In helping animals, I feel complete: Singapore monkey rescuer

Sabrina Jabbar may be just 23, but she has probably already rescued more monkeys than most people will see in their lifetime.
 
Three and a half months ago, the Singaporean started devoting her life to the rescue of wild macaques under the banner of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).

Having worked with various types of monkeys at Singapore's Mandai zoo for five years, Sabrina says she can read their facial expressions and quickly detect signs a monkey is unwell.
 
In a recent interview with Yahoo Singapore, she shares that she has felt a connection with the animals since she was young. "They are therapeutic, judgemental, hilarious, mysterious and intriguing," she says.

Sabrina and a colleague, Han, who joined her in September, represent Acres's recently-formed full-time macaque rescue team, whose job it is to respond to calls about unusual macaque sightings, macaque-related distress or grievances from residents living near to nature reserves.

On an average day, they receive about three calls, but this can go up to as many as nine though some refer to the same case or call from the same caller, she says. She also sometimes starts work before dawn or ends late when she has to monitor the progress of an injured macaque.
 
Sabrina believes she was "placed on this earth to help the wildlife" and says that there is a need to help give a voice to the plight of macaques fighting for their lives -- her work at Acres, she adds, helps her do just that.

A large part of the rescue team’s job lies also in spreading awareness to members of the public, and Sabrina says they do so by meeting companies, going to and speaking at schools and visiting residential areas near nature reserves to speak to people living there.
 
This may already sound like a hectic job, but Sabrina juggles her full-time work with a degree programme at MDIS. There, she is into her final year in its biomedical science course, attending evening classes either four or five days each week.
 
"Assignments can be very heavy, especially because I am in my final year," she said. "It's a constant struggle juggling both but I do my best to prioritise. When monkeys go to sleep at night, I go to school to study!"
 
Dealing with disappointment
 

One of Sabrina's key challenges lies in accepting failure and the fact that she cannot save every single macaque that is trapped or culled — although that does bring its fair share of negativity.
 
"For every single macaque that is trapped and brought to AVA for culling, I always feel powerless and hopeless as I am tied down due to rules, policies and regulations," she said candidly. "I know that I cannot save every single macaque, but representing them and acting as their voice to raise awareness is important. We can save as many macaques as we want, but at the end of the day, if we don't get public support and a sense of empathy for the macaques, then we have failed."
 
Dealing with residents who are fiercely opposed to the macaques also provides its fair share of headaches.
 
"It can be quite alarming when residents refuse to understand the root of the problem, become literally violent and want to 'kill', 'shoot' and 'poison' the monkeys themselves!" she said. "But we speak in a calming manner — always — and do our best to explain and make them understand. In cases where they refuse to cooperate, we still stay on our beliefs and move on."
 
Like NTU PhD student Amanda Tan, whom Yahoo Singapore spoke to previously, Sabrina too thinks macaques are highly misunderstood.
 
"Every single day is a battle of survival for them. If only residents who choose to live near nature reserves can accept macaques as part of the ecosystem and learn to coexist, none of this 'monkey problem' will happen," she said.
 
"I do not aim to make everyone love the monkeys, but I hope to inspire… many to accept them as our precious native wildlife that needs to be understood, protected and conserved," she added.
 
Marathon and Mia's story
 
So passionate is Sabrina for the macaques in Singapore that over the weekend earlier this month, she took part in and completed her first full Standard Chartered Marathon in a bid to raise funds for macaque rescue efforts.
 
Her fundraising drive raised a respectable $500 — meeting her target — and she said she was happy to use running as a method to create change.
 
"Raising funds is secondary; I decided to do this in the hopes that I can raise awareness of the plight of the monkeys. Every kilometre is dedicated to the monkeys," she added. "The need to save the monkeys inspires me, but the support from the Acres team, friends, family and the public drive me on too."
 
Asked what her most memorable encounter on the job was, first to come to mind was the rescue, rehabilitation and release of a female macaque, whom she lovingly named "Mia".
 
"She was my first rescued macaque… throughout her rescue, surgery, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, she was a fighter and recovered much faster than expected. Nobody really thought she would make it through, but she did," she shared. "At such a young age, without her troop, she pushed on and showed continual progress."
 
Sabrina revealed that she worked non-stop for seven weeks to take her through physiotherapy, preparing food for her and to ensure she retained her "wild" instincts.
 
"I was committed and determined to ensure she recovered and made it back to her natural habitat," she added. "To me, she represents all the macaques — every time I meet a huge obstacle now, I remind myself of Mia and continue to press on!"
 
Watch a video of Mia's rescue story, as told by Sabrina, in the video above.

Mia's story is brought to you in collaboration with Acres.

Read our other stories on Solving Singapore's "monkey problem":
Is there a need to trap and kill monkeys in Singapore?
Student on a mission to save Singapore's monkeys