A Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) named Honshu has become a zoo’s puzzle. He escaped from his enclosure on Sunday January 28 and fled to the Scottish Highlands. This then triggers a search and rescue operation.
Highland Wildlife Park (HWP) officials received a distress call from the Royal Zoological Society (RZSS). The HWP sent a team of guards who used drones equipped with thermal cameras.
For five days, the team used every means possible to capture the Japanese macaque. Today they went to a public garden after receiving a report that Honshu was feeding in a bird feeder. HWP members threw a tranquilizer dart at the macaque, captured it and returned it to the park.
The odyssey of Honshu, the Japanese macaque
On the afternoon of Sunday January 28, residents of the village of Kincraig, in the Cairngorms, Scotland, noticed an unusual animal wandering through their gardens. They quickly realized that it was a Japanese macaque, or snow monkey, and alerted the relevant authorities.
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Darren McGarry, Head of Living Collections at the RZSS, releases an official press release. According to him, experts have since been patrolling the village to locate and bring back the escaped Japanese macaque. The official then invited the public to report any sightings.
Mr McGarry said the monkey posed no threat to the general public or pets. However, he advised against approaching him to avoid any unexpected mishaps.
He added that he and his colleagues were doing everything possible to locate the Japanese macaque. Furthermore, they had even started discussions with a drone company to help them with this task.
Residents are invited to store any food, trash or bird feeders
In the absence of a bin, the monkey will then return to the park when it is hungry, Mr McGarry added. A day later, Keith Gilchrist, head of living collections at HWP, announced that citizens had spotted the Japanese macaque that morning. So he sent a team animal caretakers to patrol the area.
They will use various techniques to try to get him out. In addition, they will use our supplier of thermal imaging drones to help them with their research, said Mr. Gilchrist.
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Despite the sighting, the RZSS team was unable to capture the Japanese macaque. In fact, he escaped into a difficult-to-access area, of which only drones had visibility.
Thanks to BH Wildlife Consultancy, the company that supplied the drones, the research team followed the macaque for 45 minutes. Unfortunately, his rescue was difficult because he was in a position that compromised his safety.
Our team will leave again today, but due to high winds we will not be able to fly the drones, Mr Gilchrist said.
The end of the adventure
On February 1, the team returned with all the necessary equipment to try to locate the Japanese macaque. For several minutes, she searched for clues as to his whereabouts, but was unable to locate him.
In the morning, they received a call from a resident who had seen him feeding at a feeder in a public garden, so they rushed to the scene.
After a brief discussion, the team managed to put Honshu to sleep using a tranquilizer dart. “ We can confirm that we captured the macaque that escaped from the park on Sunday,” rejoiced Mr. Gilchrist.
The team captured Honshu and brought him back to the park, where the veterinary team will carry out a medical examination to confirm their state of health and rule out any problems that he could have developed after his odyssey.
Once his health was confirmed, the medical team reintroduced Honshu among the park’s subadult males.
“We would like to thank everyone who helped us during this process and we will continue to keep you informed of the developments of the situation »concluded Mr. Gilchrist.
