Tom arrived at The Monkey Sanctuary in January 2022 after being kept as a pet, along with with three other Long-tailed macaques. We do not know for sure if they are related and had been bred onsite, or if they had all been bought separately beforehand.

Their cage was in a back garden, and was about 9m across x 5m back and around 3m high. They had indoor areas, but only one was heated. There were minimal furnishings in the cage and the floor was made of concrete.

Even though he is a Long-tailed macaque, Tom is missing the end of his tail. This is because, whilst kept as a pet, it was bitten of by another macaque. This is sadly quite common within the pet trade as under stimulation often leads to aggression and boredom. Despite this, Tom has adapted really well and has no problem getting around his enclosures!

As alpha of the group, the other monkeys look to Tom for guidance and reassurance. He is wonderfully calm and gentle in nature and loves to practice his foraging skills.

He has a long way to go until he’s as good at it as the other monkeys in the Sanctuary, but his determination means we’re all pretty confident he’ll get there in no time!