CHENNAI: Vegetable vendors at Zam Bazaar in Triplicane were harassed this week by an unlikely rowdy - a monkey! Believed to be the pet of rowdy 'Market Murali', murdered last year, the simian seemed to be wrecking havoc and was chained inside a cage for three days, until a well meaning advocate informed the Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
Identified as a female Bonnet Macaque, the animal was rescued by a team of three on Wednesday afternoon. And arriving forewarned of this female attacker's sharp bite, S Rajendran, an inspector with the SPCA said, "We went prepared with gloves, ready to handle claws and teeth."
But the 'jail time' apparently took its toll on the juvenile monkey.
"The animal was shaken and traumatised, she didn't put up a fight when we opened the cage," said Rajendran. After a drink of water and late lunch of bananas and guavas, this two-foot tall rowdy with a tail was taken to the Forest Range Office in Velachery.
Forester A C Edison said despite wandering on the streets, the animal was found to be healthy by a veterinarian from the Vandalur zoo. "We gave her a warm bath with disinfectant and on Thursday, it was taken to her new home at Guindy National Park," he added.
Hope this monkey doesn't teach her new friends anything unruly. This case of 'monkey see, monkey do' would definitely not make her popular with the caretakers!