A few years ago, a man uploaded YouTube videos of himself performing with two monkeys. The videos came to the attention of the Forest Department, and the monkeys were seized. One of them was later entrusted to Karuna Society.
As he was a rhesus macaque a species not native to this region .We wanted to know how he had ended up here. We later learned that he had been found among the bodies of several monkeys that had been killed and dumped. He was the only survivor, barely alive, with severe ant-inflicted injuries that had destroyed much of his nose and surrounding facial tissue.
By the time he reached us, he had recovered from those injuries. We housed him in an enclosure, but one day he escaped. Instead of disappearing, he chose to stay. Today, he lives freely within the sanctuary, has formed bonds with the local monkeys, and visits us every day for food.
His story is also a reminder that conflict between people and wildlife doesn’t have to end in cruelty. Across many villages, monkeys are sometimes killed to protect crops and orchards. But there are humane ways to manage these conflicts. No animal deserves to be beaten, poisoned, or discarded. Coexistence may not always be easy, but compassion should never be optional.
