S'pore woman films heartbreaking scene of 2 monkeys carrying dead juvenile off Old Upper Thomson Road

A dead baby macaque was spotted along Old Upper Thomson Road, with its body later seen carried away by two other macaques to the side of the road.

A video of the incident was uploaded onto the Facebook group Singapore Wildlife Sightings.

Speaking to Mothership, the person who posted the video shared that the incident took place on Dec. 25.

Carried back by two other monkeys

In the video, the young macaque is seen lying motionless on the road, accompanied by what appears to be two adult macaques.

One of the adults is then observing holding the baby by its leg and carrying it onto the grass patch at the side of the road.

Likely to be roadkill

Primatologist Andie Ang told Mothership that the incident was likely a case of roadkill based on the footage.

Upper Thomson Road has been identified as a hotspot for wildlife roadkills in recent years, involving animals such as pangolins, sambar deer and monkeys.

Though the situation improved slightly after the opening of the Old Upper Thomson Park Connector in 2019, roadkill incidents continue to occur, particularly to macaques, Ang noted.

She added that the practice of motorists stopping to feed macaques in the area may draw the animals closer to the road, increasing the risk of accidents.

"Juveniles are more vulnerable as they tend to play and might not notice incoming vehicles," Ang said.

Addressing online speculation that the incident could be a case of infanticide, Ang said this was less likely, as such cases typically involve more visible injuries.

She added that vehicular impact was the more probable cause, though she cautioned that this assessment was based solely on observations from the video.

Ang urged the public to refrain from feeding wildlife and advised motorists to drive carefully in areas frequented by animals.

Top photos courtesy of Janice Ang