Kelly from Monkey Haven shares this sad news about one of their rescued Barbary macaques, Nanushka. Ed
It is with a heavy heart that we sadly announce the passing of our beloved Barbary macaque Nanushka.
Our beautiful girl was surrounded by her animal carers and incredible team at The Carisbrooke Vets as we said our last goodbyes and laid her to rest
A victim of the illegal pet trade
Nanushka was sadly once a victim of the illegal pet trade, found at a pet shop with no legal paperwork and seized by our partners, Stichting AAP. It was claimed she was brought at a market and dumped in the pet shop, but her true story and previous traumas will never truly be known.
The AAP successfully integrated Nanushka into a troop of rescued Barbary’s, all from similar backgrounds, before being transferred to our sanctuary in 2014.
However, due to her previous ordeal, she had developed unnatural compulsive behaviours including foot-biting and obsessive grooming, which are common behaviours of rescued Macaques who have been victim to isolation.
Unable to heal overgroomed wound
Through our rehabilitation plan we managed to keep these behaviours under control, but Nanushka suffered a minor injury to her foot earlier in the year which had caused her to overgroom the wound, making it progressively worse and unable to heal.
Despite our keepers best efforts at distracting and training Nanushka, we reached out to behavioural experts and vets at the AAP who collaborated with us to help attain a recovery plan.
Heartbreaking decision
Sadly though as all options were explored and exhausted, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye and as you can imagine we are all devastated
It has been a really sad few days for our sanctuary and it’s animal carers. None of them could have done anymore to make Nanushka feel safe and loved and we would like to share a few words from each of them.
Lisa said,
“My darling Nanushka, it’s not going to be the same without you, I’m going to miss your sassy but secretly loving nature. We’ve lost a big part of our family, but our memories of you will live on. Our hearts are broken but we take comfort knowing you are now at peace.”
Lily added,
“Nanushka had such a beautiful soul and loved her carers unconditionally but sadly previous traumas had taken it’s toll on her mental health. Our hearts are broken knowing there was no more we could possibly do to help our Nush. We will all miss her terribly and she will never be forgotten, sleep well my darling.”
Terri said,
“Nanushka was the sweetest girl, she absolutely loved being cuddled up with her house mates, and enjoyed a little ear tickle from her keepers. She arrived with some deeply embedded emotional scars and the reality is we can heal most wounds but the emotional issues never really go away. It’s heartbreaking there are still primates being kept as pets – people have no idea what lasting damage these primates endure. Sleep tight beautiful.”
Nicole said,
“Even though I hadn’t worked with Nanushka for long, the bond we developed was amazing and the trust and vulnerability she showed towards me was a privilege. Rest in peace beautiful, we love you.”
Jordon added,
“No one could deny that Nanushka was a supermodel amongst Barbary Macaques, with her stunning eyes, long face and pouting expression she was always very unique. After a tough start as a victim of the illegal pet trade, I’m glad our Haven was able to give Nush a safe and loving home for over eight years.
“It’s horrible to see the animals in our care suffer due to past psychological trauma and as hard as these decisions are, we are all relieved that the suffering has now come to an end. We will miss you beautiful Nanushka.”
Sarah finished by saying,
“Despite her early traumas with humans, Nush was able to learn to trust and bond with her keepers and I will miss her with all my heart. She would come and seek comfort from her keepers during times of stress.
“She would lean up against the enclosure and stretch her arms to gently groom you. Rest in peace my beautiful little lady. You will always be in our hearts.”
Rescuing and rehabilitating primates
Here at Monkey Haven, our main aim is to rescue and rehabilitate primates, most commonly from the illegal pet trade. We make it our priority to ensure all of our animals live a happy and enriched life, but unfortunately in some cases the previous mental trauma they have suffered can have a lasting impact.
By sharing Nanushka’s story, we hope it will help us in our mission to educate people about the negative impact of keeping primates as pets, such as the damaging implications this can have on their mental health and well being.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill
We also hope Nanushka’s story helps highlight the importance of the Governments Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill which aims to introduce a ban on keeping primates as pets.
Rest in peace Nanushka. It was a real honour and a privilege to care for such a beautiful Barbary and we’ll all miss you very much.
