Rescued Baby Monkey Won't Stop Sucking His Thumb

A family enjoying a botanical garden in Thailand expected to see beautiful flowers and plants during their visit.

But they never expected to see a tiny baby monkey.

That’s because long-tailed macaques aren’t native to the area. But they saw one, nonetheless.

They just had no idea how he got there.

The poor little baby monkey was all alone so they decided to take him home.

“There is no known wild macaque population in the area so we would assume that he either escaped from somewhere or is a dumped unwanted pet. Luckily he was found and ultimately saved,” the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand wrote.

After about three weeks the family reached out to the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.

They are a rescue center for misplaced wild animals.

The family thought they’d be able to keep the monkey as a pet but he was quite the handful.

“They kept him for three weeks before realizing that he needs special care and is not a suitable pet,” WFFT wrote. “He was fed on only bananas, [and] for a macaque who is only 2 to 3 months old this is not a suitable diet.”

Macaques babies are weaned until they are six months old.

The monkey, who the family named Jao Khun, was underweight when he was brought to the rescue center as a result of his diet.

The poor little guy was so stressed out he kept sucking his thumb to soothe himself.

So, the rescue gave him some stuffed animals to be cozy with.

This way he could feel as if he was with his own kind.

“He clings onto a small giraffe teddy for comfort,” WFFT wrote. “At this age he would be attached to his mother for literally every hour of the day.”

So, it’s a good thing that Jao Khun is now in the hands of people who know how to properly care for him.

Jao Khun was bottle fed a proper formula for a growing baby monkey.

He was also hand fed him from a tiny silver spoon. They are also trying to teach him to be a monkey.

“Luckily for him, he is now in safe hands. We plan to introduce him to some other infant orphans once he has gone through a quarantine period and settled in. Watch this space for updates,” the WFFT wrote.

Hopefully, Jao Khun will start to feel safe around his caretakers and will be able to put that thumb down.

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Source: WFFT.org

By D.G. Sciortino

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D.G. is a contributing writer in Shareably. She's based in Connecticut and can be reached at [email protected].