Baby monkey lying on road saved by passers-by who helped divert traffic

Choo Yun Ting Straits Times 19 May 19;

SINGAPORE - A baby monkey was found lying on a road in Bukit Panjang on Sunday (May 19), but it was saved by kind passers-by.

One of the passers-by, who wanted to be identified only as Mrs Lo, told The Straits Times that she and her husband were driving along Petir Road at around 3pm on Sunday when they saw a woman dressed in black directing traffic along the two-lane road.

The area is near the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, where monkeys such as the long-tailed macaques are frequently sighted.

Mrs Lo and her husband realised that the woman was diverting traffic to the left lane because a baby monkey was lying prone on the right lane near Block 202 Petir Road. A larger monkey, which seemed to be the animal's parent, was trying to get to it, Mrs Lo said.

"The baby monkey looked like it was unconscious and could be dead, but it later raised one of its arms and that's when we realised it was still alive," she added.

There were no visible injuries, Mrs Lo said.

After calling the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) for assistance, she and her husband stopped along the road to help direct traffic.

Two garbage truck collectors also stopped their vehicle to help out. A photo of the truck showed that the two men are from BNL Services, a waste management company.

Mrs Lo said the truck driver picked up the baby monkey and put it down at the bottom of a tree across the road, and the larger monkey brought it into the forest.

ST has contacted Acres for more information.