Curses - they've got me! A week ago a barbary macaque decided it didn't like the look of the vet coming to inoculate him and his mates at the Givskud Zoo in western Denmark. So off he went on a walkabout in the countryside around the zoo. Time and again the zoo staff tried to corner the macaque and catch him, and time and again he gave them the slip. But this morning, whilst drinking from a puddle, the vet got him in the backside with a tranquiliser dart, so now he is finally back behind bars - apparantly none the worse for wear. A Danish winter is no problem for a barbary macaque. A portrait of the macaque on this Danish website:
http://gonews.dk.msn.com/wildnews/artikel.aspx?cp-documentid=155830277
Most interesting thing about this posting is the line "A Danish winter is no problem for a barbary macaque"
ReplyDeleteThere are free-ranging populations of this macaque species in France and Germany and I have suggested that it has possibly been secretly introduced into Britain in earlier postings. Even more interesting is the possibility that a giant form has been reported in North Aftica under the name Le Grand Singe ("The Great Ape" in French: the information is from Heuvelmans)although others have said the reports were based on escaped chimpanzees or gorillas. That is entirely the wong habitat for them.
Best Wishes, Dale D.