Vignette #2: Harvey Dent lives!

!!!Warning!!! Potentially disturbing photos 

Spoiler: There's a happy ending

So a while back, I was out with Flakes, minding my own business, when I come across 3 monkeys appearing rather subdued in a tree. Intrigued, I moved closer and noticed that one of them was a very small howler. The two juvenile capuchins were crowded around it and sort of poking it. It wasn't really responding, just sort of shaking its head a bit.

Now capuchins love harassing howlers. Its one of their favourite pastimes. Generally they will chase one for a few seconds while it plods off, occasionally producing a few harumpfs of outrage. All in good fun, not nearly as vicious as the bullying they submit other animals to, such as kinkajous (see upcoming vignette) - but all the same, enough to bait a reaction from the howlers. 

This little guy, however, seemed completely oblivious. I say guy, by the way, not because I was able to tell its sex, but because future events made it necessary for him to be male for the wonderfully apt name I gave him to be gender-appropriate.

So I take out my camera and snap a few shots. And on closer inspection, I become completely horrified.

You may have to click on these photos to see the full extent of the wounds.
But then, you may not want to.

It was clear that he had been severely mauled by something much larger than himself. Most of the right side of his face was ripped open, his eye was oozing pus, and his emaciated body suggested he had not been able to eat properly in days.

I enquired as to the possible culprits. One possible cause is attempted infanticide by an unrelated older male. This would serve the purpose of making his mother fertile again. You see this in capuchins a lot when a new alpha takes over a group, because nature is cruel and monkeys don't care about human sensibilities, apparently.

Pictured: horrible, horrible nature.

Other possibilities included predatory birds, or (but I refuse to believe this) overenthusiastic capuchins.

In any case, I left this nameless little bundle of sadness to die in peace. I had several powerful photos, but no way was I ever going to blog about this. I was trying to be funny, damn it!

 I would mourn alone.

Cut to - 

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Approximately one month later, and we are out with the monkeys again. The monkeys pursue a howler, who half-heartedly moves out of the way. This one is particularly small considering there are no others in sight; as a rule it is only adult males that roam alone. I take out my binoculars, and almost immediately fumble with them in disbelief.

It's about the same size, and looks similar. The right side of its face is highly scarred.

But this monkey appears... well-fed, almost fat! And although its right eye is clearly useless, its still manoeuvring around with a degree of ease I would never have foreseen from the pitiful state of the monkey I saw just a few weeks ago.

And yet there was no doubt. Its the same monkey, now moving around, eating, and basking in the sun.

A mess, certainly, but on the up and up.

Undaunted by its lack of depth perception, it seemed to face life head on, with aplomb, looking adversity in the eyes and saying: "Sod off, adversity." It was a completely different beast from that other howler monkey that seemed so insecure when I called it boring.

I am bloody majestic

Anyway. I called this monkey Harvey Dent after it's physical afflictions (note to parents, etc: google is your friend). May the resemblance be one of appearance only.

We came across Harvey once more after this. His condition appeared further improved, although I did not have my camera on that occasion. I have instructed everyone here to keep a lookout for Harvey whenever they wander into Flakes' territory in the future. I wish him a long and fruitful life, and I'm sure you all do too.

Godspeed, Harvey. Godspeed.