An Orphaned Baby Monkey Clings Onto the Back of a Foraging Goat Whom He Adopted as His Mother

In November 2016, an Chinese farmer in Tonggu County came across an unusual sight when he checked in on his herd of goats and saw that they were entertaining a tiny guest. The guest, an orphaned baby monkey, had adopted particular goat as his new mother, clinging tightly to her back as she foraged during the day and sleeping with the herd at night. The county wildlife protection station stepped to transfer the monkey to a nearby zoo for care.

“The little monkey has been here for about four or five days. It seems the goats made it feel safe. Every time I came to shut goats in the fold at night, I found the monkey was either on the back of this goat or that goat. I tried to feed bananas to the monkey, but it did not eat and held on to the goat tightly,” said Zhong. Zhong said that the monkey clings to the back of one of the goats when they go out to forage during the day and returns to the pen to sleep with them at night. He said the animals are inseparable as if the monkey has decided the goat is its new mother.