Recaptured monkey moved to new home
The troop are beginning to explore their new home.
A Japanese macaque who made headlines after escaping from Highland Wildlife Park has been moved to a new home.
Seven-year-old Honshu will now live at Edinburgh Zoo alongside three other males from his troop. Keepers at the wildlife park felt that it would be “very difficult” to reintegrate him into the wider group after his time away.
Honshu was the centre of an intensive five-day search after he escaped from Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, Scotland, on 28 January. Drones with thermal imaging equipment were deployed and keepers patrolled the local area.
He was eventually recaptured with a tranquilliser dart after being spotted eating from a bird feeder in a local resident’s garden. On his return, the keepers and veterinary team found that he had not lost any weight during his time in the wild.
Both Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park are operated by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). At their new home, the monkeys will be kept indoors for the first few days, before being allowed to explore the outdoor part of their new enclosure.
Darren McGarry, head of living collections at RZSS, said: “Primate group dynamics can be very complex, especially in a situation like this where an individual is separated from the troop for an extended period of time.
“Honshu is also of the age when macaques disperse or move away, so it would have been very difficult to reintroduce him to his wider family. Instead, we want to create a new, mini-troop for him, comprised of three other male macaques of similar age – just like with our giraffes. Thankfully they have settled in well together at the park and are now being moved to their new home at the zoo.”
Image © Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
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