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Japanese macaque monkey behind bars
Many animal rights activists would argue they have no business being cooped up in zoos as opposed to the wild. However, that does not seem to be the case for one monkey that managed to escape from an enclosure at a wildlife park in Scotland and decided to head back there after getting a taste of freedom.
The name of the Japanese macaque should give you a pretty good idea of the country where those monkeys can be found in the wild, and I don’t think you need to be an expert to know that they (nor any other species of non-human primates) are native to Scotland.
However, that nation is home to a number of zoos and preserves, including the Highland Wildlife Park, the 260-acre expanse tucked inside Cairngorms National Park that is overseen by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
The park is home to hundreds of animals representing dozens of different species, including a group of Japanese macaques. One of them recently managed to cause a stir after it managed to escape its habitat, but a search for the animal was called off after it decided to head back there on its own.
A Japanese macaque named Luka returned to the enclosure it broke out of after escaping a wildlife park in Scotland
Japanese macaques are fiercely social animals that will essentially exile one of their own from the “troops” that serve as the foundation for their miniature societies, and in 2024, one named Honshu decided to make a break from Highland Wildlife Park after he was pushed out of his circle.
He spent five days on the lam before he was discovered in a garden and transported to a zoo in Edinburgh to start a new life, and on Sunday, the park was treated to a case of deja vu when zookeepers discovered another macaque known as Luka had also managed to vanish into thin air.
According to the BBC, the park issued an alert while asking members of the public to keep an eye out for Luka, and drones with thermal-imaging cameras were deployed in an attempt to track him down.
However, the search was called off on Monday, as he apparently decided a life in the Scottish Highlands wasn’t for him after he “arrived home on his own accord” and seemingly made his way back into the enclosure he slipped out of.
The park is still not entirely sure how Luka managed to escape in the first place, and he will be subjected to a veterinary examination to ensure he’s in good health before being reintroduced to his troop.