Happy birthday Elsie!

PUBLISHED 12/1/26

We're celebrating a very special milestone this weekend as Elsie - our critically endangered Sulawesi crested macaque infant - turns one on Sunday 11th January. To mark the occasion, her keepers have thrown her a first birthday ‘party’ fit for a zoo VIP.

It wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without a cake, so the keeping team prepared Elsie a bespoke birthday treat. Of course, a traditional cake wouldn’t be suitable for a monkey, so her special ‘cake’ was made entirely from her favourite vegetable: sweet potato and carefully shaped into the number one. To complete the celebrations, a colourful “Happy Birthday” banner was placed outside her habitat to ensure Elsie felt extra special.

As expected, the enrichment was met with great enthusiasm from the cheeky youngster, who wasted no time investigating her birthday treats. However, she did miss out on some of her special “cake” after her “Auntie” Lintang helped herself to several of the number-one-shaped goodies before the birthday girl had even entered the room! Still, there’s always that one over-enthusiastic relative who dives into the party food before the guest of honour arrives.

Born following a slow-burn romance between her parents, Ahsoka and Moteck, Elsie has grown into a confident, playful and curious young macaque over the past year. She has become a firm favourite with keepers and visitors alike, known for her mischievous personality and strong family bonds.

Drusillas Head Keeper, Gemma Romanis, said: “Elsie has done incredibly well over her first year and we couldn’t be prouder of her. She’s confident, inquisitive and full of character - always keeping us on our toes. What’s been especially lovely to see is the close bond she’s formed not only with her mum, Ahsoka, but also with ‘Auntie’ Lintang. The three of them spend a lot of time together, and it’s clear Elsie feels supported and loved.”

Elsie was born on January 11th 2025, to shy mum Ahsoka and confident dad Moteck, after Ahsoka arrived at Drusillas from Chester Zoo in December 2023. Initially, the pair struggled to find common ground, and resident female Lintang was less than impressed at having to share Moteck’s attention. But after a bumpy start worthy of any rom-com on/off storyline, the trio settled into a strong social group, resulting in Elsie’s arrival.

While Elsie’s birthday is a joyful milestone, her story also carries an important conservation message. In the wild, many young macaques never reach their first birthday due to serious threats such as habitat loss and hunting. In parts of North Sulawesi, macaques are still hunted for their meat and can be found in local bushmeat markets, where their meat is considered a delicacy and eaten during special occasions or community celebrations.

Sulawesi crested macaques are classed as critically endangered in the wild, with populations having declined by around 80% over the last 40 years. Drusillas Park is home to over 20 endangered and rare species, and each successful birth plays a vital role in safeguarding their future.

Alongside its breeding programme, Drusillas extends its conservation impact through its charity, Drusillas Conservation in Action, which supports frontline conservation projects around the world. For Sulawesi crested macaques, the charity partners with Indonesian conservation, research and education programme Selamatkan Yaki.

Through this partnership, Drusillas Conservation in Action has funded a full-time ‘monkey guard’ to help protect macaques from hunting and other threats in their native habitat in North Sulawesi. Ramenpudi Seba, known as ‘Ara’, works as a monkey guard for Selamatkan Yaki, managing human-wildlife interactions between macaques and local communities in Batuputih.

Visitors hoping to spot birthday girl Elsie can find her in the Park’s macaque habitat, where she is often seen playing, climbing and staying close to mum Ahsoka and Lintang. Now a confident one-year-old, she has grown out of the sweet, hairless pink face typical of young macaques and developed the jet-black hair, striking amber eyes and bright pink bottom characteristic of adult crested macaques; looking just like a mini version of her mum!

As Elsie celebrates her first birthday, keepers hope her story will continue to inspire visitors to learn more about this remarkable species - and the vital conservation work helping to protect macaques both at Drusillas and in the wild.