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"We Will Miss Her"

After an illness: the beloved monkey passed away

The monkey Smadi, beloved by visitors to the Ramat Gan Safari, became ill with diabetes and after a long period of suffering, and due to the deterioration of her condition, her caregivers euthanized her to ease her pain

macaque monkey

After a long period during which Smadi, the beloved monkey residing at the Ramat Gan Safari, dealt with diabetes, and following a deterioration in her condition over the past weekend, the safari's ethics committee was compelled earlier this week to determine that due to her unstable medical condition and the suffering estimated from both her medical state and the treatment, they decided yesterday (Monday) to perform humane euthanasia in order to alleviate her from the extensive suffering she experienced.

Smadi was a black macaque who lived for 26 years at the zoological center, her age was by all accounts extreme, certainly in relation to the life expectancy of the macaques on the island of Silwasi, one of the islands of Indonesia and the home of the black macaques in the wild, where the average life expectancy is about 18 years. Smadi was born in Safari, loved the Safari events and spent time among her friends. Smadi left behind Seder - her 8-year-old daughter.

Credit: Tibor Yeger
Credit: Tibor Yeger

The danger of extinction hanging over the macaques

The wonderful and intelligent black macaques are in serious danger of extinction mainly because of illegal hunting, after being considered a delicacy in the local culture, and massive destruction of their habitat - the rainforests. Currently the size of the population in the wild is estimated at only about 5000 individuals.

In the last forty years the size of the population has been reduced by over 80% and this is one of the reasons why 26 zoos take part in the European Endangered Species Breeding Program for this species. Because of the favorable conditions in zoos, the lifespan of black macaques is significantly higher than in the wild and can reach over 30 years.

"Smadi will be missed very much"

More than a month ago, the caregivers saw that Smadi looked weak, she was put under anesthesia for comprehensive tests that revealed that she suffers from diabetes. The treatment of diabetes is not particularly complicated, but this is when it comes to humans. With monkeys the situation is more complex and there are several factors that need to be taken into account. The acute treatment she received was composed of a unique treatment protocol formulated together with human diabetes experts.

In the last month, the macaque's sugar levels have not stabilized and she has lost weight to a dangerous level. Following the deterioration that occurred this week, as mentioned earlier, she was euthanized. The safari team said that "throughout all its years and especially during the last treatment of Smadi, the members of the team became attached to this wonderful macaque and we will miss her very much."
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