The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) announced in a statement on Thursday that a male golden snub-nosed monkey living in Coloane’s Seac Pai Van Park passed away from a neck wound at 10 a.m. that day.
The three-year-old monkey, named “Lotus Nut” (“蓮子”) in Chinese, was born in the park on Valentine’s Day in 2020. His parents named “Eleven” (“十一”) and “Three Blacks” (“三黑”) were loaned by the Qinhuangdao Wildlife Rescue Centre for display in Macau in 2017, according to public broadcaster TDM.
The statement said that early Thursday morning, IAM’s animal management and care team found the monkey with weak breathing lying upside down in the simian facility of the enclosure, adding that arope which he often climbed was wrapped around his neck.
The statement pointed out that “Lotus Nut” had been in good physical health in the care of the team.
According to the statement, IAM veterinarians and mainland experts tried to resuscitate the monkey, which, however, died at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
After the accident, the statement pointed out, the bureau immediately closed the cages and climbing facilities of the golden snub-nosed monkey area and inspected all the cages and climbing facilities. During the inspection, it was confirmed that the rope around the monkey’s neck was a toy designed to enrich and enhance the quality of life of captive animals.
The enrichment toy, which meets animals’ physiological and psychological needs, aims to enable them to display more natural behaviours, according to the stage of their physical development, so as to improve the stereotypical behaviours of captive animals, according to the statement.
The bureau said that it was deeply saddened by the death of “Lotus Nut” and that it has conducted an immediate inspection of the safety of various enrichment toys used for the animals, so as to eliminate any safety risks.
This undated handout photo provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) in February last year shows golden snub-nosed monkey “Lotus Nut” in its Seac Pai Van Park enclosure in Coloane.
