Monkey business in Quellerina
A local animal rescue organisation saved a Vervet monkey that has been roaming in Florida and its surrounds for several weeks.
A Vervet monkey that has been on the loose in the Florida vicinity, was trapped at a house in Quellerina on Saturday morning, September 7.
Social media and messaging groups have been abuzz over the past few weeks about the monkey that had been spotted numerous times by residents as it made its way through the area.
According to animal rescue organisation Community Led Animal Welfare (Claw) owner Cora Bailey, male Vervet monkeys leave the troop when they reach puberty in search of mates.
“While this is good for the species as it ensures genetic diversity, it inevitably results in some Vervets finding themselves at odds with humans as they stray into our territories.
“Vervet monkeys do not pose much of a threat to humans. The danger for monkeys though is very real as they have to contend with traffic, dogs and even people that try to hunt them for muti or will kill them out of superstition.”
Claw volunteer Nina Oosthuizen accompanied by Claw staff member Makhwenkwi Zwide on September 5, after the umpteenth sighting of the Vervet in the same area, in search of the perfect spot in which to deploy a trap.
“We have to be careful about where we put the traps because people steal them,” says Zwide.
Eventually, after some up-and-down driving through the area, he managed to identify suitably quiet spots and set two traps.
On Saturday morning shortly after 09:00, a resident posted on a group that the monkey had been spotted about a kilometre west of the spot it had been frequenting. Roodepoort Record journalist Johan Meyer, who happened to be close by, responded. At the same time, Zwide rushed from Claw’s offices in Durban Deep. Both traps were empty. However, 10 minutes later, just when everyone thought the monkey had eluded them yet again, a call came in from a resident saying one of the traps had been sprung.
Upon arrival at the house, the money was safely in the trap.
“From here, the monkey will be taken to a veterinarian where he will be assessed to ensure he is healthy, after which he will be released in a suitable place where he will be far away from neighbourhoods, and much more likely to integrate into a new troop.”
