CROW team all aboard to rescue monkey
Once the monkey has been given a clean bill of health he will be introduced to a new troop, and eventually released into the wild, away from urban areas.
CROW (Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife) team was contacted by the Transnet Port Terminal to assist with a displaced monkey who had made its way onto one of the container ships in the harbour recently.
CROW’s primate officer, Tayla Hawkins and clinic nurse, Kylie Hawkins, immediately left to assist.
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“We searched the vessel until 6pm on Tuesday evening until a lightning storm hit and conditions became too dangerous to work in. It was also getting too dark to locate the monkey. With the help of the crew, we managed to spot the monkey at various times throughout the day, however we had no luck with capturing him,” said Tayla.
“Our team contacted both Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife as well as the Durban and Coast SPCA who both sent out representatives to assist, but as conditions worsened we could not continue our search into the night.”
The vessel was set to leave at 4am on Wednesday last week, however, after meeting with the captain, the decision was made to hold the ship back until they could successfully rescue the monkey.
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CROW left a trap on board the ship with the hopes that the monkey would be hungry enough to be contained. This seemed almost unimaginable as the ship was over 200m long and 50m wide and finding this trap would be like finding a needle in a haystack for this monkey.
“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,” said Tayla.
ALSO READ: No monkey business for helpline
This large adult male has now been quarantined at CROW and will have various health checks and tests performed to ensure he has not consumed any hazardous materials or contracted any diseases.
Once they are certain he is in good shape, this male will be introduced into one of their 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 life-saving work, please consider purchasing one of their beautiful 2020 Wildlife Calendars. To purchase a calendar, contact Lana Bartholomew on 031 462 1127 or email her on info@crowkzn.co.za
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