Not just a job: Meet the leaders of our animal care and technician teams
Most people don’t get to work with monkeys every day.
But for the veterinarians, technicians, caretakers and behavioralists – numbering more than 150 – at Texas Biomed’s Southwest National Primate Research Center, that is exactly what they do: working together to ensure SNPRC’s 2,500 nonhuman primates are safe, healthy and well cared for 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
“It is a very unique opportunity that not many people get to experience,” said Richard Campos, who supervises one of the caretaker teams. “Anybody who is here longer than six months has a passion for these animals. It’s not just a job, they truly care for their wellbeing.”
The passion and commitment to the animals is evident, especially when talking with team leaders like Richard. He, along with Martha Avila, Travis Church, George Villanueva, Ashley Price and Paulina Castillo started out as caretakers and have grown into leadership positions managing caretakers and veterinary technicians. Half of these supervisors have been with SNPRC for more than 20 years; collectively, they represent 100 years of experience in primate care and management. We asked them to share what drew them to SNPRC, some of the highlights and challenges of working with primates, and what they wish more people understood about their work.
Travis Church, Martha Avila and George Villanueva all grew up in San Antonio and knew there were monkeys here. Texas Biomed has housed nonhuman primates, most notably one of the world’s largest pedigreed colonies of baboons, since the 1950s.
“When I was six years old, I remember passing by on the highway and looking at the animals from my mom’s Cadillac,” Travis said. As a young adult in search of a summer job in 2002, he applied to be an animal caretaker – sweat-inducing work that includes long hours outside, feeding animals, cleaning enclosures and observing groups to ensure they are healthy and getting along. He’s been here ever since. Over the past 23 years, he’s grown from a caretaker to technician to supervisor. Currently, he manages the macaque breeding colony, which numbers more than 1,000. “I love animals. I can’t see myself doing anything else,” he said.
Martha Avila has been with the organization since 1994, having stepped away periodically for missionary and nonprofit work, which also focused on animal welfare. “I keep coming back,” she said. Trained as a veterinary technician, over the years she has raised baby baboons, worked in the veterinary clinic and now supervises the vet techs caring for about 1,000 baboons. “We take a lot of pride in our work and our teams – what we do here is very much needed for the health of our community,” Martha said.
George Villanueva has spent the last 22 years caring for the chimpanzees at Texas Biomed. “They are so unique, their personalities, they are a joy to be around,” George said. “They’ll groom you, you groom them. You build a bond with these animals.”
No longer used in biomedical research, most chimps have been relocated to sanctuaries. A small group of individuals that are too old to move or too tightly bonded to their caretakers are living out their lives in retirement at SNPRC. A whole morning may be put aside for specialized health checks or getting a stubborn animal to take its medications – will it be fruit punch or pickle juice that does the trick today? It is not quick work.
“You are on chimpanzee time,” George said. “It’s fun, it’s challenging. You have to stay on your toes.”
One beloved chimp, Sheila, passed away from old age last year and it still raises tears in the eyes of those who knew and cared for her.
“It’s hard to lose animals, no matter how big or small,” George said.
Richard Campos, Ashley Price and Paulina Castillo joined SNPRC in 2017 or 2018 and together represent the next generation of leaders.
After studying animal science at Texas A&M, Richard Campos, another San Antonio native, was intrigued to work with primates at SNPRC. After several years as a veterinary technician, which provides hands-on medical care like you might see at the vet office, he took on supervising the macaque caretakers. He is also supervising the macaque vet techs on an interim basis.
“I’m shifting my focus from taking care of the animals to being that support role for the staff, who are essential in their care,” Richard said.
Similarly, Paulina Castillo, who goes by Polly, began in caretaking and technician roles and has worked up to leading the care and technician teams that handle about 500 marmosets, SNPRC’s smallest, stinkiest and perhaps most vocal primates.
“It’s been an adjustment from being a part of the team to the person leading them,” Polly said. “I love watching people grow. I love talking about the marmosets, love teaching others about them.” Polly wears her heart on her sleeve, literally: a marmoset tattoo adorns her right forearm.
For Ashley Price, “it was love at first sight” when she saw the baboons during a community college tour of SNPRC. After volunteering for a couple of years here and then working at a primate sanctuary, she returned in 2017 as a baboon caretaker. While often caretakers will grow their career into a more medically focused technician role, she prefers being out with the colony and now, leading a team of baboon caretakers.
“I like the problem solving and strategizing that comes with working with the colony,” Ashley said. “No two days are alike, so I am helping train my team to be able to respond to change.”
Both the newer leaders and more experienced ones lean on one another for advice and support – from handling team dynamics to day-to-day challenges.
One of the greatest challenges can be having difficult conversations with neighbors or even family about the continued need for animals in research. While alternatives are being developed to reduce the number of animals needed, there is currently no replacement to understand how a complete immune system will respond to a new medicine, vaccine or cure. Without nonhuman primates, we wouldn’t know the safety and efficacy of insulin, cancer drugs or Tylenol – just to name a few.
“I still get that stigma sometimes and I have to do a lot of educating when a negative comment is made,” Martha said. “People just need to be educated about why we are here.”
The supervisors also try set the record straight on just how much work goes into caring for the animals. The caretakers carry out the daily requirements for cleaning and feeding for 2,500 primates across the 200-acre campus. Technicians support veterinarians with health checks and medical care. Veterinarians are always on call to attend to the animals. Behavioral teams help coordinate additional enrichment like fresh fruits and veggies and activities that elicit species specific behaviors such as foraging and climbing. The teams work together to observe social groups to ensure they are getting along, monitor breeding groups and youngsters, and coordinate movement of animals needed for research studies. There are a lot of moving pieces and care doesn’t stop on the weekends or holidays.
“Just because the clock ends, doesn’t mean that you stop thinking about work,” Ashley said. “I’ll be laying in bed thinking about my animals for the next day, like, okay, how are we going to do this tomorrow? And for the weekend? It’s really a 24/7 thing that I think a lot of people don’t really understand how much of your life this becomes.”
Ultimately, the dedication and hard work pays off in more ways than one: federal regulators that show up for unannounced inspections see that not only are required standards of care are being met, but exceeded; and researchers across the nation are able to rely on SNPRC for animal models that provide critical insights into human and animal health.
And there is no comparison to doing something you are truly passionate about.
“We love and care for these animals,” Travis said. “Seeing them happy and well taken care of – that is what makes me happy.”