Critically Endangered Macaque Born at Singapore Zoo

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: September 25, 2020 12:01 pm

Joyo the macaque explores at Singapore Zoo

Photo Credit: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

Singapore Zoo has welcomed the birth of a Celebes crested macaque. Mother Dewi gave birth to her second infant in an off-display area at the zoo during early July.

The male infant has been named Joyo, an Indonesian moniker meaning ‘victorious’.

Mum Dewi will care for Joyo for the next year. The pair can now be seen at the zoo where they share their habitat with dad Doni, older brother Agung and another unrelated female Ria.

Joyo clings to mom Dewi at Singapore Zoo

Photo Credit: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

— AD —

Any birth if exciting but until recently the Celebes crested macaque was among the 25 most endangered primates on Earth. Conservation efforts have helped to remove them from this list but they are still considered to be critically endangered on the IUCN red list.

At Singapore Zoo Dewi, Joyo and the rest of their family are part of the European EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) for the Celebes crested macaque. This co-operative program works with zoos from the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) to create a genetically viable population of these macaques in captivity.

Joyo the macaque explores at Singapore Zoo

Photo Credit: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

As well as their captive breeding efforts the Singapore Zoo supports conservation efforts for the Celebes crested macaque in the wild. Since 2016, they have been supporting Selamatkan Yaki, an Indonesian-based conservation project on outreach and field projects to save the iconic species in its natural habitat.

The Celebes crested macaque lives solely on the island of Sulawesi and a few surrounding islands. They are also known as the Yaki. Over the last 40 years their population has dropped 80% due to hunting and habitat loss.

Learn more about Singapore Zoo on their website – Singapore Zoo