A photographer managed to capture a once in a lifetime moment when a monkey was given a mouth to mouth and CPR to another monkey with hopes of resurrecting them.
The monkeys were pictured by William Steel, a wildlife photographer.
Steel said that he was at the Gaborone Game Reserve in Botswana when he saw the sweet and adorable vervet monkeys.
For us humans, it looks like that the vervet monkeys were giving CPR and mouth to mouth to the other monkey, however, the story is different.
The monkeys are actually just grooming the other monkey as they lie down in front of the other.
Talking about the moment that he took pictures of, Steel said that everything was just dramatic.
He said that the female monkey fell to the floor and had her legs and arms spread out.
Initially, Steel had a hard time understanding what was happening, but once he grabbed his camera to take a closer look, he realized what was happening.
He explained:
In what I can only describe as dramatic fashion, the female monkey fell to the floor, with both legs and arms spread out. At first, I couldn’t figure out what was happening, but as I picked up my camera, another monkey came sauntering in grabbing the monkey on the floor by its mouth and seemingly administering CPR. On reflection, I think the performance was all a cry for attention from the female. There is a clear and important hierarchy in the troop, like humans this social community is largely based around ‘if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’. Bonds are formed largely through grooming. I have often seen this extended to help clean wounds, and even nurse injured troop members. In my opinion, this compassion can sometimes be manipulated by attention-seeking individuals. It was an amusing moment to capture.
Fake or real, I have to say that this entire thing is just amazing.
What are your thoughts about the CPR giving monkey and his love for the female monkey? Let us know what you think about this by leaving a comment in the comments section below!