Monkey causes Mpuma blackout
2008-10-21 22:04
Nelspruit - A curious wild monkey caused a meltdown at a major electricity transformer in Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, plunging the 2010 host city into darkness for two hours.
Municipal spokesperson Bessie Pienaar said on Tuesday that the adult Vervet monkey inadvertently managed to short-circuit the transformer last week Thursday, burning out key circuits and severely damaging the electricity interchange.
"As a result, Nelspruit experienced a city-wide electricity interruption due to transformer failure," said Pienaar.
The blackout forced many businesses to close early on Thursday afternoon, with residents initially convinced that the cut was the unannounced start of new Eskom electricity rationing.
"It took our technicians some time to trace the fault, and when they did they found that the monkey had seriously damaged the transformer. It will take a full week to repair the damage," said Pienaar.
The hapless monkey was, Pienaar confirms, killed instantly in the incident. Its fur was severely singed.
Pienaar was unable to say whether the city had previously experienced similar damage caused by the hundreds of wild monkeys that venture into suburbia at the end of the dry season every year in search of food.
Recent wildfires destroyed vast tracks of wilderness that would ordinarily provide monkeys and other wildlife around Nelspruit with food sources.
"We are looking into the matter, but can only comment once we have received feedback from our field officers," said Pienaar.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) said on Tuesday that it was the first time they had ever heard of a monkey damaging electricity infrastructure.
"We've never heard of anything like this before. It's obviously a very painful way for any animal to die. It would probably be better for everyone if the municipality replaced the existing fence with some kind of cage or an electric fence that will keep animals away without killing or injuring them," said NSPCA spokesperson Brenda Santon.
The Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency (MTPA) regularly deals with lions, leopards and hippos that wonder into residential settlements, but was not immediately available on Tuesday to say whether monkeys were viewed as problem animals.