Indian ‘hero’ saves injured monkey by giving it emergency CPR

M Prabhu, 38, from Tamil Nadu saved an injured monkey which had been bitten by stray dogs

A kindhearted Indian man was hailed as a hero on social media after a video of him attempting to save a monkey by giving it cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) went viral.

M Prabhu, 38, a car driver from Perambalur in Tamil Nadu, said that he had found the monkey injured and unconscious on a tree on 9 December, reported The New Indian Express.

Mr Prabhu said that the monkey had been chased by dogs and had managed to escape by climbing a nearby tree. He said he chased away the dogs and rescued the monkey from the tree.

“I was scared when the monkey climbed the tree with injuries and fell unconscious. I rescued it and gave water. But it did not drink it and I was very upset. I did not want to leave it in the forest in that condition,” he said.

The monkey was then given water but it still lay unconscious. Mr Prabhu and his friend then decided to take the animal to a hospital.

On the way to the hospital, Mr Prabhu realised that the monkey was losing consciousness. He then stopped his two-wheeler and began giving him CPR to help him breathe.

“I did not think about anything, but breathed into its mouth,” Mr Prabhu said.

In the video Mr Prabhu can be seen thumping the monkey’s chest and breathing into his mouth in an attempt to revive him.

“When I took him to the hospital I thought he would be dead but with treatment he managed to regain consciousness,” Mr Prabhu said.

At the hospital, the monkey was given glucose and administered a vaccine. He was later handed over to forest department authorities.

Mr Prabhu, has undergone training in emergency first aid in 2010. He said that he gave CPR to the monkey in the same way that he would to another human being.

However, veterinary doctor Prabhakaran said that Mr Prabhu could develop a disease for saving the monkey’s life.

“If the monkey has been bitten by rabies-infected dogs, then Prabhu can develop a disease. Otherwise, there is no problem,” he said.

Mr Prabhu said that the only reason animals come out of forests is because of food. “If we keep leftover food they will benefit from it,” he said.

Meanwhile the video went viral on social media and Mr Prabhu was hailed as a hero.

One user commented, “Respect for you brother. What you did people would never dream in their life to do this... Your parents are very lucky...Love you brother ..”

Another user commented, “This is the only religion, I love to have in this world”