Electric fence no barrier for fit, young monkeys

Published on Tuesday 7 July 2009 22:04

FIVE monkeys on the run at Edinburgh Zoo escaped from their enclosure by creeping under an electric fence, The Scotsman has learned.

The barbary macaques, which are not said to pose a threat to humans, were able to break free because they were younger and more agile than macaques previously held in the cage.

Lorna Hughes, head zookeeper, has accepted there was a "chink in the armour" of the security.

Zoo officials had previously said the monkeys made their daring escape while being transferred from one monkey area to another.

The new primates, from a centre in Germany, climbed a wall before squeezing under an electric fence on Friday.

Yesterday afternoon they were the star attraction for visitors to the zoo, where they could be seen swinging in trees behind their open-air enclosure, looking down on the lion enclosure and ignoring staff's attempts to entice them down with food.

Ms Hughes said she hoped attempts to lure them down with their favourite foods such as nuts, seeds and bananas would work before they were forced to use nets or, as a last resort, darts.

She said: "We have had barbary macaques living in this enclosure for many years, probably almost 20 years, but this is a new group who are a bit younger, more agile and they found a chink in the armour, which we are going to have modified."

A zoo spokeswoman said: "The existing electric fence will be improved and further modifications will be made along the perimeter of the enclosure to ensure that this doesn't happen again.

"The macaques that escaped on Friday are now very close to returning to their enclosure. The keepers have spent the last few days coaxing them down. Our hope is that they will be back in tomorrow."

Yesterday, the area in front of the "crime scene" was taped off and visitors were being kept back about ten yards from the normal viewing area.

Two zookeepers on duty in front of the rocky open-air enclosure moved the crowd back a further 50 yards around 4pm when it looked as if their tactic of throwing apples, cauliflowers and monkey nuts into the enclosure might entice one of the monkeys down from the trees. It proved to be a false alarm.

Far from deterring visitors, the vast majority of people visiting the zoo said they were enjoying the unexpected bonus of seeing some animals out on the prowl.

Among the onlookers watching the monkeys hiding was six-year-old William Daniels from Rosyth, Fife, who was visiting the zoo with his father.

"I heard about the monkeys on the radio. I think it's kind of amazing. This is just my second visit here and it is great," he said.

Gerald Dick, chief executive at the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, based in Switzerland, said:

"These monkeys tend to stay close to natural areas such as parks and there is no reason for them going down into a concrete area. I don't think they will be going into Edinburgh to buy a kilt."

SYMBOLIC NUISANCE

BARBARY macaques (Macca sylvanus) lead a varied existence – from being an unofficial national symbol to the "pet of choice" for drug dealers.

&#149 About 230 monkeys occupy two main areas of Gibraltar. Their forays into town, where they damage cars, buildings and clothing, have led to a 500 fine for feeding them. They are the unofficial national symbol of Gibraltar and have appeared on 5p coins since 1988.

&#149 Smuggled in from Morocco, the barbary macaques have replaced pitbull terriers as the most savage "pet of choice" for drug dealers in some of the roughest suburbs of Paris. Despite being a protected species in France, the country can no longer cope with the numbers being abandoned.

&#149 The monkeys are a vulnerable species. They are native to Morocco and Algeria, but in the past 30 years their population has halved from 23,000 to 10,000. Their habitats have been destroyed by logging and overgrazing by animals.