A tiny monkey had a tough start to life. The monkey lost his mother when he was too young to take care of himself. And so, he was brought to a sanctuary in Zimbabwe called the Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary.
The sanctuary workers named the monkey Horace.
Because the sanctuary was understaffed, though, they decided to raise all their rescue animals together. The staff was worried that all the different animals at the sanctuary wouldn’t get along.
But Horace ended up becoming good friends with some surprising animals!
The founder of the sanctuary, Sarah Carter, said,
“His mom had been hit by a car on a very busy highway. He’s lucky that he got picked up by the right person, who then brought him here.”
Because the sanctuary was understaffed, the sanctuary was forced to take care of Horace in the same group as the rest of the other animals.
Although the sanctuary staff was worried that all these different animals wouldn’t get along, they couldn’t be more wrong!
Horace quickly started developing close bonds with the other animals at the sanctuary. Although Horace tragically lost his mother, he now spends his time making new friends every day.
Since Horace first joined the sanctuary, there have been a lot more monkeys that have been adopted. Horace, however, still spends more time with his cat and dog friends.
Sarah says,
“He runs around in the middle of the night, in the dark, with the cats. All the other monkeys go to sleep when it starts to get dark, because that’s their instinct. Meanwhile, Horace is busy running around the garden at 10 o’clock at night. He’s a character.”
When Horace isn’t off on an adventure, you can probably find him lounging around with his cat friends. Great thing they make excellent pillows!
The goal of the Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary is to take care of and rehab rescued animals until they are capable of living on their own in the wild.
Although Horace has long passed the point where he would be allowed to leave, Horace has continually elected to stay at the sanctuary.
Horace has even started to take a bigger role at the sanctuary. Because he’s been there since the early days, Horace now serves as a guide to other newly orphaned animals in the sanctuary.
Sarah says,
“We get lots of orphaned animals coming in, so you can’t always pair them with the same animal. But for them to be able to be with another creature is really healing and comforting for them, no matter if they’re different.
We learned that from Horace. They form these amazing bonds. It just brings so much comfort to all of them.”
Horace knows firsthand how hard it can be to grow up alone. That’s why he’s made it his mission to make sure no animal in the sanctuary feels lonely or scared. Sarah leaves us with this,
“Horace is a very special member of the Twala family. His ability to find companionship with so many other species is such a wonderful life lesson for everyone.
His antics and his endearing personality brighten our lives and remind us why we do what we do at Twala — he is the very best example of a rescued animal making the absolute most of his second chance.”
Horace is an incredibly empathetic animal who has helped many of the new animals at the sanctuary feel at home. This includes a rescue dog, Ballantyne, who lost his owner and was a bit aggressive when he arrived at the sanctuary. Still, Horace made him feel welcome in his own special way.
Check out the video of Horace and Ballantyne below!
Please SHARE Horace the friendly monkey with your friends and family!
[Source: Facebook – The Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary]
