Man attacked while helping dead baby monkey at Upper Pierce Reservoir
A man who tried to help a dead baby monkey at Upper Pierce Reservoir ended up being attacked by its troop, with an aggressive male launching multiple attacks on him.
Mr John Lee, founder of Wildlife Asia Singapore, told MS News that the incident took place on 22 March at around 5.34pm.
In a series of Facebook posts, he recounted the experience that took place while he was driving out from the gate at Upper Peirce Reservoir towards Old Upper Thomson Road.
Source: Google Maps
Van allegedly runs over baby monkey at high speed
While on the road, Mr Lee noticed a small van in front of him drive past a troop of long-tailed macaques.
He explained that most drivers slow down in such areas to allow wildlife to clear the road. However, this van allegedly maintained a high speed and ended up running over a baby monkey.
With many vehicles passing through the area, Mr Lee stopped his vehicle in such a way that he prevented other cars from running over the monkey, causing some blocking of traffic.
Unfortunately, after alighting, Mr Lee realised that the baby monkey had died, a stream of blood oozing out of its head.
Source: John Lee on Facebook
The unfortunate victim’s right eye had also popped out of its eye socket from the accident.
Man attacked while trying to move baby monkey’s body
Mr Lee told MS News that as an animal lover, he couldn’t stand to see the dead monkey’s carcass get run over repeatedly by vehicles. As such, he tried to move it to the roadside.
However, a troop of around 10 macaques — presumably the baby’s family — began threatening him.
One large male, whom Mr Lee suspected to be the troop’s leader, allegedly attempted to attack him around seven to nine times.
He had to use his umbrella to push the monkey away as it tried to bite him.
Mr Lee suspected the monkeys had mistaken him for the baby’s killer, which explained their aggressive behaviour.
Despite the risk, he managed to carry the dead baby monkey to the roadside while keeping the furious macaques at bay.
Source: John Lee on Facebook
He added that nobody around came forward to help him out despite the “extreme stress” of the monkey’s attack.
While making a call to a friend to help contact the relevant authorities, Mr Lee said the baby monkey’s mother appeared, grabbed the carcass, and fled into the trees.
Mr Lee did not know if the mother realised her child had died and said the heartbreaking encounter left him teary-eyed.
He urged drivers in wildlife-heavy areas to slow down and give animals time to move away, reminding the public that creatures like monkeys and pangolins also deserve respect and space.
Van license plate not captured
Some netizens on Facebook asked if Mr Lee had recorded the van that allegedly killed the monkey.
Unfortunately, Mr Lee revealed that his dashcam was sent for servicing, meaning he was unable to capture the vehicle’s license plate.
Source: Facebook
Despite this, many netizens praised Mr Lee for his kindness, with one commenter noting that monkeys grieve and mourn like humans, and his efforts at least allowed the mother to reclaim her baby.
Source: Facebook
Also read: Monkey Mother Carries Dead Baby Along S’pore Park Connector, Heartbreaking Sight Moves Animal Lovers
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Featured image adapted from John Lee on Facebook and Facebook.
