VIDEO: Man saves injured monkey by giving CPR, but it dies a day later
A combo image shows the man trying to revive the monkey.
A video of an Indian man has gone viral on social media after he was filmed trying to save a monkey by giving it cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The man has been hailed a hero, though local media reported that the monkey had died the next day at the hospital.
M Prabhu, 38, a car driver from Perambalur in Tamil Nadu, said that he had found the monkey injured and unconscious on a tree on 9 December.
Prabhu said the monkey was chased by dogs and managed to escape by climbing a nearby tree.
Prabhu chased away the dogs and rescued the monkey from the tree.
He said, “I was scared when the monkey climbed the tree with injuries and fell unconscious. I gave some water. But it did not drink and I was very upset. I did not want to leave the animal in the forest in this condition."
Prabhu and his friend then decided to take the animal to a hospital.
On the way to the hospital, Prabhu realised that the monkey was losing consciousness. So he stopped his two-wheeler and started doing CPR to help breathe.
“I didn't think of anything, but I breathed into his mouth,” Prabhu said.
In the video ,Prabhu can be seen thumping the chest of the monkey and breathing into the mouth to try to revive the animal.
At the hospital, the monkey was given glucose and a vaccine.
It was later handed over to forest department authorities.
Sudha Ramen, an Indian Forest Service officer, wrote on Twitter, “Unfortunately this monkey had died the next day.
Prabhu was also adviced to monitor his health conditions as any close encounter to any wild animal has the risk of zoonotics.
Always contact the local forest dept, fire or police for any animal rescue.”
A local journalist, Thiruselvam, who broke the story, said, “An 8-month-old male monkey rescued by a car driver near Odiyam in Perambalur district has died after a day of treatment. The driver, who resuscitated the monkey, was upset and cried. The monkey was buried by forest officials.”
