We will never forget the macaques walking up to greet each other for the first time with no bars separating them. Some held each other, bewildered and wide-eyed as they looked around at their new environment.
Watching macaques Gabriel, Tonks and Bojangles enjoy simple things like
foraging, snacking on yellow or red bell peppers and fruit or patrolling
their habitat and making alarm calls whenever they see something, it’s easy
to forget their unfortunate past.
They had been at a New Jersey firm that tested substances for toxicity,
which went out of business in 2010. Normally we never hear, in such
situations, what happens to the animals used by the company as they are
often euthanized. This time, we did.
They were able to have a future thanks to our supporters, and we are
grateful for all the day-to-day accomplishments you make possible.
We found out about 55 male macaque monkeys who were still alive, and after
weeks of court deliberations, the enterprise released them. Organizing a
response with three other sanctuaries, we helped all 55 to safety.
Java macaques are tree-dwelling monkeys, and they would normally be found in
coastal woodlands and rainforests of Southeast Asia. But these monkeys had
lived their entire lives caged. They needed immediate and long-term care
from people who understood their needs.
Primarily Primates welcomed a truck filled with most of the monkeys in 2010:
25 arrived wearing the restraint chair collars that confined them for four
to six years as they were kept in place for experiments. A former lab worker
who volunteers at Primarily Primates explains: A pipe is used to hook on to
an opening in the collar to remove the monkeys from their cages, and to
guide them into a chair. Next, screws are applied to the collar to hold the
monkey in place while their arms are pinned down.
More than a dozen kind-hearted people learned about the extraordinary rescue
on Twitter and offered $10 a month to sponsor particular monkeys. Most of
the monkeys needed names too. Five-digit identification numbers were
tattooed across each monkey’s small chest. One had been named “Monster”, and
he became Gabriel. The new sponsors suggested a variety of additional names,
including Bojangles and Tonks, as well as Neville, Lee, Peanut, Rudy,
Brownie, Jupiter, Blaise, Milano, Kera, Shiva and Theo.
Sponsorships bring community awareness to what animals go through when they
are exploited for research, and at the same time to support continued
quality nutrition, care and housing for the monkeys. Living in their groups
of three to four, interacting and enjoying nutritious food, each of these
macaques could live another 10 years or more.
For all they endured, they adjusted wonderfully to their new lives.
We will never forget the macaques walking up to greet each other for the
first time with no bars separating them. Some held each other, bewildered
and wide-eyed as they looked around at their new environment.
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