Kakinanda: Students faced all sorts of hurdles when they made an attempt to rescue an injured monkey and provide treatment to it. Some young persons found an injured and unconscious monkey on Vinukondavari Street near Balaji Cheruvu. The students led by Ms Sunkara Mahalaxmi, an Intermediate student rescued the monkey and gave it first aid. Later, they took the monkey to a veterinary hospital for further treatment.
At first the doctor there refused to treat the animal, even warning the students that monkeys should not be reared as pets. When the students explained that the monkey had fallen down from a tree and had injured himself, the doctor treated the monkey and advised the students to take the monkey to the Forest Department office and hand it over to them.
When the students went to the Forest Department, the forest officials also first refused to take the monkey and said that there were no zoos to provide shelter to the monkey.
So while they were still debating to take the monkey and leaving it at the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, other forest department officials rushed to the spot and took the monkey to Rajahmundry Forest Office.
Ms. Mahalakshmi said, “We only wanted to help and rescue the monkey which was in an unconscious state but the forest department or animal husbandry department officials did not cooperate with our attempt. However, at last, they realised their effort and said that they would give treatment to the monkey and later, it would be left in the forest.”
Meanwhile, even in the short duration, an emotional bond developed between the monkey and the girl who rescued him. The monkey refused to let go of the girl. The officials moved off with the monkey amidst tears of the girl.
The Joint Director of Animal Husbandry Mr. N. T. Srinivas told this reporter that there were no restrictions in giving treatment to any type of cattle whether it was endangered or not.
The senior official said that the veterinary doctors should first give the treatment to the animals or birds and it was the forest department officials' duty to determine whether it was being reared as a pet or not.
He said that the department had also given treatment to snakes previously.
