One Highlight of My Trip to India

Finally I have found a decent report about the goat herding monkey we saw while visiting a tea estate in the mountains of Kerala, in the Palakkad district. We had asked one of the young men who worked at the inn where we were staying to give us a brief tour of the area. He led us down the hillside to a breath-taking view of the valley and then asked if we would like to see the animals. I am a big pushover for animals of any kind so we eagerly accepted his offer. It was evening and the animals had all come in from pastures. The compound had cattle, dogs, fowl of many kinds, and sundry other critters. All seemed well fed and happy.

Then this young man asked if we would like to meet the goat herder. Frankly, meeting a goat herder did not sound that exciting, but what could it hurt to meet some nice man. Then our guide told my husband--remember, I don't speak the language--that the goat herder is a monkey. We went to the goat pen and there, sitting in the middle of lots of goats of all sizes, was a lovely mother monkey, clutching her baby to her chest. We did not, alas, get to see her in action.

I learned a lot more about her from these two websites. Check them out.
Monkey shepherd in India.

Kerala monkey doubles up as shepherd

India truly is a nation of many surprises.