“Hi, my name is Sebastian, and this is my story.

I am a pig-tailed macaque. People have often mistaken me for my relatives – the long-tailed macaques.

Just by looking at our tails, you can tell us apart. My tail is short and looks like a pig’s tail, while my relatives’ tails are long.

I have been living in this recreational forest park for several years. I am quite popular here.

People often approach me with foods and want to take pictures with me.

You might think I am living a happy life here with many people admiring me… But the truth is, I don’t even know where I am from, and how did I end up here?

Do you think I am happy?”

Meet Sebastian. He is a Southern pig-tailed macaque, and his life changed forever when he was left behind in a recreational park in Penang.

In this new e-comic from Langur Project Penang (LPP), we follow Sebastian’s real-life journey to show the challenges wild animals face when they live too close to humans. Many of these monkeys are victims of the illegal pet trade—taken as babies and then dumped when they become “too much” for their owners. By sharing Sebastian’s story, we hope to inspire everyone to protect nature and learn how humans and wildlife can share the same home.

(Scroll down to read.)

Get the full free e-comic, “The Story of Sebastian”, in a dual-language format (Bahasa Malaysia & Bahasa English) by following the link below.

The full e-comic includes engaging worksheets that you can use to learn with your family.

Take a look at our fun exercise below (slide show)! You can download “The Story of Sebastian” by clicking the button above.

“The Story of Sebastian” is brought to you by the Youth Team of Langur Project Penang:

Story: Wong Hui Yi, Tan Ninn Yuiin

Illustration: Goh Xuan Le

We would like to thank Youth Environmental Living Labs (YELL) and Yayasan Gamuda for the funding support of “The Story of Sebastian”, as well as the Penang Forestry Department (Perhutanan Pulau Pinang) and The Long-tailed Macaque (LTM) Project for their continuous support of LPP Environmental Education efforts.

(real-life photos of Sebastian, through the lenses of Langur Project Penang):

A short video about Sebastian:

If we keep The Story of Sebastian in our hearts and thoughts, we can help people, monkeys, and nature live together a little better.