Leave it to a 5-year-old to rescue an animal!
Any kind of animal cruelty is unacceptable. This absolutely includes the abduction of zoo animals. It is wrong to steal them and take them from your home but unfortunately, it is something that happens in this world.
There was an elderly lemur, named Maki, who resided at the San Francisco Zoo — that is, until the poor lemur was abducted.
It appeared that he had been stolen after police discovered forced entry after he had disappeared from the zoo.
Any stolen animal is worrying, but this was extra problematic for a couple of reasons. For one, Maki is an endangered animal, and he requires special care. Also, the life expectancy of a lemur is 16 years and Maki was already far passed that, at 21-years-old. So, we guess you could say Maki was a senior lemur.
The San Francisco Zoo staff told the police about the break-in, and then they posted a $2,100 reward ($100 for each year of Maki’s life) for whoever could offer any helpful information about his disappearance.
If this all wasn’t surprising enough, it gets even more surprising.
Maki was found only two days later. And get this: he was recognized by a 5-year-old boy.
The young boy’s name is James Trinh, and he is a student at the Hope Lutheran Church Day School. On that day, he was simply waiting outside for his mother to come pick him up, and that’s when he noticed the lemur playing on the church’s playground.
As soon as his mom arrived, he alerted her and told her to call the zoo. Crazy how this little boy knew and managed to spot the animal!
Maki had a little hiding place inside of the plastic playground, which made it a little tricky for animal control and the Daly City Police to get him out of there. But eventually, they got him, and all was good again in the world — thanks to this young boy.
Soon after that, Maki was returned to the zoo. And even better yet, he appeared to be in good health!
“Following the abduction of our beloved senior ring-tailed lemur, Maki, we received an outpouring of concern, which led to his return late Thursday evening! Somewhat anxious and hungry, Maki appears to be in good health,” the San Francisco Zoo wrote via Twitter.
“We appreciate and thank @SFPD and @DalyCityPD for their diligence and especially thank the Hope Lutheran Church for the information that led to his safe reunion. The San Francisco Zoological Society will be making a donation to the church in Maki’s honor. Thank you, all,” they continued.
Along with that, they also shared a video of Maki, who seemed to look healthy and happy. They said that it was such a relief to have him back.
We still don’t know exactly who the kidnappers were, but the good news is that, thanks to James, he is back home. Safe and sound.
There are always a few bad seeds in the world, but luckily we also have plenty of great people too, who dedicate their lives to helping one another.
See a tweet that includes a video of the adorable Maki below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
What a relief to have Maki safe at home! We wanted to share this vid of Maki just after his rescue last night. We’re so grateful for the swift work by @SFPD to arrest his abductor, which they announced today. pic.twitter.com/ixpi4gQaiH
— San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (@sfzoo) October 17, 2020
