Another primate rescued from a life in chains meet jack the long-tailed macaque

Meet Jack the one-year-old long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) that arrived at WFFT yesterday. Along with his mother, Jack was taken from the wild to be sold and eaten as bush meat, his mother was was killed and eaten. A concerned local prevented the hunters from eating him and opted to keep him as a ‘pet’. He was chained to a tree in the direct sunlight in front of this person’s house with no access to drinking or proper diet. As Jack got a little older he started biting the children of his keeper luckily for him they contacted us to help.

The long-tailed macaque is listed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species, in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, tolerance of a broad range of habitats, occurrence in a number of protected areas. Although it is under heavy hunting pressure for the pet trade, meat, sport and trophies, this is not considered a major threat to the species overall. Females are often taken into breeding facilities and males are exported internationally primarily for use in laboratory research. They are regularly persecuted as pests. Habitat loss is also a localised threat, but the species can persist in a variety of habitats and very adaptable.

Jack is settling into life at WFFT and is enjoying trying lots of new foods. After a period in quarantine Jack will be introduced into an open field here at WFFT with adults and some other young rescued macaques. Keep wildlife wild and not as pets.