Orphaned monkey cared for by Crow
After he is weaned, he will be introduced to other vervet monkeys in the centre.
A BABY vervet monkey was rescued in Toti on Saturday, 26 September, after its mother was electrocuted and had to be put down.
He is being cared for at the Centre for Rehabilitaion of Wildlife (CROW) in Yellowwood Park.
“Our first orphaned vervet monkey of the season has arrived at the centre under tragic circumstances. This tiny youngster was rescued after his mother was electrocuted on a fence and sustained horrific burns as a result. The decision was made to end her pain and suffering and she was humanely euthanased,” said CROW marketing and communications officer, Paul Hoyte.
Little Peanut, as he’s since been called, is now being professionally hand-reared here at the centre.
“He is in the care of CROW’s primate officer who is responsible for bottle feeding him. Once he is fully weaned, Peanut will slowly be introduced to other vervet monkey patients at the centre, that in time will become his new family. This will be the most time-consuming part of Peanut’s rehabilitation as it can take up to three years to merge a new troop and allow them to bond sufficiently.
If we release a troop too early before they’ve bonded, they will split up and their chances of survival back in the wild will decrease significantly. Similarly, if we didn’t join Peanut to a troop, he wouldn’t survive in the wild if we tried to release him by himself.”
CROW generally releases a troop of about 15 to 20 vervet monkeys per year. These troops are released as far from human habitation as possible and certainly not in Durban suburbs or surrounding areas, to try ensure they do not end up victims of human conflict and habitat loss again.
