A monkey in Malaysia 'kidnapped' a puppy and 'held it hostage' for three days. Watch the dramatic rescue bid here:
The monkey in question is apparently part of a gang known to steal food from homes in Taman Lestari Putra, and on 16 September, the primate pinched two-week-old puppy Saru, before scuttling up an electricity post.
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Residents soon caught wind of the abduction and knew they had to try and save Saru.
Onlooker Cherry Lew Yee Lee said: "The puppy looked tired and weary but the monkey did not seem to hurt it. The monkey was just holding the puppy while it moved around.
"It looked like it was treating the puppy as a friend or its baby, it was very strange. However, we still needed to save the poor dog because it appeared to have been starving."
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Retrieving the puppy was no mean feat though, as the monkey continually fled into the forest.
Residents tried enticing the monkey with food, but were still unable to get near the puppy.
Thankfully, on the third day of the kidnapping, with the puppy growing weak, locals were able to scare the monkey by pelting it with rocks and wood and letting off bangers, until it eventually released the little hound.
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No one was hurt during the rescue operation, including the monkey, which disappeared back into the forest.
A local took Saru home to check for injuries and feed it, and after establishing that they were in a stable condition, the pup was put up for adoption.
It is believed Saru is a stray puppy snatched from a litter in the neighbourhood.
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The incident has now led many locals to believe that the previous mysterious disappearance of pets in the area could be down to the monkey gang.
The Malaysian government receives an average of 3,800 complaints from the public about monkeys nationwide every year.
The country's wildlife department devised a mass culling programme in response to the complaints, with up to 70,000 macaques killed annually between 2013 and 2016.
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