A monkey pulled off a five-year-old boy’s finger off in a shocking attack at a Portuguese zoo on Friday morning, April 9.
The youngster was with his family and playing by the monkey’s cage according to local reports.
The monkey then bit the boy’s finger and pulled it from the rest of his hand.
A police officer entered the cage to recover the missing finger before the boy was rushed to Sao Joao Hospital in Vila Nova de Gaia near Porto.
A spokesman for the GNR police force in Porto confirmed the incident had occurred around 11am.
It is not yet clear if specialists in child surgery and plastic surgery have been able to reattach the boy’s finger.
Santo Inacio Zoo said in a statement that the incident occurred as the youngster was feeding the monkey peanuts “in a clear breach of safety measures in place to protect the public”.
The statement adds: “The safety plans of zoological parks are created taking into account the risk category of the species, such as size, speed or bite, but also the type of installation where there are several warnings that alert visitors to the safety measures to be followed, namely not to feed or touch animals.”
“All plans implemented aim to ensure, at all times, the safety of keepers, animals and visitors.”
An investigation into the incident is expected to be launched
