Posted on 05/15/2006 7:04:16 PM PDT by Charlespg
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands May 15, 2006 (AP)— Bears killed and ate a monkey in a Dutch zoo in front of horrified visitors, witnesses and the zoo said Monday. In the incident Sunday at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park, several Sloth bears chased the Barbary macaque into an electric fence, where it was stunned.
It recovered and fled onto a wooden structure, where one bear pursued and mauled it to death.
The park confirmed the killing in a statement, saying: "In an area where Sloth bears, great apes and Barbary macaques have coexisted peacefully for a long time, the harmony was temporarily disturbed during opening hours on Sunday."
"Of course the habitats here in the safari park are arranged in such a way that one animal almost never kills another, but they are and remain wild animals," it said.
Witness Marco Berelds posted a detailed report on the incident, including photos, on a Dutch Web site. He said one Sloth bear tried unsuccessfully to shake the monkey loose after it took refuge on the structure, built of crossing horizontal and vertical poles.
Ignoring attempts by keepers to distract it, the bear climbed onto a horizontal pole, and, standing stretched on two legs, "used its sharp canines to pull the macaque, which was shrieking and resisting, from its perch."
The bear then brought the animal to a concrete den, where three bears ate it.
The zoo said it "usually wasn't possible" for keepers to intervene when an animal killed another.
The park plans now to move the Barbary macaques which are large monkeys but often inaccurately called "Barbary Apes" to another part of the park, it said.
On the Net:
http://www.advergraphics.nl/beeksebergen/Beer vs Aap.pdf
The cat is disoriented, I'm using the old laptop, my right nostril hurts, and YOU OWE ME A LAPTOP!
/johnny
Dear Johnny,
I'm genuinely sorry about your right nostril.
:-)
pax
When I was a kid visiting the zoo. I saw one of those giant tortoises bite a pigeon in two.
A story like this is just pure monkeybusiness.
I am kinda new here, but it sounds kinda like a ZOT!
lol!
and hits the electric fence.
are you trying to make a monkey out of me?
Looks like the bear is enjoying a monkey-ka-bob.
Just for the breakfast.
I'm not sure the monkey agrees with the assessment of this as a "temporary" situation.....
"Monkey Stuned at BeeBer Park"
MMMMmmmm.
Screaming monkey. My favorite.
Did the ZOO visitors go apesh!t unable to bear the spectacle?
They fed the bears.
This is a news story, and all the soccer moms are upset because this particular entree wasn't on the menu.
Nature is red in tooth and claw- and hard to watch for those who love animals. I had an experience with that tonight myself.
Neighborhood cat caught a baby rabbit. I caught the cat- but the shreiking rabbit was too far gone. I decided that it was best to just let the cat finish it off. I'd have freed the rabbit if it were otherwise, as I am kind of fond of them.
The cat is a predator. The bunny is prey. It's the way of the world.
I think it's more stubborn than slow. After all, he didn't get invited to supper until he absolutely refused to give up his perch atop the bear cage.
And then it sounds like he was outrunning his slothly pursuers until he panicked right into the electric fence, serving up a fresh dish of roast monkey in the process.
Not posting the one where the bears are enjoying their feast.
Oh, my!
That was delicious.
I haven't laughed like that in a long time.
"He went ugly early" came to mind.
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