Monkey survives assault

A MALE vervet monkey that was assaulted with a broom at a Pinetown residence yesterday, is recovering with the help of Monkey Helpline. Flodden, as he is now known, suffered a concussion when the domestic worker hit him on his face when she allegedly tried to defend herself.

Monkey Helpline’s Carol Booth posted details about the traumatising incident on her Facebook page. She said, “We had a very disturbing call out from Flodden Road, Ashley in Pinetown. The caller said her mother had a monkey go into her lounge where it was having a seizure. We were treating animals at our vet in Durban North and told her we’d be leaving shortly to attend to the monkey she had called about. Not long after, the mother called to ask where we were. I explained that we were just about leaving the vet and she got really angry and saying she would “just kick the monkey our her lounge.” She said the monkey was messing her lounge and was sitting there looking quite normal, but that it was vomiting all over the place.

“I told her the monkey most likely had a concussion which is why it was nauseous. She replied that yes it did have concussion because the domestic worker had hit it with a broom when it tried to ‘attack’ her. We rushed up to Pinetown where we were directed to the monkey by the rather fractious home owner. She explained her behaviour as being due to “not being in a good place after having had her house broken into a few weeks back”, and that this latest incident with the monkey was just too much. In her lounge we found this beautiful adult Vervet monkey, mobile, but definately not quite aware of what exactly was going on around him.

“We easily netted him and took him straight to the vet. After sedation Dr Easson noticed that he had taken a massive blow to the front of his face, had two of his front teeth knocked out, others broken, including his left canine. X-rays showed that fortunately there were no fractures to his skull or jaw. So the boy was treated for concussion and given an antibiotic, pain killers and anti inflammatories. The boy will be with us for a little while and after having his teeth seen to, he will be released into a far more monkey friendly place than that from which we rescued him. The Kloof and Highway SPCA has been provided with the details relating to the assault on this monkey and will take the matter further.”

“Flodden is still unable to pick up his food to eat unassisted because he battles to lift up his hand to reach his mouth. The bleeding and his broken teeth also make it difficult for him to bite into his food so he’s is now eating porridge and crushed bananas. He is terrified every time we approach him, possibly still traumatised and afraid of being beaten again, considering this is his last memory of humans.”