Man resuscitates unconscious monkey, earns appreciation on social media

Actor Suriya, many senior forest department officials were all praise for him

Prabhu tending to an unconscious monkey at Kunam

A car driver of Perambalur has earned widespread praise, especially on social media, for resuscitating a monkey which became unconscious after escaping from a pack of dogs recently. A video clip of his act has gone viral on social media.

M. Prabhu, a driver hailing from Othiyam Samathuvapuram in Kunnam, was going home with his nephew when he saw a monkey trying to climb a tree to save itself from a pack of five dogs.

He immediately stopped by to rescue to it. Shaken by the attack, the monkey froze, refusing to move. Mr. Prabhu tried to call but it began to lose consciousness, he said. He then quickly bent the branch it was sitting on, took it in his hands and was on his way to the nearest veterinary hospital when he felt that simian’s breathing was becoming irregular.

He stopped the vehicle on the roadside and attempted to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on the monkey. After about a minute of applying pressure on the chest and breathing into its mouth, the monkey woke up. “I felt it grab my shirt on my back. I was overcome with joy and began shouting,” Mr. Prabhu recollected.

The incident occurred on December 9. The monkey was taken to the hospital soon after to tend to its injuries caused by the attack.

Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Prabhu said that he has undergone a one-day first-aid training programme in Thanjavur 10 years ago. He had never had to use CPR before, but while tending to the monkey he decided to make an attempt, and that saved it's life, he said.

Mr. Prabhu is known to care for all living things and would usually pack extra food for the homeless, and animals he would see on the way as he went on trips. “We share the Earth, our home with all creatures and so we must treat all equally,” he said. A video of the incident shot by Mr. Prabhu's nephew was uploaded to Twitter and has gone viral overnight. Actors like Suriya Sivakumar, senior officials of the forest department have all praised him for his work. “I did not even know a video was being recorded. Had I known I would not have shouted so much,” he laughed.