RESIDENTS banded together to help free a baby vervet monkey from a razor wire fence at a Michel Avenue property in La Lucia on Monday.
Carol Booth of Monkey Helpline said the stranded monkey drew a crowd of onlookers.
Booth received a call from a local security company after a passerby called to report the incident.
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“Monkey Helpline’s rescuer Jane Avis happened to live across the road and rushed over, as time is of the essence to prevent the mother doing serious damage and even killing the baby while trying to free it. Jane requested the assistance of a Durban Solid Waste worker who climbed up and gently removed the baby while reassuring the watching mother. Jane then rushed the baby to our vet Dr Kerry Easson, who although on leave came in to clean, stitch and medicate the tot,” said Booth.
Avis said: “The DSW worker was brilliant. He managed to reach the monkey and remove it from the wire, where I could not reach it. He was in the area picking up rubbish when he stopped to help.”
The monkey received medical attention before being released back to the troop, said Booth.
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“He just needed a few small stitches. He was cleaned up and returned to the troop. It was the most beautiful thing when he was released, he was calling for his mother and the mother jumped straight down and picked him up and held him to her chest. Then she took off into the trees. This is the perfect example of a rescue: rescue, treat and release. Returning monkeys to the wild is first prize. There are a lot of babies now, its baby season and often when a baby is orphaned, we can’t return it as the other troop members can’t take care of it. Then there’s a long rehabilitation process,” she explained.
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