Crab-Eating Macaques in US Zoos

birdsandbats

birdsandbats

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
While reading a zoochat thread (don't remember which one) I came across someone mentioning that Crab-Eating Macaques are rare in the US. I had no idea. I can think of two zoos off the top of my head that have them (DeYoung and Special Memories), and I know they are common in private collections. Are they really rare? If they are, what zoos have them? And how many?
 
'Cynomolgus' are the most popular lab monkey, historically. I find it hard to believe there aren't more in US zoos.
 
SealPup said:
'Cynomolgus' are the most popular lab monkey, historically. I find it hard to believe there aren't more in US zoos.
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In the exotic pet trade they are refereed to as "Java Macaques". Is it possible that there are lots, but with most of them under that name?
 
birdsandbats said:
In the exotic pet trade they are refereed to as "Java Macaques". Is it possible that there are lots, but with most of them under that name?
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I don't know: here they are long-tailed, crab-eating or in labs cynomolgus macaques.

Some ppl object to the crab-eating moniker because they don't specialise on crabs, but tbh it reflects their feeding habits well: they can have something like 20% animal protein in their diet, compared to 2 or 3% for chimps and baboons, because they eat seafood. Of primates that size range and up, only human hunter gatherers exceed that intake. Interesting animal, with an archaeological record.
 
SealPup said:
'Cynomolgus' are the most popular lab monkey, historically. I find it hard to believe there aren't more in US zoos.
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Zoos have largely phased them out, along with most other macaque species. I imagine this happened partially because of the simian herpes scare in the 1990’s onward, and partially because they were occupying space better used for endangered species. That being said, I don’t know anything about how common crab-eating macaques ever were in US zoos to begin with.

The Indianapolis Zoo apparently has/had a sign at the former polar bear exhibit announcing that the plan is for it to be renovated into a habitat for a “swimming monkey”, which could potentially be crab-eating macaques (although Japanese macaque or Allen’s swamp monkey seems more likely to me). It was referenced in the Indy Zoo news feed: Indianapolis Zoo - Indianapolis Zoo News
 
I may be wrong, but don't crab-eaters do well in mixed exhibits with either langurs and gibbons? If this is a particularity of theirs and not of the macaques, that could be cause for bringing 'em back.
 
SealPup said:
I may be wrong, but don't crab-eaters do well in mixed exhibits with either langurs and gibbons? If this is a particularity of theirs and not of the macaques, that could be cause for bringing 'em back.
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I haven’t heard that. If that’s true, then it is a particularity of that species because macaques are, on average, more dominating and aggressive than other monkeys.

I’m not sure where US zoos would even source crab-eating macaques from. First step in phasing species in is availability: without a reliable and ethically agreeable source, a phase-in is dead in the water. Europe seems to hold them in several zoos, but I have no idea if these are breeding or just holdovers from a concurrent phase-out. Asia would be the other logical avenue. Honestly, I doubt US zoos would be interested anyway, as importing primates is difficult and there’s no real motivation to do so.
 
Monkey Jungle in Miami has lots of crab-eating macaques. They were first brought there in 1930s. While I am not sure about their current numbers, I seem to remember that the colony typically was several hundred strong. There are still many, so I am sure that other US zoos can get them from there if there is any interest.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
I haven’t heard that. If that’s true, then it is a particularity of that species because macaques are, on average, more dominating and aggressive than other monkeys.

I’m not sure where US zoos would even source crab-eating macaques from. First step in phasing species in is availability: without a reliable and ethically agreeable source, a phase-in is dead in the water. Europe seems to hold them in several zoos, but I have no idea if these are breeding or just holdovers from a concurrent phase-out. Asia would be the other logical avenue. Honestly, I doubt US zoos would be interested anyway, as importing primates is difficult and there’s no real motivation to do so.
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They could source them from from the exotic pet trade. Or, as I mentioned earlier, some non-AZA zoos have them.
 
zoo_enthusiast said:
Monkey Jungle in Miami has lots of crab-eating macaques. There are still many, so I am sure that other US zoos can get them from there if there is any interest.
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I had forgotten about that colony. The issue there would be pedigree: no idea how to tell if one monkey is related to another. They’d have to assume every birth involves some inbreeding.

birdsandbats said:
They could source them from from the exotic pet trade. Or, as I mentioned earlier, some non-AZA zoos have them.
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Pedigree is a problem with both of these also. Additionally, the AZA strongly discourages sourcing animals from the exotic pet trade, even common exotics like bearded dragons and hedgehogs. (This is where the “ethically agreeable” part of sourcing comes in). Non-AZA zoos are also unlikely to have reproductively viable monkeys, or to give them up to other zoos if they do.

All of this is in addition to the last statement I made in the previous post, indicating that I find it unlikely that US zoos as a whole would be interested in taking this on. Maybe one or two zoos would do it, but it would have to be more than that to make a population viable in the long-term.
 
birdsandbats said:
Then they are missing out on a lot of Endangered and Critically Endangered species.
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Many would say that obtaining endangered animals through the exotic pet trade makes the problem worse, in that it potentially contributes to further depopulation. The pet trade also has much less strict rules about animal welfare than AZA zoos do, meaning that they would be financially supporting groups/individuals that keep animals in substandard conditions. Hence why even obtaining chinchillas from pet stores and breeders is now being discouraged. Then on top of all that, it is bad PR for zoos to obtain animals from questionable sources.
 
The AZA has focused a lot of its efforts towards monkeys recently on phasing in the Japanese Macaque (often under other names, like Snow Monkey) in many American zoos, often replacing older baboon and monkey island exhibits, especially but not exclusively in northern zoos where their ability to withstand colder weather is an asset. Given the general trend in the AZA of focusing on protecting fewer species more effectively, I cannot imagine why the AZA would take much interest in expanding into a close relative, particularly considering there are dozens of other monkey species that could be prioritized first.

I say this as a fellow zoo enthusiast who has never seen a crab-eating macaque in captivity and would love to. It's just the nature of the beast.
 
Maple Lane Widlife and Animal Haven zoo had them when I visited. But they were both awful and I would not recommend a visit.
 
drill said:
Maple Lane Widlife and Animal Haven zoo had them when I visited. But they were both awful and I would not recommend a visit.
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When did you visit Animal Haven? I went there this summer and saw no Crab-Eating Macaques.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Many would say that obtaining endangered animals through the exotic pet trade makes the problem worse, in that it potentially contributes to further depopulation. The pet trade also has much less strict rules about animal welfare than AZA zoos do, meaning that they would be financially supporting groups/individuals that keep animals in substandard conditions. Hence why even obtaining chinchillas from pet stores and breeders is now being discouraged. Then on top of all that, it is bad PR for zoos to obtain animals from questionable sources.
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Unless it's some pangolins.....;)
 
Swampy said:
Unless it's some pangolins.....;)
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Depending on what exactly is true about the producer of the new US pangolin population, it could be bad PR for the zoos involved. And a lot of conservationists disagreed with the action, I’m sure. On the other hand, doing so could save the species from extinction one day... it’s certainly a moral conundrum.

I wish that a consortium of zoos had chosen to work with Taipei Zoo and their Chinese pangolins like Leipzig is doing; to me that seems less ethically ambiguous and also more likely to be helpful.
 
I think it is much excessive to imply that exotic pet trade is mostly or wholly illegal or unjust.

About crab-eating macaque: it is common and invasive species, and one commonly used as a lab animal, so I am fine with zoos keeping other monkeys.
 
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