Rare palm-sized monkey rescued

Chennai, July 28 (UNI) A palm-sized monkey, one of the species from the rain forests of Latin America, was rescued by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) from a hotel at the East Coast Road in the city last evening.

The wide-eyed, greyish-black primate of the Marmoset species in Latin America, was exhibited in the private hotel, when it was rescued by a three-member SPCA team led by its Chief Inspector W Dowlath Khan.

The team rushed to the hotel after being alerted by public about the display of this endangered species, SPCA sources said here today.

The monkey, little bigger than the size of Palm, was among an array of love birds, eus, ducks and rabbits, kept at the hotel to attract the guests.

The monkey, with a fairly long tail, was handed over to the authorities of the Guindy National Park in the city. Marmoset was the smallest monkey seen in Amazon rain forest areas. It is about seven to 12 inches long, with the tail a little longer than the rest of the body (8 to 16 inches) and weigh about 200 to 400 gms.

It was imported and gifted to the hotel owner by one of his friends and that there were no signs of any cruelty to the two-year-old male monkey, which has deformed hind legs, the sources added.

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