Unlikely Friendships : 47 Remarkable Stories From the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer S. Holland Read Free Book Online Page B

Luo assumed it was part of a bird migration study and should be released at the change of seasons.
    While patroling the island—which is famous not only for its nature park but for having greeted the first known European-flagged boat to China in 1513—one of the reserve staff came across a baby macaque. It was alone, distressed, and very weak. Not more than three months old, it was far too young to survive on its own in the forest and extremely vulnerable to pythons and other predators. The reserve staff took the little animal, wide-eyed and clingy, back to the station, where it quickly met and hit it off with the feathered visitor already in residence.
    For two months, the macaque and the dove shared a space and delighted the staff and visitors. They snacked on corn. The monkey turned pieces over in his little hands as he nibbled; the bird pecked on fallen bits behind him. The monkey chattered; the dove cooed. And at night they slept in the cage together, each the other’s pillow and blanket. Luo Hang says, “The monkey was sometimes naughty and seemed to make fun of the dove,” but he showed affection, too. “If only the dove had hands to hug him back.” It was a joyful scene, and people came from everywhere to see the way the odd couple lived together and looked after each other.
    But the staff knew both animals would be better off in the wild, and so they prepared to set them free. The dove was released first, and off it flew. Luo then returned to the place where the macaque was first found, and he was pleased to find the monkey’s family once again in its territory. The baby rejoined the troop without a hitch. With both monkey and bird back in their natural environments, one can only wonder if they will cross paths in the future. If they do, will there be a gesture of recognition?

{I NDONESIA , 2010}

The
Macaque
and the
Kitten

    LONG-TAILED MACAQUE

KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Primates
FAMILY: Cercopithecinae
GENUS:
Macaca
SPECIES:
Macaca fascicularis
    There is a sacred forest in the town of Ubud, on the Indonesian island of Bali, where monkeys roam freely over the stones of a Hindu temple built centuries ago. The primates are long-tailed macaques, and many local villagers believe they guard the religious site against evil spirits.
    One macaque recently brought its protective instinct to a more secular task—safeguarding a scrappy kitten that had strayed into arm’s reach.
    With more than 300 macaques in four separate troops (territorial groups) living in a relatively small area, it’s not surprising that they occasionally meet other animals pawing across the temple grounds. But to form a bond like the one that this particularmacaque formed with this particular kitten seemed extraordinary to the people who witnessed it. Anne Young, who was on vacation and visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest during the time, was one of these witnesses.
    â€œThe pair had been together a few days, and whenever the park staff tried to capture the kitten, it would just run back to the monkey,” Anne says. The macaque, a young male, would groom his feline friend, hug and nuzzle it, and even lay his head on the kitten’s head as if it were a pillow. Although this species of monkey is quite social—and often lives without fear in close contact with people—this one wanted to keep his pet kitty to himself. He became wary of all the primates around him, and if other macaques or people got too close, he would try to hide his prize—once even using a bit of leaf to cover it—or climb higher or move deeper into the forest with the kitten in his arms.
    The kitten, meanwhile, had plenty of opportunities to escape the macaque’s clutches, “but it made no attempt whatsoever,” Anne says. It seemed content to be carried around in the bigger animal’s embrace.
    Long-tailed macaques live in a strict social hierarchy in which males must