Mega outplacement AAP

On Monday 31st of May no less than 24 barbary macaques moved to new homes in France. It is a record for AAP: never have so many animals been moved to a new home in one go. Rizzlys group of 17 is the largest, and they went to Zoo de Jurques in Normandy. AAP has a structural waiting list for barbary macaques and these are the animals which are most often rescued. This large outplacement is an important success for AAP.

Rizzlys group

The group is named after Rizzly, their leader, and he is a textbook example of the plight of young barbary macaques. As a youngster, Rizzly was taken away from his secure surroundings in Morocco and was sold to tourists on a market. His new owner took him to Paris where the trouble soon began. As Rizzly grew up he became dominant and difficult to handle. He destroyed the interior of his new home and began to attack children and dogs. Rizzlys owner realised that this couldnt go on and handed him over to AAP. Rizzly now had to begin a period of re-socialisation and learn how to behave as a barbary macaque.Years later, Rizzly is the leader of the 17 males leaving for Normandy.

Frodo

The already three year old Frodo also had a similar experience and was smuggled to Spain as a baby in 2007. His new owner didnt bother to find him a suitable home, and dumped him on the doorstep of a Spanish rescue centre which contacted AAP. Frodo was introduced into Rizzlys group because male barbary macaques care for the young, and therefore Frodo could count on a warm welcome and lots of attention. However, Frodo had to quickly give up his position as baby of the group, in August Georg became the youngest shortly followed by Wadi.

Zoo de Jurques

Zoo de Jurques found in the heart of Normandy wanted to play a role in solving the rescue problems. Their positive attitude about the work of Stichting AAP, lead to the first contact concerning the relocation of barbary macaques. At the zoo a brand new large enclosure has been built. As well as this, the zoo gives a lot of attention to giving education about the barbary macaques. Tourists can read about the history and underlying problems concerning the primates on information boards. Nilsons group of 7 is moving to the Domaine Zoologique de Pescheray near Le Mans. This zoo is fully supporting the barbary macaques and has also built a new enclosure.

Problems concerning the plight of barbary macaques

Barbary macaques live in the forests of the Atlas and Rif mountains in Morocco and Algeria. Due to the felling of the Cedar trees by farmers who want grazing grounds for their goat herds, the natural habitat is becoming increasingly smaller. The trading in young barbary macaques is also causing the population to dwindle alarmingly and this means that the breeding population is decreasing. All in all the population of barbary macaques in the wild has now reached a critical point.