People around the world are once again sharing the story of a monkey in India that adopted a stray puppy, treating it as if it were her own baby.
While no one knows exactly how the two became friends three years ago, local residents in Erode โ the seventh largest town in the Tamil Nadu region of India โ noticed the rhesus macaque defending the puppy from other street dogs one day. (And by the looks of those teeth, itโs not a monkey youโd want to mess with!)
That incident solidified the pairโs celebrity in the region as people sought them out to snap photos of the sweet inter-species friendship.
The monkey not only protected the puppy but groomed it and made sure it got fed as well โ and locals were so enamored with the pair that they even started leaving out food for them.
The rhesus macaque (also known as Macaca mulatta) is a species native to South Asia and their unique cognitive abilities have been studied by psychologists. A uniquely intelligent species, macaques have advanced perceptive abilities and even an understanding of simple rules.
Details of the duo are slim since all of the sources are in the Tamil language and reported by local media. Theyโve had to be translated into English to get even scant details of the pair.
What we do know is that in their time together, the monkey took care of the puppy as if it were her own baby, carrying it everywhere.
She even leaped between trees with him in her arms โ something that might not have lasted long once the puppy grew!
Their relationship was so protective that the monkey would make sure the puppy ate first any time they came across food.
According to the Indian news site Zee News (via a Google translation):
โPeople who have seen them spoke of their strong mutual affection and described their bond as the most caring thing in the world โ to take care of a puppy in danger and protect him like a parent. Their undying affection gives us a valuable lesson about relationships.โ
Not only were locals rooting for the pair to stay together but commenters on social media were concerned that the two would be separated.
Despite both stray dogs and monkeys being a common sight in this part of India, they arenโt often seen together and it appears forest rangers did eventually step in to take custody of the puppy.
When the animal news site The Dodo reached out to them for comment, they could not reach anyone, so both animalsโ fates remain a mystery for now.
Itโs safe to say that if officials did step in it was probably for the puppyโs safety. Not only do macaques eat mostly fruit (much of which dogs canโt digest), but the monkeyโs frequent tree-hopping could have posed a safety issue for her furry friend.
Itโs also quite likely that the human attention the two were drawing might have ended in disaster โ with the pair being harmed or kidnapped.
Nevertheless, commenters around the world were livid at the idea of the pair being separated and very concerned about the monkey. But some pointed out that the puppy never looked entirely thrilled with his situation.
While we donโt know their ultimate fate, we all got to see some truly adorable photos of the two together for a short time.
Be sure to scroll down to see footage of the pair in action (and perhaps the human attention that became a bit dangerous).
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