DURBAN - A kind-hearted builder knew exactly what he had to do when he saw a group of teenaged boys dragging a baby vervet monkey by the tail through hot tar.
Kevin Rundle immediately stopped his car at Mtunzini to save the monkey, then insisted the boys let it go.
They did what he demanded and the monkey fled into the bush. She was found the following morning when she approached Rundle at his nearby construction site.
“She was so badly injured that she went up to Kevin in order for him to help her,” said Irene Liversage of the Empangeni Depot of the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) who was called in to rescue the baby.
The monkey, aged about 3 months, has been named Irene, after her Crow rescuer. She had severe burn wounds on both feet and two puncture holes that were badly infected and she was also very dehydrated.
AFTER TREATMENT: Now she is on the mend. Picture: Independent Media
Liversage rushed the little monkey to Dr Geoff Fourie at the Empangeni Veterinary Hospital where she was treated until she was transferred to Crow in Durban. Her wounds were treated by applying burn ointment and changing the bandages three times a day.
“After spending 10 days in the intensive care unit at Crow, baby Irene is now moving around and doing much better. She will be kept in a separate enclosure until she is strong enough to join the rest of the nursery group of eight babies,” said Chandre de Bruyn, Crow spokesperson.
De Bruyn pointed out that April is the month of National Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and said that the story of little Irene is a classic example of the cruelty that animals experience at the hands of humans.
* Crow is the only wildlife rehabilitation centre in Durban registered to work with all types of indigenous wildlife found in the province. Every year, Crow rescues, rehabilitates and releases more than 3000 orphaned, injured and displaced wild animals.