fatal in humans. Anyone who comes into contact with monkey saliva or urine must undergo rigorous decontamination and treatment with antiretroviral drugs.

Humans also pose risks for the monkeys. Because the hurricane destroyed the island's chemical toilet, researchers and workers can stay only until they need a bathroom break:Human waste could start an epidemic that could wipe out the monkeys.

While the rescue effort is heroic, "it's not sustainable, " said Higham, who is bringing in a container full of supplies, possibly on a ship that would anchor off the island. "They're doing the best they can do under very difficult conditions, but it needs help and attention."

In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 foto, a monkey walks over the rubble left in the wake of Hurricane Maria on Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the world's most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve. The storm destroyed virtually everything on the island, stripping it of vegetation, wrecking the monkeys' metal drinking troughs and crushing the piers that University of Puerto Rico workers use to bring in bags of monkey chow, brown pellets of processed food that complete the primates' natural vegetation diet. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 foto, a monkey eats atop a rock off of Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the world's most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve. The island's history as a research center dates to 1938, when the man known as the father of American primate science brought a population of Indian rhesus macaques to the United States. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 foto, workers repair research facilities destroyed by Hurricane Maria in Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the world's most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve. Mainland scientists are bringing in equipment from chain saws to a portable pier, funded by tens of thousands of dollars raised so far in university departments and online. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 foto, an iguana sunbathes as monkeys walk behind on Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the world's most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve. In 1938, man known as the father of American primate science, Clarence Ray Carpenter, wanted a place with the perfect mix of isolation and free range, where the monkeys could be studied living much as they do in nature without the difficulties of tracking them through the wild. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 foto, a monkey rests on a tree branch on Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the world's most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve. Since 1938, the 400 or so macaques have reproduced and expanded their numbers, becoming the world's most studied free-ranging primate population and something of a living library. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 foto, a female monkey holds her baby on Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the world's most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve. Every animal born on the island is tattooed for easy identification, and the skeleton of every one that has died over nine generations has been saved for future reference. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 foto, a monkey walks along the shore of Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the world's most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve. About 100 macaque monkeys here have had their entire genetic makeup sequenced, and hundreds more have had at least some of their DNA analyzed. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

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