No monkey business for helpline

THE Monkey Helpline, a rescue and rehabilitation initiative, initiated by Westville resident Steve Smit, has been striving to save sick, injured and abandoned vervet monkeys, while educating the public on various misconceptions.

Smit, along with Carol Booth, spend most of their days travelling across KwaZulu-Natal to rescue the monkeys. Once they have been captured Smith and Booth attempt to rehabilitate the monkeys so that they can be released.

“This is not a career or a hobby. It is a lifestyle. The urban environment is very harsh on the monkeys, so most of our days are spent rescuing monkeys, which often requires a two to three hour drive. However, the real challenge comes after we have rescued the monkeys. We then have to take them to the vet for treatment and then often have to give the monkeys medicine right through the night,” said Smit.

According to Booth the rehabilitation of the monkeys is divided into three phases. Firstly, the monkeys are taken to the vet for treatment and given the specific medication. After they have recovered from their physical injuries they are moved from the clinic to the exercise cage, where they have room to build up their muscle and body mass, as well as redevelop their hand and eye coordination. The final phase involves releasing the monkeys.

The Monkey Helpline responds to over 1000 rescue call-outs every year, many of these injuries are sustained during fights with other monkeys, dog bites, electrocution or being run over by motor vehicles. Other injuries are caused by people either trapping, poisoning or shooting the monkeys.

“Vervet monkeys are not pests. They are amongst the most misunderstood and persecuted of animals in South Africa, and certainly in KwaZulu-Natal. This is mostly due to misinformation, prejudice and irrational fear, and this often causes people to hate and target the monkeys”, said Smit.

According to Smit, there is no malice in a monkey’s actions. They do not tease dogs nor do they steal peoples fruit for amusement. Some members in a troop will ‘tease’ potential predators to distract them, giving the other troop members an opportunity to escape, and they take the fruit because that is how they garner food,” said Smit.

“There is often the misconception that vervet monkeys are mischievous and naughty. Other misconceptions are that they are violent or that they carry rabies. The truth is that vervets will only bite or attack in self-defence or if they are provoked. There has never been one reported case of a vervet monkey ever testing positive for rabies,” said Smit.

According to Booth they are flooded with reports of injured pregnant vervet monkeys at the end of the year, as they tend to give birth from September to February. The pregnant monkeys are vulnerable during this time, as she is slower when she is pregnant and is immobile for several hours during and after birth, due to pain and exhaustion.

“Pregnant monkeys are often hit by cars or bitten by dogs, as they are slow and are not able to avoid these threats. So far we have rescued nine orphaned babies, whose mothers have been killed,” said Booth.

Smit and Booth are appealing to the community to assist their initiative by either donating a once-off fee or joining the subscribers program which enables community members to donate a fee at a monthly basis. Community members can also adopt a monkey. This means that they will provide for the financial upkeep, veterinary costs as well as the food for a specific monkey. The adopter will receive regular updates on the monkey’s progress.

Although Smit and Booth primarily deal with and are experienced in vervet monkey rescues, they also respond to other animals that are sick, injured or abandoned.

“We often get calls to rescue mongoose, birds, snakes and even domestic kittens. We keep these animals until we can deliver them to specialists individuals or organisations that can further assist them,” said Booth.