Care gets down to ‘monkey’ business in Douglasdale

DOUGLASDALE – Two adorable new additions to Care Douglasdale are monkeying around as they get healthy enough to be released back into the wild.

February 26, 2020

Robyn Kirk 2 minutes read

Lilly has been in McKenzie's care since 19 January and is doing much better now. Photo: Robyn Kirk

There’s no monkeying around when it comes to caring for animals in need.

Irene McKenzie of the Centre for Animal Rehabilitation and Education (Care) Douglasdale is currently raising little Lilly, a one-month-old vervet monkey who was found crawling in the veld in the Klerksdorp area, covered in ants and with a painful abscess (probably caused by the ants biting her) on her tail.

Itombi (pictured) is a few weeks older than Lilly and needed help after her mother was hit and killed by a car. *Photo: Supplied*

Now about a month old, she is steadily growing stronger and more confident by the day, and even has a playmate that she will grow up with before both are released back into the wild where they belong.

Lilly was picked up by kind-hearted people who found her in the veld and was rushed to Care by car.

“When she was first brought in to me on 19 January, she weighed only 253g,” McKenzie told the Fourways Review. “She was basically at death’s door and I didn’t think she’d make it through the night. When they found her, she was crying for her mom, skinny and very dehydrated. We’re just lucky that a predator didn’t get her, and the vet has been treating her tail abscess.”

Irene McKenzie of Care is taking care of two vervet monkeys, Itombi and Lilly, at her premises in Douglasdale. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

McKenzie was already caring for another female vervet when Lilly arrived. Little Itombi (who is about 10 weeks old now) had arrived shortly before Lilly after her mother was killed by a car. The pair have formed a strong bond and are growing up together.

When Lilly first arrived at Care, she had a terrible abscess on her tail that needed medical attention. Photo: Supplied

“They’re being fed baby formula on demand, the same kind used for human babies. The brands that are best are S26, Nan and Lactogen. Lilly now weighs 465g.”

When the two are ready, they will be moved to a rehabilitation centre where they will join a troop of rescued and rehabilitated monkeys in order to form a group bond, before the entire group is released back into the wild to live as they’re meant to. It’s not clear when this will be, as McKenzie needs to be sure they are strong and happy before they can move on.

When Lilly was brought into the Care Centre on 19 January, she weighed only 253g and was in desperate need of help. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

“Before they move on I want them to be a healthy weight, to be able to feed themselves so that I know they’re independent and won’t have to rely on humans or other monkeys, and I’ve been working on their confidence so that I know they’ll be ready for the next chapter of their lives.”

No one is sure what happened to Lilly’s mother, just that the baby was found alone and unwell in the veld. *Photo: Supplied*

If you would like to help with the monkeys’ care, donations of baby formula (from nought to six months) are welcome, as are financial donations to help cover the cost of veterinary care and toys for them to play with and build confidence.

More broadly though, McKenzie would like people to start to understand the importance of wildlife and begin to treat animals with respect.

Lilly has been fed human baby formula since she arrived at Care, and has nearly doubled in weight. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

“Monkeys are not pets, although sometimes they are sold as such. As individual vervets and baboons leave their troops of origin in order to find new ones and thus mix up genetics in the species, they are going to come into areas where humans are.