Diary - Macaque Rescue
Here in Ciapus we have been experimenting with different treats for our rescued macaques. Just as with humans, animals have favourite foods and given a choice, will make a beeline for their favourite snacks!
Most macaques here prefer to eat papaya, boiled eggs and guava fruit rather than carrots or apples. However, one type of food that drives them crazy (and I mean crazy!) is seeds: sunflower, corn and rice. Whenever we put seeds in any of the enrichment devices (see previous post), the animals immediately...
Being able to do my dissertation project on macaques at the International Animal Rescue centre in Ciapus, Indonesia has certainly been a privilege, not only because it is a great opportunity to grow academically and professionally, but mainly because it has given me the chance to appreciate the magnificence of these animals while I help their rehabilitation process.
June 27th 2012 education coordinator Indri Hapsari and Mitigation of Macaque Conflict Programme coordinator Ayut Enggeliah Entoh went to the BDN elementary school in Jakarta to give presentations about animal welfare and the facts about monkeys. Education was given in two parts, first part was 1st – 3rd grades and the second one was 4th – 6th grades. The students were pretty enthusiastic but the 1st -3rd grades seem to be particularly interested. They paid a lot of attention to what the team explained and asked the most...
Volunteer Tine explains the importance of the enrichment programme to the primates – and the people – at our centre in Ciapus
To ensure high animal welfare standards at our centre we implemented an enrichment calendar in 2011 which makes sure that enrichment items vary and are given on a daily basis.
Enrichment is every addition to the environment of an animal in captivity that offers it the opportunity to behave naturally and therefore improve its welfare. We use enrichment mainly to stimulate natural behaviour, decrease abnormal...
Long-tailed macaques like most primates are very sociable animals and live in large groups in the wild. William is one of our long-tailed macaques, he is heavily-built and is quite dominant. Housed all alone for years without any social contact, he showed a lot of stereotypical behaviour. For that reason, we always try to socialise new animals as soon as possible with other individuals of their species.
In general, it is easier to introduce males and females to each other, particularly if one or both animals...
On 3rd January, James, an infant male pig-tailed macaque, was brought in to our rescue centre in Ciapus by an expatriate European family living in Indonesia, who had kept him as a pet for 2.5 months. James is an extremely active young macaque, and our mandatory tests on arrival confirmed that he was healthy.
What to do with very young primates is always a challenge. Like human infants, they need a lot of affection, love and care, but if that is provided by IAR staff, there is a danger that they will become too...