The tiny monkey was a heartbreaking sight, a small bundle of fur and suffering huddled in the back of a transport crate. Her name was Lina, and her body told a story of a trauma no infant should ever endure. Deep, angry burns marred her delicate hands and back, and one of her back legs was swollen to twice its size, twisted at an unnatural angle. She was shockingly still, her breathing shallow, her eyes wide with a pain too profound for cries. What could have possibly happened to her?
The tragic story unfolded from the villagers who found her. Lina’s troop lived near the fringes of human settlement. In a desperate search for food, she had likely followed her mother onto a building and encountered a live electrical wire. A sudden, searing shock would have thrown her tiny body, causing the terrible burns. The fall from the roof, a dizzying height for a creature so small, resulted in the broken leg and severe internal bruising. She was left for dead, her own troop unable to help her.
When the rescue team arrived, she was too weak to even protest. The journey to the sanctuary was a blur of pain and fear. The veterinarians worked quickly, their faces grim. What happened to her next was a fight for life. She was placed on intravenous fluids to combat shock, and her burns were meticulously cleaned and dressed. The broken leg was carefully set and cast. For days, she lay listless, accepting food and medicine but her spirit seeming broken.
Then, slowly, a spark returned. The constant, gnawing pain began to recede under the effect of medication and proper care. One morning, she showed interest in a piece of banana. A week later, she attempted to groom the fur around her cast. The staff cheered her every small victory.
What happened to her was a terrible accident born of a shrinking wild. But what is happening to her now is a miracle of compassion. Her serious injuries are healing. The poor little baby monkey is no longer defined by her trauma, but by her incredible will to survive, nurtured by the gentle hands that picked up the pieces of her broken world.
