And the Last Barbary Macaque Tasted Just Right...

Nick Gillespie | May 17, 2006

A little birdy sends news of a gruesome zoo tragedy in the supposedly super-tolerant Netherlands:

Bears killed and ate a monkey in a Dutch zoo in front of horrified visitors, witnesses and the zoo said Monday....

The [Beekse Bergen Safari 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."

The real import of the story (if there is one)? The zoo--ok, safari park--only copped to the event because "witness Marco Berelds posted a detailed report on the incident, including photos, on a Dutch Web site." Whole thing here.

Reminders of far more serious intolerance issues in the land of the wooden shoes here and here.

Comments

|5.17.06 @ 1:36PM|#

Sid!! No!! Not the monkey!

|5.17.06 @ 1:45PM|#

Reminders of far more serious intolerance issues...

The treatment of Baruch Spinoza and his allies doesn't make the list?

|5.17.06 @ 1:57PM|#

I don't believe it. These bears are peaceful creatures at harmony with nature.

|5.17.06 @ 2:03PM|#

If only they had not been enslaved and on display for the mere amusement of human beings, I'm sure that they would never have committed such a heinous act.

They would have definitely skipped the electric-fence tenderizing in the wild.

|5.17.06 @ 2:04PM|#

If only they had not been enslaved and on display for the mere amusement of human beings, I'm sure that they would never have committed such a heinous act.

They would have definitely skipped the electric-fence tenderizing in the wild.

|5.17.06 @ 2:10PM|#

Did the bears eat the server squirrels, too? :-/

|5.17.06 @ 2:11PM|#

Monkeys and bears live in perfect harmony with me, Nakoma, and Jack.

|5.17.06 @ 2:23PM|#

It must really suck to be killed by a SLOTH bear. There's a certain mystique in getting offed by a grizzly... but a fucking SLOTH?

Stupid monkey.

Captain Holly|5.17.06 @ 2:30PM|#

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.

That's zookeeper-speak for "we knew we shouldn't put large carnivores in the same cage with small primates, but we figured a symbolic gesture supporting the concept of World Peace was more important than protecting our animals".

|5.17.06 @ 2:30PM|#

Stupid wildlife.

|5.17.06 @ 2:38PM|#

The zoo-keepers' inability/unwillingness to pull a fucking sloth bear off a monkey pretty much demonstrate these peoples' Nazi-fighting prowess... or lack thereof.

HA! Godwin's law!!

|5.17.06 @ 3:03PM|#

Saw a seagull eat a baby duck at the zoo once. So did a lot of other folks. Didn�t make national news though.

Larry A|5.17.06 @ 3:24PM|#

In related news, the local Bears R Cuddly Friends society reported a sudden drop in contributions.

|5.17.06 @ 3:33PM|#

Is this a sign of some sort of animal uprising? Down here, after about 17 fatalities in fifty years, we've had three fatal alligator attacks in a week. Of course, the media is now reporting every dog that gets munched. Can't let the panic end too quickly, now can we?

|5.17.06 @ 6:44PM|#

My daughter spends a lot of time at Seaworld in San Diego, and one time not long ago she got to see what happens when a seagull lands in an orca pool.

Sudden upswelling of water, jaws appear on either side of an extremely, but briefly, confused bird...

SNAP!

And the trainers cheer. They hate cleaning up after the f**king seagulls.

|5.17.06 @ 7:03PM|#

Years ago I had a friend who worked at some shark institute in The Keys. One day at feeding time a pelican that had been taking some of the fish they were throwing in for the sharks scooped up a few to many and could't take off in time. Atleast one of the sharks got an extra treat that day.

My friend said the spectators didn't seem to be troubled much.

|5.17.06 @ 8:45PM|#

(licks chops)

|5.18.06 @ 4:02AM|#

Is this a sign of some sort of animal uprising? Down here, after about 17 fatalities in fifty years, we've had three fatal alligator attacks in a week. Of course, the media is now reporting every dog that gets munched. Can't let the panic end too quickly, now can we?

It's all leading up to ... THE NIGHT OF THE LEPUS!!!!