South Texas town home to largest free-roaming monkey sanctuary in the U.S.

DILLEY, Texas – If you travel just 70 miles southwest of San Antonio, you’ll find that a small South Texas town’s motto of “A slice of the good life” is not only catering to its locals but to abused and neglected monkeys from all over the world.

A town of fewer than 4,000 residents, Dilley, Texas, is home to Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary, the largest free-roaming sanctuary for monkeys in the United States and possibly in the world.

The sanctuary currently accommodates to more than 600 monkeys – or what the organization likes to call “individuals” – and specializes in Old World primates.

The monkeys live on the sanctuary’s 186-acre property, with the bulk of the population coming from six different species of macaques: Japanese macaques (also known as snow monkeys), stump-tail macaques, bonnet macaques, crab-eating macaques, pig-tailed macaques, and hybrids.

The safe-haven property also shelters 16 varying species of baboons, five vervet monkeys, and other individual breeds all coming from a set of diverse backgrounds.

“On one hand, (we) have the wild monkeys that behave normally and then on the other hand (we) have monkeys that come from the pet trade that behaves abnormally,” Director of Born Free USA Prime Sanctuary Tim Ajax said.

“For those monkeys (who behave abnormally) it’s a real tragedy as they’re stolen from their mothers at only a couple days of age and then put into the pet trade.”

Ajax said the babies need their mothers in order to learn how to be a monkey, taking anywhere from a year to a year and a half in developing qualities of life’s nature.

The monkeys who were rescued from abusive and/or immoral situations engage in physical harm to themselves in dealing with their anxiety due to their horrific interactions with humans, Ajax said.

For more than 20 years, the sanctuary has been an oasis for monkeys who were saved from “roadside zoos, research laboratories, and private possession.”

However, the story behind the sanctuary dates back to the early 1970s when a concerned rancher transported a troop of wild snow monkeys from Japan to live and roam freely on his South Texas ranch.

“We can even go back in the 1950s when it really started because that’s when Japanese primatologists attempted to study (a small group of) Japanese snow monkeys that lived in the (Arashiyama pine) forest,” Ajax said. “Over the years, though, because they were feeding them and provisioning them, the population grew abnormally.”

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That group exceeded more than 450 monkeys over the years and eventually split into two troops, with one of them migrating into the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan, causing a disturbance for local residents.

The Japanese government had no choice but to take action to combat the growth after receiving endless complaints from the Kyoto residents, Ajax said.

That’s when South Texas rancher Edward Dryden rescued a troop of about 150 snow monkeys and brought them to his ranch in Encinal, Texas – 40 miles south of Dilley – after learning their deadly fate from his daughter who was part of the Japanese research as a primatologist.

Ajax said it took several years for the wild snow monkeys to adapt to the South Texas climate and environment but soon thrived in their new home until Dryden’s death years later caused the monkeys to be relocated on two occasions.

According to a 1997 National Geographic documentary, "Snow Monkeys of Texas," a shooting incident occurred when a group of hunters killed four snow monkeys during the first relocation in 1995.

The news of the snow monkey killings traveled across the country to well-known singer and entertainer Wayne Newton, better known as “Mr. Las Vegas.”

“Wayne Newton came in and did a big fundraiser (in San Antonio) for the organization and they were able to buy the property outright for the snow monkey sanctuary,” Ajax said.

With the help of Newton and other big donors, the 186-acre property in Dilley became known as the “Texas Snow Monkey Sanctuary” until 1999, when Animal Protection Institute took over managing the sanctuary to expand the reach in rescuing other species of monkeys.

In 2008, Animal Protection Institute merged with what is now known today as Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary.

Despite the fact the monkeys still spend their lives in one of the 15 cage enclosures – with the largest being 52 acres – Ajax said he agrees with people who say, “It’s a sanctuary but I see they’re still in cages and it’s just a bigger cage,” however, he says the size of the cage does matter and has made a positive difference in the quality of a monkey’s life.

“We wish that these monkeys weren’t here in the sense that they needed rescuing in the first place and I think that, in the long run, what we would really hope is that we’re put out of business because there’s no need,” Ajax said.

“In the long term, that’s what we would hope for but in the meantime, well, we’re here and we’re going to do the best that we can for these monkeys.”

Ajax said due to their dedication to the quality of life for the monkeys, the sanctuary is not open to the public.

However, because of the organization’s unique free-roaming approach that has gained them worldwide status, the sanctuary is currently at capacity with more than 600 monkeys and can no longer accept new requests.

For more information on how to help Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary, a 501c3 non profit organization, click here to visit the website.

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