Monkey takes care of 11 smuggled macaques rescued by Türkiye

By Orhan Yoldas

MALATYA, Türkiye (AA) – An adult monkey is raising 11 baby macaques at a Turkish zoo after they were rescued from smugglers at the border.

The baby monkeys who were smuggled illegally have been taken to the city zoo in the Malatya province in central Türkiye.

More than 1,300 animals from 78 species are housed in the zoo, including lions, tigers, wolves, bears, llamas, kangaroos, gazelles, and ostriches.

The adult monkey, named Nene (nay-nay), who was already taking care of three other formerly smuggled baby monkeys since June, has now also adopted the newly arrived infants.

The zookeeper, Sami Altas, told Anadolu Agency that Nene, 11, once lived alone for five years. Altas noted that there are three other species of monkeys – macaque, spider monkey, and baboon – in the zoo.

"She raised the infants from Agri (province in eastern Türkiye), and they became used to it. Ten other baby monkeys arrived later on. Now all the baby monkeys are being raised by Nene," he said.