Luke

Resident

Luke is a male long-tailed macaque who was born in 1995 and spent his early life living as a pet in Missouri. Luke eventually became aggressive, as all pet monkeys do, and began to lash out at his owners. In an attempt to tame him, they took him to a vet to have all his teeth removed and to have him castrated. These surgeries were not only extremely traumatic for Luke, but resulted in the permanent mutilation of his body. The experience also failed to make Luke more docile and greatly increased his distrust of humans. Fortunately, his care was transferred to the PRC in 2002 and he was able to have a second chance at life in a safe and peaceful environment. Because he does not have any teeth, Luke prefers to pick soft foods out of his breakfast mix first, such as bananas, tomatoes, grapes, boiled potatoes, or melon. Don’t let him fool you though! This clever boy is still able to crack open a peanut shell, and he uses his water bottle to soak very crunchy primate chow biscuits until they soften! Because of the trauma Luke endured as a pet, he is very hesitant to trust humans. However, after many years of kind and peaceful interactions with his caregivers through food rewards and positive verbal praise, he has become much more comfortable around and friendly toward those who care for him regularly. Luke is a very sweet boy, and we are so happy he has found his safe, forever home where he can spend his days with his monkey companions. We can only hope that each day of peace he experiences make the memories of life before sanctuary disappear.