The Savage Death of a Matriarch

The oldest female ape in Gibraltar has been shot dead with a high-powered air rifle. Pixie, who was 24 years old, ended her life in agony stretched out on Sir Herbert Miles Road. The Royal Gibraltar Police are investigating the killing, which outraged wildlife professionals have described as savage and senseless.

Barbary Macaques in Gibraltar are protected under nature legislation, while high-powered air rifles require a special licence. Their use is illegal outside purpose-built firing ranges.

Pixie was the matriarch of one of the longest-studied groups of apes anywhere in the world. During her lifetime she gave birth to seven offspring. She was grandmother to 14 apes and great grandmother to one.

A post mortem showed that Pixie was shot several times before she died. The fatal shot went through her heart.

Those who work with the apes are devastated by the senseless loss of Pixie. They develop close relationships with the animals and get to know them as individuals, each with their own character and quirks.

The Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society said, "Pixie was an incredible animal, a matriarch, born in the year that the frontier opened, nearly a quarter of a century old, and who had seen Gibraltar change for two and a half decades. She was savagely taken from this life by a heartless individual. We urge the police to spare no efforts in bringing the perpetrator to justice."

taken from 22nd September edition of The Gibraltar Chronicle, with permission

 It is understood that an arrest has been made.