Baby monkey with extreme deformities manages well despite his challenges

India is a country full of incredible beauty, mixed with severe hardship. It is described as "the land of contrasts" because of the extreme differences in advantages from one area to another and the fact that the line between each is often very fine. This is true for the people and it is also true for the animals here, as we see in the case of these wild monkeys.

Monkeys in India inhabit the forests and jungles, and also the cities, particularly on the edges where they are free to come and go easily between wilderness and populated areas. Attracted to the markets and restaurant areas where food can be found, they boldly walk down streets and climb buildings, often venturing very close to people. Many people here feed the monkeys, out of kindness, and the monkeys have grown accustomed to being in close proximity with humans. These monkeys come daily to this section of Agra and they feast on bananas and other fruit that is tossed their way.

But one particular monkey caught the eye of these Canadian tourists with the video camera. Fascinated by the sight of these clever animals eating bananas, they filmed and took pictures. But as they did so, they noticed that one of the monkeys had a very severe problem with all of its limbs. The hind limbs were misshapen and short, with deformed feet that made walking and climbing difficult. Its hands did not have the five digits that all the other monkeys have. Instead, it had two larger digits that it used awkwardly in an attempt to manage the banana that it was eating.

The baby monkey seemed to be well cared for by its mother and the other monkeys allowed it to eat in peace. Often, animals can be cruel to those with any weakness, and competition for food can mean that the weak die of starvation while the others eat their share. Despite the obvious deformities, this little monkey dealt with the difficulty like a champion.