By Mark McConville
HEARTWARMING pictures and video footage have captured an armless monkey playing after having his arms amputated due to injuries from electrocution.
The cute footage shows Jesse the Samango monkey jumping from branch to branch, taking a quick nap and eating his dinner.
Other stunning shots show the plucky monkey hanging upside down by his feet, running along the ground and looking out at his surroundings.
Jesse was rescued by The Vervet Monkey Foundation in South Africa after being electrocuted and finding his way into an elderly woman’s apartment.
“Jesse, like so many others was an emergency call from the nearby town of Haenertsburg,” said Kyle Salazar, Magic Monkey CEO which is the company that oversees the foundation.
“It seemed that he had been electrocuted by a faulty power line up in the mountains and had found his way into an elderly lady’s flat where he was stuck and confused. The property owners called the Vervet Monkey Foundation and founder Dave and animal manager Torie went and caught him.
“After Jesse was rescued they took him to a local vet who assessed his injuries and decided the best course of action would be to amputate his arms. His right arm was completely removed, while his left was amputated just above the elbow.”
The Samango monkey is an Old World monkey found between Ethiopia and South Africa, including south and east Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Vervet Monkey Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1993. Our centre is based in Tzaneen in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. They rehabilitate and provide sanctuary to over 500 primates, orphaned, injured, abused, ex-laboratory or unwanted pets.
Despite his disability life doesn’t seem to be much different for Jesse compared to the monkeys after he quickly adapted.
“Obviously life is more difficult with no arms,” added Kyle.
“But Jesse gets by incredibly well. Samango’s are very versatile creatures and they acclimate very quickly to whatever injuries are thrown in their path.
“Jesse doesn’t seem to be held back by his injuries, he eats well, runs around standing upright, he climbs to the tops of the highest trees in his enclosure and even plays with the juvenile Samango named Mango.
“The other monkeys don’t care, and probably don’t really notice. We have a lot of handicapped monkeys at the VMF, from amputees to blind monkeys to ones with mental traumas and they are all treated normal by the rest of the monkeys. As long as they can get by and hold their own they are readily accepted into troop life.”
The Vervet Monkey Foundation have launched a project called The Vervet Forest to raise money to create a nature reserve where they can release the monkeys.
The Vervet Forest release site will be a several hundred acre wildlife reserve. The Vervet Monkey Foundation will always remain as a sanctuary and rehabilitation centre for vervet monkeys, but the population at the VMF is ever increasing and the monkeys need a place to go.
For more information see http://www.thevervetforest.com/forest/
