There was no monkeying around when it came to this man’s kindness after he saw a tiny monkey at death’s door in the middle of the road.
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (08 May, 2023)— Pete Graham had seen a car drive over what was thought to be an already lifeless vervet monkey lying in the middle of the road.
Still, he went over to carry the little body to its troop and its mother on the other side of the fence so that they could be reunited even in the saddest circumstances. Pete had already planned out what he would do to make sure the monkey’s passing was as dignified as possible.
After all, young lives are cherished in vervet monkey society, as the African Wildlife Foundation explains.
“I would then have used my shirt to cover him and take his body for burial with dignity…” shared Pete.
Then, something happened while he held the body in his arms.
“His eyes fluttered! He wasn’t dead but just knocked unconscious!”
Sparked with hope, Pete used his EFR training skills and applied them to his road patient, checking for injuries, broken bones and of course, 10 fingers and toes.
After he found that there weren’t any broken bone red flags, Pete sat caring for the monkey to make sure the little one was stable.
“I sat cradling him while his anxious mother and some of the [troop] looked on.”
“I stroked him… whispered gentle reassuring words to him. Over the space of twenty minutes his breathing returned to normal and his eyes had regained their focus and shine. He took little sips from my water bottle and continued to hold onto my thumb.”
(Pause for a wholesome tear if you need to).
The little monkey became more agile in Pete’s arms until eventually, he managed to jump off his Good Samaritan’s lap to run back to his mother.
Monkeys and other primates may have a different understanding of death to humans, but studies share that they do become distressed when bodies are inanimate, with mothers carrying their infants for stretches of time until ‘they are sure’ their babies are no longer with them.
Luckily, that wasn’t the case for the little trooper and his family.
“Live your best life little guy,” Pete wished his pal, and shared that those minutes spent with the monkey had made his day.
Pete’s story reminds us that kindness is often going the extra mile, even when the road seems to have reached a dead end. If he hadn’t stopped to reunite the monkey with its mother for mourning, he may never have saved his tiny friend’s life.