Orphaned Monkey Arrives at WFFT – Meet Dumbo

Yesterday, a man appeared at front gate of the WFFT Wildlife Rescue Centre with a tiny little monkey inside a bag. The monkey in question is a very young male Northern pig-tailed macaque, a species Vulnerable to extinction. The man informed us that his mother had been hit by a car and killed. He was found clinging to his dead mother, the man picked him up brought him to WFFT.

Luckily he had not suffered serious injuries, he has some scratches on his body, and the emotional scars of loosing his mother in such a way will stay with him for a long time. For now he is still a little confused about his new home and is continuously crying for his mother. We estimate that he is around 10 days old as his teeth are not yet visible, macaque infants teeth do not appear until around 2 weeks of age.

We have named him ‘Dumbo’ as his ears appear abnormally large for such a little body, although this is normal for infant macaques. We hope he survives this terrible ordeal. He will require 24-hour care for the next few months. We will keep you updated on his progress.

He may look cute but remember Dumbo should be with his mother in the wild far away from dangers created by man. Luckily the person that found decided against keeping him as a pet. He may have ended up like ‘Jiw’ the macaque who was handed over to us earlier this week after kept for 20 years. Keep Wildlife Wild and Not as Pets.