EDITOR – I was so saddened yesterday to see an adult male monkey in such a stricken state in my garden. He had been wounded in his side and was looking dishevelled and in pain.
He was very thin and did not appear to be interested in eating the seeds and peanuts that the other monkeys normally eat in my garden. It was pitiful to see how the other monkeys tried to tend to him while he bowed his head and looked as if he would fall over and die there and then. One adolescent monkey even tried to lie next to him to warm him. At the same time I saw another monkey on my roof that had a big red open hole in his hind upper leg. He did not seem as incapacitated but might well become so.
I am worried that someone has tried to shoot at the monkeys. This person does not realise the misery that he condemns them to before they die. I have lived in this area for 15 years and have always integrated the monkeys well into our lifestyle. Because I am friendly towards them, my dogs have never chased them or been worried by the monkeys. I am so grateful to live in an environment where there are still monkeys in the garden and eagles wheeling overhead. Man and development has not yet chased the wildlife away.
I plead with the people who do not understand monkeys to try to be tolerant of them. They will not hurt you if you leave them alone. I actually feed them with peanuts by hand and they have never done me or anyone from my household any harm. I do not leave exposed fruit or food in the kitchen so they are not tempted to come into our house. They share the food and seed outdoors with our wild birds, ducks and chickens.
Dr Sally John
Hillcrest
