Skull-Head

Skull-Head
Sex	Male
Year died	2022
Estimated age	Early 30s
Troop	Skull-Head's troop

Skull-Head was the male alpha of Skull-Head's troop, the largest single troop of monkeys in Monkey Hill and one of the largest monkey troops in the world (with over 300 members), for over 20 years. As a result, he was well-known to humans, even appearing on the cover of a government brochure for Monkey Hill.

Skull-Head was deposed as alpha in late 2021, by then an elderly monkey. However, he was able to remain in the troop, and lived out the rest of his days as a high-ranking male in the troop that bears his name. Even after his ouster, he was still well-respected in the troop, with many high-ranking members still offering fear grimaces and presenting their bottoms (both signals of submission) whenever he passed by.

Despite his name and ferocious look, Skull-Head was quite amiable and approachable, and dealt well with humans. He treated monkey babies with gentleness and care.

Skull-Head developed some sort of tumor in his abdomen that led to an open wound and swollen scrotum. His health quickly deteriorated, and his family, and many of his troop, dropped by one by one to check on him. He would not let anyone, human or monkey, go near him to tend to his wound, by now infested with maggots. MI and the local feeders tried to stay with him as long as they could, to make sure he wouldn't be attacked by the local wild boars in his final moments. They left him in a fenced off area, with nothing more they could do to comfort him.

The next day, he was seized by Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department and euthanized. He will always be remembered as a great leader, able to strike the perfect balance between tough and tender.