Monkeys on the run from zoo in Moravia

Two endangered monkeys have been on the run for almost three months after escaping from a zoo in central Moravia.

The red-tail Japanese Macaques, also known as snow monkeys, have been at large since June 22 when they escaped from their open enclosure at the Olomouc Zoo, 175 miles southeast of Prague.

Zoo Director Libuše Veselá revealed to The Prague Post how the wily mammals timed their escape to get around an electrified fence.

"Our gardeners were cutting down dry trees," she explained. "The monkeys are afraid of the machine, and they know that when the gardeners come, they switch off the electric wire on the fence. The monkeys then got over the fence and left the enclosure."

For some time, the monkeys laid low in a nearby summer cottage complex but were spotted plundering the cottage gardens.

Attempts by experts to trap them with bananas and other fruit ended in failure, however, and the monkeys fled into a nearby forest.

Veselá emphasized that the plant-eating animals are not dangerous to humans, and had been in regular contact with visitors at the zoo.

"It is not necessary to be afraid, but we would like people to let us know where they see our monkeys so that we may know where they are heading," she said.

Veselá said there have already been many reported sightings of the dastardly duo, and that recently eyewitnesses said the pair had separated.

She explained that failed attempts to ensnare the monkeys were compounded by the fact that, given their origins in a temperate climate, they can survive here in the wild all year round.

"It's clear that in winter the situation will be worse for them as far as food, even though they also eat tree needles and bark. We hope that in winter it will be possible to offer them some food and catch them," Veselá said.

The Olomouc Zoo houses 36 of the rare monkeys, including six infants. A pair of the monkeys at the Hodonín Zoo on the Czech-Slovak border are the only others of this endangered breed in the Czech Republic.

Having long held a special place in Japan's arts and history, the snow monkeys enjoy protected status in their native country.

Despite this, thousands of them are culled each year because the monkeys destroy crops by making raids on farms.

This has compounded a decline in their number brought on by the gradual disappearance of their natural habitat.

Other great escapes

The monkeys' escape is not without precedent at the zoo, which attracted almost 380,000 visitors last year.

Four years ago, a lesser anteater escaped before being found in a nearby village three days later.

A year later, young Canadian wolves also fled the scene before a new bear and wolf enclosure was installed at the zoo.

One of the most prolific escapists was Heiko, a male baboon that escaped from the Brno Zoo twice in 2007 and 2009.

The second time he escaped, it took five days to catch him.

On Sept. 9, Prague Zoo revealed that a female honey badger named Kaca had absconded from the zoo.

Zoo spokeswoman Jana Ptačinská Jirátová said that the 10-year-old mother of six had probably climbed over a fence around 6 feet high to make her escape.

The zoo said the honey badger is widely considered among the world's most fearless animals, but added that the 17-pound furry creature is not dangerous and is unlikely to survive in the wild.

Despite a number of tips from Praguers about Kaca's possible whereabouts, so far the search has been fruitless.

Prague Zoo is one of only a few places in the world where honey badgers, which live in the wild in Africa, are bred in captivity.

Bill Lehane can be reached at
blehane@praguepost.com