Tasikoki Black Macaque Rescue
Murex Dive Operations Manager, Pim van Schendel was recently involved in the successful rescue of a black crested macaque (locally called Yaki) from one of the local villages close to Murex Manado. Read on to find out more!
The male black crested macaque, named Mimi by his carers, had been caught in a snare trap outside of the local village of Lolah. The hunter who placed the trap intended to catch wild boar but when he checked the trap he found that a macaque had been caught around its wrist. Unfortunately, later, Mimi lost his hand due to his wounds.
Black crested macaques are a critically endangered and protected species in Indonesia, therefore it is illegal to keep them in captivity. It remains the case that in some areas of North Sulawesi black crested macaques and other wildlife are still consumed as bush meat and it is suspected that this could have been the fate that awaited Mimi.
Getting the stressed Black Macaque out of his coop was not easy.
The hunter who snared Mimi traded him for herbs and spices with a supplier from the same village as Pim’s family – Ranotongkor. Fortunately, the herb and spice supplier’s wife and daughter took pity on Mimi and tried to nurse him over a period of one week. During this time the daughter managed to form a slight bond with Mimi and even obtained antibiotics from the local pharmacy and was able to clean his wounds. Not knowing what to do next they contacted Pim’s family. Pim immediately contacted the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre for help and advice. Tasikoki’s in-house vet, arranged a meeting with Pim to retrieve Mimi the macaque from Ranotongkor.
Sudated little Mimi was taken care of very well by the vetenarian
Mimi was being kept in a coop outside of the family’s house and when approached he became stressed and showed his teeth. When the vet approached him however, she did so slowly and cautiously with her back to Mimi and just giving occasional glances over her shoulder. Mimi became accepting – especially when the vet mimicked monkey noises! Once out of his coop Tasikoki managed to provide first aid and relief before taking Mimi back to the rescue centre for further treatment and stabilisation. The rescue was a success!
As a result of his injury Mimi needed part of his forearm removed due to the open fracture caused by the trapping. At Tasikoki, as per procedure, all animals arriving at the rescue centre enter quarantine for a minimum period of 8-12 weeks before joining the rehabilitation programme – which is where Mimi is now.
The rescue drew a lot of attention from the villagers
Well done to Pim, his family and to the team from Tasikoki for helping Mimi and we are looking forward to hearing more about him when he starts rehabilitation.
If you’d like to see black crested macaques in the wild, we have a range of land tours available, including to Tasikoki and to the Tangkoko Nature Reserve – look out for Mimi!
Please note that Tasikoki’s number one priority is rehabilitating wildlife and as such guests are not allowed to enter the primate rehab centre. Tours are educational and include visits to animals that are victims of illegal trade as deemed suitable for the welfare of the animals. What you will get to see is how a successful rehabilitation centre operates and learn about the problems faced due to illegal animal trade in Sulawesi – it’s an exceptional excursion.
A family of Black Macaque in the wild in Tangkoko National Park
If you have information about illegal trade of wildlife or have seen a protected species in captivity in North Sulawesi, please send details of the specific location with address, owner, contact number, a photograph of the location and the owner with the animal info@tasikoki.org.
If you’d like to book a land tour during your stay in North Sulawesi just let us know on: reservations@murexdive.com. Likewise if you haven’t yet booked your next Murex Dive Resorts trip, send us an email with the dates you would like to stay and which of our beautiful Indonesian dive resorts you’d like to stay at; Murex Manado, Murex Bangka or enjoy a Passport to Paradise and explore three distinct destinations in one unique trip – Bunaken, Bangka and Lembeh!
We look forward to welcoming you to North Sulawesi soon…
