Cathay Cargo has flown two male Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys, Little Peanut and Yellow Bean, to Chengdu Zoo, where they may join a breeding programme to help protect the future of this endangered species.

In the wild, Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys have very specific dietary requirements that are best suited to higher altitude, broad-leaved evergreen forests. But human development activities have fragmented their habitat, leading many of these monkeys to migrate to smaller, higher altitude areas. Coupled with food shortages, the survival of Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys faces greater threats.

Up until now, Little Peanut and Yellow Bean had been residents of Ocean Park Hong Kong, but as Howard Chuk, Head of Zoological Operations and Conservation of Ocean Park Corporation explains, the baby monkeys were scheduled to return to Chengdu Zoo as part of the breeding loan collaboration between Ocean Park Hong Kong and Chengdu Zoo. The arrangement is made in consideration of the natural behaviours of male golden snub-nosed monkeys.

‘Ocean Park has successfully bred three golden monkey babies over three consecutive breeding seasons, but male monkeys will display territorial aggression and combative behaviours as they grow into adulthood,’ says Chuk. ‘In the wild, male offspring will often be expelled from the social group by their father.’

To keep the otherwise harmonious group dynamics together it made sense for Little Peanut and Yellow Bean to return to the land of their forefathers to contribute to breeding programmes. On the day of travel, the two monkeys were placed into their IATA-approved crates at Ocean Park and then transferred to the animal reception area in the Cathay Cargo Terminal. Ocean Park specifically requested the monkeys to be kept in a temperature environment of 21-22^oC ahead of their transfer onto Cathay Cargo’s Boeing 747 freighter for the flight to Chengdu.

Once in the Cathay Cargo Terminal, the two crates were mounted onto a single PMC pallet. Also assembled were an animal caretaker from Ocean Park and a veterinarian from Chengdu Zoo, who accompanied their simian charges on the freighter to add extra reassurance. ‘Ocean Park’s animal care team has established a strong and stable relationship with the golden monkeys,’ says Chuk. ‘The team is able to observe and take care of baby monkeys at close range on the day the baby monkeys were born, which wouldn’t be possible without the trust of the mother monkey.’

Golden monkeys are social animals. Little Peanut and Yellow Bean like to play, groom and rest together in their daily life, and in this case they became good travel companions. With food provided for them during the transportation, the journey to Cheungdu passed off very smoothly and they arrived at their new home in good condition.

‘The Cathay Live Animal solution offers dedicated care and protection for all animals travelling with us, whether they are pets or wild animals,’ says Siddhant Iyer, Head of Cargo Markets and Customer Solutions. ‘Our care is supported by the special processes we have in place and our infrastructure, such as the Animal Reception Centre at the Cathay Cargo Terminal. We always ensure compliance with the IATA Live Animals Regulations and Cathay Cargo was the first airline is Asia to be awarded the CEIV Live Animals certification. We hope Little Peanut and Yellow Bean will continue to contribute to the conservation of golden monkeys, and it was our pleasure to fly them.’