Macaques - love thy neighbour

A few days ago Karmele was contacted by the forestry department in Bogor who informed her of two pig tail macaques in need of rescue. At that time a Malaysian film crew was staying at the center which came to Indonesia to film 5 episodes of their documentary series “Keep It Wild” which will be broadcast in Malaysia as well as Indonesia. The director/writer, Siew Lyn Wong, told us that this series “…is making history…”, being the first of its kind produced in Malaysia featuring endemic wildlife to raise awareness about conservation and animal welfare issues. So the crew, and filmmaker Ethan Reitz, came along to film the whole experience.
Both macaques that we were going to pick up were adult males and had each been kept by their owners for almost ten years. The first one, Bobby, had been living in a small cage at the entrance of a large hotel. Now the manager wanted to get rid of him because a guest, an artist, had complained about Bobby’s erections and masturbation - I think: good on him! Not only is there not much else to do in the isolation of 10 years in a 4 cubic meter cage and is actually part of natural behavior – but if this is what eventually got him out of there – go Bobby! The other one, Bendot, had been a little better off. He had been kept in a larger cage, also in isolation but judging by his friendly reaction to his owner he at least had been treated kindly. Bendot’s owner seemed to be a wealthy man who readily told us that he used to own several exotic animals, including gibbons, orangutans and siamangs. All of which he was able to give to the zoo when he heard that these animals could transmit diseases to humans and started to get worried about his grandchildren – so the animals had to go. But it is not easy to find a place for an adult macaque because they are being sold everywhere and the buyers want babies. Luckily for Bendot this guy found out about IAR Indonesia. Sooner or later he would have probably been put down otherwise.
As opposed to Robin’s cage these cages had doors but it was not much of a surprise to find that neither owner had the keys to the locks that probably had never been opened in the past ten years. As to be expected from the two different situations and cages we found Bendot in a pretty good condition but poor Bobby was, in addition to his disturbed and aggressive behavior, in poor shape. His coat was filthy and he had eczema on several areas of his body. The long bones especially of his upper arms showed deformities as a result of rickets. Rickets is caused by a vitamin D deficiency, due to the lack of sunlight as well as a lack of adequate calcium in the diet. Even though I have seen worse cases of rickets in macaques at the center, it makes me sad to think that not only has he been kept with no direct sunlight and been fed deficiently but this might cause him to lose his chance to be released. But even if he can not be returned into the wild he will still have a much better life at the center in Ciapus where he can be socialized, move around in larger cages filled with enrichment, get a healthy diet and health care for the rest of his life.

Macaques are the most widespread non-human primate genus. The twenty-two macaque species currently recognized are ranging from northern Africa to Japan.
Macaques may easily be the most abused primates on our planet. Because of their evolutionary success, which led to their wide distribution and reflects their adaptability, many macaque species are not endangered. Very often they adapt by learning how to coexist with humans. Sadly this coexistence is seldom peaceful. When humans expand their habitat through growing cities, transmigration to uninhabited regions or the destruction of forest and other ecosystems for agricultural use, macaques, unlike many other species, which will simply disappear with their habitat, learn how to survive of human waste and crops. The invading humans however often feel like the macaques are the invaders and declare them a pest. In Indonesia for instance farmers will often get permits to kill the animals if they raid their crops. Ironically the similarities to humans read into animal appearance and behavior is what often triggers empathy which is called anthropomorphism. In the case of the macaques a lot of the similarities seem to trigger quite the opposite – fear and threat. Sadly it is the macaque’s survival skills, which makes them in many ways similar to humans that put them into an often lethal competition with us. The fact that they are perceived as pest in Indonesia is also reflected in the annual quota for capture of wild long tail macaques that was just last year raised by 100% and allows now for more than 5000 long tail macaques to be captured from the wild and put into breeding programs or to be sold off as pets. Officially only the 2nd captive generation can be exported to 1st world laboratories but in reality the bred and captured monkeys are being mixed and sold overseas. Several species of macaque are used extensively in animal testing facilities around the world.
For anyone who takes a closer look at macaques will quickly realize that they are intelligent, highly social and fascinating animals.
Even among primatologists macaques are not very popular. With their wide abundance and a lack of outstanding features such as size or a particularly “cute” face or belonging to the biological family Hominidae (great apes) along with humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, macaques don’t exactly have a large fan community - except for with those who have worked with them. Karmele developed her deep appreciation for macaques while volunteering at the sanctuary for exotic animals, Stichting AAP, in Holland. When she came to Indonesia she volunteered and worked in different centers including for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS). Karmele enjoyed working with orangutans but felt that they were getting a lot of attention and international support unlike the generally under appreciated and unprotected macaques. That is why the IAR rescue center in Ciapus is the only rescue center in Indonesia specialized in these primates.
As for me – I love macaques. I have to say that I knew very little about them when I came out here but the enthusiasm of Karmele and her staff has been contagious. Especially after getting to know a few of the groups and individuals it is very sad and concerning to learn about the threats and torture their fellows are facing worldwide. Aside from the animal testing macaques are very often kept as pets in Indonesia. They are not so much companions as status symbols and often sit in tiny cages, isolated from their kind, suffering from malnutrition, showing stereotypical behavior and aggression. Sooner or later they either die or bite their owners who will either kill them or give them away – hopefully to a rescue center. Most rescue centers will not take the macaques due to their low status and general lack of funding. Karmele made it her goal to rehabilitate the animals, re-socialize and release them - which is quite an undertaking I have learned.