Tim Ajax in Print

This past September marked the ending of a journey that involved transferring 107 macaques and one baboon from their former home, the defunct Wild Animal Orphange (WAO), San Antonio, Texas to their new location in Dilley, Texas. The macaques and baboon will now live out their lives in the primate sanctuary on 186 acres under the supervision of Tim Ajax, Director of the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary.

Link: ReadingEagle.com

Once the dust stirred up by the truck tires settles in the compound, just about the only thing still moving in the heat is a beautiful seal-point Siamese cat, languidly padding out to welcome me to the Born Free Primate Sanctuary, located some 90 miles south of San Antonio in the heart of the desolate South Texas brush country. I'm not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. This isn't the way it was when Nolan Ryan, representing the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, arrived here back in the late '90s.

Link: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Freeman is a long-tailed macaque born in captivity. The 10-year-old monkey spent his entire life in a small cage. Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Dilley, TX, rescued the monkey from Midland, MI. Freeman's owners reportedly forced him to inhale marijuana, drink alcohol and eat dog food.

Link: kens5.com

Tim Ajax, director of the
Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary
(photograph by Mike Di Paola)

The approach to the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Dilley, Texas, has an ominous look — lonely dirt road, padlocked gate, a sign warning “Not Open to the Public.” Inside the fence, however, the place is full of life, with dozens of macaque monkeys roaming the grounds.

“There’s something inherently wrong with these animals living their lives in little cages,” says the sanctuary director, Tim Ajax. Most of the more than 500 nonhuman primates here have the run of a 56-acre area, while the rest stay in fairly spacious enclosures. “We’re at capacity right now,” Ajax says, but he’s
preparing for more newcomers.

Link: Bloomberg.com

Monkey, a 3-year-old baboon who had been living in an East Side (Madison, Wis.) laundry room until he was surrendered to the Dane County Humane Society earlier this month, on Aug. 29 was transferred to the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Texas.

Link: Madison.com