February 6th started like any other day. Our team was stationed near the sacred Samadhi Pilimaya in Anuradhapura, carrying out our usual animal welfare program. The morning passed with familiar cases: stray dogs needing vaccinations, a few injured cats requiring treatment, but then, something unexpected happened. A desperate call for help came through Facebook. Someone had found a severely injured monkey by the roadside, a victim of a brutal accident with a speeding vehicle. Knowing we were nearby, they decided to bring the poor creature to us.
A Fight for Survival
When the monkey arrived, the sight was heartbreaking. It had lost an arm and a leg, the wounds still fresh and bleeding. The pain it must have been enduring was unimaginable, yet its eyes, clouded with exhaustion, held onto a flicker of life. The kind-hearted people who rescued it had done their best to cover the wounds, but it was clear that immediate medical attention was the only thing standing between this fragile life and death. We quickly sedated the monkey to ease its suffering and started cleaning the wounds. That was the easy part. The real challenge lay ahead. The accident had left behind exposed flesh and shattered bone—an open invitation for infection. Every minute counted. With steady hands and hopeful hearts, we removed the damaged tissue, carefully stitching the deep, gaping wounds at the joints where its limbs had once been. It was a painstaking process, but we knew we had to give this monkey a fighting chance.
Compassion Beyond Conflict
Sri Lanka has been struggling with the issue of monkey overpopulation. Many see them as a nuisance, a growing problem that needs urgent solutions. But at that moment, standing around this wounded creature, we saw something else, compassion, not conflict. Despite the ongoing debate, these villagers didn’t turn away. They didn’t see an inconvenience; they saw a life worth saving. And in that moment, they reminded us all of a simple truth: choosing the easiest and quickest solution is not always choosing the right one. As we watched the monkey slowly awaken after surgery, we couldn’t help but feel hopeful. Its journey to recovery would be long and uncertain, but at least now, it had a chance. And sometimes, a second chance is all it takes to change a life.
Call for kindness
This story is not just about an injured monkey. It’s about the kindness that still exists in our communities, about the hands that reach out when others would turn away. If a small group of people can make a difference in one life, imagine what we can do together. Let’s continue to be the voices and the healers for those who cannot speak for themselves. Because every life, no matter how small or inconvenient, deserves compassion.
