Old woman takes care of rare monkeys at the river mouth

(Dan Tri) - As the afternoon fell, Mrs. Chat slowly rowed her boat to Hon Tra Island. Hearing her voice, a troop of golden monkeys, a rare animal, came out to welcome the old woman.

Hon Tra is located where the Tra Bong River (Binh Dong Commune, Binh Son District, Quang Ngai Province) flows into the sea. The island is about 1.5 hectares wide, located about 100 meters from the shore. This is a rare green space left at the mouth of the Tra Bong River. A group of wild monkeys have lived there for over 8 years.

A herd of wild monkeys appeared on Hon Tra Island more than 8 years ago (Photo: Quoc Trieu).

As the afternoon fell, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Chat (80 years old) slowly walked towards the boat dock. Choosing a fishing basket, Mrs. Chat slowly rowed towards Hon Tra. In the basket were a few watermelons and some bananas. These were food for the monkeys on the island.

"Come down and eat, children. Come down here," Mrs. Chat said loudly as the fishing boat reached the shore.

Hearing the old woman's voice, the troop of 10 monkeys howled loudly and then pulled themselves down to the ground. The monkeys rushed to Mrs. Chat's side. Monkeys with wild nature are usually very aggressive. But the monkeys at Hon Tra were different towards Mrs. Chat. The monkeys boldly accepted the food and ate deliciously next to the old woman.

Every day, Mrs. Chat rows a basket boat to bring food to Hon Tra for the monkeys (Photo: Quoc Trieu).

Watching the monkeys eat, Mrs. Chat slowly "checked" each one, then talked to them. "Eat, I'll bring more tomorrow," the old woman said to the monkeys.

Waiting for the monkeys to finish eating, the old woman rowed the boat back to shore. The monkeys stood at the water's edge watching Mrs. Chat. When the boat was far away, the monkeys called out to each other and disappeared into the woods.

Until now, no one knows exactly where the monkeys on Hon Tra came from. Many people guess that the monkeys were swept to this island from upstream by floods. The monkeys clung to tree trunks and drifted along the water to the mouth of the Tra Bong River and then to Hon Tra. Since then, the wild monkeys have made this place their home.

For Ms. Chat, the monkeys on Hon Tra have become an indispensable part of her life (Photo: Quoc Trieu).

Mrs. Chat recalled that more than 8 years ago, while rowing a boat across Hon Tra, she suddenly heard monkeys calling to each other. The monkeys seemed to be frightened when they saw strangers.

As someone who has lived at the mouth of the Tra Bong River all her life, Mrs. Chat knew that this group of monkeys had just come here to live. There was a lack of food on Hon Tra, so perhaps they were hungry, so they called out to each other, echoing throughout the river. At that time, she did not know why she was worried about the monkeys. She was afraid that they would be hungry.

The next day, Mrs. Chat went to the market to buy fruit and then quietly rowed a basket boat to Hon Tra. She stood there for a while but the monkeys were still nowhere to be seen. The old woman had no choice but to leave the fruit on the rock and go home. Halfway there, Mrs. Chat turned back and saw the monkeys rushing out to get food. From then on, every day she bought fruit and brought it to Hon Tra for the monkeys.

At first, many people objected when they saw the old woman spending money every day to feed the wild monkeys. Some people were afraid that the ferocious monkeys would attack the old woman, but Mrs. Chat ignored them. She went to the monkeys every day.

On stormy days, or when she is sick and cannot go to Hon Tra, Mrs. Chat worries about the monkeys. For her, the monkeys in Hon Tra have become an indispensable part of her life.

Seeing the old woman's true love for the monkeys, people gradually understood and joined her in raising them.

"Now, the fruit vendors in the market often give her fruit. Everyone just leaves the baskets ready for her to take. Seeing people supporting them makes me very happy," said Mrs. Chat.

Monkeys in Hon Tra flock to Mrs. Chat to get food (Photo: Quoc Trieu).

She said that she used to be afraid that one day she died, there would be no one to take care of the monkeys. The monkeys would run out of food and cause havoc, and she was afraid that people would beat them. Now this worry is gone because the government has a plan to relocate the monkeys. But when she stopped worrying, she became sad. Having been with the monkeys for so long, her feelings for the wild monkeys became special. One day, the monkeys are no longer on Hon Tra, Mrs. Chat will be very sad!

Quang Ngai province has a plan to return the monkeys in Hon Tra to the natural forest (Photo: Quoc Trieu).

According to Mr. Phan Van Dong, Chairman of Binh Dong Commune People's Committee, there are about 10 monkeys on Hon Tra Island. This is a golden monkey species on the list of endangered and rare animals that need to be protected.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Ngai has a plan to move the monkeys from Hon Tra to the natural forest. Experts are setting camera traps to accurately count the number of golden monkeys on Hon Tra; on that basis, the monkeys will be relocated in the near future.

"While waiting to return the monkeys to the wild, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development held a meeting with the people to raise awareness so that everyone could join hands to protect the monkeys. The local government also monitored and controlled the area to prevent the monkeys from being hunted illegally," Mr. Dong added.

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