Charlene Browne, who lives close to Hoërskool Middelburg in OR Tambo Street, confirmed that her husband Gareth was bitten on Saturday morning after the couple encountered the stray monkey in their living room.
Charlene had been hearing strange, high-pitched whistling sounds since last week Monday, but living near a preschool, she wrote it off as kids playing.
On Saturday morning at roughly 09:00, however, the couple encountered the monkey in their living room after it gained access through a window.
“The monkey tried to escape through the door, but we have a screen in front of the door which trapped it inside. My husband went to open the door for the monkey, but it ran back towards me. Gareth gently tried to shoo the monkey outside when it then jumped onto his back. The monkey was fine until my husband walked outside with it, where without any provocation, it bit him on the finger.”
Charlene says that Gareth stumbled around with the monkey on his back, encouraging it to climb onto a shrub at first.
“He was just trying to help the monkey find its sense of direction so that it could make its way home, or just back into nature.”
As Gareth went closer to the shrub, the monkey bit his ear and bit down so hard, he physically had to pull his ear out of its mouth. Gareth then headed for a tree in their garden, when the monkey grabbed hold of his other ear.
Only once Charlene brought out a towel, to try and wrap the monkey, did it leap from Gareth’s shoulders.
“The monkey tried to go back into our house, but I closed the door. My only concern then, was to rush Gareth to the pharmacy so that he could get tetanus and rabies shots.”
They called the SPCA but then went to the pharmacy for the tetanus jab. They had no other choice but to go to Middok 24/7 for the rabies jab.
“His first shots cost us about R3 000. The boosters will amount to R5 000, but the doctor said he needs antibodies in conjunction with the rabies shot, which are very expensive. His ear is also very infected and oozing, and the doctor is weary of gangrene. They did clean his ear and we are keeping an eye on it, but we are very anxious for the owner of the monkey to make contact to confirm whether it has had its vaccinations.”
According to Charlene, after they reported the incident on the Animals: Lost and Found group, a lady came forward saying that her own Marmoset monkey had escaped its own enclosure.
“The lady’s monkey, Max, escaped on Friday from the Cafe 101 area, so it might not be the same monkey, as I have been hearing it since last week Monday.”
Should anyone have an escaped Marmoset fitting the description of the one that bit Gareth, kindly contact Charlene on 083 314 6203 to confirm whether the monkey’s vaccinations are up to date.
• The lady whose Marmoset escaped on Friday in the Cafe 101 area has been tracked down and identified as Diane Veldman. Diane has only had Max for a week, after adopting it from an acquaintance who relocated to Bloemfontein. Diane said she is currently trying to tame Max and get him used to his new home. Unfortunately, she has no photos of Max, but should someone see him or know of his whereabouts, they can contact her on 084 600 0709.
• The Senior Inspector at the Middelburg SPCA, Petro Oberholzer, urges anyone who spots the escaped monkey to contact them on 084 432 6278.
“Marmosets are exotic animals, and it is therefore against the law for them to leave their enclosures. Owners of exotic pets can be held liable to a fine if their monkey is let out of its enclosure. Should any exotic pets escape their enclosure, they should immediately be reported to the SPCA. Exotic animals which escape will possibly breed with endemic species.”
Inspector Oberholzer urges residents not to approach the monkey should they see it.
Anyone who sees the monkey is urged to contact the SPCA and remain there to keep an eye on its movements. Calling the SPCA and leaving will result in a wild goose chase, which is a waste of the organisation’s valuable time and resources.
