Superstition is a serious monkey on people’s backs
MIDRAND – Brave Simon Gama saves the life of a monkey that was being stoned in Tembisa.
The Midrand Veterinary Hospital received a call from the Kempton Park SPCA on 11 January about a monkey that had been spotted in Tembisa and was in danger.
The rescue team immediately battled its way through the traffic to where the monkey had last been seen. The hospital’s Lauren Beckley said, “Tembisa is not safe for monkeys, and every second counts.”
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After finding the poor animal, Beckley said it had many injuries, seemingly after it was stoned by residents, some of whom associate baboons and vervet monkeys with witchcraft. They believe witches tame them and use them to cast spells on their enemies.
“Superstitions associated with [vervet] monkeys have resulted in monkeys [because of their close resemblance to baboons] often being found dead in Tembisa,” said Beckley.
Before the vet arrived on the scene, the hospital’s ‘kennel man’ Simon Gama had found a stick to which he added a rope noose and single-handedly caught the monkey and placed him in a crate provided by the SPCA.
The monkey will be taken to a safe area. The vet said that, in her opinion, had it not been for the brave Gama, the monkey would probably not have made it past the crowd alive.
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