Ayu's Story
Ayu is a female long-tailed macaque who came to Bali Monkey Rescue under heartbreaking circumstances.
Sari received a call from a concerned member of the local community about a monkey who had been tied to a post for years. When we say tied, we mean exactly that. Ayu had been attached to a rope no longer than three feet, fixed to a post, for at least four years. The rope was so short she couldn’t even lie down properly. There was no platform. No shelf. The rope wasn’t long enough for her to reach the ground.
She had lived her life suspended on that post.
By the time the call came through, Ayu was desperately unwell. Her tail had become severely infected and had essentially rotted away. She was starving, dehydrated, and covered in sores from years of living on a single surface. She was dying.
The team responded immediately. Ayu was carefully placed into a carrier and rushed straight to the vet. There was only one option to save her life — her tail had to be amputated to stop the infection spreading further. She then required extensive treatment to stabilise her condition and begin the long process of recovery.
Today, Ayu lives safely at the BMR centre.
Despite everything she endured, she is quite the character. She can be one of the most endearing macaques at the centre. Ayu loves being tickled and will happily groom the humans who care for her — though always very much on her terms. Like all macaques, she has a fiery side too. She is strong-willed, intelligent, and unmistakably dominant.
That dominance presents its own challenge. We have carefully attempted introductions with several males. With more submissive males, Ayu quickly takes control and can bully them. With more dominant males, the interactions can escalate and become dangerous. This is just one example of how complex it is to build stable social groups in captivity. Natural instincts and individual personalities play a huge role, and finding the right match takes patience and time.
The search continues for a companion she truly gels with.
What matters most is this: Ayu is no longer tied to a post. She will never be restrained that way again.
She has space. She has safety. She has choice.
And she has a future.