Veterinarians from the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center examine the anesthetized macaque. Photo: Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

Recently, officials from the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center spent three and a half days crossing four districts before successfully capturing two macaques and bringing them back to the center for a range of health checks.

On November 5, news of macaques wandering in Beijing appeared on social media. One of them crossed from Tongzhou to Chaoyang and Dongcheng districts, while another appeared in a university in Haidian district and later ran to Chaoyang district. 

The macaques are not afraid of humans, and it is speculated that they either escaped from captivity or were released intentionally. Although they are not wild animals, considering their sharp claws and teeth, they can easily damage property and harm people. Additionally, they may encounter traffic accidents in urban areas. Therefore, on November 4, rescue workers started pursuing and capturing the macaques together with relevant personnel.

The macaques are good at jumping and climbing, making it difficult to sedate them with tranquilizer darts and capture them. Zheng Tao from the center and his colleagues drove around while inquiring about the locations provided by the residents. "The monkeys run very fast, sometimes along the river, sometimes on the bridge railings, and there are many places where people cannot reach. Additionally, some people were seen feeding the macaques, making it hard to lure them with food when they are full," Zheng said.

The range of the anesthetic needle blown out with the mouth is only five or six meters, and there should be no people nearby, for the monkeys are very alert, and if the first shot misses, they will be frightened and run away, making it even more difficult to track them.

On the first day of the chase, the monkeys were not yet aware of it, but on the second day, they clearly felt that they were being pursued, so they ran away when they saw people. After chasing for three and a half days, Zheng finally seized the opportunity and successfully sedated the animals. 

Global Times