THE CROW (Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife) team was contacted by the Transnet Port Terminal last week to assist with a displaced monkey who had made its way onto one of the container ships in the harbour.
CROW’s Primate Officer, Tayla Hawkins and clinic nurse, Kylie Hawkins, rushed to assist.
“We searched the vessel until 6pm on Tuesday evening, when a lightning storm hit and conditions became too dangerous to work in. It was also getting too dark to be able to locate the monkey. With the help of the crew on board the ship, we managed to spot the monkey various times throughout the day, however we had no luck with capturing him. Our team contacted both Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife as well as the Durban and Coast SPCA who sent out representatives to assist later in the day but as conditions worsened we could not continue our search into the night,” said Tayla.
The vessel was set to leave at 4am Wednesday morning, however after meeting with the captain, the decision was made to hold the ship back until they could successfully rescue the monkeyday. CROW left a trap on board the ship with the hopes of the monkey being hungry enough to be contained. This seemed almost unimaginable as the ship was over 200m long and 50m wide and the odds of the monkey finding the trap would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
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“We planned to board the ship with the assistance of other animal organisations first thing Wednesday morning with multiple traps and more people to help search the ship. At 7am Wednesday morning, as we were about to dispatch our team, we received the amazing news that the monkey had made its way into the trap. This was the best news possible as the welfare of this monkey was our first priority and after searching for hours the previous day we knew the task of catching it would be daunting to all involved,” said Tayla.
The large adult male has now been quarantined at CROW and will undergo various health checks and tests by their vets to ensure he has not consumed any hazardous materials or contracted any diseases. Once they are certain he is in good shape, the male will be introduced into one of the centre’s existing troops which will be released back into the wild away from urban areas.
If you would like to help CROW raise much needed funds to continue their lifesaving work, please consider purchasing one of their beautiful 2020 Wildlife Calendars. To purchase a calendar, contact Lana Bartholomew on 031 462 1127 or email: info@crowkzn.co.za.
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