A surprise package at the post office from a well-wisher has given wounded Monkey Helpline KZN co-founder Steve Smit a timely boost.
The monkey rescue and rehabilitation organisation’s Carol Booth said they had been anxious to pick up a registered package on Tuesday, but were unaware of what it contained.
“Smit could not contain his excitement and opened the package in the car. At first we saw the backside and tail and realised it was a stuffed (toy) monkey. It was a gift for Smit after his accident in the garden that damaged his eye,” Booth said.
It is green and black and similar to the artwork in the helpline’s logo and on its T-shirts.
It also has a patch on the right eye.
Booth said they were delighted, and the stuffed monkey was now the helpline’s official mascot.
“We have named him Stephanus monkey. He will accompany us on rescues as the vervet monkey ambassador. He is gorgeous,” Booth said.
The monkey was created by Germany-based Helen Whitby Loadman, of craft enterprise Monkey Ate my Socks and Happy Hippy Couch Art, and was commissioned by a well-wisher, Sarah Jane, in the UK.
In May, Smit injured an eye while chasing chickens in his Westville backyard. A stick pierced his right eye.
He underwent an operation, but it could be months before his eye recovers. Smit wears a patch over the injured eye and despite doctor’s orders to rest, he has been on more than 20 rescues since the accident
.