Saving primate Mia

SINGAPORE - Abandoned by her troop and badly injured, the long-tailed macaque's days were almost numbered six weeks ago.

But the monkey - known as Mia - scampered freely into the trees again on Tuesday.

She was released after receiving treatment from members of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society's (Acres) newly-formed Macaque Rescue Team.

They had nursed Mia back to health by getting her medical treatment, which involved inserting pins into her shattered pelvis.

On Tuesday, the team took Mia back to MacRitchie Reservoir Park, where they first found her, and let her return to her jungle home.

Even residents who live near the reservoir hailed the move by Acres, a charity set up in 2001 to advocate an end to animal cruelty.

No one questioned why Acres spent so much resources to help return an injured animal to its troop, when the macaque population there is thriving to the point that they are sometimes seen as a nuisance.

For Mr Louis Ng, chief executive of Acres, saving an injured animal - nuisance or not - is something that must be done.

That is why he set up the Macaque Rescue Team last month to focus on rescuing macaques and responding to human-macaque conflicts.

The rescue team has two full-time staff members who man a 24-hour hotline (9783 7782) on macaque issues around Singapore.

The team also had to undergo a 10-day training course in Laos on handling macaques.

Even residents who are most affected by the monkeys are glad that Mia is back with her troop.

Residents of Westlake Avenue whom The New Paper spoke to agreed that the monkeys should be protected, despite being an occasional nuisance.

Monkey relations

A resident who wanted to be known only as Mr Colin, 62, said: "These monkeys are very smart as they can easily open the rubbish bins to forage for food.

"But I have no qualms about these monkeys as they have never disturbed me in any way.

"I think sometimes we are the one causing them to fear us."

Student Michelle Kwok, 12, said the monkeys have entered her house. "The monkeys even took snacks and fruits from the kitchen.

"They are sometimes very irritating and I tried to swing a badminton racket in front of them so that the noise will make them scared.

"But my mum said that I shouldn't do that."

Another resident, Madam Essie Abalos, 53, said: "The monkeys will come into the house and find food to eat. They will eat the leaves from our plants and look into the bins.

"But we shouldn't kill these monkeys because they are living things as well." It is precisely attitudes like these that Mr Ng hopes to reinforce with Acres.

He hopes that the rescue team will be able to raise awareness on how we can coexist with macaques, by educating both humans and macaques through behavioural modification.

"With simple behavioural modification, the monkeys will move away from our territory. We don't have to shoot them, trap them or injure them to make them move away from us," he said.

"We have to realise that if we don't stare at the monkeys and if we respect their space without invading it, they will respect us in return.

"The macaques have to take a step back literally but humans also have to take a step back, too, to realise that bad behaviour by the monkeys is a response to bad behaviour by humans."

The Rescue

The team found Mia near the entrance of MacRitchie Reservoir Park, badly wounded, on Aug 23 after being alerted to it by the public, said Miss Sabrina Jabbar, 23, who is part of the rescue team.

"as soon as we started to clean the wound, her troop appeared. They were very aggressive, especially the dominant male," she said.

The rescue team did not take Mia away after her wound was cleaned as her troop was still with her, added Miss Sabrina.

She also said that monkeys are very hardy and can even survive with missing limbs or slashed wounds.

But the next day when the rescue team checked on Mia, she was lying alone on the bridge above the reservoir, weak and dehydrated, said Miss Sabrina.

Mia was sent to the Animal Recovery Veterinary Centre (ARVC) where they found that she had a shattered pelvis and injuries on her left leg.

She went through a five-hour surgery which was followed by a month-long rehabilitation and physiotherapy, before her release on Tuesday.

Mr Louis Ng of acres said that funding for Mia's recovery was fully by arVC but is unsure of the amount.

5 facts about long-tailed macaques

1. They are the second-most commonly used laboratory animal, behind the rhesus monkey. Scientists made extensive use of macaques in developing the polio vaccine.

2. They live up to four years in the wild, but can live up to 38 years in captivity.

3. They commonly feed on buds, fruits, insects, crustaceans, spiders and cereals.

4. They live in troops of about 20-60, lead by an alpha male.

5. They usually have a fixed routine, starting with foraging in the morning, then stopping to rest midday, when they either groom, play or sleep. They forage again in the afternoon, then return a few hours later to play again before sleeping at night.

More than 300 macaques culled

In July, The Sunday Times reported that almost 360 macaques were culled by the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) in the first half of this year.

This is more than the combined total for the past two years and is estimated to be 20 per cent of the entire population of less than 2,000 macaques here.

AVA said that the animals were culled in response to the rising number of complaints about the primates, which were blamed for entering the homes to steal food.

Get The New Paper for more stories.