MONKEY DO GOOD
Simian lifesavers
A Chilean tourist survived for nine days while lost in a dense expanse of Bolivian rainforest — thanks to a troop of hero monkeys who “dropped him fruit and led him to shelter and water every day,” the man claimed.
Maykool Coroseo Acuña was barely alive when he was rescued from the depths of Madidi National Park, a protected rainforest in the northwest of the South American country.
The 25-year-old man was dehydrated, weak and nearly eaten alive by bugs — and told the rescuers he survived only because the kindly monkeys gave him food and showed him where to find shelter and water, National Geographic reported.
It’s unclear which species of primates kept him alive, but Rosillo, Lucachi and Titi monkeys are some of the types that are indigenous to the jungle.
Acuña went missing from his Max Adventures tour group, which was staying at a campground near the Tuichi River.
The night before Acuña disappeared, he refused to take part with other tourists in a ceremony that gives thanks to Pachamama, Mother Earth.
Witnesses said the time between when Acuña was last seen and when someone went to check on him in his cabin was a mere five minutes.
“It’s because he offended the Pachamama,” said Feizar Nava, the owner of Max Adventures. “He didn’t want to participate in the ceremony.”
A search party looked for hours on end for days in different sections of the vast rainforest. Finally, they found an important clue: Acuña’s muddy sock.
Acuña was found on day nine, less than a mile away from the Max Adventures campground.
Acuña admitted at one point he began to lose his mind.
“I started running,” he said. “And after running so much, I stopped under a tree and I started thinking. What had I done, what was I doing? And when I wanted to get back, it wasn’t possible.”