By Joey Lara, Primate Caretaker
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Hanuman due to complications from diabetes mellitus.
We are honored to have cared for him for the last three years of his life, during which he was able to experience the outdoors, forage through grass, hunt grasshoppers, munch on acorns, try other new foods, and relax while watching the world around him.
At 21 years old Hanuman, or Hanu, was an incredibly resilient monkey. In spite of his progressing diabetes and consequent neuropathy, he was an expert at finding ways to compensate for his body’s limitations. He was braver than most monkeys in his willingness to try climbing on new structures and was especially comfortable moving on natural oak branches. We were lucky enough to witness Hanu explore our largest outdoor enclosure to date over this last Summer and Fall, where he climbed, foraged, and rested to his heart’s content.
While many monkeys concern themselves with regulating each others’ behaviors through aggressive displays and vocalizations, Hanu seemed to live by the policy of “mind your own business”. He expressed that humans shouldn’t pay him too much attention unless they were giving him food, but was also not interested in aggressing at humans who weren’t bothering him. Even when all other macaques would aggress towards myself for my apparent lack of knowledge of the subtleties of macaque social rules, Hanu was never interested in joining in with the chorus. While he was not a monkey who enjoyed much human attention, he grew more trusting and comfortable over the three years he was in our care.
As long as other monkeys weren’t threatening him from other enclosures, Hanu didn’t see a point in policing their behavior. At the same time, he was by no means submissive. If another monkey aggressed toward Hanu, he always held his ground and would display with amazing drop-kicks against the walls to show just how tough he was. Even when our largest monkey Izzle would try to intimidate him from next door, Hanu would not back down in telling Izzle that despite their difference in size and physical ability, Hanu was not afraid of him. While living with Rocky, who would occasionally initiate scuffles with Hanu (common in monkey social behavior), Hanu would kindly but firmly remind Rocky who is dominant.
To me, Hanuman was a symbol of gentle defiance. He persisted in enjoying the activities that were important to him despite the adversities that life dealt him. We will miss Hanu greatly, along with his calming presence, excitement over enrichment, and how confident he seemed to be the longer he was with us.
We have been so fortunate to be able to know and care for this incredible individual. Rest in peace, Hanu. Our deepest gratitude to every Primates Inc. supporter who helped us care for Hanu.
View sweet YouTube Video of Hanu enjoying his enrichment. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fMZtJOOpRd0