Katrina is a Rhesus macaque, not a species native to southern India. They only arrive here as illegally imported babies, to be sold as pets.
Katrina had been kept for 16 years on a Hindu shrine in a cage measuring less than 1mtr square. Somehow she escaped and the terrified keepers were unable to handle or catch her. They called in the Forestry Dept to put her back in the cage, but instead they bought her to us.
On arrival she was highly aggressive but so stiff and unfit from lack of exercise that she was unable to walk more than a few yards which made handling her a lot easier.
John decided to have her in his bedroom to try and befriend her and within two days John could do anything with her.
She was in such a dreadful state that she couldn’t jump at all and found even the stairs a challenge; she was out of breath from the slightest exertion. Thankfully she took to swimming straight away which helped her to build up the strength in her legs and helped her become reasonably fit. She now enjoys climbing trees and gets around remarkably well although she tends to do more of a shuffle than a walk.
She was very interested in other monkeys but had little idea how to respond to them so encounters always ended in conflict. This has now been solved by her living with Raj, our oldest resident. Although she still has a fiery temper, Raj tends to avoid conflict, and neither have many teeth left to bite with, so although they still come into conflict at times, no damage is done, and generally they get on well, even indulging in mutual grooming at times.
